to ask for advice on what to buy?!

[n1n3tynine]

We are buying our first home! We will not be in it until September (currently living with my grandmother) so don't have too much room to store things but a few people have advised us "best to buy things now as you'll have more important things to be paying for when you move in!"

So my question is... what should we buy now?! Obviously we can't buy big things like beds/sofas etc whilst living with my Grandmother. Just looking for advice on what we should buy now/what can wait until we move in! OR does anybody have any advice on "things everybody buys but you don't actually need" and likewise, "things nobody buys but you really need"!?!

Thank you all! It's all very exciting

The sensible part of me says you should wait and see the condition of the house as money might be better spent on repairs/renovations than on fancy pans....

But! It's too much fun to hold back. I get that!

I recommend Let Creuset pans, both casserole and the stainless steel triple layer heavy bottom sauce pans. About £300 for a set but we'll worth it.

Good quality down duvet? Nice new sheets?

Have fun.

• le Creuset. Stupid autocorrect.

I would say only buy essentials that you don't already own and will definitely use, eg a couple of plates, cutlery, a saucepan etc. Don't buy anything decorative as you will have to move it! Also it may not fit with furniture you later do buy.

wall paper scraper, screw drivers, drill, drill bits, rawl plugs, (maybe wait to see what sort of walls you will have) sandpaper, paintbrushes.

@livingthegoodlife Good advice, thank you!

I have a decent savings pot which I'm not touching (or trying not to ) in case of emergencies. It's a new build though so fingers crossed it should be fine.

I will check out those pans!

@BlackeyedGruesome That's a great idea! Neither of us actually own anything like this, probably a good idea to get a little DIY set together.

You could rent a storage to put stuff in while waiting.

It depends on how tight money is. If you're budget is small, join a local Facebook selling site and start keeping an eye on Preloved and Gumtree for second hand bargains.

IKEA furniture is flat packed and easily stored but can be bought any time so there's no real point in waiting. There is often a wait for sofas to be delivered but I found IKEA only take a couple of days.

If you're planning on redecorating, the colour scheme may affect what you buy.

Small things you can buy now and easily store are bedding, kitchen gadgets, mugs etc.

Start shopping around for your sofas etc. It might be that the one you set your heart on is on back order and will take 3 or 4 months to arrive. Lots of luck in your new home!

Towels
Bedding
Utensils
Lamps
Good kitchen knives
Toaster
Kettle

I'd just save the money until nearer the time unless I saw some absolute bargains. You can then just buy what you need when you actually have a house to use it in.

Also put the word out to friends and family that you could take any spare household items off their hands if they have spare things they don't want, or are getting rid of stuff.

But it all depends on how much money you have and how particular you are about the things you will want. Supermarkets, Wilko, Ikea, Dunelm etc are all pretty good for household items and they'll all still likely to be selling these things in six months time.

So keep your money for now and go shopping nearer the time. August/September is actually quite a good time to buy 'starting out' type household goods because there's all the student offers. I got a slow cooker for £7 from Asda on a half price offer a couple of years ago.

Thank you all for the great advice!

Buying decent bedding, towels etc is a great investment and easy to store. I second the pp who says to be careful of lead times on big ticket items so order a couple of months in advance if possible- some companies will hold onto items until you are ready.

How about a bit of up-cycling while you are waiting? Find the odd chest of drawers etc and renovate, paint and create something more unique than Ikea?

Finally, I wouldn’t go too mad, just cover the basics because it’s great fun choosing stuff after you move in and you will have more idea of what works when you’ve lived there for a while.

Just wait or you'll end up buying loads of crap that doesn't fit the space.
Make the first thing a bed when you move in and then work from there.

I do not recommend Le Creuset pans they're so heavy they break your bloody wrists. Sainsbury's do nice alternatives.

Oh and don't think your new build won't have issues, we've had a roof leak, a broken pneumatic door, 2 cupboard doors fall off of the wall and the skirting split... we've only been here 2 years.