I cam in too late to figure out what hasn’t been said yet, but I like the Black & Decker Pivot Plus. It’s a cordless electric screwdriver that’s smaller and lighter than the typical drill. It does some drilling, but only light stuff, mostly holes for screws and things in wood and drywall in my use of it. I’d never had an electric driver before that and it changed my life. You can screw all sorts of things you might not have thought to screw around with before because it’s so much quicker.
A hacksaw.
A t-handled manual screwdriver, for stubborn screws. I have one with magnetic bits that can be straight or t-handled.
A pack of shims for leveling things. Wood is fine for leveling a shelf or something, but sometimes you want something else, such as plastic shims for leveling a toilet.
What about cars? I assume you’ll have a car at your house; did you have one before, and did you have a place to work on it? If you’re getting your first garage you may want to think about that. The first thing you need to work on a car is a good socket set with 2 or 3 size ratchets, some extensions and 50+ sockets. You’ll want a special spark-plug socket and an oil-filter wrench or socket. Also you’ll want one of those handheld corded lights that you can hang under the hood. A torque wrench helps.
Don’t think I’ve seen a staple gun mentioned yet. I personally heartily endorse the Powershot stapler, because it works so much better than all the rest. This thing is so useful on so many levels–I think I’ve only gotten more use out of my shovel or possibly my favorite hammer, but that’s only because my dog digs holes. Staple guns are fantastic!
Please make sure to paint at least one room a totally inappropriate, offball color–my daughter did gold metallic paint for her bedroom walls. This lets you know you are the OWNER and therefore the BOSS of the house and will make you settle in more quickly. Congrats, home ownership is the bomb!
My suggestion is some of those glider thingies that make moving furniture really easy (like these). They’re cheap and make arranging (and rearranging) your furniture a snap. Your back (and your spouse!) will thank you. You can find them at Wal-Mart, Lowe’s, Home Depot, etc. They’re well worth the small investment.
One that nobody seems to have said yet: a hose reel. You’ll need a neater way to store your hose than flopping it on the ground. Either the kind that’s attached to the house that you coil it on, or the kind with wheels that you can move where you need it, whatever works best for you.
A big second for buckets (a couple of nice big 5-gallon ones) and gloves. In addition to the weed whacker, consider getting some “lawn scissors”, which will snip grass neatly near stuff you don’t want to damage, like trees. Keep the trimmer and the mower away from your tree trunks; just tidy up with the scissors.
You might also consider a tank sprayer. Get a metal one if you can afford it, for doing things like spraying insecticide or weed killer that you mix yourself. I’d recommend getting a plastic one for spraying wood protectant, though, because that stuff will gum up a sprayer something fierce.
And get some plants! Put some stuff in the ground! And then some flowerpots, and plant even more! Seriously, I thought I’d hate gardening, but it’s actually really fun and addicting.
As Max Torque suggested, get “lawn scissors”…or go a step further and find an old rotary scissor mower. I love ours (we got it this spring from my father) and if your yard is small, it’s a nice quick workout plus you don’t have to deal with going and getting gasoline for the mower and such. It’s also better for your lawn (or so I’ve been told) because of the cutting action like scissors instead of the spinning blade in a normal mower.
I would also second getting a shed. I am buying the final bits of lumber next week to finish up my little storage bin. We built it pretty quickly, I just need to get a door on it. It’s small, 4’x4’ and about 5’3" tall, but it works for us.
Gardening is a great thing to get into. We’re preparing the back yard for our garden right now and I love the idea of it. I also have several potted plants, and it very addicting…
Be prepared to purchase multiples of the following:
A few tape measures (you will leave them sitting randomly around town at various retail counters, friend’s houses, aisles of hardware stores, etc).
Common slotted and phillips screwdrivers. I have a tool box filled with every odd-ball mini and mega sized screwdriver in existance, yet have to buy a new medium sized one every damn time I need to do a simple repair. There now must be dozens of them cohabitating with my lost socks somewhere.
Rolls of duct tape and masking tape. Have one in every room and drawer of your house.
Empty spray bottles. The technology to make a reusable spray bottle that survives for more than half of a bottle of product has apparantly been lost, and engineers can’t decipher the heiroglyphics of the original “Formula Anubis 409” temple drawings. You’ll thank me during every spring cleaning when all of your cleaner bottles leak everywhere except at what they are pointed at.
We’ve recently moved into an older home with a very small yard. This little yard is populated with a lot of ivy, rock gardens, patio, herb gardens, and moss, so there is not much actual “lawn”. We’ve been thinking about getting a reel mower, and this is a great time to ask folks who have one how much they love it…and if the craftsman brand one at sears is a respectable model.
I won’t hijack this thread, though, so I started a new one here !
Gotta reiterate this one. Ask your family, friends and neighbors for names of reliable repair people that they would recommend: plumbers (including sewer guys), electricians, roofers, general contractors, handymen, pest control people, etc. Get more than one name for each – and get them before you need them! My partner and I love doing as much as we can ourselves, but it’s great to have a reliable back-up plan when you’ve already consulted the 1-2-3 book, looked it up on the internet, made 3 separate trips to the hardware store for supplies, and worked on it for 2 evenings in a row but the damn faucet still leaks, and there’s a part you can’t get off, and you just want to be able to call someone to fix it for you.
write down the dimensions of your dining room table, all windows/sliding doors, etc. Put it on a little piece of paper in your wallet with a swatch of each wall color you use. You should be able to fit this in one picture pocket. Trust me, when you are out and about, trying to remember that crap is impossible. It also lets you match stuff that needs matching.
Get some of the magic sponges. They are…well…magic and great for cleaning up. If you have carpets in the new house, buy some of the sticky walkway protector stuff, it’s cheap, much cheaper than having your carpets steam cleaned. Pull it up once all the moving is done.
Find out a few take out restaraunts in the area. The first week they will be a lifesaver, heck ask your new neighbors for their favorite delivery joint.
Make a box that travels in your car to the new house, put in it: Toilet paper, paper towels, windex, a screwdriver, some picture hooks, a fresh new shower curtain, a bar of soap and some clean towels. Also, put your toiletries in a bag and move it WITH YOU. Immediately put it in the bathroom, walk right in, place it on the counter and get everything else. Clean body, teeth, hair make for a happy day.
Good luck, I’m getting my house ready for sale now and am planning ahead by packing things and labelling them well, I hope.
