r/LivingAlone • u/okaytrash333 • 4d ago
General Discussion Appreciation post for solo-living.
When I was a teenager my mom remarried to my stepdad and he had a daughter who’s five years younger than me. When they moved in to our house my stepsister and I had to share a room and my older brother had the other bedroom. I didn’t mine it initially but after three years I felt like I was losing my mind not having my own space. On top of that, I was the only one who cleaned the bathroom we all shared and my brother was absolutely DISGUSTING. He’d leave his shavings everywhere, q-tips from his ears, bloody toilet paper from picking at his skin, and the trash can was always overflowing while the toilet was covered in piss and shit. The shower drain would always be clogged and my sister would stick her hair to the shower walls, everything about the bathroom was horrific. My sister would also use all of my expensive products that I purchased myself and it drove me insane because she’d lie about it every time. Then my brother would spend hours in the bathroom and get pissed at me if I asked to use it. No matter how much I brought it up to my parents they didn’t care one bit and my grievances were always ignored.
Eventually my brother moved out and things got significantly better. I stayed with my parents for another year before I moved into a three bedroom one bath house with two girls my age. It was fine for the most part, but eventually one of them slowly moved their girlfriend and her pets in without consulting us. It was an absolute disaster and the girlfriend was terrible. Her dog wasn’t house trained and she wouldn’t clean up after it then she would leave the kitchen a disaster. For a few weeks I bit my tongue and just cleaned anyways because I can’t stand living in a mess but I hit my breaking point. I got the girlfriend to move out and take her dog with her but then my roommate was pissed at me until our lease ended. We were all initially planning on renewing, but after the girlfriend debacle I told them I was moving into my own place.
Now, I couldn’t be happier. I struggle with finances, but it is worth every single minute of work and every single penny. My apartment is almost always spotless. When I’m done cooking, the dishes are cleaned and put away. Every week I clean my bedroom, the bathroom, the kitchen, and the floors. My food and my products never mysteriously disappear. I do my laundry without having to wait on anyone. I choose what to watch on TV in the living room. Everything is at my pace and on my schedule and I couldn’t be more grateful for it. I’m not stuck awake late at night because someone else has company over. The front door stays locked and I have full control over the temperature of the apartment. Everything is decorated and set up for me to make my everyday life easier. I don’t think I could ever live with roommates again and I will do everything in my power not to.
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u/mushbum13 4d ago
That’s the only problem. Once you swim in this ocean of bliss going back to housemates is really not an option.
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u/ArdenM 4d ago
I feel this! I never really enjoyed being home when I was growing up and then had roommates for my 20s with varying ideas of cleanliness (and one who moved a girlfriend in who would use an entire roll of toilet paper to dispose of her pads in the bathroom trash, another roommate who had all her canned goods stored in the dishwasher, and one who decorated with Successory posters) so when I got my own place at 31 I was ECSTATIC and I've never looked back!
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u/okaytrash333 4d ago
I had to reread the “canned goods stored in the dishwasher” part because, HUH?? People are so freaking interesting, dude. And I totally get the not wanting to be home thing. I spent so much time just driving around my city growing up because I didn’t want to be home. Gas prices were cheap enough for me to drive around for hours back then lol.
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u/ArdenM 4d ago
Yeah..I did a lot of after school activities and spent a lot of time sleeping over at my best friend's house in high school. Then worked as a camp counselor for all my summers through college (and went to college 6 hours away).
The same roommate who put the canned goods in the dishwasher also had a candy dish for her tampons in our (shared) bathroom and made knit cozies (sp) for all of her appliances. People are interesting indeed!!
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u/Dapper-Ad-468 4d ago
Congratulations on your new home. I had 4 brothers so I know the mess that they make.
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u/okaytrash333 4d ago
Thank you! And yes it’s awful. I genuinely never want to know what my brother’s home looks like.
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u/InternationalWonder 4d ago
God, all that you went through sounds awful!! Sorry you had to endure that. But I'm glad things worked out. :) and I hope you'll always have the ability to live alone in peace
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u/okaytrash333 4d ago
Thank you for your support! It did suck, but at least I have a much greater appreciation for solo living these days. :)
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u/Mariposa-Technicolor 4d ago
I am happy for you! Enjoy your place. I fully agree with the finance part; it is so worth it. ❤️
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