A first flat on moving in day, nearly settled, with one lamp lit

A First Flat Checklist

Moving into a first place is mostly a shopping list you write at nine at night while sitting on a box. This is the version we would write for a friend: what you need in week one, what can wait, and the small things that nobody mentions until you need them.

Week one, the things you will miss immediately

  • Bedding, two sets, so one can be in the wash
  • Two bath towels and two hand towels per person
  • A shower curtain, a bin, and bin bags
  • Loo roll, hand soap, washing up liquid, a sponge and a tea towel
  • A kettle, two mugs, two plates, two bowls, cutlery
  • One pan, one saucepan, a chopping board and a knife
  • A lamp, because ceiling lights make an empty flat feel worse

That list gets you through the first few days without a late night shop.

Home basics laid out on a floor, towels, a lamp, a laundry basket, hangers and a small toolkit
Towels, a lamp, a laundry basket, hangers and a small toolkit. The unglamorous half of the list.

The small things nobody tells you to buy

  • A small toolkit, or at least a screwdriver, a hammer and picture hooks
  • Extension leads, because sockets are never where the furniture is
  • Spare light bulbs, and check what fitting your lamps take before you go
  • A laundry basket, or clothes live on the floor from day one
  • Hangers, more than you think, all the same type
  • A first aid box and a torch

What can wait a month

Almost everything else. A full dinner service, a matching set of glasses, a coffee machine, art for the walls, a second armchair. Living in a place for a few weeks tells you what it actually needs, and it is never quite what you guessed on moving day.

The exception is anything that makes the flat feel like yours rather than a rental. One lamp, one throw and something on the wall will do more for that than a full set of anything.

A simple bedroom corner with a bedside lamp and a woven storage basket
A lamp and somewhere for things to go. That is most of what makes a room feel settled.

Set it up once, properly

Before the boxes are fully unpacked, decide where things live: coats by the door, cleaning things under the sink, tools in one drawer. Habits set in the first fortnight and then stay for years, so it is worth twenty minutes of thinking now.

Two that help from day one: a front door that does not pile up and the ten minute evening reset.

If you are starting from nothing, have a look through the whole range. Most of this list is in there.

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