PREVIOUS ARTICLE
What would you add? :) We feature an original illustration by Mari Andrew every Friday morning.
P.S. What it’s really like to live alone, and a friend’s solo vacation.
On Living Alone
Subscribe
149 Comments
putting a loud music on and imagining myself in situations that can never exist
Cleaning when you want and designing your place as you wish!!!
I enjoy sleeping with the light on. It would be tough to live with someone who needed it to be pitch dark in order to go to bed.
You made me realised what I’m missing on :D
Reading this was nice, but also after reading through the comments, I am sad for those who feel they can’t be themselves at home! I live with my husband and I feel free to spend time with him or not, to wear pants or not, to eat what I want for dinner (usually we eat together but it’s not a rule), I sing out loud whenever I feel like it, I have dance parties in the kitchen, I talk to the dog and cat, I watch shows that I want to, etc, all while he is around. I guess I have the best of both worlds?
Finding creative ways to reach up to the fire alarm that you’ve accidentally set off by creating too much smoke when cooking should be one of them !!
My mom and I were just talking about this. I was flying solo last week after my wife’s father unexpectedly passed. I was with her and her family for 24 hours, but I had to come home for some unmissable medical appointments.
Anyway, I struggled with a bottle of juice that I couldn’t for the life of me get open. (She usually handles that kinda thing.) Eventually, I carved a hole in the side of it with a kitchen knife and poured it out sideways. Ha!
Love this post! Reading all these comments made me feel really good and laugh a lot!! I tend to forget about the advantages of being single…
xx
https://www.instagram.com/pret_a_teacher/
When you clean something, it stays the fuck clean.
not wearing a bra
not always closing the bathroom door
being as messy as you want
solo dancing parties
LEFTOVERS
always having enough hot water
wishing and hoping one day you’ll have a worthy +1
I don’t live alone right now, but this is so true!
I’d add “Karaoke Party 24/7” and “Eating all the snacks around midnight” ;)
SILENCE! No TV on when I want to sleep, no snoring partner, no doors closing loudly late at night,…
I love living alone :) It’s liberating especially for an introvert. I do have my darling dog to keep me company though.
Shruthi
http://nyambura.co
No waiting for bathroom. Conversely, never rushing in the bathroom because someone really needs to go!
Stretching out across the whole queen-sized bed…ahhh…
I live with 3 people, but I have no qualms about doing any of these things!! LOL! I guess my family is pretty comfortable with each other and I love that! I think we just all give each other a lot of leeway and some space to be ourselves. :)
leaving the bathroom door open
I just moved out on my own and painted my room pink; like a very sophisticated blush, but definitely still pink. My favourite colour. All my married girlfriends are ridiculously jealous.
also NOT HAVING TO WEAR A BRA!!!!!!!!!!! :)
YESSSS!
These comments are the reason why I love cup of jo. Cheers to wine and cheerio dinners, pots in the fridge, and double-duty dance party/outfit try-on sessions!
* Can be pants-less whenever I want.
I’ve lived by myself for 4 years and I LOVE IT. My house is always clean, I never have to wait for a shower, and I can take my pants off as soon as I get home and not worry about it.
Walking around naked whenever you want (sorry, had to say it. I live on my own and it’s quite a treat when you get out of the shower)
Also, taking a long bath, while reading a book, surrounded by candles…and knowing you don’t have to plan ahead or tell anybody that you’ll take over the bathroom
hmmm… can’t open that jar. What do I have to help grip the lid better? Sticky yoga mat!
GOLD!!
This is more applicable to roommates vs significant others but.. walking naked from the shower to my bedroom! (I should note that involves walking through the living room.)
I loved living alone! Would add: narrating my actions while putting on makeup like i was in a beauty tutorial (“first, you’re going to warm the product in your hands…”) and being able fart wherever you want.
Oh! and having baths/showers. I’m a night owl and I love showering at like 3AM when I can’t sleep.
OMG I want to narrate my morning make-up routine now.
I love “watching only the shows you love” and “taking up two closets”… other highlights I’d add would be:
* playing cheesy music really loudly and dancing around like no one’s watching (because no one is!)
* eating delivery pizza / Chinese / Indian out of containers on the sofa in your PJs (because no one is judging!)
* sleeping in on the weekends until you naturally wake up… HEAVEN
Oh starfishing in bed! That’s what I miss most! My husband has a tendency to fall asleep on the couch at night and I used to wake him up but now I just chuck a blanket over him and have the whole bed to myself haha!
Starfishing , love it!
I love this Ali! My fiancé was sick for a week and I’m pregnant so he slept on the couch. After a few days he thought he was better and I’d say, eh better safe than sorry, let’s give it another few days. Ahh the gloriousness of the full bed (especially when I am approximately the size of a whale)!
I might be the only one here, but I actually don’t enjoy living alone. I get enough time alone. Living together doesn’t mean you have to sit in the same room together all the time.
I enjoy spending time at home alone, when I sing my heart out, even if I can’t sing very well :D, I also can only clean house when no one else is at home.
But never liked to live alone. It’s nice to have someone to talk with when you come home.
Leaving dirty dishes in the sink until you’re ready to wash them. I love doing that! If someone else does it I’m ready to kill them. Crazy, I know.
Can I just say all the advice from the comment section are brilliant!!! Love the sunscreen on spatula, ribbon through zipper ….oh my gosh, it’s funny but also very practical!
Putting the lights on or off–whatever you want!
Putting together weird outfits from all the clothes you never wear and trying out make up looks that you would never go out of the house wearing.
LOVE THIS!
How do I not do this?!?!
In college this was totally a roommate activity. We would try on crazy outfits and do each other’s hair and make up almost every weekend. We had a bubble gum pink living room and a pulley system to hoist our (wicker) couch up to the ceiling so we could have dance parties and photoshoots (with elaborately staged sets) in the living room.
After this crazy fun living situation, it was hard to find roommates who measured up! I live alone now and I absolutely adore my sunny little apartment that I get to decorate however I want…. but my college roommates and I still get together every couple of months to pretend like we’re 18 and give each other make overs.
My fiance and I have lived together for three years(dating for 8!) but I have to say that it feels like we might live by the “alone” rules. No pants are necessary. Bathroom door is as open as you feel like. Dancing, silliness, and singing loud is encouraged. We have separate TV’s and separate beds. It’s kind of like living with a roommate but we each get a best friend (and awesome sex!). I HATE meal planning but I mostly do that to myself. He’d probably be game to eat a block of cheese and wine from the bottle!
Multitasking! I’m peeing, but I’m also clipping my toe nails and singing a song, all with the bathroom door open :)
Well, I’m not single, but I’m often alone (introvert here) and I love it when….doing what I want to do…when I want to do it…the way I want to do it… for how long I want to do it.
Me too! It’s the best part of adulting.
When I was a kid all I wanted was to do whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, and not answering to anyone. So, that’s what I do.
I love coming home and not having to talk to anyone unless they’ve been invited over to do so! Totally getting to be myself. Having things cleaned the way I like them to be. It’s mostly just doing whatever I want without being judged or bothered, and not having someone else’s energy, smells, or physical presence invading my space. Can you tell I relish it? haha
Eating random foods that should not make up a complete meal but do because you are alone.
Hearing a strange noise and automatically thinking you are going to be murdered. Especially in the shower.
Yes, absolutely yes to both of these, but especially the shower murder bit!!!!
Trying to find the good in living alone after separating from my husband of 8 years – this one’s come up a lot – choosing a quite night reading instead of watching TV.
You forgot the most important one: no pants required!! I almost left my house several times without pants…
dancing whenever however. reading intriguing book passages aloud. playing an erratic playlist at full volume. not having to explain any of these choices. even feeling alone, and having the space to think about that feeling, and who you are, and what you want – often ends up being space to be grateful, for me.
Yes!! Reading aloud, absolutely! And dance parties. I have life-or-death action-packed sprinting experiences in my corridor when I go get something in the kitchen, too.
THIS! My boyfriend and I are nearing the “moving in together” time and I am just savoring my nights at home – showering right when I get home, wearing my robe around the house, watching Friends on netflix despite having seen it several times through.
Oh my gosh, I LOVED living alone when I did, back in my early twenties.
I remember keeping my pants on most of the time though, but see now that I was perhaps unknowingly depriving myself of a bit of joy : )
Speaking of joy, I recall how much joy I would feel when I’d come in and see the answering machine light blinking. What a great feeling that was. I loved living alone, but of course that light meant that fun plans with friends were in store.
Another thing I distinctly remember is that if I was feeling ever feeling lonely (maybe when that answering machine light was not all lit up), that listening to music on the radio was preferable to putting on a CD. The idea that other people were listening to what I could hear was oddly comforting.
It’s been so long since I’ve lived alone, but I can attest to “watching only the shows you love”! Whenever my husband has to travel for work, you BET I take advantage of the alone time watching whatever my heart so desires. :D
http://www.wonderlandsam.com
Peeing with the door open!
Yes!
BEING SO DAMN HAPPY ALONE!!! I love my boyfriend and my friends and my family, but there is nothing like doing whatever you want. People too often mistaken boredom for loneliness
Star fishing the bed, eating whatever I want for dinner (popcorn, cereal, etc…),
Um, you guys…I’m married with two kids and a huge pregnant belly and I never wear pants! It’s my house and I’ll go pants-less if I want to!!!
….sleeping like a starfish in a king sized bed : )
Binge-watching Netflix and eating popcorn for dinner. Mainly, not having to cook every night!
Lazing about in bed reading blogs on Sunday morning (possibly with toast, the horror!) for as long as I want.
No. Pants.
Farting
Sleeping in the middle of the bed OR on the couch
Not needing answers when I talk to myself
Too funny! My biggest fear of ever living with someone is the farting. So glad I’m not alone.
I absolutely adore living alone, and I really think it’s such a luxury (esp. being a resident of Los Angeles). I would add:
– never having to shut the bathroom door
– talking to my cat aloud without anyone to judge me
– knowing that my groceries won’t mysteriously disappear
I’ve never lived alone so whenever my husband has to works nights I feel (sorry, not sorry) kind of giddy all day in anticipation of being alone!! I’m a dispatcher so I talk ALL DAY- I love not having to talk when I’m alone. My dog and I get into bed around 7-8pm, turn on Friends and eat snacks all night. Oooh heaven is a place on earth!
Sleeping in the middle of the king bed!
-Kirsten // http://www.porkandcookies.com
Never, ever, ever closing the bathroom door or any other door. One place lived I could turn the tv and watch it while in the bathroom. It was great.
Scapegoating the cat, because it can’t be me who put that empty carton back in the fridge/left the lights on/kicked shoes off in the middle of the floor so I’d trip over them in the middle of the night.
32% trying all the things with (really bad) hair & make-up
Dear Cup of Jo Team,
I just wanted to give a big applause to you for having duch smart, sensitive and supporting readers. Reading your posts is one thing, but reading the comments is mostly just as much fun and inspiration!
Bis applause from Germany!!
I live with my boyfriend who I love dearly but he thinks it’s hilarious to scare the crap out of me all of the time. That, coupled with the fact that I always leave the door to every room open in case my cat needs me (I’m very concerned about the happiness of my fur baby), literally leaves the “door wide open” for my boyfriend to jump around the corner. I can no longer shower in peace. That’s what I miss about living alone!
Just love this …and all the comments!
so true and so funny.
I have been living alone for 3 years after a terrible breakup with my husband for 4 years. It was a hard time, and I’m just starting to actually “bare” with myself again! Also I do live with my 3 kids half of the time, so I guess I do enjoy a bit of quiet after this !
oops I meant 14 years,( that sounds even more terrible! )
I still live at home with my parents, and what I’m most excited for is waking up at my own pace in the morning and (this sounds so silly) but not worrying about being naked in the house tehehe
Putting entire pots of food in the fridge to delay doing the dishes. Exuberant dancing to music that’s playing through my headphones.
I’ve done the pots in the fridge! lol
Drinking directly from the milk jug.
Drinking directly from the wine bottle.
When I lived alone I found it so easy to be a minimalist! I had very little “stuff” and I liked it that way. My place never felt messy. Now I have a husband, an 8 year old son, and a dog….and a lot of “stuff”!
Agree
The largest portion of my pie chart would be “not wearing pants,” so I was happy to see several other commenters echoing the same pantsless sentiment. :) Star-fishing diagonally across the bed is another favorite pastime of mine, followed closely by the empowered feeling you get when you realize that you are totally content spending time with yourself.
love it!
SAME, Girl. SAME.
Yasssss to all of this!
Eating a tub of ice cream or batch of cookie dough in one night knowing that no one will know :)
Funny, just made the decision to live alone vs having a room mate and this pops up! I’ve lived alone before and what I love most – is not having to speak to anyone. I can just BE. Wish I could do that WITH someone but until then, I love living alone!
When you find that person you can just BE with and not speak…marry them. I did :)
I totally agree! I used to find myself working late to avoid a previous roommate because I just need to not talk to anyone after long, stressful days at work. I grew up being the eldest of 4 kids and never, ever alone and I have such a big appreciation for solo time now.
All the extra space in my bathroom vanity :D
More to Love