$pent Millennial

We hear it everywhere, all the time. Millennials cannot afford to buy homes. 

Well, obviously, some Millennials are buying homes. We watch them buying up and fixing up properties on HGTV, hear about it at family holidays, and are reminded every time we log onto our social media accounts. 

But, some of us are stuck in the middle, not quite ready to plunge into the half-million dollar market of over-priced, under-inspected home bidding, but over the college party, couch-surfing, roommate-matching lifestyle of our 20s. We are too tired for that, and our backs hurt. 

It is easy to feel like we are living in a story of the “haves” and “have-nots”. And we are. But this is not a post where I share my political, social, and economic rants. That’s for a whole other blog. 

Still, I feel that grumble crawling up into my spirit every time I have to haul my laundry down to the disgusting basement to find other tenants’ wet, dirty, and half-done laundry sprawled across the entire laundry room. Seriously, who lives like this? Or when I open my windows and doors after a long winter only to be met with the not-so-fresh air of neighbors smoking everything but Paprika. 

The bitterness and joylessness that infect my heart, spirit, and mind when I focus on these irritations do not nurture my best self. They keep me from living in my peace. So, I am trying to re-focus my attention on what I can control and enjoy about the living space that we pay hard-earned money for each month.

Are you familiar with the story of two fighting wolves? Well, one wolf represents darkness, negativity, anger and gloom and the other represents light, joy, peace and hope. The moral of the story is that the wolf you feed is the one that wins. I am working on feeding the wolf of light, joy and peace. 

Amid a housing crisis where individuals and families struggle just to put a roof over their heads, I also recognize the privilege of having such a space to call our own. Every day I wake up grateful for and at peace in the cozy little home we have made in our temporary, rented haven. 

A key element to my intentional lifestyle of enjoying the moment and what we have while living within or below our means is to constantly refer back to the root need or desire that I am seeking to meet. This works when considering spending on small items like a new mug from Target or when making much larger decisions like saving to purchase a home. And so, I think about what it is that I would want in a home of our own. 

I ask myself: 

What gets me excited about homeownership? 

What will we look for when shopping around?

What does it mean to me? 

How does it fit and affect my identity, my values, and my dreams? 

And when I have these answers, I ask myself: 

Now, how can I achieve that (even if to a smaller degree) here in my current space and my current experience?

Here are some ways I have implemented this into our small, crummy apartment living. 

A coffee bar 

When I imagine my dream home, I always imagine a functional kitchen with a cozy corner to make my morning coffee. Ever since my very first apartment, I have always made sure to have a coffee bar setup that makes me feel like I’m already experiencing a key part of my dream home every single morning when I start my day. 

A reading nook 

What good is a cup of coffee without a cozy place to sip it while reading? Another must-have for me is my very cozy reading nook. With the dining room setup of our current apartment, I was able to combine the coffee bar with a reading nook for cozy home cafe vibes. It creates a home sanctuary that makes me want to stay in rather than go out, which in turn helps me save money for future goals. 

A wall pantry 

A little over a year ago I found myself getting house-buying fever pretty bad. When I dug deep to think about what it was that I wanted from a house that I was missing in my current setup, I kept having this picture in my head of a beautiful kitchen with big open spaces and a functional and clean pantry wall where I could have baskets of produce and clean, neat containers of grains, pastas, etc.

My current apartment kitchen is dark, tiny, and cramped with very little storage space. But, I did have a wall that I could use to expand the kitchen/ pantry storage. The universe was on my side because just as I was dreaming up visions of how to add this to my current space, I found the perfect shelf abandoned in the trash by another tenant. You know the saying, one person’s trash… So, I cleaned it up and now it is a perfect addition to our cozy cafe space, clean and functional – just like my dream home. 

A neat fridge

Just like the pantry wall, one way I make my kitchen more functional and enjoyable is by keeping my fridge neat and tidy. I keep my ingredients and items in clear containers giving the fridge a clean look while making it very easy to peak in the fridge and see exactly what we have and what we need. I go through the fridge cleaning it out and reorganizing it at least once a week. 

The clean look makes the tiny apartment fridge feel a lot more luxurious than our cramped little kitchen really is. 

A dog nook

If you, like me, are always watching HGTV and envisioning your perfect dream home reno, you know they LOVE dogs, almost as much as I do. They are always making adorable dog doors and nooks under stairs or in walls. 

I might not be able to put a hole in the wall, but upon moving in I quickly realized that we would not be getting bar stools or our kitchen counter, that was going to be Rocky’s nook. And he LOVES it, even more than we do! 

A peaceful outside space

And last, but certainly not least is my outdoor space. I love our balcony. Ever since I lived in an apartment with outside space, I knew there was no going back. It is now a non-negotiable, which came in very handy during Covid. 

When I think of having my own home, the number one thing I picture is stepping outside into my yard early in the morning before the world wakes up, just me and my doggo. And thanks to my balcony, I can enjoy that in my current home. 

All of these little blessings help me to feel like I am living my dream life, life today rather than putting everything off to tomorrow. We are not delaying our gratification. We are living fully and enjoying (almost) every moment where we are now with what we have while planning and taking actions, and making decisions to set us up for the future.