You open the door of your new apartment and realize it’s a lot bigger than the room you had at your parent’s house and the dorm and the sort of house/apartment that you shared with six roommates last semester.

So what are you going to do to fill the space? All you need is a little brain-you time and this list to help you sort things out.

What do you need?

First things first. You need to decide what exactly it is you need and you don’t need right now, or possibly, ever. Here are a few things to think about:

• You need a bed. Remember, your bed doesn’t have to be a regular, run-of-the-mill bed. And if you’re sharing an apartment and need a place to chill during the day that isn’t overrun with roomies, you should invest in a good futon. They cost about the same (or are cheaper) than a bed and can be converted into a couch during the day. Some can even be converted into a couch with a chaise. This can also be helpful if you are living in a studio apartment.
• Kitchen/Dining Room table. If you live alone, you’ll definitely want to invest in a table (with chairs!) for your dining area. This table will not only serve as your eating space but also a space to do projects and homework if you don’t have a desk or it’s totally covered in the mess you’ve left behind all week.
• You need a desk. When you have a laptop, you think you don’t need a desk. The laptop can go anywhere, right? Thing is, your laptop can only take so much of an unbalanced life atop your lap, the carpet or the end of the couch before it starts to overheat and fight back. Not to mention, a desk is the best place to focus and keep your books and papers in line.

What can you live without?

The fact of the matter is, no matter how big the apartment looks when you first step inside, your belongings will fill it quicker than you think. Here’s a few things you probably don’t need in an apartment:

• An entire living room set. You don’t need a matching chair, couch, love seat, ottoman and chaise. And frankly, noting the size of apartment living rooms, you’ll be disappointed when you can’t fit it all in there anyway. Get yourself a couch and a chair.
• A king-sized bed. Unless you’re living with your significant other, you probably don’t need a huge bed. Stick with a futon or a twin or full-sized bed. You’d be surprised at the difference it makes in space.

Ultimately, there’s little you actually need to furnish an apartment, especially if you have roommates who will be bringing along their own furniture as well. In most cases, you should be able to get by with a desk and a bed and maybe a few other small pieces of furniture. If you think that sounds crazy, wait ‘til you unpack your boxes and find there’s no extra room for anything else.

So you’re moving into a student apartment off campus. You think you’re the man (or the woman) because you’ve got your own place and will never have to listen to RAs ever again. Okay, chief, you’ve got the apartment. Now what are you going to fill it with? Whoops! Didn’t think about that part, did you? No worries. Here are some tips to help you put together a student apartment on less than $100.

Milk crate chairs/storage ottomans.

There about a dozen ways to use a milk crate to make a chair. But if you want to make it the easy way, try this: get a milk crate—usually free, but up to $5. Fill it with old text books and other items that you need to store, but won’t have room for otherwise—be sure to fill it to the top! Get a cushion for kitchen chairs ($5) and hook it on—you can do this with zip ties or a needle and thread—but remember to only hook on one end. That way you can still flip it up and change out the stored items.

Bed frame.

If you need to make a quick and easy bed frame for your mattress, measure the width of the box spring and multiply it by three. Then measure the length and multiply it by two. Purchase enough cinder blocks ($1-$2 each) to achieve the measurement and place the width x height on the floor in the shape of the box spring. Then, put the third set for the width across the middle. You now have a bed frame.

Couch/décor pillows.

No doubt you have or can buy ($1 each) canvas bags easily, no matter where you are. Grab some old sweaters (especially that hideous Christmas sweater you got from your grandma, fold and roll them and then neatly stuff them into the canvas bags. Fold in the handles and use a needle and thread to sew the top shut. If you want to decorate the pillows, use fabric paint and various items—seashells, buttons pins, shoe soles, etc., as stamps.

Curtains from old clothing.

When you rip a pair of jeans or wear out your “golden boy” t-shirt, do you simply throw it away? Don’t. Sew your old jeans, t-shirts, sweaters and socks together to make funky, eclectic curtains. You won’t find these curtains anywhere else and best of all, they’re free. “Worst Case Scenario: College” has two excellent sets of curtains you can make just from old t-shirts—pick up a copy if you want to immortalize your concert tees forever.

Decorating and furnishing your student apartment can cost you—sometimes more than two or three month’s rent. But if you’re willing to get creative and to be a little eclectic and individual, you can get through college with purchasing minimal amounts of furniture and décor. You just have to be ready to put some elbow grease into it—then enjoy the fruits of your labor!

1. Furnished apartments typically have used furniture. If you lived in a dorm prior to your search for the perfect apartment, you should have no problem laying your head down where a hundred other people have relished in a good make-out session. But if you’ve never slept or sat on anything but brand-new-to-you-straight-from-the-store furniture, a furnished apartment may not be for you.

2. Is it fully furnished or only partially furnished? Many furnished apartments provide 100 percent of the furniture you’d typically find in an apartment, right down to the little desk you’ll need for homework. However, just as many come only partially furnished, which usually means you’ll bring a bed, desk, television and a few other smaller items, but be provided with a kitchen table and chairs, couch, entertainment center and perhaps a book shelf and dresser.

3. Furnished apartments cost more. A furnished apartment takes longer to clean and prepare for new arrivals. Landlords must frequently repair and replace furniture as it grows old and wears out or becomes damaged and broken. These costs will be made up in rent. If you intend to live in your apartment for more than a year, the upfront cost of purchasing your own furniture may save you money in the long run—in other words, after a year or two you may have paid the cost of your furniture in rent once or twice over.

4. Furnished apartments don’t always allow pets, and with good reason. If Fluffy or Fido pees on the carpet, it’s easy enough to bring in a carpet cleaner. But if one of your precious pets pees on a couch that doesn’t belong to you, it could cost the landlord dearly. If you do find a furnished apartment that allows pets, expect to pay an extra premium on the pet fees you’d pay at an unfurnished apartment.

5. If it’s fully furnished, always ask if they can remove some furniture to make room for your own. You should never personally remove and store a piece of furniture that was provided by your apartment complex. Most apartment complexes have ample storage for the furniture they make available to residents and will gladly remove the furniture if you ask them to.

6. Check the lease. If you’re moving into a furnished apartment, there are bound to be additional rules and regulations in your lease such as mandatory renter’s insurance (it’s a good idea to always get this anyway), absolutely no smoking on the premises and other little clauses you might not find in a standard lease.

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