lawnmower, shovel or snowblower, rake, big round plastic garbage can to hold bag for leaves in fall, garbage in your garage or basement during rest of year, ladder long enough so you can get onto you roof, a 3-step folding ladder to reach ceiling fixtures and help paint rooms, broom and dustpan, lots of windex, garden hose, heavy duty rechargable drill with drill bits as well as flathead and phillips screwdriver heads, fire extinguisher, carbon monoxide detector, smoke detectors, lots of lightbulbs 60 & 100 watt mostly, extension cords, a bucket or two, lots of clothes hangers, mouse and ant traps/poison, wagon or wheelbarrow, hedge shear and lopper, fertilizer/weedkiller spreader, fireproof safe or lockbox.
Transition rugs. (between in and out doors) hate tracked in dirt.
3rd 4th or 5th?, the idea of the home repair 1-2-3 book. as well as a book on maintaining your particular heating system. (read now, you don’t want to be stuck come mid november.)
new toilets seats.
Water saving shower heads.
Shower curtains.
Also check out the free classes at home depot on saturdays about sweating pipes, etc.
batteries for the smoke detectors.
Ooo, Congratulations! That sounds so nice.
Do you know what the garbage collection system is? Around here they supply the cans and recycling bins.
This isn’t a thing, per se, but it is advice:
[ul][li]Go to the circuit breaker box someday while everything is working fine.[/li]
[li]Preferably working with a partner, methodically test the breakers to determine what they control.[/li]
[li]Meticulously label each breaker switch.[/li][/ul]
When you eventually need this, you will want to go back in time and give yourself a massage.
Also, you’ll want two ladders- a step A-frame ladder and an extension ladder tall enough to comfortably reach the highest gutter.
Congrats!
Paint supplies. You will be painting lots of stuff.
Caulk and a caulk gun.
A battery screw gun with assorted tips and a magnetic tip holder.
A screen repair kit, if you have kids or pets.
A sawzall (optional). You can get battery tool kits with the screw gun and the sawzall pretty cheap these days.
Some means to tame the brush on your property, - hedger, clippers, telescopic tree trimmer, chain saw, etc.
Plunger!!
Also, know where the shut-offs for the water and gas and electric are before you move in. You’ll need to know these if you install gas/electric appliances and or things that use water.
Weed control, as in controlling the unwanted plants that will spring up all over the place. A weed pulling tool would be the cheapest route.
Fertilizer/weed killer spreader. It’s a wheel barrow looking device that can spread grass seed, fertilizer, and weed control on your lawn.
A three foot level and some string for doing inside/outside work where you would like to get things square level and plum.
Stud finder for locating wall studs for hanging heavy items.
Spackle for filling in holes.
Some decent dry-wall and wood anchors for hanging stuff.
Shelving units for the garage and or basement. You want to keep things off the ground if possible.
Light bulbs. Try the fluorescent lamps if possible.
Change the locks, get extra keys made and hide a set outside somewhere so you won’t have break in if you get locked out.
Security system if you’re in a rough area. Even motion activated lights will do in a pinch.
Wireless router, now that you’ve got more room to stretch out.
Beer making kit!!!
High fence or thick skin, whichever is cheaper.
Rake, broom, yard blower, weed wacker, or a combination of these for outdoor cleanup.
Snow shovel.
If you have a basement consider installing a backup for your sump pump, you don’t want water in the basement, ever.
Furnace filters.
A shop vac.
A second fridge or freezer.
Obviously not all of these things are a must, but I’d bet within 3 years you’ll have most of them.
When I did this, I got all the locks keyed the same so that one key opened front, back, and side doors. I also got a small key cabinet to keep all the back ups in one central location. I got one from IKEA for under ten bucks.
http://www.amazon.com/28-Hook-Key-Cabinet-Black/dp/B0009GZ8M0
That 1-2-3 book is handy. Get it for sure.
If your driveway is fairly long or wide and you have a decent amount of walkway get an electric snow thrower. If you and your husband haven’t shovelled snow before, it may be a bit of a shock to the system.
Don’t buy the garbage pails till you find out what your town requires or even supplies. I know you’re going to be in LI so be prepared to get a little runaround because of their crazy villages, hamlets, towns, counties system. You’ll be like, should I call Commack or Smithtown or Suffolk? Who makes the rules in this instance?
Did the old owners take their personalized mailbox? If so, you’ll need a mailbox.
Meet your neighbors. Don’t wait until somebody is pissed off. Besides, they’ll tell you when the garbage truck and the postman come.
You won’t believe how much stuff you’ll find you suddenly need when you move in. Curtains and rods, painting gear (something will need painting,) a plug strip or two, picture hangers, window fans (for nice days,) a ratchet screwdriver w/ interchagable bits, a claw hammer, arc-joint pliers, an adjustable wrench, and new door locks.
Write up a set of directions to get to your house from each direction, and keep it by the phone. You’ll need it for friends, reletives, and delivery guys.
Find out the names of the best carpet cleaner, electrician, body shop, plumber, bakery, etc. in the area. Doctors and dentists, too.
I’m recovering from cataract surgery, and I can barely see what I’m typing.
When it comes to ladders I wish I had bought one of these years ago. Best damn ladder I have ever used.
Extension cords and power strips.
Let me second the shop vac (more specifically, a wet/dry vac). When something overflows, there won’t be time to go out & buy one.
Let me also second the local hardware store. Screw Home Depot (I don’t know Lowes, but what the hell, screw them too).
Not listed yet:
Buckets and rags
A basic tool kit
Hammer, screw drivers, socket wrenchs
Light bulbs
Portable fans
Shopvac
Pressure washer to clean sidding and other stuff, and because it’s a fun guy toy.
I just moved into a new house and here’s what I’ve bought so far:
Good power drill and drill bits
Flashlight that uses power drills battery packs
Circular saw
Hand saw
10" Prybar and nail puller
Set of pliers
Set of screwdrivers (to replace all the random crappy ones I’d collected)
Good Utility knife
25’ Tape measure (to replace my dinky one)
*Hammer (didn’t actually buy, already had one)
Level
Bigger tool box to hold all the stuff
Tool belt (very handy when you’re up on the ladder)
Sawhorses
Clamps
6’ Ladder
Painting supplies (bucket, screen, rollers, drop clothes, paintbrushes, etc.)
The Black and Decker books for both Home Repair and Home Improvement (there is some overlap but they’re both excellent with lots of pictures)
Trash can for yard clippings
Small spade
Garden claw
Rake
Work gloves
*Mower (actually borrowed one and then a friend gave me an old one)
Buying this weekend:
Electric week whacker
100’ extension cord
Garden hose
Wood putty and a putty knife
Still looking at: Storage shed, I desperate need one but I’m trying to decide between buying a kit and building my own
I’ve been trying to buy stuff as I’ve needed it rather than spending myself into the poorhouse with might’ves. And a lot of things mentioned below (like plungers and extension cords) I already had at the apartment. I think it’s best to move first and then make your list when you’ve settled down and see what you really need to get.
shopvac, laddar, and caulk gun were my first three thoughts…
then, in no particular order, metal trash cans (squirrels eat plastic) and bungee cords to keep the lids on, lawn equipment (mower, weed wacker, seeder), hose and holder and nozzle, paint tray, a good paint brush, storage shelves for basement/garage
oh, and a plasma TV with a surround sound system is a must…
Per NFPA recommendations: 1 smoke detector for every level of the house (at minimum) plus 1 detector for the interior of each sleeping room. Although they’re a bit pricier, consider the wireless communicating style now being offered by Kidde, et. al. When one is triggered, they all sound, like hard wired detectors, but don’t need the installed wiring.
Assuming your heating system and/or appliances use some form of fossil fuel, obtain CO detectors. One near the appliances, and one near sleeping rooms is good.
Lastly, you need the phone number of some shlub like me who fixes all of the things that go wrong around the house. Hey, we’ve got to eat, too! 
Good luck and congratulations!
FWIW, my favorite:
Readers’ Digest new complete do-it-yourself manual Very clear text and illustrations, covers routine maintenance, tools and how to manage a whole lot of daunting house stuff.
I love this thing. It’s my home ownership bible. Hey, anything that can make troubleshooting a water heater actually doable for a self-admitted klutz pays for itself a zillion times over. It’s saved me a bundle by making home repairs comprehensible–and knowing when to hire an expert. I can’t recommend it highly enough. Hey, it just saved me from a lot of mistakes, injuries, lost time, temper, money and screaming aggravation on a bathroom renovation*. Who knew I could actually do so much of this stuff myself–and have it look good?
Good luck, biggirl! Have fun with it. It’s actually kind of a blast.
*[sub]If I’d know it was so manageable and satisfying I wouldn’t have put off doing it for a mere 15 years. [/sub]
A pickup truck. Maybe a SUV or station wagon, but really, a pickup truck.
Either a monthly or annual membership to ConsumerReports.org. They will help you decide which particular model of whatever it is you need you should be buying.
And a good cordless drill. Seems like everytime I turned around since buying this place in November I have needed a drill. Finally bought one in January and am still using it.
Haven’t seen it mentioned yet, so I’ll chime in:
-
A can of oil – the type for hinges.
-
A can of WD-40 – this is useful for everything from oiling stuff (it doesn’t last as long as a good quality oil, though) to de-icing the lock on your car door to getting rid of that rust binding the old plumbing fixture into place (there will be one, trust me).
-
A washer kit – you can even pick one of these up at some grocery stores. Invaluable when you’ve got a leaky faucet, costs $0.99 at my local Safeway.
-
A toilet scrubber. Hah! You thought I was gonna say ‘plunger’!
-
Doormats. You’ll want them if you don’t have 'em.