Introduction
It can be daunting to make an apartment, or any home your own when you do not own it.
While renting, you do not own the property, so even if you love the place, the owners could decide to move in, sell the place, or increase the rent to an amount that is no longer worth paying.
You don’t want to make permanent changes to a place you do not own, or semi-permanent changes that cause damage you’ll later have to repair or pay for.
Making significant modifications to an unowned home can set up future trouble. You should avoid making trouble for yourself.
For example, even though it might be nice to have a gun safe in a rented home, it’s so large and heavy it’s going to be difficult to move. You may damage walls bringing it in or out, or damage the floor underneath. A gun safe is not a home modification, but it’s so large and so heavy you could almost call it one for its gravity.
Below are modifications to the home that cause zero damage while enhancing your space. These will work for someone who is getting their first place, or someone who refuses to put holes in walls.
If you’re a college student leaving home for the first time, you will love these.
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Bidet
A bidet is the first thing you should install in your home. This is the civilized way to go to the bathroom, and anything less is uncivilized in the modern age.
Most public bathrooms are uncivilized, which shows the sickness of some societies. A high-trust society is a strong society.
You must civilize your home to its maximum potential.
Bidets cost around $20 – $100 with most being in the middle range. A custom toilet, or toilet seat is more expensive. If you’ve never used a bidet before, get one. You will never feel cleaner, except for taking a shower.
Bidets ensure you do not smell, you do not have any “debris” left over after your work on the throne is done, which ensures maximal comfort, and allows you to focus on the path instead of a distraction borne from inadequate or outdated hygiene practices, like just using toilet paper.
Wet wipes can be okay, but even if they say flushable, they often aren’t compatible with older pipes. Wet wipes are better for travel than they are for the home. You don’t want to take a chance of having plumbing issues at your home, especially when they can blame the plumbing issue on you if you are using wipes, and potentially charge you thousands.
It takes 5 minutes to install a bidet and anyone can do it even if they have no plumbing experience.
Not only does the bidet make you cleaner, you also save hundreds of dollars on toilet paper because you need less of it. You will also avoid plumbing issues like clogs you need to solve with a plunger or worse, as you’re flushing less paper down the drain.
If you own a home, you can still install one of these bidets. But you may want to go farther with your permanent home with a fancy toilet unit, or upgraded toilet seat.
Bidet Recommendations:
- S Tier: Bio Bidet BB2000 Bliss Electric Bidet Toilet Seat, Warm Water with Air Dryer
- A Tier: LUXE Bidet NEO 185 Plus($45)
- B Tier: Shineforu Ultra-Slim Bidet Dual Mode Bidet Attachment for Toilet
Showerhead
This is one of the easiest, most impactful upgrades you can make to your new home, and could arguably be done before the bidet; both of these are day-one home enhancements.
Most corporate apartments put the minimum amount of effort into making the home comfortable so they can receive bulk discounts while keeping costs low. This includes universities which act more like for-profit corporations today than knowledge guilds.
A corporate buyer is not buying a premium showerhead for all of their units. They’re buying the $2 bulk showerhead for dozens of units, if not more.
Showerhead upgrades, even for the fanciest, tend to not cost more than $50.
Unscrew the default shower head, put it in a plastic bag and label it, then screw yours on. When you move, put the old one back on, and take your new, fancy shower head with you.
You are showering every day. This is an upgrade that you will use multiple times a day, every day.
Shower head Recommendations:
- S Tier: gotonovo Rainfall Bathroom Shower System Rain Shower Head
- A Tier: HammerHead Showers® ALL METAL Handheld Shower Head with Hose and Brass Holder
- B Tier: Veken Wide Rain Shower Head with 6 Modes Handheld Water Spray
- C Tier: SR SUN RISE Filtered Shower Head with Handheld, High Pressure 9 Spray Mode Matte Black Showerhead with Filters
Portable Air Conditioner(Portable AC)
A portable air conditioner is the most expensive entry in this list and arguably the most important depending on where you live and whether or not you have central air conditioning.
Even if you do have central air conditioning, it can be expensive, which may be too much for a college student. A portable AC can be used in the bedroom, so during hot nights you can sleep peacefully. You may not need your entire home cooled; it’s a waste to cool rooms you aren’t using, especially at night.
Keep in mind, you may be responsible with the thermostat, but roommates may not. If you have an AC in your room, it’s under your control.
Optimizing your sleep during high temperatures is crucial to your performance in all things. You must defend your sleep like it is your child. Sleep is precious.
You should get a portable AC before you need it. You can buy them in the winter when they are cheaper.
Recommended Portable Air Conditioners:
- S Tier:BLACK+DECKER Smart Portable Air Conditioner, 14,000 BTU
- A Tier: humhold 14000 BTU Portable Air Conditioners with Remote Control
- B Tier: Air Choice Portable Air Conditioner, 10000 BTU Air Conditioner Portable for Room Up to 450 Sq.Ft
- C Tier: Windowless Portable Air Conditioners, Evaporative Air Cooler w/3 Modes & 3 Speeds
LED Lights
LED Lights are inexpensive, and have the ability to change the vibe of a setting with a near-infinite variety of colors. A 4 pack of LED Lightbulbs are $10 each. LED lights also have health and performance benefits, like if you change the lighting color to red.
Red light has the lowest impact on melatonin production. This is in contrast to the blue light emitted from devices like cell phones or computers, or the harsh white light of fluorescence and other bulbs that are fine during the daytime, but disruptive at night. You don’t want to be under bright lights at night; you want to be under warm light, or ideally red light.
Red light is also relaxing and romantic.
What LED lights you get depends on circumstances like if you own your home or not. Since this is for apartment upgrades, switching out lightbulbs is easy; keep the original ones in a plastic bag and put them in an inconvenient cabinet like above the fridge, that you won’t use often; put the old showerhead there too.
You can also get freestanding LED lights.
LED Light Recommendations:
- Govee Smart Light Bulbs, Color Changing Light Bulb, Work with Alexa and Google Assistant, 16 Million Colors RGBWW, WiFi & Bluetooth LED Light Bulbs, Music Sync, A19, 800 Lumens, 4 Pack
- RIYO Corner Floor Lamp with APP and Remote Control
- Astronaut Galaxy Projector, Star Projector with Timer and Remote
- This little guy emits a galaxy nebula on the ceiling that can be changed into multiple colors.
Hummingbird Feeder
Having a hummingbird feeder has several benefits for the people as well as for the beautiful hummingbird.
The hummingbird is a pollinator, which needs to be protected and supported, just like the bumble bees. Having a hummingbird feeder–especially in urban areas and regions without nectar–helps the hummingbirds during migration, and during winter months, where food may be scarce.
Feeding hummingbirds is good for the mind and the spirit of the individual who provides for them.
The aesthetic of having beautiful, visiting birds is inspiring at any age, and knowing that you are providing for another life is deeply rewarding. This is why having plants, or pets, reduces depression and anxiety. Bird watching has been shown in studies to lower stress and anxiety.
RELATED: 11 air cleaning plants NASA tested for use in space stations
Hummingbird feeders do not damage your apartment; If you have a small balcony or window, you can hang a hummingbird feeder with a hook, or stick one to your window.
Recommended hummingbird feeders:
- Fchsater humming bird feeder
- Auslar 26 Ounces Glass Hummingbird Feeders for Outdoors Hanging Ant and Bee Proof
Privacy Window Cling
Window cling is used for privacy and aesthetics. Sunlight reflects onto the cling, making an appearance like that of light shining through a stained-glass window. If you’re introverted, having the cling may allow you to focus better by taking thoughts about being watched out of your mind.
There are some tangible potential benefits of window privacy cling like keeping heat out during the summer. Cling can help birds see your windows, so they may not fly into the glass.
Cling shouldn’t damage your windows, but do your research.
Recommended window cling:
Over the Door storage (pantry, shoes, towels,)
If you’re renting your first place, chances are it won’t be very large. You may have to be creative with storage to maintain organization–you want to be organized at all times.
There are storage options that hang over the door which can be useful for the bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen.
For your bedroom, a storage rack that hangs on a closet door, or your bedroom door can add space for shoes or other apparel; but you may want to leave your bedroom door free for workout equipment like pull-up bars, TRX bands, etc. A hanging storage option may work with doorway workout equipment, too.
A storage rack can go on any door so if you have a closet door near your entryway you could hang a rack on that door for shoe storage.
If you have a pantry, you can hang a spice rack. You can hang an organizer on a bathroom door which can be useful if you have many roommates, like a dorm-style situation.
Over the door storage Recommendations:
- Heavy Duty Over The Door Organizer 5 Tiers, Extra Large Behind Door Storage
- Eastherry over the door pantry organizer
- LUCYCAZ Over The Door Hooks Organizer, Door Hanger Towel Rack with 10 Coat Hooks & 2 Mesh Basket
Wedge alarm
When you get a new place to live, you must secure it as soon as possible. This should be the first thing you do at a new home.
Know how to lock the windows. If you have roommates, ensure that everyone agrees to lock the door when they leave. Make sure the door actually locks in case you may have to pull on it. Lock the deadbolt every time.
You may not need a security system at your first apartment, but you can do some inexpensive basics to improve your security, like sticking a fitted piece of wood in each window which forces a potential intruder to be forced to break the glass to enter.
One inexpensive security improvement is an alarm wedge. You can stick these under each entry door in your house which acts as a security system, just be sure if you have roommates to make sure everyone understands how the wedges work to prevent misfires.
These are also useful for travel.
In addition to the wedge, you can get a fairly inexpensive security camera, like a blink camera for just $50 for two. With blink, you can use a standard USB for storage so you don’t have to pay a monthly fee. You ideally should have a camera inside the home, and one facing the front door so you can see who’s coming. This is often accomplished with a doorbell camera, but that usually requires permanent installation. You can avoid that by placing a camera in a window near the front door.
Recommended alarm wedges:
Toilet motion lights
In the same vein as having LED lights to encourage natural melatonin production, toilet LED lights help maintain melatonin production.
If you have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, or anytime once you’ve laid in bed, turning on a bright white light can be piercing to your eyes and your mind.
Instead, if you can walk into the loo and have an LED light, you won’t be pierced with bright white light when it is unnatural to receive bright white light.
Toilet motion lights will light up the bathroom with LED lights when you walk in so you can see where you’re going without flashbanging yourself by turning on the lights in the middle of the night.
Recommended toilet motion lights:
Magnetic fridge calendar for planning and scheduling
The fridge is a good place for a “community board” whether you have a community (roommates, family) or not.
Instead of buying a premade schedule board with date boxes and maybe a box or two for notes, you should make your own bulletin board for the fridge so you can customize it for your needs.
If you aren’t artistic or have bad handwriting, GOOD. Make your own bulletin board to express your identity further while personalizing your living space to your expression.
Buy a plain whiteboard roll; it’s a rollable whiteboard with a magnet on the back.
Use a sharpie to draw out the permanent lines, and use a ruler, masking tape, or some kind of straight edge to get your lines as clean as they can be; we aren’t looking for perfection, we want a useful bulletin board that is clearly homemade. Home should feel homey.
Consider making lines for the days of the week, with the days written in Sharpie and the numerical date written with an expo pen and reset during each setup day[LINK-related callout below]. Boxes for plain notes are useful too. But you decide what goes on your board.
RELATED: A Treatise on Weekly Setup Routines(The Setup Sunday Protocol)
Final Thoughts
Even though this isn’t no-damage, you should hang some art on the walls.
Bare walls are uninspiring; sometimes blank walls can be useful to help think, but there’s no reason to have zero art on the wall.
If you have an image that inspires you, you can turn it into a canvas that can be easily hung up on the wall with a basic picture hanging kit with little damage other than a small nail hole.
When you move out, all you have to do is put a little bit of spackle over the tiny hole–you can use a cue tip or your finger.
If you’re able to get a paint chip from you’re wall that’s about the size of a quarter, a paint store or home improvement store can color match it for you. Alternatively, you may be able to ask the landlord for some extra paint, or at least the color code so you can buy a small amount. This is good to do when you move in to a place. A small container of paint won’t cost more than $10. Buy insurance before you need it.
BONUS: A towel warmer is an affordable luxury for around $100 that feels amazing after a warm or cold shower, no matter the temperature outside.
Cater your spaces to serve you.
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