Creating your third life

When most people go to college, they often leave behind one life, to create a new life at college. A new life usually involves new things. So here you are, graduating from college, with two lives, ready to begin a third. What can you do to combine your two pasts to create your third life? The picture here is a photo of all my clothes and shoes I threw out when I began my third life. 

• Furniture: What furniture you have is the most important, because by reusing furniture you can save money. You will most likely look at your pre-college life for this. Some things that may be helpful include a desk, dresser and bed. Even if these items were originally bought during a flower and pink phase when you were 13, things can be done to them. You can paint such items, or hide them. But just think about the money you would be saving by reusing them. If you really don't like your furniture, think hard about how much a new piece would cost. Go ahead and use your old furniture and save up for a replacement item. 
• Clothes: Any clothes you purposefully left at home (not based on season) should probably go. You will be beginning a new life, and this means new clothes. Keep anything that you wear often, such as jeans, sweaters and jackets. Throw out those jeans that don't quite fit you, but you say you will grow into. Throw out those t-shirts from summer camp every summer (except one for memories). Keep your nice pants and blouses that you only wear to church, they will be great for interviews and jobs. Throw out your flip flops with the rhinestones, and the ones with flowers... and keep one conservative pair. You get the point. Keep your clothes that you wear often, and your nice clothes, but throw out most of you clothes that you keep for sentimental value. I would suggest first taking your clothes to Plato's Closet, where you can get money for clothes you don't want. But, as I have said before, they don't take all of your clothes. Take the rest to Goodwill where you can fill out a form and get a tax ride off. 
• Nik naks: This is the majority of what will be thrown out. Some of the things you should keep are pictures (but take them out of the frames), heirlooms, and other sentimental things. But throw out the majority of your stuffed animal collection. As you go through you items, think about what you would be proud to show off in your new apartment. Of the other things you want to keep, think about what you have thought about in the last year. If you haven't thought about it in the last year, chances are you won't again. Buy one or two crates (however many you can store) and only put enough childhood nik naks you can store in here. Hopefully our new apartment will have space for storage, but not all do, and think about what your roommate may bring as well.

Overall, it's very important to begin your new life with a fresh start, but by using your old items you can save a lot of money. Keep what you will be useful, but don't keep all of your coloring books from kindergarten. 

• Items to keep: Furniture, clothes that you wear daily, nice clothes that you wear on special occasions, family heirlooms, very sentimental items, photos, items you have used over the last year...
• Items to toss: Clothes that don't fit, clothes you don't wear, items you haven't thought about or used in the last year...
• Remember to try to sell anything you don't want anymore, or give it to Goodwill for a tax ride off.