Most of us don’t like the idea of living with our parents as we get older. Yet it’s estimated that about one fifth of adults stay at home until they’re at least 26. If this shit-storm of an economy has forced you back into your childhood bedroom (or you’ve never even been able to leave in the first place) not to worry. Here’s 8 things that will make life so much easier.
1. Stock up on Air Freshener
Another annoying habit most parents have is to barge in your room at the crack of dawn on a Saturday or Sunday morning to tell you your room stinks. This is followed by them opening the window and spraying enough air freshener to suffocate you whilst they lecture you about your hangover and ask you SO MANY questions about last night’s whereabouts. Deep down I think they only do it to make sure you haven’t died in a ditch when you’ve stayed out late and not text them about it. Yet even though this is sweet it’s still pretty annoying. Leave your windows open and keep your room smelling fresh and you should be able to lie in / die of a hangover in peace at the weekends.
Cleaning is officially defined as “The act of removing dirt or something undesirable”. Yet as far as most Mothers are concerned it actually means “The act of moving your daughters’ things to places where she’ll never ever find them”. Parents LOVE to move stuff from one cluttered corner to another, believing that this is somehow is the same as tidying. They don’t care that this will make you late for work when, at five to nine on a Monday morning, you realise the shoes you left under your bed last night have somehow ended up in the ottoman in the living room that no one’s opened since 1996. If your parents are in the habit of moving things for no reason, do yourself a favour and buy a GPS tracker for your most prized possessions. It’ll save you so much time – and so much stress!
I mean this tech does actually exist. You can get these things called ‘TrackR’ which are like little stickers that attach to your most valuable stuff (e.g. when your dad claims he’s not sitting on the remote or your mum says she hasn’t moved your car keys) and not only can you track where they are on a phone app but you can also ping them and make them make a noise. This is genius. Plus they come in rose gold 😍
3. Set Some Boundaries
If there’s one thing that confuses parents more than technology it’s the concept of knocking. They either don’t knock before they enter your room or they knock as they enter- something which sadly won’t stop your Dad from seeing your arse crack if he happens to do it whilst you’re fake tanning your bum on the night before your holiday. A lack of privacy can be really frustrating once you’ve been used to living alone, especially when you have a boyfriend/girlfriend over or just want some me-time to be a slob without family members judging you. If you don’t want to be walked in on picking your nose whilst eating pizza on your bed, try to discuss some boundaries or ground rules with your parents before you move back in. If you agree to their house rules, they’ll agree to yours too
4. Stress Reducing Tactics
No matter what your age, parents will never get tired of moaning about what a mess you make. This will actually get worse once you move back in. They’ll make out they’re the sorry ones for not being able to get rid of you, despite the fact that when they were your age houses cost about 50p, there was no such thing as Brexit and an over-baked wotsit wasn’t sitting in the White House. This might take a toll on your patience after a while so if you don’t want to re-live the arguments of your teenage years make sure you take the time to de-stress. For some people that might mean going on a rampage like I’m doing right now but for the more sane folk amongst us; sex, exercise and going out with your friends should do the trick.
5. Make Compromises
Okay, enough parent bashing. If you’re going to move back under your parent’s roof you will have to accept some of their rules, no matter how much you like to do things your own way. Things that make parents happy include: letting them know if you’ll be in for tea, washing your dishes as soon as you’ve eaten and generally helping out around the house. Things that don’t make parents happy include: leaving half-drunk cups of tea in your room until they go mouldy, ignoring the landline because it won’t be for you, making food in the kitchen without using a chopping board, going out in the cold without tights or a jacket, eating too much, not eating enough, watching trash tv, forgetting your keys, asking for lifts, staying in your pyjamas all day, leaving the light on in an unoccupied room and stinking out the bathroom with hangover shits.
6. Don’t Compare yourself to others
Some people are really happy living with their parents as they get older but for others it can come with a sense of frustration. After all, aren’t your twenties are supposed to be about finding yourself through living independently, making stupid mistakes & having loads of casual sex? NO. This might suit the cast of Girls & the odd Facebook friend who’s got a high-flying grad job and a flat in London but due to house prices, soaring rent and a lack of jobs it is estimated that one fifth of adults live at home until they’re at least 26. Then there is pressure of settling down, getting on the property ladder and knowing exactly what you want to do with your life. We all know one person who’s bought a house with their partner before the age of 25 but again this is typically the exception, not the rule. Living with your parents is way more common than you might think, so don’t compare yourself to others whom seemingly have it all together. For the majority of ‘millennials’ the economy just isn’t in our favour when it comes to renting or home owning.
7. Put it in Perspective
Living at home until you’re 26 might not seem desirable but put it in perspective. It’s better than paying half your wages on a shoddy flat to some crooked landlord and having almost no disposable income left to go out with friends, buy things for yourself or go on holiday. If you can’t find someone you know to flat share with living at home can also be a much better alternative to living with strangers – at least you can tell your siblings to fuck off when they annoy you (well I certainly do), whereas with flatmates you dislike, being upfront can be much tougher. Living at home is also the easiest way to save money for a deposit if you want to buy a house, and it gives you lots of flexibility if you get the sudden urge to move cities or go travelling.
8. Home Comforts
There’s lots of benefits to living at home such as free food, no bills and, if your parents are anything like mine, a wine cabinet that’s always full! And after a long shitty day at work it’s really comforting to have a nice home and nice people to go back to. Not everyone has this luxury, so bear that in mind on your down days and you’ll find living at home to be so much easier!
