Friday, 1 September 2017
Moving into your first home is an exciting and scary time. There’s lots going on, many things you need to finalise and a lot of packing to do! When taking all your possessions to your first home, it’s much easier to think about all the items you do own, rather than what you’re missing.
Excluding the bigger more obvious items that you’ll probably think of, such as a sofa or a bed, we’ve gathered a list of useful household items that you might be forgetting from your purchase list.
This sounds obvious, but when you move into your first home it’s unlikely that your parents will let you take their cleaning products with you. It’s also unlikely that these items will be the first thing on your ‘to buy’ list, or the second, or even the tenth.
When you’re moving in, it’s likely that a lot of dust will form from all the movement, so don’t forget a duster. Or when that first spill happens in the kitchen, and you find that you have nothing to help clean it up. Maybe you’re celebrating your move with a glass of wine with friends and one is accidentally knocked over. At that point, you’ll wish that you had thought of picking up some stain remover for your carpet. Or even worse, you go to do your first load of washing and find that you have no washing detergent, or washing up liquid for that matter.
There’s a trend forming there of you being caught out in messy situations and not having the products available to clean up with. To start off with you don’t need to have every cleaning product under the sun, but a few of the basics to help tide you over are a must.
Another area that’s easy to forget. We’re not talking knives and forks, we’re sure you wouldn’t forget those! However, it’s easy to overlook a can and bottle opener, which will be an annoyance at the end of a hard day moving when you want nothing more than to relax with a bottle of beer, but you can’t open it.
An oven mitt is also easy to forget. Getting hot food from the oven with a tea towel isn’t enough protection for many people, so don’t get caught out – or burnt – by overlooking this kitchen essential.
Cooking utensils are another example. Not pots and pans, but a spatula and a wooden spoon for the cooking process. Using your cutlery instead is a quick fix. However, you can easily scratch non-stick surfaces with them which isn’t something you want to do to your brand-new pots and pans!
If you’re moving into your first home, it might be that you’re used to a floordrobe. Or maybe even a chairdrobe! Now that you’re a home owner, it’s probably time to put your clothes away or to wash at the end of the day, instead of on the floor.
However, if you don’t have a laundry basket it will be quite difficult to keep up your clothing organisation. Where will you put your dirty clothes while they wait to be washed? Make sure you’ve got one to make your life a bit easier, so if you really can’t break your old floordrobe ways, at least you will know that none of its contents are dirty.
The day finally arrives for your bed to be delivered. You’re sick of sleeping on the floor, so when it arrives flat packed, you instantly open it up to start building.
You start reading through the instructions and begin to assemble your bed, when the next step instructs you to screw in the first screw. That’s when you realise you don’t have a screw driver. Or any tools for that fact.
When moving, it’s likely that you’ll be buying some furniture that will need putting together. So, it’s important to be prepared with a tool kit, even if it’s a basic one. Choose a hammer, a few different types of screw driver, a mix of nails and screws and a few hooks. Take note of items that are in most tool kits, as they’re items you’ll probably need.
A first aid kit is something you hopefully wouldn’t need often, but you’ll regret it you don’t have one. The great thing about having one is that once stocked, its contents will usually last you a long time, so you won’t need to worry about running out for a while.
Having the basics such as plasters, bandages, antiseptic creams, small scissors and tweezers are ideal. These will cover you for most potential situations.
Also include any medication you may need, such as over-the-counter painkillers, cough medicines, cold and flu tablets and Imodium. Adjust according to your needs, but these are the basics for most people.
When you first move in, there is a high chance that your light fixings won’t have light bulbs in them, if there are even any fixings left at all.
The last thing you’ll want is the sun to set on your first day in your new home, and you realise that your lights don’t have any lightbulbs in them. Chances are, if you forgot to buy lightbulbs, you probably forgot to buy a torch too.
Make sure you know what kind of lightbulbs your new home’s fixings take, then make sure you have spares so you’re not caught out in the future. A torch is also important in the event of a power cut, or for illuminating an area in your home that may not have a light source, such as a cupboard under the stairs. We’d suggest getting a wind-up model so it’s not reliant on a power source.
Batteries are easily forgotten, but if you do it can cause a bit of annoyance. It’s easy to overlook them, but it’s worth your time to consider stocking up on AA and AAA for all the new items you’ll be buying for your house.
There’s so many that you’ll forget run off battery power, like the TV remote, your bedside clock, a wireless doorbell and much more.
Although it should take you a while to get through a packet of batteries, it may be worth considering rechargeable ones instead. They’re more expensive to begin with, but you’ll save yourself time and money in the long run.
There is a whole host of other items that you’ll forget to buy, many depending on your habits and preferences. For example, forgetting a garlic crusher is no big deal to some people and quite an annoyance to others.
Regardless, keep these products in mind when you’re purchasing for your big move to not get caught out.
