Once you locate a recipe (and for some of us, that's a leap we'll never make), do you have time to prepare it? The desire to make effort? And most important, you've got to like that dish a lot -- because you're going to be eating it until you're 85, right? Single cooks often complain that they can't find recipes for one or two servings. Instead, they're written to serve six people, eight people, or small armies. Of course, you can put your mathematician's hat on, do division, and whittle that recipe down to two servings (what's one-tenth of 2 cups?), but if you miscalculate, you're looking at a culinary disaster and a lot of wasted time.

All of this makes bold assumption that you cook. Many, many singles don't. Some admit to cooking, but only for other people. We singles seem to have a confidence problem in kitchen. We'll do it for others, but not for ourselves. So apartment-dwellers arrive home from work each night carrying not only their briefcases, but also their take-out boxes. And all of them will discover with time that avoiding their kitchens not only becomes old; it's also expensive. But truth is that while we might think cooking for ourselves is expensive, it's not -- particularly if you cook multiple portions which may then be frozen for later use. Cooking is actually far more cost-effective than relying on convenience foods.

It used to be that we headed to a restaurant to escape grind, to enjoy a night out away from home. We wanted someone else to do cooking and cleanup, and we were quite happy to pay for that luxury. These days, however, we're eating less and less often at restaurant, shunning candles and "I'll be your waiter this evening" for take-out -- preferably ordered ahead of time by phone, so that we don't have to wait once we arrive at restaurant.

Market research firm NPD Group found that in 1996, more restaurant meals were taken out than eaten on premises. In contrast, 41 percent of restaurant meals were carried out 10 years before. 1996 was first year pendulum swung in other direction, and it marked beginning of a trend that has continued and gained strength. The bottom line in 1998 is that consumers want their food prepared by a restaurant, but they don't necessarily want to eat it there. "Restaurants are becoming prepared-food supermarkets," says NPD's Harry Balzer.

Taking into consideration our changing demographics, NPD projects fastest-growing restaurant meals from now until 2010 will be: weekday lunches at a restaurant without kids, up 80 million meals per year; weekend dinners at a restaurant without kids, up 61 million meals per year; and weekday dinners at a restaurant without kids, up 48 million meals per year.

According to recent surveys:

* Americans, excluding those who live in institutions, eat more than one of every five meals at away-from-home eating establishments. * Fast-food restaurants serve four out of 10 meals eaten at away-from-home eating establishments. * Four out of 10 consumers say they have changed their eating out habits to reflect nutritional concerns. * Adults eat roughly 30 percent of their calories away from home. * Americans spend more than 40 cents of every food dollar on food eaten away from home. * Today, only 55 percent of dinners include one homemade dish. Ten years ago, figure was 64 percent. The number of ingredients is also at an all-time low. * Dishes such as potatoes, bread, and salad are served less often. Vegetables, once in more than half of all dinners, are now served at only 43 percent of dinners. * The number of take-out dinners has more than doubled.

Lack of storage space is a flash from past, when storage was not in walls or in shelving but in massive pieces of furniture each had a specific purpose and grouping seemed to take up whole room. As a renter - you'll have to supply your own storage.

What's solution? Consider how America used to live. Small bedrooms herald back to way before fifties, when people accumulated fewer things and consumerism was less focused on individual and more on common good of family. That changed substantially after World War II and birth of "Me" Generation - better known as baby boomers. An exhilarated nation lavished new goods bought cheaply from around world on its families, children and grandchildren, and consumerism has never taken a step back. No longer are we happy with one of everything (one winter coat, one TV) - now we have been enculturated to appreciate variety over value.

Increased availability and reduced prices for consumer goods has created an enthusiastic consumer for collecting small goods - clothes, trinkets, and accessories. For those who love to shop at The Gap and The Limited , and can afford to buy a whole new wardrobe every season, lack of closet space and smaller bedrooms can be a real inconvenience.

If space is a problem, look to past on how to solve it and make it work for you in meantime.

1. Revamp Your Wardrobe.

How did our grandmothers manage with those tiny closets and fancy carved wardrobes that we now use to hold our TV's? The answer is simple - they had fewer clothes and they took better care of them.

Throw out anything you have not worn in over a year. Be brutal. Clothes hanging in your closet won't give you any additional value, they just keep getting limper until you never wear them at all.

Assess what is left for wear and tear. Weed out some more. Again be brutal.

Try to make a mix and match plan with what remains. Any item that doesn't go with at least two or three other items, you don't need. A blouse should go with at least a skirt and a pair of pants, and perhaps, jeans. A sport coat should complement at least two different pairs of slacks. Some clothes can traverse seasons and work layered under other things. A T-shirt can add warmth to a medium weight sweater that will get you through most cold days.