The Ultimate New Apartment Checklist (+ 20 Templates)

Nothing gives you excitement like growing up in your new apartment. Having your apartment and realizing you can walk confidently and access all rooms, such as the kitchen, living room, and bedroom gives you enough joy. However, sometimes acquiring all you need for your new apartment can be pretty expensive. When you move to your new apartment, you must have plans.

Before shifting to that apartment, ensure you develop a budget including your moving costs, among other expenses that might come alongside it. It is not a must you get everything for your household right away because some things are not necessities. Therefore, stick to your immediate necessities, and you will be able to spend wisely. Read on to get informed more about the new apartment checklist.

What Is a New Apartment Checklist?

A new apartment checklist is a document featuring all the apartment essentials from kitchenware, bathroom, bedroom, furniture, food, and wellness essentials, among other essentials for your apartment.

New Apartment Checklist Templates & Examples

New Apartment Checklist (Essentials)

Are you preparing for your new apartment checklist? If so, worry less. The new apartment checklist below will assist you in getting started:

Furniture

This is a primary apartment essential because no one admires taking their meals from the floor every day. However, starting from the floor is not an offense because you will advance slowly. The furniture you require in your apartment includes a chair and desk if you will be working from home, extra lighting if you have lighting issues, dining chairs, table, coffee table, and sofa.

Bedroom necessities

Suppose you are planning to purchase a mattress; ensure you get the pretty comfortable one to make you enjoy your sleep. It is good to do research and get yourself a quality mattress online. But if you cannot manage to get a decent mattress. Please start with an air or futon mattress.

Apart from the mattress, you will require two sheets, but you need to wash them regularly. Additionally, you will require pillows, closet hangers, laundry hampers, a low-cost full-length mirror, and curtains if you do not have a duvet cover and duvet. Do not forget about rings or cedar balls for moths, storage containers such as under-bed containers, plastic organizers, and a dresser. After acquiring all the bedroom necessities, you can buy later other things, such as a bedside table, bed frame, rug, and throw pillows.

Kitchenware

You must make good use of your kitchen unless you plan to survive on food deliveries from hotels. Bear in mind that you cannot survive for long without kitchen necessities. These necessities include a garbage can, dish drying rack, two or three dishrag, 4 to 6 dish towels, oven mitts, leftover food containers, measuring spoons and cups, and a cutting board such as wood, plastic, and silicon board.

On the other hand, you will also require a corkscrew, bottle opener, ice cube tray, strainer for vegetables or draining pasta, napkins, and kitchen shear to assist you open packages, especially plastics. Remember to buy a mixing bowl, cooking utensils, knives including a paring knife, chef’s knife and serrated knife, French press, or coffee maker to make coffee from your comfort zone. It would help if you also had mugs, drinking glasses, dishes, baking sheets, oven-safe dishes, pans, pots, and flatware such as spoons, knives, and forks.

When it comes to kitchenware, you do not require top-quality items. Shop at Ikea, it makes an excellent choice for kitchenware, and its knives are high quality. You can purchase a few things later, such as an instant pot, slow cooker, serving dishes, cake pans, hand mixer, blender, food processor, microwave, and toaster oven. You might also opt to buy a rug, place it around the kitchen sink, and stand on it while washing your dishes.

Bathroom necessities

Apart from the body wash, shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, and toothbrush. There are several things you require to make your bathroom functional and organized. These include a small trash can, toilet paper, plunger, toilet brush, bathmat, case or toothbrush holder, wall hook, shower liner and curtain, two face or hand towels, and bath towels. You can buy other essentials such as a shower speaker, extra storage, water cup, and soap dispenser later after settling.

Cleaning supplies

Cleanliness is next to godliness. Therefore, when you move to a new apartment, you need to observe cleanliness. The best way to do this is by ensuring you have cleaning supplies, such as hand soap for the bathroom and kitchen, rubber gloves, and white vinegar. Remember, baking soda, liquid dish soap, dishwasher detergent, laundry detergent, wood cleaner, and multi-purpose spray. You will also need bathroom cleaning spray, a handheld vacuum, mop, a bucket for cleaning and mopping, paper towels, anti-bacterial wipes, microfiber, sponges for cleaning and dishes, a dustpan, broom, and garbage bags. After settling, you can consider buying a microfiber sweeper, furniture polish, and a fancy vacuum.

Wellness and first aid essentials

Sometimes it is difficult to avoid accidents, and you are also likely to fall sick. This means you need to be ready with basics that can help you treat yourself and your loved ones. Make a point of purchasing a simple first aid kit alongside other counter products, such as a digital thermometer, aloe for minor burns, antacids, ibuprofen, aspirin, Neosporin for minor wounds, and isopropyl alcohol. Ensure you also have cotton balls, cold compress, crepe bandage to minimize swelling, tweezers, small scissors, butterfly bandages, and bandages.

Some wellness and first aid essentials you can purchase later include hydrocortisone for irritated skin, saline nasal spray, cough drops, cough medicine, decongestant, and allergy medication like Benadryl. Remember, allergy medication and decongestants must be at hand since no one needs to run to the pharmacy when feeling awful.

Food

After owning a house, you must find out how to stock your fridge and pantry. You must understand that an excellently packed kitchen helps you save money for greet items you require in your apartment. You do not need to purchase everything featured on this list because it only guides you on the necessities you should consider in your new apartment.

Pantry food includes pepper, salt, snack food, pasta sauce, dried pasta, canned chicken or tuna, dried or canned beans, soy sauce, vinegar, cooking oil, mustard, ketchup, nut butter, and grains. Additionally, remember to quick-cooking oats, cereals, coffee, tea, baking powder or soda, sugar substitute, honey or sugar, all-purpose flour, bread, and rice.

Fridge foods include preserves, jam, fresh vegetables, which are whole to save on the cost, fresh whole fruits that are not packaged or pre-cut, cheese, egg substitute, egg, butter, and milk, depending on what you prefer. It can be either almond, soy, or cow.

Consider frozen vegetables, frozen fruits, poultry or meat, and frozen patties like vegetable burgers and burgers for freezer foods. Do not forget about frozen dinners and pizza.

You can purchase things such as spices later when you can afford them.

Other essentials of the apartment

When moving to a new apartment, you must buy multiple other items, such as:

• Hammer
• Adjustable wrench
• Screwdriver, like a straight blade and Philips for assembling your furniture
• Flashlight, a single one for your main living area and another one for your bedroom
• Fans for each room, suppose your apartment lacks them

Later, you can buy a paper shredder and printer for disposing of crucial documents when you are settled.

Moving Tips – Before you move, Packing, and Unpacking

If you have ever moved to a new apartment, you will agree that moving is usually hectic and stressful, but a few hacks make it pretty simple. Therefore, ensure you read through to familiarize yourself with a few tips that will help you move out without much hassle.

Before you move

Commence your process of moving one to two weeks before moving day to avoid being overwhelmed with packing.

• Keep track of the tax-deductible moving expenses- Suppose you are moving for a job or a military member. Your moving expenses might be tax-deductible. Therefore, ensure you do sufficient research to determine if you are qualified. If you are a qualified member, keep a record of your entire moving expenses.
• Measure large items – Most people usually ignore this tip when moving, but it is vital. Moving without measuring large items might disappoint you since your furniture may not pass your do or even fit the rooms. Therefore, ensure you measure your entire items to make sure they fit your new home.
• Pack before a particular moving day- Movers receive a salary per hour. If you take a lot of time to pack your boxes as they wait, the cost will run very fast. To avoid this cost, ensure you pack your bags and boxes before moving.
• Use the soap to fill holes on your wall- An apartment with holes on the wall can cost you money when moving out. However, you can fill them up using bar soap. Rub the holes in your apartment wall until they get filled up.
• Have accessible snacks- As mentioned earlier, moving out can be tiresome. Therefore, ensure you have water and snacks for refueling whenever your energy reduces. Share your snacks with movers to make them happy.
• Feature a moving day bag- It acts as a lifesaver. Furthermore, it helps you pack everything you need for your weekend trip. These include cleaning supplies, chargers, toiletries as well as clothes. Ensure you store this bag in your car to avoid the hassle of searching for it.
• Eat out or plan for meals- When packing kitchen items, you must plan for your meals for the few days your items will be packed. You can eat out for a few days or prepare freezer meals for several days until you unpack your things.
• Find free moving boxes- Moving out costs a lot. However, some unexpected costs are usually unnecessary, such as purchasing moving boxes. You can find packages at a free cost from Craigslist’s free section, grocery, and clothing stores.
• Declutter and offer as a donation- If you have items that you will not require or do not fit your new home, declutter them. After that, sell them on your selling app or donate them to an orphanage.

Packing hacks

Most people are usually afraid of packing. Thus, go through the hacks featured below to find out which is the best you can use the next time you move out:

• Utilize rubber bands to store with the pots’ lids- Lids are challenging to keep when moving since they easily slide. To prevent them from sliding, use rubber bands.
• Pack pots with your kitchen supplies- You can pack your kitchen supplies, such as measuring cups and spices, in the pots. This will make it easy for you to unpack in your kitchen.
• Pack plates vertically- No one wants their plates to get broken, and multiple people prevent this scenario by packing their plates vertically.
• Pack knives in the oven mitts- It is hard to pack knives. Besides, they can also be hazardous to anyone moving them. The best way to store knives is to keep them in the protective oven mitts.
• Make handles on boxes that do not feature handles- It is challenging to pick boxes from the ground, especially if they are heavy. Therefore, you can add handles to boxes using the box cutter.
• Take inventory- Jotting down an inventory of what every box features can be beneficial. Suppose you find this consuming a lot of your time. You can take pictures of what is in every box. This will be helpful when organizing your new apartment.
• Color-code- It is hard to keep all your boxes organized. At the same time, it is not easy to locate things once you reach your new apartment. Fortunately, the color-coding system makes everything easy and lets you glance at each box easily and know which room it belongs to.
• Eliminate hardware if possible- Suppose the drawers feature stick-out handles, unscrew your hardware and place handles inside the drawer to avoid scratching other items when moving.
• Engulf liquids using plastic wraps- This will make you avoid liquid spills on your crucial items
• Rack cotton balls with your makeup- When moving, makeup can easily break. To protect your powder, pack cotton balls in the compacts.
• Use hangers to pack clothes- Do not remove clothes on the hanger and fold them. Instead, let them hang on your hanger and cover them with a plastic wrap or a trash bag.
• Create your TV box- Move your TV, cover your screen using a towel and develop a custom box for it. The flat screen should face up. Whenever you buy your TV, ensure to keep the packaging that comes with it for use when moving to another apartment.
• Keep the file of your crucial document accessible- Your essential documents should be separate from other items. Please keep them in a file to avoid losing them.
• Ensure you transport valuable products yourself- If you have valuable items that you would love moving them yourself. Pack them safely and transport them to your new apartment.
• Bubble wrap glasses and mirrors- Packing glass picture frames and mirrors is challenging. Remember that these items are usually packed separately using packing papers or bubble wrap. And outside the box, label fragile.
• Ask movers to place your boxes in a single appropriate room- Instead of piling all boxes in the living room, ask movers to put them in an appropriate space. Suppose the boxes are color-coded. You will quickly determine where they go. This will make your life easy when unpacking
• Use your drawers for storage- Your dress drawers can be packed with clothes, among other things.
• Keep disassembled furniture parts in a bag that is labeled- Big furniture such as beds are dissembled. Keep the screws in a sandwich bag that is labeled. This will enable you to have all parts together when you want to assemble your furniture, especially the bed.
• Utilize sheets and towels- You probably understand that linens consume a lot of space, and you can utilize them for other things. Use sheets and towels to wrap fragile objects and save yourself from bubble wrap.
• Organize your cords using toilet paper rolls- Sometimes, it is good to repurpose your old toilet paper rolls. Ensure you organize the cords in these rolls to prevent them from getting disorganized during transportation.
• Use your suitcase- If you have heavier items, pack them in the suitcase. Most suitcases incorporate wheels, making them easy to transport, unlike heavy boxes.
• Take wired electronic shoots- Electronics like TVs feature numerous wires. Suppose you are moving to another apartment; ensure you take a picture to know how to connect back in your new house.

Unpacking tips

Unpacking is tiresome, just like packing. Here are several tips that will help you unpack safely:

• Before unpacking, take a picture of the new apartment- Ideally, it is good to take shots of your modern home. This will assist you in documenting the apartment defaults to avoid being charged in the future when you move out.
• Take time to relax- During unpacking, ensure you take time to relieve stress and relax. Therefore, it is good to opt for a yoga class or relax at a coffee shop.
• Eliminate unpacked boxes as you go- Boxes usually consume a lot of space. After unpacking, get rid of these boxes. This will make you feel like you have accomplished a few things in your house.

FAQs

You are now familiar with the best new apartment checklist based on this article. Besides, when moving to your apartment, you will regularly visit the nearest store to purchase things that you do not have, and that is okay. However, always remember to start with what you require, and then you can upgrade slowly later.