I just looked up and realized it’s 1am.
The baker’s rack I ordered for my “kitchen” arrived today, so following an afternoon of exploring a bit of the West Village (cute new earrings! cute little cafe!) I spent tonight doing more unpacking. I live in 200 square feet and I have more boxes than seems physically possible for the space.
The exciting part is that with each box that’s unpacked (or repacked into a smaller one that fits under the bed), I’m feeling more and more like I’m at home. I’m trying not to think about the possibility of having to pack it all up again in a year’s time to move to a different apartment…instead, I’m deciding what art to put on which walls. I’m placing my grandparent’s wedding tea set, stacking the collection of records I grew up with (what’s up, NKOTB on vinyl), the coffee maker I’m dying to put back into operation.
Still to come are a dresser slash entertainment stand, Ikea shelves to serve as a bit of catch-all space slash footboard to my bed slash couch (everything is multi-functional when you live in a single room), and a small table that’ll serve as both eating and work space. Thinking of hitting up the Brooklyn flea market to see about getting some fun, funky chairs to go with it.
Though it’s been exhausting and interesting at times (today I had to take a cab to Salvation Army to drop off four boxes of donations. A cab. Loading and unloading boxes. In traffic. Not awkward at all.), I’m so grateful for this time, these couple weeks before I start the new job to settle in, to nest in my new surroundings. While the whirlwind that started last October was a blast, I’ve come to realize that I am a homebody after all. I thrive surrounded by my things – the knick-knacks, the photos, the memories I’ve accumulated over the years. They ground me, they give me context.
When all the furniture’s arrived, when all the boxes are unpacked, when in a few months I look at this space with just a passing glance as if it’s all always been where it is, I hope I remember these first weeks as fondly as I am experiencing them now.
