Furnishing an apartment for the first time in 9 years
Last month I finally moved into my long term apartment. It was a huge step towards building the life I want for myself and an official start of my life in Tokyo. I still feel a little unsettled since almost everything in my daily life has changed and I have yet to find my rhythm in the new environment. I want to use this blog to document my current thoughts.
I’m still in the process of making my apartment feel like a “me” space, which has actually been quite a revealing process for me. I was reminded numerous times how indecisive a person I can be as I shopped for furniture, appliances and other goods. I get stuck in a bad cycle of doing too much research and not being able to make a choice despite all the research. Typical analysis paralysis lol. It helps to consult family and friends but at the end of the day I have to fight the indecisiveness and make the decisions.
Image by Samantha Gades via Unsplash
I have been filling my living space with items that feel like me. My favorite pieces right now are my standing desk and sofa bed. They are two key pieces in my living room and I feel satisfied with my choices (after way too much time spent researching and deciding…) I hope to continue finding pieces that give me a sense of calmness and belonging in the space.
Aside from having difficulty making purchase decisions, I also have been giving myself a hard time for not settling in faster. Recently, I realized this is my first time furnishing a place in almost a decade. I stayed in my previous apartment for so so long, and now everything I’ve been used to for almost a decade is gone. While I have some small items with me, there is a ton I have to rebuild in my surrounding and re-establish my sense of familiarity from. Once I realized this, I was able to make more sense out of how I’m feeling right now and become more relaxed about the current state.
Image by Minh Pham via Unsplash
Another big difference I’m adjusting to is the size of the apartment. Just by the nature of the cities I moved from and to, I knew I would be moving to a much smaller space. While I deliberately chose an apartment that’s on the spacious side for Tokyo, it’s still quite an adjustment from my LA place. Furnishing it has been a very different experience as I really have to think about how to optimize the use of space. It’s also making me rethink what’s important for me in a home.
The bright side of having a smaller space is it really prevents me from buying useless things lol. My preference for spaciousness further pushes me to not buy anything that would sacrifice the sense of space unless there’s an absolute need.
I still have many things to get for the apartment, but throughout the process so far I have learned to recognize how big a change I’m going through. Whenever I find myself feeling behind, I remind myself to take it one day at a time. My family and friends also remind me to be more patient (they are the best).
Because I have things visibly missing from my apartment still, it’s so easy to feel a sense of urgency to check things off my to-do list and overlook how many I may have already checked off. Whether it be wrapping up remaining affairs in LA, figuring out various admin tasks in a completely new language in Tokyo, or picking up responsibilities at my new job, I have been making consistent progress towards building my new life. I look forward to continue putting together my new place (and new life) and making it feel like mine. As I do that, I hope to enjoy the process, be kinder to myself, and take better care of myself.
