Move in is the next few weeks. I’ve lived on my “own” (roommate I never interacted with) for a couple months my last semester of college, but that was a temporary setup whereas I’m hopefully moving out for good this time.
Bear in mind that the place has window/wall A/C and electric heating.
Things I’m already considering:
- Drain guard
- Bidet
- Cold brew coffee maker
- Rice cooker
- Space heater? I’d like to keep the temp largely down during the winter to save money while warming up the part of the place I’m in
- Key for washer/dryer
Things I already have:
- Most furniture
- Air fryer
- Seltzer water thingy
- Meal prep containers
General advice is also welcome!
I always suggest a decent sized rug/runner. Not only do they help tie together a room/hallway/entrance/etc in general, but they also help dampen noise. For example, when I moved into my current apartment - even with all my furniture and a bunch of stuff on the walls, walking around barefoot would echo really badly and god forbid I turned the AC on because the fan noise would echo. A rug and matching runner I got from the thrift store for $50 solved that and as a bonus, I can walk around barefoot without my feet getting cold from the hardwood
I agree with plants. Definitely at least some succulents. You can leave a cactus in the bathroom and never water it because it’ll absorb moisture from steam.
Warm coloured lamps, adjustable, or non adjustable but placed so your lighting can always match the mood.
Nice pair of speakers, if that’s your thing.
Disagree with what people are saying about art. Yes, get some art, but don’t rush it. Buy what really appeals to you. Don’t just get random shit for the sake of filling your walls.
Manual food processor. Chops and onion (or anything else) in 2 seconds. Doesn’t need to be plugged in. Costs 10 quid. Cleans out as easily as cleaning a bowl.
Couple fridge magnets?
The entire works of Lenin. No but seriously, a nice wooden bookshelf with a nicely assorted set of books.
General bric a brac. I now buy really tacky mini sculptures of British Wildlife whenever I see them in charity shops, and I put them all over the house.
Homemade stuff, if you like crafts. I made a funny weed box, where it looks like Agent Cooper from twin peaks is handing you a blunt.
consider a rug
Get some blankets and cushions - makes sitting on the sofa so much more cozy if the room is cold. Also a hot water bottle is amazing for this and for cold beds too! If you’re a shoes off in the home kinda person (which you should be - the streets are dirty!) then get some good warm slippers. A lifesaver if you’re running the place a bit colder.
Dehumidifier’s are really good but they’re expensive to run, and don’t forget to ventilate - open the windows daily.
Something every residence should have is Carbon Monoxide and smoke alarms - they are not expensive and may save your life. Also a small fire extinguisher and fire blanket.
It’s nerd shit, but running some type of mini pc or raspberry pi with pihole for adblocking and some type of jellyfin and arr stack if you’re inclined is very good for media.
Get an aeropress. I’m also a big fan of a Moka pot.
Tools: the most important ones are a decent measuring tape, a claw hammer, some pozidrive and flathead screwdrivers (or whatever your local fixings tend to be: torx, Allen, square etc), for hanging pictures and the like get a torpedo spirit level, they don’t take much space. Buy cheap tools - if they wear out or are insufficient only then buy good quality ones. The fact is if you don’t do much work the $2 claw hammer you bought at Walmart may be all you ever need, and that’s better than spending $100+ on a pro framing hammer that you’ll never see the benefit of. Then beyond those basic hand tools, a Combi drill with hammer functionality is very useful. After that only get the tools you need, for the tasks you intend to do. No point owning a circular saw if you’re never planning on cutting a load of timber or a pipe cutter if you never do any plumbing!
Also buy a torch incase of power cuts and store it somewhere you can find it in the dark!
This is left of field, but I’ve got an ancient 80s era Braun analog alarm clock (other alarm clocks will also be perfect) that I keep by my bed so I can still wake up but also not have my phone in the bedroom. I strongly recommend it. Phones in the bedroom are a route to late night scrolling and ignoring your partner. Not good. It’s a thief of romance and time.
Congrats on your new place 🛖 I’d like to suggest lamps if you don’t have them. Both table and floor. Overhead lighting sucks eggs. Speaking of, if you like them, hard boiled eggs are the the easiest yummiest snack to keep on hand. Let’s see. Throw rugs. Ottoman. Putting a towel under your cutting board keeps it from sliding. Meet your neighbors and bake them some cookies if they seem nice.
Easy to care for plants, like golden porthos, ZZ plants, etc. Or, even tasteful fake plants for those no light areas like bathrooms without windows.
I second buying thrift store art, keep in mind, you might buy a few that you end up not showing/displaying, ok to redonate.
Also, two huge things to help keep your place neat is to make sure every item has a home, and more cabinet/covered storage is good, for example, buy furniture that has drawers, like beside tables, coffee tables with drawers, couch side tables with drawers, etc.
I have large magnet marker board on my fridge that I use all the time, you could also get a nice wall corkboard, or even paint a wall with “black slate” paint so that you can write on it with chalk. Also good to have a filebox with hanging folders and use it to keep papers organized, and have a system for your mail so it isn’t sitting around.
Rice cooker, for sure.
Get good sheets.
It’s been mentioned already, but good knives for the kitchen.
Oh and if you have a place to compost, use a coffee canister for food scraps. Food in the compost, rinse off anything with food residue. If you have this, plus a nearby place to recycle stuff, your trash won’t stink, and you won’t go through as many trash bags.
Space heater? I’d like to keep the temp largely down during the winter to save money while warming up the part of the place I’m in
I fell for this meme but it neglects to account for the fact that furniture has thermal mass and gets cold as shit when it isn’t being heated. It also takes a very very long time to heat up (again because of the thermal mass). Just turning on the heater so the apartment & all its furniture was always a comfortable temp without me wearing a toque & fingerless gloves & slippers & always being covered in blankets & drinking hot water was probably the greatest possible improvement to my happiness & comfort for the money spent.
Rice cooker
Hell yeah, get a nice one like a Zojirushi if possible
Cold brew coffee maker
Loose-leaf tea equipment is very cheap if you’re into that and are looking for a more moderate caffeine hit
seltzer water thingy
Airstream is an israeli company btw
Sodastream is the Israeli company, Airstream is… I think a type of vehicle?
Hmm that’s a good note on the space heater.
The coffee maker I’m looking at is only like $30 and I’ll make that back in the money I save not buying premade concentrate pretty quick
I actually have a Drinkmate which isn’t connected to Israel afaik! I think the canisters are still Sodastream but I’m working on finding a local homebrew shop that will refill them for cheap compared to swapping them out at target or something
Drinkmate is not israeli.
And you can get their canisters (you can even trade Sodasteam canisters for their ones).
I love my drinkmate, seltzer good.
Grab a 5lb CO2 tank from the home brew shop, and a little adapter for sodastream canisters. Easy to fill up at home and you only need to refill the big tank every 5 or 6 refills of the small one. Super cheap as well (and te money goes to your hbs).
If you’re into it plants can make really nice cheap decorations and add a feel of life to the place.
I like plants—any specific recommendations?
Others have mentioned Sansevieria and pothos, I’d add spider plants (chlorophytum comosum) are very low maintenance and you can probably get a baby for free from somebody who has a mother plant. Also ZZ plants (zamioculcas zamifolia) because they don’t require much light and can go longer without watering so their placement can be more flexible.
Depends on the work you want to put and how much you travel. Jade plants, aloe and other succulents take almost nothing. Water 'em like once a month. I’m a big fan of ferns, pretty low effort and they can grow to what ever size you let them.
Really most plants are pretty easy if you have them in the right soil and pots. Most only need watered weekly, if that, and will stay healthy with no maintenance.
Pothos and spider plants are both cheap and hard to kill
Sansevieria/snake plant won’t die if you don’t water it (well it will eventually), it’ll just stop growing and wait for water. It’s a good first step.
Might be better to get a handful of things, remember to water it all just once a week and it should work out ok.
Adding lucky bamboo to the recommendations! It’s very manageable and can be kept in soil or water.
monstera deliciosa or raphidophora tetrasperma
Bro really named a species raphidophora four-sperm
Cold brew coffee maker
get yourself a french press, it can do hot and cold!
More and more people are saying this
Go to a second hand store or a yard sale or the like. Pick of some cheap pieces of art that look nice to you. Don’t worry about tacky or classy, just whatever you vibe with. My wall is filled with an eclectic assortment of random pieces and if it’s all random, it goes well together.
Also an electric kettle is really useful, but if you’re fresh from college you might already have one.
Electric kettles are great. I use mine for pour over coffee (hot and iced), and even random shit where I need really hot water and don’t want to wait for it.
So strange to hear that an electric kettle is not a standard item…
In the UK you’ll find them in every household because tea. Back when TV was the main entertainment source, some of the power grids biggest spikes were in BBC TV advert breaks, when everyone would go flick the electric kettle on to make a tea for the next part of the show.
We don’t drink tea as often as you all do, and I think a lot of us who do use the microwave to heat their water lmao.
I only got one since I got into Japanese-style pour over coffee, but they’re definitely great.
It’s for more than just tea/coffee, like you can boil your water in the kettle before adding it to a pot if you need it. Saves you 1) from having to bring water to the boil on the stove 2) doesn’t bring the water temp down (much) if you already have the pot at a boil
It’s a real jolt. I felt so god damn British in that moment. I get that y’all don’t bother with English Breakfast tea - it’s a somewhat acquired taste I suppose - I mean there’s a reason not everyone does it. But herbal teas? Do y’all not drink mint tea or any of that stuff either? Gotta be one of the very few places in the world to not drink herbal teas.
Herbal teas are probably less common than stuff like English Breakfast tea over here, tbh. I live in the southeast, so the most common tea consumption is heavily sweetened iced tea. The old school way of preparing it involves placing the tea in a well-cleaned gallon container and leaving it to steep in the sun for the better part of a hot afternoon.
I bet we sound like a bunch of cave people lmao.
That’s wild. Yeah. I don’t know, not even cave. Cave people were the OG leafy tea drinkers. You’re homo-americanus, dwellers of the richest country in the world. A country born with a disavowal of all things natural and native. I am always shocked at the amount of premade stuff and sugar that goes into American recipes.
second the art stuff. I used to decorate my room with art and fine china that I found in a charity shop after work. Some of my favourite pieces ever were found in a bin with a bunch of other crap!
Cold brew coffee maker
I just use a French press to make cold brew and it works super well, with the benefit of being able to make hot coffee too.
A high quality chefs knife is a game changer in the kitchen. You don’t need a whole block of knives or anything, just a good 7-9 inch knife. Also a knife sharpener, I just use a little pull-through one from Amazon and it works well enough. A good sharp knife is so much easier to use and safer than a dull one.
Bathroom trashcans with lids.
Bookshelves, books and other things on those shelves
Get some plants. Having some green living things in the house feels nice. Even if you don’t have a green thumb, something like a peace lily is dead simple to care for.
Have you considered using a bunch of empty liquor bottles as decoration? An empty bottle of Jameson on a mantle or on a windowsill has a je ne sais quoi that well put together apartments rarely have.
Doubly so if you don’t actually drink.
Next time I move into my own place, I am aiming to have a framed picture of Josip Tito next to an empty bottle of Tito’s Handmade Vodka somewhere visible but not prominent as an irl visual gag.
