My daughter is now out on her own, working at a career job (yay!).
She’s lived in apartments before during college, but now is settling in for the long haul. I had thought to give her a basic toolkit for an apartment dweller without a car. What should I put in it?
This should allow her to hang a picture, replace a shower head, clean up the gunk that accumulates on the window frame, etc. I could add a small drill or power screwdriver (almost the same thing nowadays), but this is (or is supposed to be) a basic kit that every apartment-dweller should have.
I’d add:
water pump pliers (aka Chan-L-Locks)
crescent wrench
good rechargeable flashlight (keep it above the fridge so everyone knows where it is!)
electrical tape
basic plug in outlet tester - cheap and easy to diagnose, save hundreds in electrician bills
The vice grips eliminate the need for the slip joint pliers imho
small prybar
a bag to put all this stuff in!
Oh, and a copy of the Home Depot’s How to fix anything book or whichever big box store near you’s equivalent.
Definitely add a cordless drill (something above 10 volts should be robust and last for years) and bits for it. Get the flathead and Philips screwdriver bits, and a small set of drill bits.
If you want a full sized drill, go Milwaukee or Bosch. For a mini driver go Bosch or Snap On. (I’d say go Snap on for the drill as well but they are just so pricey) 18V minimum.
I’d buy a used Milwaukee or Bosch over a new Ryobi 6 days a week and twice on Sundays - they wont even hold up under occasional home use, just junk.
definitely go with the full-sized drill as recommended. the drill-lites are useless too quickly for my tastes. nothing less than 18v.
i’d add plumber’s tape, drywall patch paste, a set of socket wrenches and a set of allen wrenches. if there’s a garbage disposal in the sink, make sure there’s a wrench for that, too. the previous renter should have left it behind, but you never know.
and get a toolbox rather than a bag. easier to store all the new household tools in a rigid container.
I’d suggest a roll of teflon tape for plumbing fixtures. Wrapping threads with that before replacing a shower head is both a good way to prevent leaks along the joint, and helps to make sure that the fixture can be removed when there’s a problem.
Apartment dweller here. We’ve gotten by just fine with a decent toolkit from Wal-Mart that has the basics: hammer, screwdrivers, pliers, etc. Heck, I’m a guy and I LIKE tools but I don’t even have a lot of the stuff listed in this thread.
The most I ever do around this place is change a lightbulb. If anything goes wrong I make the slumlords come out and fix it.
Now, what is great for apartments are damage control supplies. Carpet cleaner and drywall repair kit come to mind. If she has the space, a steam cleaner would be pure awesome.
I do wish I had a good cordless drill, too. It would make putting together furniture and hanging curtains so much easier.
If you do get a flashlight, consider one of the crank or shake type flashlights. The rechargeable ones are never plugged in, the battery ones are always dead.
I’d avoid cordless drills for someone that may only use it once or twice a year.
Not worth the hassle of charging a battery and buying new battery packs.
Regular plug in drill works when you need it. Even after being in the cabinet 18 months.
I always keep a ratchet/socket set in my toolbox. A small socket set maybe 10 piece?
Absolutely get a flashlight, or two or three; even if nothing ever breaks, there’s bound to be a power blink sometime. Or something will roll under furniture/the fridge and need retrieving.
Extension cords, and surge strips for the electronics. Not technically tools, but no apartment ever has enough outlets in the right places.
A plunger! Or two, one for the toilet and a short one for the sink. If they don’t clear the block, time to call the landlord.
I’d also recommend getting a drill, if she’s likely to either use it for drilling holes for hanging things or to put things together.
I think my first one was from Sears and worked just fine. Don’t know how their quality has changed in the meantime. I mostly used it for putting things together and taking them apart. I had a sleeper sofa that I moved twice. Took the frame apart each time to make it moveable.
I’d have her try holding drills at the store to make sure that it’s not too heavy for her. Mine was just this side of too heavy to use comfortably. Newer models seem to be more compact on the whole, but still…
And make sure it’s a proper toilet plunger, not one of the cheap red rubber sink plungers. The “really good” model costs all of $10, tops.
A 20 foot pipe snake is also incredibly cheap. It may seem like an advanced tool but this and the plunger are two great (and cheap) tools to have onhand - generally speaking when the plumbing backs up you want to fix it NOW, before something is spilling all over the floor.
This. I have a huge assortment of tools and the only things that see frequent use are the pliers, hammer, and six-in-one.
I do second an inexpensive corded drill to go with those extension cords. As others have mentioned, a cordless for occasional use will probably be more trouble than it is worth. MikeG mentioned really good brands, but IMO, Milwaukee and Snap-On are overkill. IIRC, Bosch has good bang for the buck.
I live in an apartment, and of these:
I think I have a slip-joint pliers somewhere, but I never use it.
I don’t have a level, though I suppose it might be handy for hanging pictures.
I don’t have a utility knife: I use my pocketknife for most of the things you’d use a utility knife for.
I can’t even imagine what I’d use a putty knife for.
I can’t imagine any apartment dweller having a vice grip-- That’s something that goes with a workbench. Did you mean C-clamps? I have (and use) one or two of those.
What I would add, that hasn’t been mentioned yet:
At least two pairs of scissors, one for kitchen stuff and one more heavy-duty
Assorted cleaning supplies
Packing tape, masking tape, and magic tape (all in addition to duct, of course)
A bottle of Elmer’s glue and a tube of rubber cement
A sewing needle and a spool or two of thread. You won’t do much without a sewing machine, but you can at least reattach a button or the like.
Other tools will depend on the person’s hobbies, of course. For instance, I have a sharpening stone and a rotary tool that I use for my woodcarving, and an assortment of garden tools. But those vary from person to person.