Monday 27 February 2017

10 ways to furnish a flat on a little budget

Moving is stressful enough, but moving into a place that is a stretch of your budget and comes unfurnished is absolute chaos. Some things in life are worth the initial risk and worth the effort made to maintain it. Below I've listed some of the ways I managed to go from a cheap little student house accommodation to a fully furnished penthouse flat.

1. Be prepared. I've always been the kind of person who keeps a little aside just in case. I'm very thankful to my past self for being like this. My savings created just enough of a cushion for me to be able to stay in the area I wanted to live in. This isn't just a pre-method but can be used each month. When my pay comes in at the beginning of every month I roughly plan out how much goes to bills, what I'd have each week, anything that I may have spare that month – this allows me to spread out my spending on treat items such as a new piece of furniture.

2. Work. Simple enough and yes sometimes paychecks don't stretch, mine didn't in the beginning either. When I left university I paid a couple months extra to stay in my student house and that gave me time to find my next place. During these months I worked a tiny twenty-hour contract at 6 am in the morning, pulling in about £100 a week. It was awful. But at least I was earning something. It was enough to get me started. So I took a massive risk and moved into a flat I couldn't afford. Two months later I got a full-time job that allowed me to comfortably afford the flat, because I didn't give up on looking for something better. Now I work those extra hours to earn those beautiful items for my flat.

3. Don't rush. You don't need a fully furnished flat right from the start. I lived without a table for six months and without a sofa for seven. (I still don't have a washing machine - but hey, pretty things are better than essentials right?) Build your home slowly, only buy things you really love and it'll soon be flourishing around you.

4. Buy cheap where it doesn't matter. Ikea. Ikea is great, especially if you know which pieces don't benefit from being expensive. Bookshelves serve their purpose whether they are £100 or £20... and sometimes the cheaper kinds have more character.

5. Build. Have a creative side? However big or small your ability to craft is, there's probably something you can make for your home. A coffee table out of old wood/pallets, a quirky photo frame, a key hook. Have a browse on Pinterest, you'd be surprised what items you already have that you could turn into something beautiful.

6. Charity. Chairty shops are little gold mines that many people overlook. If you live in a smaller village it's likely you'll find small furniture pieces for as little as a couple pounds. Don't be afraid to go hunting, you never know what you'll come across.

7. Facebook marketplace. Now, I was a little sceptical about this one. But just like charity shops, Facebook marketplace has some hidden gems within it. Scan through all the random posts and you may find something worth a lot more than advertised. Because sometimes people just want to get rid of something fast – or they have too much money to care for something they paid for a long time ago. These are the kind of people that'll go even lower than their advertised price as long as you can pick it up ASAP.

8. Plants. Put them everywhere; fill every room. Plants are a cost effective way to brighten up any living space – the bathroom, window shelves, your bedroom. Go to garden centres or big places such as Homebase on the right day and you'll find reduced priced plants that just need a little TLC.

9. Lights. This one may not be for everyone, but I expect there are many out there that can relate when I say: you can never have too many fairy lights. Battery powered lights are everywhere and very cheap these days, scatter a few of these around a room and you'll have transformed it. I also have a salt lamp in my room that was about £12 from Amazon and it's my favourite thing ever. Mood lighting is one of the main elements in making your space feel comforting and homely.

10. Goals and prioritising. Have all the elements of your home in your head but choose one to focus on. Having a goal to work towards not only increases motivation but means you won't get overwhelmed as you're not focusing on everything at once. Prioritise which elements of your home can wait – maybe a bedside is something you can wait for and maybe you would like a sofa as soon as you can afford it. Work on one goal at a time and soon enough you'll have it all.

Remember you manifest your own life. If you believe your home is already beautiful then it will become even more so. Be patient, wait for what you really want and it'll become something within grasp.





m

Thursday 23 February 2017

Skydive

BUCKETLIST TICK #1

It's been almost a year since I ticked this one off my bucket list. Skydiving has sat at the very top of my bucket list for many years, so when an opportunity arose during my final year of University I took my chance. One year later and I'm still not sure if anything I will ever do will top this one... but that's the goal, to find something that does.

(my best impression of a chipmunk)


This was written days after my jump... 

Skydiving has always taken first place on my bucket list. I've always been a little bit of an adrenaline junkie. I jumped with Bath Spa University, who chose to donate the money raised to their charity of the year, Ditch the Label – the UK's biggest anti-bullying charity. We jumped with the GoSkydive company in Salisbury. Luckily my friend, also my housemate of two years, wanted to take the jump too. I knew at some point in my life I would have ticked this off my list. It was just a question of when.

Ticking it off at what I sometimes feel is the old age of 21, but is actually the very start of my life, feels amazing. There’s nothing to say that just because I’ve ticked off my number one bucket list goal in life that there is no topping that experience. I’m sure there's plenty I've yet to think of that I may cross off one day. Beating this experience is going to be pretty tough though.

I didn't dread the jump as such, but I'm not scared of heights. I find being up high quite relaxing. But for some, I can imagine skydiving would be a very daunting experience and therefore you may not believe me when I say it was amazing. You may be sitting there reading this thinking ‘she is mad, absolutely lost it’, and you wouldn’t be alone. All the members of my (small) family are scared of heights and tend to be a little more normal than me. My parents were very worried about my dive and hated to hear that I loved it.





There are a few factors that played into my skydive going well. I feel very lucky that I had a wonderful instructor to dive with, Mark. He's an experienced ex-military jumper, who happens to just be filling his weekend with this at the moment. (How amazing – I’d love to fill my spare time jumping out of planes all day – or you know, all of my time)



(I don't think I've ever smiled so much) 

I’ve always loved adrenaline-heightening things and heights make me feel on top of the world the majority of the time. As I’m from Cornwall, for me, there’s nothing better than standing on the edge of a cliff and feeling the wind in your face and taking in an amazing view. Jumping out of a plane basically took all those factors and added a little danger. (Plus a man strapped to your back – if you like that kind of thing. Oh, and if you've noticed from the pictures, you get to wear these really embarrassing hats. Enticed yet?)

I was so overwhelmed with excitement, so much so that my face could not contain my smile. There wasn’t a single second of the jump that I didn’t enjoy. My friend who jumped with me said she didn’t really know what was going on for the first part of the free fall. The instructors told us before hand that this can happen due to your mind catching up with how fast things are happening. I stayed as calm as I could during the build up to the jump. I think this helped me make the most of my experience.




If you’re one for views, there’s nothing better than the moment you steady after the parachute has gone up and you hang there taking in the Earth below you. I was in awe – and crying cause I took my goggles off and it was a bit windy up there – but I was mostly in awe. I jumped in Salisbury so the whole Plain was below me.




Overall, this experience really reminded me of the way I want to live my life – in a crazy, adventurous and unordinary way. And if I get to help people out (through charity fundraising or other means) then that's even better.



I can’t wait to see what adventures I come up with next.