My mom visited me once and I forgot to tidy up before she arrived. She looked at me and said “Alexis, I can’t see the floor of your room.”

I hadn’t done laundry for a few weeks. So what, right? Then she saw the kitchen and it turned out that I hadn’t done the dishes for a few weeks either.

They were not impressed by my “adult” behavior.

But now I can finally remove the quotes — or at least one — and say I finally feel like I am becoming a grown-up.

Although living cheap definitely has its low points, I have made some progress, saved some money and used my free time in more mature ways.

For instance, instead of being too tired to cook dinner after a day of classes, work and eventual homework, I now come home, cook a delicious meal and, for the first time in my life, clean the dinner dishes as I use them.

When I go to bed I could eat off the counter, everything is so clean. Instead of having to wash a pan, a spatula, a plate and maybe a pot before I ever start to prepare, I can now go to my cupboards and everything is clean and neatly organized. I may use paper plates instead of real ones to cut down on clean up, but that’s just smart thinking on my part.

It is finally a nice feeling to walk into my apartment and not look like a tornado ran through it. I don’t get many unannounced visitors, but if I did now they would be greeted with a clean and friendly environment. My room may still have a few clothes on the floor, but that’s my business, Mom.

Graduation is around the corner and my mom suggested for me to use the summer to research jobs and companies that I would like to work for. I took this idea one step further.

I started redesigning my entire resume and design portfolio. I have been surfing Monster.com like crazy every night and Googling every public relations and graphic design firm in the greater Denver area — my preferred location after I leave Moscow.

These are all things I would have to do anyway, and mostly likely I would do them the night before I intended to send them out. Instead of waiting until mid-October, when I actually need to start applying for jobs, I am making sure that a professional package is put together before school starts.

But I wouldn’t have thought about taking the time to do all this had I been down at the bar every night drinking a $2.50 tub. I don’t think I would have thought about anything but sleeping after a couple of them.

Up until this point in my life I didn’t really use my resume. Every once in a while when I was applying for a job they would ask for one so I would have a basic one handy. Most of the time I was just required to fill out an application form. I still had jobs on there from high school about bussing tables and cooking pizzas. I don’t think my future employer wants to know that I can spin out an extra-large pizza crust.

The beauty of my summer situation is that I didn’t have to find time at all. Hopefully that will mean that I can smoke every other person applying for the same positions.

This project sort of fell in my lap and I am certainly happy it did. Every time I open my resume, I feel a little better about myself. Not only am I doing something ahead of time, but also I really do have a lot of experience.

I think my parents would be proud knowing that I am keeping house instead of just “playing house” like I used to do when I was little.

Drop by any time you like, but just don’t ask to see my room.

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