I have always lived in rental houses, even growing up. My parents recently bought and built their own house from scratch, almost 7 years after I moved in and started renting out my own properties. Everyone has rental nightmares and stories of good landlords and not-so-great neighborhoods, memories of their first ‘starter’ apartment right out of college to that place they found by accident and ended up being wonderful.

The question many of us ask ourselves when we move into a new apartment or rental house is whether this place could be called “home.” Now, that concept of home is vague and indescribable, different between two people even in the same family. For some people, home is a certain set of objects, or people, or just a feeling they have about a combination of any kind of things.

Making your rental feel like home, whether you’re there for two months or 17 years, is essential to your well-being, as well as the adjustment we all have to make when we move to a new place. I have found that as I have moved through rental properties throughout my life, 9 in the last 6 years to be exact, what has made each of those places feel a little more like home has varied. However, there are some elements that make me feel at home no matter where I am.

These items include the things that make me feel at home, namely objects, pictures, and other random belongings that I have collected over the years and painstakingly transferred through removals and even abroad. I have a shower curtain map of the world that friends have signed their names on; photos of family, weddings, and college friends laughing together; magnets with Shakespeare’s best insults written on them; and a whole package of books that I can never give away. I have a chameleon shaped tape dispenser and coffee mugs from places I have traveled.

All of these things make my rental properties feel like home, but there are many other ways to make your rental feel like home as well. Investing your time and effort in a rental property makes it feel more like yours; If you can and the landlord agrees, see if you can paint a wall a fun color or spruce up the place in a more aesthetic way to put your stamp on it. Hang paintings that you like or posters with inspirational quotes. Put your world map on a cork board and pin the places you have been or want to travel to. Stock up your fridge and put some fresh flowers on the table, buy sheets that you like and create a space that you feel comfortable in.

Not every rental is a home, but every rental—no matter how big or small—can feel a little more like home with just a little effort.

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