Tuesday, March 4, 2008

My new home!

I have so far neglected to mention that I'm moving! Just a few weeks ago, my friend Jess and I signed papers for an apartment.. We are so excited!!!

This is not the first time I've moved.. it's not even the first time I've moved out of my parents house. However, it IS my first APARTMENT! We, being 20-something hip and fun-loving chicks, have yearned, for quite a while, to live closer to Georgia's big cit-tay - the ATL!

I'd like to share some resourceful sites and pages I've been using for random things.

These may be helpful to you, as well, whether you are moving or not!

Craigslist.org - This is a great FREE website for buying, selling, renting, meeting, borrowing, trading, discussing, hiring, being hired, and more!! There is an extensive list of CITIES alone to search through.. So wherever you are, you're pretty much set - Including Internationally. Everyone is looking for some kind of deal here.. You are very likely to get a good one.

I am currently negotiating prices for some bookcases. The one I have now is OVERFLOWING and I have an unhealthy habit of buying books just to see them on my bookcase. (What a thrill!)


Promove.com - We used Promove to find our apartment after a friend suggested it to us. I signed up online and was promptly contacted, by phone, by a nice gentleman. The day we went in, he noted our requirements, gave us probably 100 complexes (each on their own sheet of paper, with all the details, amenities, prices, etc), and helped us narrow them down... "That one's kind of ghetto.. This one's really nice.. This is a great area.."

We went home with about 18 "maybe's" to shuffle through and were instructed to narrow them further. We ended up with 7 that we wanted visit and see with our own eyes.

The best day for Jess and I to start checking out apartments was a Sunday - NOTE: Half of the world's apartment complexes are NOT open on Sundays.. so we settled for the 4 that were advertised to be open on Sundays.

The first complex was okay.. The second one was a little better.. the third one was actually NOT open on Sundays.. and the 4th and last one of the day we just fell in love with. Everything just felt right about this place. We decided to not bother with the last 3 complexes. Overall it was a pretty easy process because of Promove.. OH I forgot to mention that PROMOVE IS FREE! So you really have nothing to lose.

DIY: Painted Doormat - I have NOT done this yet, so I can't give you much info about it.. but you KNOW I will do this.. What is better than a Welcome mat for your new home? Nothing except maybe a HOMEMADE doormat!!! This looks super easy as well.

Return Address Labels - I'm not changing my address officially since my I'm close with my family and can always grab my junk mail when I pass by the house. However, I am thinking about getting some new return address labels!! Much easier than hand-writing your addy for each bill, letter and postcard. Plus you can add your own personality since there's so many designs to choose from. Fun!!
Til next time.. Live Swell!

6 comments:

LauraM said...

That doormat project looks fun and simple--something that I could do on the weekend. I think that I'll make one for my parents' back patio.

For a while, I was really into customizing tote bags. That's another easy project. And now that so many people are "going green" and using totes instead of plastic bags at the grocery store, I have a reason to start up again and give them to friends and family.

Heidi said...

Oh tote bags are great! What do you do to make them?

Unknown said...

I am currently negotiating prices for some bookcases. The one I have now is OVERFLOWING and I have an unhealthy habit of buying books just to see them on my bookcase. (What a thrill!)

Hee! I have the same habit (when I have money). I love books and having my own!

Congrats on your new apartment! That sounds like fun!

Meredith said...

I absolutely love Craigslist.com! I was so happy to see that other people use that site! I actually used Craigslist to post about my room last semester that I was trying to sublease. I had a lot of hits on the post but they were mostly from international people traveling abroad.

I've never checked out Promove.com but I think my boyfriend and I are about to start looking for an apartment/townhome closer to the Alpharetta/Atlanta area (we're in Statesboro right now at college, but graduating in a couple weeks!), so aside from Craigslist, I will definitely check this site out!

I love the idea of a handmade welcome rug. I always find myself looking at them when I am in Wal-Mart or K-mart, but I never buy them because I really don't need them. However, if I end up getting a new place to live, I will definitely have to check out that site as well as the return address labels! I really love the way return address labels look on envelopes (for whatever strange reason, I just think they give the envelope a professional "look," even though I really like my own handwriting LoL). This is such a great post with so many useful things!!! :)

asteph26 said...

I bought a four thousand dollar flute for a little under 700 dollars on craigs list. This website is fantastic for finding good deals. i also bought my bedroom suite on it and saved a ton of money.

LauraM said...

Sorry! I just now noticed that you asked me about the totes. They are super easy to sew--almost like little pillowcases with handles. But for book or map bags (which need to be sturdy enough to support weight), I just buy the premade canvas versions and decorate them with ribbon and buttons.