Essential Life Skills Every Young Adult Needs Before Leaving the Nest

There is a big difference between being old enough to move out and knowing what to do once you get there. You can be perfectly capable of passing exams, working a job, driving across town, and managing a social life while still having absolutely no idea how long raw chicken can safely sit in the refrigerator.

Then you leave home. Suddenly nobody else bought toilet paper because it was always magically in the bathroom at your parent’s house. The electric bill has a due date and you don’t even know where to go and pay it. Your favorite shirt cannot go into the dryer on high heat and now it looks like your baby sister could wear it.

Dinner has to come from somewhere every single night unless you go over to your mom’s each night. Leaving home is exciting, but there are a handful of practical skills that can make those first months much easier. Young adults don’t need to know everything before they move out. None of us did.

They should, however, know enough to keep themselves fed, reasonably clean, financially afloat, and capable of handling a few everyday problems without calling home every six minutes. Although they’ll probably still call with all that weaponized incompetence like my sinister who can’t seem to order her own pizza at the age of forty seven. 

Know How to Make a Few Actual Meals

Nobody needs to leave home knowing how to prepare a five-course dinner. Start smaller. Teach them to cook eggs. Maybe how to make spaghetti or rice (although I admit I still struggle with this one). Then get a little fancier, teach them to roast some vegetables, and make chicken in the oven. Make a sandwich that is more than just meat slapped onto bread. 

Five or six simple meals can carry a young adult a surprisingly long way. They should also understand basic food safety. Raw meat needs to be handled differently from vegetables. Leftovers cannot live in the refrigerator indefinitely. Frozen chicken needs time to thaw safely. And if something in the refrigerator has changed color, developed an unusual smell, and may have started its own civilization, don’t taste it to find out. Throw it away.

Learn How Laundry Actually Works

Laundry seems easy when clean clothes simply reappear in your room. Once you’re responsible for the entire process, things get interesting. Young adults should know how to read care labels, separate items when necessary, choose a basic washer setting, use an appropriate amount of detergent, and understand what shouldn’t go into the dryer. They should also know that towels left wet in the washing machine for two days will not smell better if you pretend they aren’t there. Sheets need washing too, like once a week. So do bath towels.

Owning seven towels does not mean you can use each one until it becomes independently mobile. They don’t need an elaborate laundry routine. Wash things. Dry them. Put them somewhere. We’re just aiming for functional adulthood.

Understand Basic Money Management

Before leaving home, young adults should understand what it costs to live and rent is only the beginning. There may be electricity, water, internet, transportation, groceries, insurance, phone service, medications, school expenses, and the occasional surprise expense that arrives precisely when the bank account would prefer it didn’t.

A simple budget can prevent a lot of trouble. Know how much money comes in. Know how much has to go out. Pay required bills before spending the rest. Teach them how credit cards work before using them as additional income. Understand interest, late fees, overdrafts, subscriptions, and automatic renewals. That free trial they forgot about six months ago is very happy they’ve become an adult.

Know How to Handle Basic Household Cleaning

They don’t need a spotless home but they do need to know how to clean one. That includes cleaning a toilet, wiping down a bathroom sink, washing dishes, taking out trash, vacuuming or sweeping floors, and occasionally cleaning the things that don’t immediately look dirty. The kitchen deserves particular attention. Food left sitting around attracts things you don’t want as roommates.

A little cleaning regularly is much easier than waiting until the apartment needs an archaeological team. This is also where young adults learn one of adulthood’s great disappointments. They can clean the kitchen completely and somebody will need to eat again.

Learn to Make Appointments

At some point, somebody else has to stop doing this for you. Young adults should know how to call or book a routine medical, dental, or other appointment, explain what they need, confirm the date and time, and put it somewhere they’ll remember. They should know the basics of their health insurance if they have it and where to find important medical information.

That when asked for their social, it is not their Instagram handle. Keep a list of medications, allergies, and important contacts. Know where the nearest pharmacy is. Learn how prescription refills work. Nobody expects a young adult to understand the entire healthcare system. I’m not convinced anyone understands the entire healthcare system. They should know how to take the first step.

Understand Your Housing Before You Move In

Moving into your first place comes with paperwork. They need to know to read it. If they’re renting, understand the lease, deposit, rent due date, rules about guests and pets, maintenance procedures, and what happens when they eventually move out.

Students moving away for university may have different arrangements depending on where and how they’re studying. Someone researching student housing brisbane, for example, should compare more than the weekly price. Location, transportation, utilities, furnishings, lease terms, security, house rules, and what is included in the rent can all affect the actual cost and experience.

Take photographs of a rental when they move in, particularly if there is existing damage. Keep copies of important documents. Don’t be like my sister who throws them away and then can’t seem to find them anywhere. And learn whom to call when something breaks.

Know How to Handle a Few Basic Emergencies

Nobody needs to become an electrician, plumber, mechanic, and paramedic before moving out. They should know some basics. Like where the water shutoff is and what a smoke alarm sounds like when it goes off. Not to mention what to do if it does. Have a basic first-aid kit. Know how to use a fire extinguisher and when getting out and calling emergency services is the safer choice.

Know that electricity is not a good area for enthusiastic experimentation. There is a big difference between resetting a tripped breaker according to appropriate instructions and attempting electrical work that requires professional training. Qualifications such as certificate iv electrical instrumentation exist because specialized electrical and instrumentation work requires real technical knowledge and training.

Know How to Solve a Problem Before Calling Home

I fully expect young adults to call their families after all that’s part of being family. But there’s a useful step between discovering a problem and immediately calling a parent. Stop. Look at what’s happening. Read the instructions. Check the obvious solution. Think about who is actually responsible for fixing it. Then call if help is still needed. The first time you solve something on your own, it feels good. The fiftieth time, you realize this is apparently adulthood. 

Something is always running out, coming due, making a strange noise, or needing to be cleaned. Nobody leaves home knowing how to handle every one of those things. The goal isn’t to send a young adult out the door knowing everything. It’s to make sure they know how to feed themselves, manage their money, take care of their space, ask questions, find reliable help, and recognize when a problem is beyond what they know how to do. And yes, they can still call home to ask how long chicken lasts in the refrigerator. I’d much rather answer the question than find out they guessed.