I Tried My Sister’s Cozy “Apartment Anniversary” Ritual — I Regret Not Doing It Sooner

Finding a new apartment can bring an incredible amount of stress, from figuring out your budget, to getting brokers to text you back, to touring units until you find one that’s reasonable with a shower that isn’t in the kitchen. It’s amazing, really, that when you finally land one and move in, you never speak of the whole ordeal again. 

Sure, you might have a housewarming party or a weekly Sunday reset, but what if there were a way to commemorate the momentous task of finding an apartment and making your home that much cozier each year? Enter: My sister’s “apartment anniversary” tradition.

My sister came up with this idea after years of subletting a low-lit basement unit and finally moving into a new apartment a few years back. She and her husband loved their home so much, they realized they wanted to celebrate it somehow. So, she marked the September lease-start date in her calendar and came up with a plan. 

Now, each fall they spend a day doing a few things:

First, they do a deep cleaning. Sometimes she does this the day before, so they can spend the full next day just enjoying their apartment, but sometimes she does it the day of. This involves swapping out the bed sheets, clearing out the fridge, cleaning the baseboards, and all of the other tidying tasks that they might not do during a typical weekday cleanup. 

Next, they decide on something new to buy for their home as a “gift.” It can be anything that will make the experience of living there even lovelier, whether that’s an appliance you’ve been eyeing (maybe that splurgey vacuum that will save you so much time), a piece of art for your walls, a new tea kettle or coffee machine to add into your morning routine, or new smart light bulbs to change up your mood lighting. It can be however big and expensive, or small and affordable as you’d like, so long as it will have some positive impact on your life at home.

Finally, they spend the day just hanging out at home, relishing in their freshly cleaned and newly updated environment. It’s easy to spend so much time running around that you can forget to just appreciate the home you’ve built. You can go the extra mile to make the day feel special by lighting candles and buying some fresh flowers, or you can simply make a point to linger at your table, look out your window, sit in all your chairs, and soak in every square foot, however few or many there may be.

The point of celebrating your apartment anniversary is to show your gratitude for having a place to live, marking the passage of time in your home, and taking some steps to make it an even better place to live in the coming year. 

I love my sister’s ideas and I love my apartment, so this year, I decided to try it out myself. After doing so, the only thing I regret is not trying it in past homes sooner. 

Though I missed my actual move-in date by a few weeks, I decided to celebrate it anyway. I ended up deep cleaning the night before, taking extra care to lint roll all the cat hair off the top of my couch, spray down every inch of my beloved Smeg espresso machine, and turn over my summer wardrobe for my fall clothing. 

I also rolled out my new purchase, the gift I’d settled on for my apartment: a funky runner, perfect for adding the splash of color my long hallway had been missing. Now, it brings me joy every time I walk between my bedroom and my kitchen, and makes the journey a little cozier, too. 

I didn’t plan for a full day at home, but I did spend an ultra leisurely morning just padding around my apartment. I brought my cat to look out my bedroom window with me, which opens into a gorgeous garden filled with flowers and birds — I always appreciate it, but I can’t say I spend a ton of time just soaking it in. I cuddled up on my favorite armchair with a new throw blanket I’m loving and finished the book I’d been reading while the room filled up with the toasty scent of a candle I lit. 

When I was done, I put a record on while I loaded up my dishwasher with my coffee mug and breakfast plate. It was a perfect morning that made me fall in love with my life at home all over again. Whether you live alone, with your partner, or with several roommates, I can’t recommend hosting an apartment anniversary of some kind enough. Not only is it a sweet way to romanticize your own life, but it creates an opportunity to give thanks, deep clean, and treat yourself to that thing you’ve been waiting for an excuse to get for your home.