So you were born in the 1980s or the 1990s, and you are a homeowner? Congratulations, this is a dream of many that only few can fulfill. But while you might be receiving plenty of valuable pieces of advice from your family, there is one thing you need to keep in mind. You are from a generation born from digital technology, honest and direct communication, and desire of freedom. So, it is likely that your family might frown at some of your home arrangements, but this is part of the game. You are a Millennial and this is what your house alphabet looks like. 

A Is For Adaptable

It’s normal for new homeowners not to have all the setting and furniture that they need when they buy their first house. It is also common among new homeowners to have to make do until better furniture or tools can be purchased. After all, it is expensive to run a house, especially when you have never done it before. Consequently, you will have a tendency to be creative and imaginative: Your furniture and tools have more than one function. The shower gel does shampoo and washing up liquid too ; the sofa serves as dining table where you can balance your plates while watching tv ; the screwdriver is the perfect can opener. You see how things can be adapted to serve a new purpose until you can afford an upgrade. 

B Is for Bag

When a sofa is a too expensive investment in a new house, you know you can rely on cool alternatives to keep you comfy when you need it most. Whether you decide to arrange an inviting paradise of feather with cushions on the floor, or you choose a bean bag, you are careful about about choice. After all, even if this is a smaller investment than buying a complete sofa and set of chairs, this is an item that is designed to last. So you have researched your bean bag, or even your Fombag details thoroughly and you know exactly which one will take the best care of your backside after a long day at work. 

C Is For Cleaning (Or Lack Of)

The first mistake of all new homeowners lies in a sudden attack of laziness that lets you ignore the mess in the house. This could last for a few weeks to a few months, and it’s the result of not having any parent to tell you to clean your room. After all, you’re an adult now. It’s your house and you do as you please, or so you think until you finally start looking around you. Then you may be hit by a wave of despair. Can you really bring your home back to life? Yes, you can. Just grab a broom and a sponge. This is unfortunately a common mistake, but that needs to be made just so that you can learn never to give in to laziness again! 

D Is For DIY

Your first time decorating an entire house will be a life-changing experience, especially if you have never bothered much with your bedroom as a child. Things like painting walls might sound easy in theory, but in practice, you will soon find out that the human body has a talent for attracting any drop of paint. Or maybe you are not into paint but prefer wallpaper? Your first time will be equally fun. But don’t worry, practice will make it perfect, and between you and me, nobody will ever notice that it isn’t completely right… hopefully! You might enroll a few friends or relatives to help, and if you do, it’s good to get someone who knows what they are doing, so that they can teach you. But that’s not all. You will also need to get a grasp of plumbing and electrical system to be able to fix it when things go wrong or to know when to call an expert. Emergency plastering is also on the to do list for new homeowners, as a little hole in the wall can cause much trouble if it isn’t repaired. So, make sure to watch a few DIY videos before you start. 

E is For Eating

This may sound funny as eating is not entirely related to owning a house. But, in fact, most Millennials have a tendency to buy pre-made food and rarely bother with cooking. Yet, after a few weeks of living the life of a busy homeowner, you’ll soon discover that your body is craving for energy that it can’t find in packed meals. This means that you will need to invest in a decent kitchen and in proper cooking supplies to get back to the healthy side of life. This is not as easily done as it sounds, as work and social lifestyles often push people to choose the fastest option above the most sensible choice. As a new homeowner, your life will be stressful as you need to take care of your property, make repairs and renovation in it, and prepare your investment, mortgage and insurance plans for the house. There is a lot to think of! So, taking care of yourself with healthy eating is key for a positive start in your new home. 

F is For Friends

New home, new life, same friends. It’s all part of the excitement when you buy a house to be able to show it to your friends and invite them over. To keep your house a friendly place, it’s important that you make sure that it is a welcoming place, with a complete guest room for the friend who wants to stay overnight. 

G Is For Gadgets

Millennials know it better than anyone else: Tech gadgets are indispensable to your everyday life. As you move into your new house, you will soon realize that you will need to make a list of purchase priority for all the devices that you want to have around. Surprisingly, you will also discover that what would normally make it on top of the list may not be as essential as you think it is. For example, modern houses now can use temperature sensors to control the heating system directly via your smartphone. This is naturally a great technology support if you are often away or going back late from work. But this is a costly installation as it is a once in a lifetime investment. In comparison, a TV or a tablet are much more affordable gadgets. But do they fulfill an essential need, such as keeping warm, or is it just entertainment? Defining which technology you need to introduce into your house first is a difficult task, especially for Millennials who have grown up surrounded by high tech devices. But it’s an essential step of the adult life: Choosing what matters over what is just cool. 

H is For Hoover 

There are very little things that you absolutely need to buy from Day 1 in your new house. But a good hoover is definitely one of them. Remember the great laziness attack mentioned a little earlier? A vacuum cleaner will not prevent it, but it will be a key element when you snap out of it. A house is a lot messier than you think it is: Firstly, moving in will drag a lot of dust from outside into the house, then human beings do lose dead skin cells and hair every day. In case you didn’t know, most of your house dust is composed of dead human parts. Technically, one could even say that you are the one making the house dirty. While this is a little exaggerated, this isn’t less true. So, make sure that Mr Hoover becomes your best friend from the first day onward. 

I is For Inspiration

After a while, once all the boxes are empty and stored away in the garage, you will start to think about proper decoration. The house is not just a roof with your bed in it; it becomes a playground for your inner style. Finding inspiration for home décor is one of the easiest things on earth: Just pay a visit to a friend and see how they’ve arranged their interior, for example. But the difficult part in finding inspiration is how to analyze it and reproduce it, especially if it is the first time that you decorate a house. Just like the first was when you decided to get dressed by yourself as a young child, building an ambiance in your home requires a little of styling practice. For a start, don’t follow home décor magazine at the letter. What makes your house a home is the fact that it is completely individualized to your personal taste. It is unlikely that professional interior stylists know your tastes and interests better than yourself. So, while you can look at pictures to find creative solutions for your interior décor, it is really important that you put your own ideas first. However magnificent it might look like in a magazine, you will not enjoy living in a house that doesn’t feel like your home.