What does a house need

[JustMovedOverHere]

Hi.

We have just moved here and are staying with friends (they are very kind) until we find a place.

Once we move we will need to kit out the house - everything from dish clothes to beds for 2 adults and 4 kids(all under 4 years old).

We only brought our clothes and a few special items as the cost of shipping was horrendous.

I am trying to get a list together for what we need and would welcome your thoughts as to what we need.

Once I have this list I will bargain hunt for it all. Or try and get items in sales.

Thank you.

Try to avoid buying all at once now (unless you want/can afford to) as you may find new place can have some things left in it, even if you are buying not renting.

Plus you won't know if you want e.g. dining chairs or stools for a breakfast bar type affair.

We bought some vintage wardrobes and big mirrors from the person we bought flat from so instantly crossed those off our list and seller offered us a few other items too...

With children, my must haves are (in order).

Cot to contain baby while unpacking
Mattresses to sleep on and some bedding
A table and chairs.

Everything else can be acquired gradually (e.g. we sat on beanbags for a year & then bought a lovely sofa).

IMO a table is really important as a focal point for managing the family. Without it, it's toast crumbs and crayons scattered everwhere - and don't even start thinking about homeworks.

Roof

Seriously - a table. And dining chairs. Coping without any form of table is a PITA.
Comfy chairs - ideally a good sofa.
You can sleep on mattresses for a while if neccesary.
Two kitchen knives. Chopping board, Frying pan. Small and large saucepans. Casserole, Mixing bowl. Mugs, tumblers, plates, bowls, cutlery. All the kitchen stuff can be bought from charity shop or somehere like BHS to start with.

Having moved into a house with very little of our stuff as the removals van wasn't available to get our stuff out of storage, we spent 3 weeks with just the basics. It was bliss! No clutter. I would cope with that for a while and then take time getting the right things for the house. Possessions seem to become more of a burden than a joy after a while so take time to get the right ones.

BTW - presumably you're not moving into a cave & will get some stuff included - but a slowcooker is a cheap and easy way to feed a family nutritious meals - particularly as I guess you will have your hands full. I'd buy a slowcooker before an oven if I was starting from scratch.

Thanks.

Roof is REALY important (some places we viewed it was dubious there was a functional one). ;)

I dream of a minimalist life however, children (and their grandparents) have put paid to that until I retire! TBH it's part of the reason we brought so little with us.

I agree with the others that you can do without a lot of stuff for a while, and buy as you can.

Table and chairs is good with kids, I think. Mattresses are good. Some form of clothes storage is good. We were lent a sofa at one point, I think, and some kind neighbours lent us their camping table which we kept for ages.

Kettle, fridge and washing machine! Look on Facebook selling pages in your local area and freecycle. Lots of people virtually give things away on these sites.