10 Must-Have Items For Your First Apartment
Finally moving into your first apartment can be exciting, overwhelming and confusing, all at the same time. On the bright side of things, you’ve finally been released from the shackles of your parents’ house. You no longer have to worry about trying to get midnight snacks without waking anyone, or sneaking back into your room after coming home from the party four hours later than you were supposed to. Come home whenever! Make all the noise you want! (Without waking the neighbors, of course.) It’s your home.
Well, kinda. Your first apartment isn’t really home until you make it home! Personally, we wouldn’t want to be surrounded by nothing but white walls 24/7, and we wouldn’t want you to be either. So, we created a list of 10 must-haves when you move in! Check these out and add a few (if not all) to spruce things up a bit in your new, blank canvas of home.
1. Washer and Dryer
Most apartments these days already come with washing machines and dryers, but there’s still a lot that don’t and just leave you with the connection hook-up. If you’re one of those people, this is specifically for you: MAKE SURE YOU BUY A WASHER AND DRYER.
Don’t wait and procrastinate for month after month. I’ve been there, trust me. It’s not a place you want to be. Those weekly trips to your parents’ house will not only cost you a substantial amount of time, but the amount of gas you’ll be using will also quickly start to add up and potentially equal or surpass the original cost of the washer and dryer! If you’re in the process of shopping around already, click the picture below for some great options.
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2. Kitchenware
To continue covering the basics, kitchenware is definitely an essential you’ll be needing for your first apartment. How else would you eat your food? Hopefully not with your hands and fingers because we’re not cavemen.
Do your due diligence and fill up those drawers and cabinets with an adequate amount of pots, pans, knives, forks, spoons and any other utensil you might see yourself cooking with like a spatula, wooden spoon, etc. Assuming that you’ll take good care of them, it’s normally one and done; you shouldn’t have to worry about buying new kitchenware too often.
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3. Cleaning Supplies
No matter how clean of a person you are, messes are inevitable. They are going to happen, so just accept it now. When those occasional mistakes do happen, you’re going to want a decent cleaning inventory to help solve whatever problem you have before you. And if you’re anything like me, after a while of being in your first apartment, seeing new and innovative cleaning supplies at the store is going to start to excite you in some weird way. Don’t ask.
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4. Bathroom Necessities
You aren’t going to want to experience hopping out the shower, only to have your wet feet meet a cold, tile floor. It isn’t pleasant. To prevent those types of situations, lace yourself with all your ordinary bathroom needs. Towels, mats, toothbrush/soap holders, toilet seat covers, etc. You won’t want to skip this step.
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5. Food
If cleaning supplies won’t start to excite you after a while, going grocery shopping definitely will. Seeing your fridge and pantry full of food is a feeling like no other. A home isn’t a home without food anyway! After you get settled in your first apartment, make sure you hop on this right away.
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6. Furniture
Eventually, or even on the very first day in your new space, you’re going to have company. It’s your first apartment for crying out loud! When they come over, don’t have them sitting on the carpet in the living room. There’s no hospitality in that. Get yourself a quality furniture set. Click the picture below for some viable options.
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7. Mini Fridge
Say goodbye to the days of can writing your name on the leftover take-out you just bought in desperate hopes of nobody eating it. A mini refrigerator is an essential that every first apartment needs.
Whether you’re a snacker, true foodie, or simply just tired of taking that midnight hike to the kitchen for your routine bottle of water, you can rest assured that everything you need is now just a couple steps away. You can find them at pretty much any store with appliances, but if you’re very particular about your food storage, IKEA has some of the best mini refrigerators around.
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8. Posters
What better way to show off your interest in that cool underground band you’ve been listening to for the last six months than a good old-fashioned poster?
Adding these to the walls of your first apartment adds an easy, yet effective method of displaying and expressing your personality. It gives you the opportunity to say “Here. This is me. This is who I am and what I represent,” without physically having to say a word. Posters also vary in shapes and sizes, so if you’re dedicated enough to buy one that’s big and bold, your job of decorating just became that much easier, considering the wall space it’ll consume.
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9. Projector
Convenient. Space-saver. Your own personal movie theater. The list of positives to having a projector is endless. To keep things short and sweet, we’ll just name two of the utmost importance.
- Functionality. Dorm rooms aren’t necessarily cute by nature, and the space constraint could limit where a television may fit. You may need a T.V. stand or dresser to comfortably watch at eye-level, which constitutes a need of more floor space. Instead, just grab a projector and point it at any wall you feel comfortable staring at for hours at a time. Once you feel satisfied with the amount of episodes you’ve binge-watched for the day, just hit the power button and boom; back to being a regular wall. It’s like it never even happened.
- When it comes to the enjoyment of watching T.V. or playing video games, the size of the screen is a concerning factor. “The bigger, the better” is usually the concept, and well, a projector is just about the best things can get in that regard. Most projectors are capable of displaying screens upward of 300 inches without distortion or loss of image quality.
The best place to purchase a projector would be any electronics store (Best-Buy, RadioShack, etc.), or again, Amazon, if you prefer shopping online. Click the link below (the picture) for a great option.
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10. Toolkit
Like previously mentioned, messes will happen, and that applies to appliances and other household items, too. You don’t have to go all out and buy every tool known to mankind, but believe me when I say that it’ll be extremely convenient having a screwdriver or a pair of pliers lying around somewhere in your new apartment. Having to make that store run at 2 in the morning to buy one screwdriver is dreadful, so prepare yourself and avoid that happening!
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These ten things should set a solid foundation for your first apartment. It’s time to settle in, get cozy and look forward your newfound freedom!
What items have you added to your first apartment? Let us know in the comments!
Featured Image Source: https://www.myfirstapartment.com/2016/05/20032/
