Oh God… This is truly MPSIMS… Well, hopefully, MPSYMS.
I should know how to do this by now… Having lived in a few apartments and a couple dorm rooms over the past four years… But every time I move I seem to forget the “basic” things I need and end up going to the store three or four times over a week (not having a car, this can be a royal pain in the ass).
I searched google for “shopping list, new apartment” or somesuch search words but pretty much only got amazon.com’s “what you need for your dorm room”… A list of things such as flat screen TVs and other high tech electronics. :rolleyes:
I’ve written a list of about 50 of the basics I need so far (wish I’d brought it with me today… But I’m not going to the store until tomorrow). To give you an example, though, of the “types” of things I’m looking for (some of the basics I will not be needing, as they are in packed boxes piled high in random rooms).
Windex
New curtains
Duct tape
Living room rug
Pine Sol (all wood floors)
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser thing
Screws/nails
Garbage bags
All purpose cleaner
Light bulbs
Nice looking sticker letters for mailbox
etc…
You get the idea… Shopping on under the amazon.com’s $10,000 suggested budget.
Any other ideas before I get back tomorrow afternoon and do one of these: :smack:
Broom and other cleaning tools (not just supplies).
Kitchen tools (from pots to microwave oven).
Clothes hangers (I never move those, YMMV).
Paper plates. You can use those for the first few days, leaving the “real plates” nicely packed up until you can take them out, wash them and store them. I do use “real cutlery” from the start, though, those plastic knives can’t even cut TP.
Linens.
Remember to check what kind of lightbulbs you need before going to buy them. All the lamps in my current apartment require narrow bulbs with narrow screws, 40W max - most of the lamps in my house back home have wide screws and higher ratings.
Pine Sol? Nah, get the Swiffer with the cleaner for wood floors (the label is orange instead of purple). No bucket required!
I also notice with wood floors I get a lot of dust bunnies. Get a dust buster of some sort. And if you’re getting a living room rug then you will need something to vacuum that.
Find some Bon Ami to clean the tub, disinfectant bathroom spray to clean the outside of the toilet and the sink, and some toilet bowl cleanser (get a plunger too, along with the pre-mentioned toilet brush!)
You’ll also need sponges - I like one that is just for cleaning the bathroom, one just for the kitchen, and one with a scrubby-top for cleaning the dishes.
Detergent for both laundry and dishwasher (or liquid soap if you are handwashing your dishes).
Helps to have batteries around for when your smoke detector starts doing that one beep every two mintues to let you know the battery is dying (mine takes a 9 volt - not sure if all do).
–Shelf liner, if you do that.
–WD-40, in case you you find you have squeaky hinges or need to get price stickers off of stuff.
–A basic tool kit of hammer, Phillips and flat-head screwdrivers and a pair of pliers.
–Several cool, frosty beverages of your choice for when you need to take a quick break from moving in.
A local phone book, if you can get one. Or, at the very least, a local book of coupons. It helps to know where the pizza places are before you can get your internet connection started and all your kitchen stuff is in boxes.
Shampoo, soap, conditioner, deodorant, etc. Why wait until you’ve moved in to get that stuff, when you’ll need a shower after you’re doing hauling all those boxes and/or cleaning stuff?
Salt and pepper. Maybe Tabasco. Even if you’re ordering in, they’re good to have on hand. I also find that an extension cord and power strip are useful for when you don’t quite know where stuff should go yet but need to use it (like lamps).
I bought a rectangular wastebasket and used that as a bucket when needed. I didn’t have much floor space that needed mopping and, since I had even less storage space for things like buckets, it killed two birds with one stone.
Now that I have even less moppable floor space, I just use those pre-soaked mopping pads and toss them in the wastebasket/former bucket.
I thought the mop and bucket went extinct? Swifter, people, Swifter!
Oven cleaner
Stove drip pans ( I never clean mine, I just replace them when I move out.)
Shelving/bookcases (does the new place have enough shelf space in the bathroom? Closets? etc?)
Phone/coax/power cable extensions/spliters (many apartments do not have enough outlets/jacks where you need/want them)
Change of address form
Ice cube trays (some apartments supply them, some don’t)
