Thrilled to move out, need creative ideas (food, workouts)

wholenewme03

I am very excited to be finally moving out on my own! Right now, I am an avid workout-a-holic and healthy eater, but I won't be able to afford a gym membership or even moderately priced healthy foods. Does anyone have any personal experience tips for me and others in my situation as far as

1. cheap meals for two
2. cheap exercise ideas
3. fun ideas for storage space in a small apartment

Thanks in advance for all of your advice! Happy Holidays!

swingsintherain

Not really sure about meals, per se, but staples like beans, rice, oatmeal, etc are cheap, last forever, and moderately healthy. If you try to keep away from things that are heavily processed, it's not too bad to eat healthy on the cheap (I have no idea of your budget or food prices where you live, so can't really help more than that).

As far as cheap exercise, there's always just going outside and running/biking/walking/whatever. Also look up some bodyweight exercises (things like pushups, squats, etc that can be done with no equipment) for strength. I've also heard suggestions of jumping rope (cheap, and crazy workout). Things like an exercise ball or yoga mat can be fairly inexpensive one-time purchases, so long as you have a place to keep them when not in use.

Can't help with the storage space, as I'm still working on figuring that one out myself. Use the existing storage areas in the apartment to their full advantage?

MSam1205

Not good at 1 or 2, but I moved into a house that has very small rooms (kitchen, bath, laundry) and found that a lot of the shelving and stacking options you can find at walmart, kmart, and your local hardware are very helpful. I put a shelf over my door frame in the laundry room to hold the extra TP and paper towels

A wall wine rack can double as a towel holder in the bathroom if you roll them, I buy stackable "lock and Lock" type containers to keep my staples (flour, sugar, cereal etc) and just use a step ladder since they're in the cabinet over the sink. My cabinets are deep and high, so I use those rubbermade racks to store stuff in levels, and use small plastic trays to store and stack spices, and small items. Yes I have to pull it all out, but at least I can find whats in the back of the shelf! I have very small counter space so I hang my utensils on a rack over my stove (got it at ikea) it has a tray for common spices and hooks for spoons and spatulas

Furniture that doubles as storage is great too, a footstool / coffee table / blanket storage works in my living room. As does an old quilt rack I got at a thrift store. Under bed storage bags/boxes are good for the extra clothes or shoes that won't fit in the closet.

A lot of these tips I got from googling small spaces etc. Biggest tip is to look and store high! Above cabinets, closet shelves is often prime wasted space!

Good luck in yournew place:drinker: