Furnishing Your First Place

ou may be leaving a foster home, Roommates group home or other living situation. If you move into an unfurnished apartment You have enough money to rent an with friends, one of the first things you will Yapartment. It’s a great place, but comes have to decide together is who owns what. If unfurnished. How do you get enough you buy TVs, couches, or microwaves together, furnishings to make it comfortable, and for example, who will get those things when maybe a little cool? Here are some ideas to one of you moves out? You may want to help you do that. avoid discussing this, but it will be a lot easier now than when one of Some facts of life that you you moves on and nothing will have to make has been decided. decisions about include: You will also need to learn to Money share your space and Don’t rent an unfurnished belongings with your place if you can’t furnish it. roommates. You can be the Wait until you do. If you best of friends, but living know you don’t have good together as roommates often money management skills, creates a lot of conflict. you will have to learn Communication, flexibility, quickly or wait to get your and trust are all keys to first place on your own. getting along with your Stay where you are— group roommate. home, foster home, friend’s, or family’s place— if you How Are You Going to can while you learn to Move the Stuff You manage your money and Bought? save some bucks. Unless If you own a truck, and you you have lots of money, you are strong, and have strong will have to start out with buddies to help on the day just the basics. Then you you need them, you are all can fix it up as you go along. set. But that isn’t the case for most people. What are your options? Do you know How Unfurnished Is It? someone who owns a truck? What is the Some places are partially furnished. They charge to deliver items from Goodwill, will have the basics like a couch, table and Salvation Army, or the store where you chairs, a bed, dresser, lamps, and end tables. purchase them? Can you get off work to meet What do you need to purchase to live there? the truck or do you have someone Make a list of what is there and what you will trustworthy who can be there when the truck need. We will talk about how to make that comes? Do you want to clean the place before list later. you move your new stuff in?

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Furnishing Your First Place, continued Page 2

Start With a Check List Write it down. Make three columns for: What Ways Some Communities Support I Have, What I Need, and What I Would Like. Their Teens With Furnishings A plasma T.V. goes in the last column. A good place to sleep comes at the top of the first Fond du Lac County: Give teens a column. See the checklists on page four to get laundry basket filled with things they you started. need. They also have mattresses that were Other Things to Remember donated to them by the Ramada Inn. A sense of humor. It will help when you feel alone or you are trying to put and keep it all Shawano County: Vouchers are given together. Learn from your kitchen disasters to teens for a hope chest when they take and other mistakes. Mistakes aren’t failures, independent living classes. but if you don’t learn from them, then they might be. Brown County: Vouchers for donations center that the county collects and stores A sense of responsibility. You will need to at the Ruth Meier Center. care for yourself, your property and apartment. Set boundaries about unwanted Menominee County: Casino donates guests, visitors who want to move in, people used hotel furniture for teens and foster borrowing and lending your things and families. throwing parties. Big parties can make you popular for a night Outagamie County: An organization of but also might cause you to lose your place local churches has a furnishing shower and leave you with your stuff destroyed. and party for the teens moving to their own place. Beat the statistics. Statistics show that a lot of kids find it overwhelming when they go on Sheboygan County: An organization of their own. Many don’t know how to keep a churches has Laundry Love Day each place and end up losing their apartment and month where they supply tokens at even their stuff in it. Some lose their place because of job loss, lack of support from Laundromats for those in need. others or health issues. Beat the statistics. Winnebago County: Teens can But remember: those furnishings are volunteer at St. Vincent de Paul and trade yours. It might not be that leather their work for merchandize. couch you dream about or a 42” television, but you have possessions Dane County: Provides housing that belong to you. Most people who have vouchers when available. Teens often been in care do have places of their own receive a hand made quilt and other gifts someday, and if you want it badly enough, after completing a 6-week independent you will learn the skills it takes to keep and living class. furnish a place. Ask for help. Last, but one of the most important things to remember, is to get advice and support from anyone you can, including from social Continued on page 3

Furnishing Your First Place, continued Page 3 workers, an independent living coordinator, birth, and foster families. Find out about vouchers, which are like coupons that help you get free or reduced housing, food, and other necessities. Also find out about the programs in your community to help teens leaving care. On page two, there’s a list of the services various counties have—maybe your community has something similar. Take all the help and support you can get. We all get by with a little help from our friends. More Suggestions for Resources to Help You with Your First Place To find out how other teens who have been in care, read real stories written by kids who have been in care and how they handle living on their own from Represent Magazine. ToughNickel website. You will find some suggestions for furnishing your first apartment as well as a list of places to buy used furniture and household items. I Can Do It! A Micropedia of Living on Your Own, is an easy to use guide for older youth about living on their own, including budgeting, housing, daily living, and relationships. You can borrow from our library. Resources for Youth in Transition has several additional links and articles written for youth who are leaving care. Keys to Independence: Finding Your First Apartment, a FCARC tip sheet.

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Furnishing Your First Place, continued Page 4

Checklists

Bedroom  Hair dryer For Cooking General supplies  Mattress and  Coffee pot  Two quart  Bucket mattress pad  Iron casserole with lid  Mop protector  Ironing board  Loaf pan  Rags  Pillows  Big pot (preferably  Waste baskets  Dresser or chest Kitchen a six quart pot  Light bulbs  One or two sets of  Pot holders  Cookie sheet  Hangers sheets, with: pillow  Mixing spoon  Frying pan  Duct tape and cases, bottom and  Cutting board  Large and small other tape top sheet  Strainer/colander sauce pan with lids Storage  Comforter or  Dish cloths/  Cake pan blankets sponges  Big knife, serrated  Plastic wrap and  Alarm clock/radio  Dish towels knife, and paring plastic bags (save  At least one lamp  Rags/paper towels knife your store bags)  End table  Can opener  Sandwich bags For food preparation  Vegetable peeler  Storage containers Bathroom   Glass measuring  Pot holders Aluminum foil  Shower curtain if cup for liquids  Mixing spoon  Garbage bags there is no shower  Cutting board  Hammer and nails door  Plastic or metal measuring cups for  Strainer/colander  Pliers  Shower bar and solids  Dish cloths/  Screw drivers with shower rings to sponges Phillips and hang curtain  Measuring spoons  Dish towels straight edge  Towels (two large,  Mixing spoon and/ or electric mixer  Rags/paper towels  Measuring tape or two small, and wash yard stick cloths)  Metal and rubber Furniture and  Scissors  Wastebasket spatulas decorations  Basic sewing kit  Hamper or  Bottle opener  Table and/or desk  Basic cleaner laundry basket or  Mixing bowls—at  Kitchen chairs  Toilet brush bag least one big one and a smaller one  Couch  Drying rack  Tissues   Upholstered chair  Picture hanging kit  Toilet paper Salt and pepper shakers  Coffee table/  Soap and shampoo Electronic trunk/end tables  Toothpaste and equipment For eating  Stackable crates Toothbrush or shelves  Telephone or cell  Dinner plates phone  Large rug Appliances  Glasses  Television  Smaller rugs for  Refrigerator  Cups/mugs bath, kitchen,  Antenna  Toaster  Silverware entry  Radio  Microwave  Cereal/soup bowls  Drapes, curtains,  Computer  Serving dishes  Stove shades, or blinds  Window fan for windows  Extension cord