Moving into first home- what do you recommend

[Hijabihouse3]

We will be soon moving into our first house inshallah (god willing) from having lived with parents and therefore having little/no clue what we might need to start up. It's a little 3 bed with a garden, are there things we must do/buy or should do/buy?

So far all we own is our double bed

You need to start with the basics - something to sit on (sofa etc), things to cook and eat with, blinds or curtains so you have privacy. You'll also need bedding for the bed and towels. Is the kitchen equipped with fridge/freezer and washing machine? If not then maybe those.

You could get boxes for each room and start filling it with bits like:
Kitchen - Kettle, mugs, plates, cutlery, pots/pans, sponges, toaster, tea towels, cleaning supplies etc
Bathroom - bath mat, towels, shower curtain(?) etc

Go with essentials first that you need for now, plates, towels, washing powder, washing up liquid, teabags/coffee, cups, cleaning products. You need something to sit on, somewhere to sleep, something to eat off. The rest you can get gradually when you're in and settled

Really like this idea, sounds like it will make it more manageable.

I'll need a hoover, any recommendations on whether a cordless or corded (like a Henry hoover) would be better?

I find that the cordless ones I've had aren't as powerful. I had a Shark and hated it, constant problems. Now I have a Henry Extra and love it.

I second a Henry, cordless just don't seem to last so well. We had a cordless Dyson and it was underwhelming.

Hello.
Exciting times!
Make sure you organise the broadband set up as it can take at least a couple of weeks.
A cleaner I was speaking to recently recommended Miele vacuum cleaners so I have just bought one of those.
Might be worth getting yourself a little step ladder as they are very handy to have.
Sofas can take up to 12-14 weeks so it might be worth checking that out if you are planning to get a new one.
I'm moving house in a couple of weeks and I haven't ordered a sofa yet so I am going to keep an eye on Freecycle to see if I can get something to use temporarily.
When is your move?
Good luck

Definitely buy a Henry. Keep a eye on fb marketplace for everything else. There is so much that you can pick up free/for next to nothing.

When I bought my first flat, I remember I only had £180 left that month for furniture!

I bought the absolute basics - a sofa bed, a bookcase (that seemed essential to me then!), crockery & cutlery and a kettle and a single garden chair (£5 in B&Q sale, bargain!)

That's all I had for a few weeks until I got paid! I really enjoyed shopping for nice things, building up my furniture and stuff over time.

I'm not suggesting you forgo a bed for a sofabed too! But just to say, don't pressure yourself to get everything before you move, it's absolutely fine (and can be fun) to start minimal and build up.

If you want to save money and get quality furniture, it's worth checking out your local selling pages - e.g. Facebook marketplace or looking at auction listings on eBay and sorting by distance from your new postcode.

I've got lots of really lovely, solid wood furniture (which I love) at bargain prices over the years, for a fraction of what I'd have spent new. And better quality than I could ever afford new, too.

Start by going round each room in your parent's house and making a list of all the things in it that you would need/use (especially in the kitchen!)

Get basic sets of cutlery, crockery, glasses, kitchenware, bedding etc from ikea, argos, wilko, John Lewis Anyday, supermarkets et al. They often do starter sets and bundles.

If you're buying large bits of furniture second hand, you can get a quote from a website like Any Van, for people to deliver it to you.

www.anyvan.com/

If you can afford it, get a robot hoover or robot combined hoover/mop. Ideally, you might want a cheap £30 stick vacuum too in case you want to hoover the tops of cupboards or to catch dust when you are drilling etc but you could manage without one.

You should get a cheap basic toolkit like this one from Ikea:
www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/fixa-17-piece-tool-set-00169254/

When we moved into our first flat, our families were kind enough to pass on some things they no longer needed, We were given a washing machine, a dining table, a large rug and various pots and pans and kitchen gadgets.

sofa, tv, wardrobe, drawers. Kitchen stuff - cooker, toaster, kettle, plus vaccum, mop, teatowels, washing-up liquid, dishcloths, cleaning stuff, pots and pans, dishes, plates, cutlery, utensils such as potato masher/ladle/slotted spoon, wooden spoons. Toilet rolls. Towels, flannels, toiletries. Sheets, pillows, pillowcases, duvet, duvet sets.

Asda, Tesco, Lidl, all sell cheap household stuff, and charity shops often sell big items. Facebook, too.

You could get a washer/dryer later, and just use a launderette until then, if necessary.

@goodnotbad thank you for the good wishes! Hopefully moving in 8 weeks or so. Hope your move goes well too! Saw a few sofas today and they all had huge lead times so keeping an eye on Freecycle is a great shout.

@chesirecat99 a toolbox is something I never would have thought of, thank you for the reminder!

@TheNoiseIsDrivingMeMad post phoning on washer/dryer and using launderette makes a lot of sense, definitely using this idea. Thank you!

@runningoutofnewnames great tip on vans, thank you!

Exciting times.

Most people moving into their first home, have tended to put all their money into buying the home, so decisions - like the one about your hoover - are usually based on your budget.

One of my dc, and a few of his cousins are about to, or have recently got their first homes, and they have built up stores of what they need from family, friends, and then the local Freecycle / Freegle / Facebook Giving sites. Things like vacuum cleaners are borrowed to begin with - not the most crucial thing.

Go through your day and make a not of what you use.....then decide if you NEED it, or would LIKE it.......
so, a mattress if not a bed....a quilt....pillows....bedding (all before you get up)......some sort of hanging rail for your clothes (incl hangers) if there aren't built in wardrobes.....then you get up and have a wash - so towels...shower curtain (?)...bath mat......consumables like soap, toilet rolls, toothpaste, etc etcYOu go down and have breakfast - what does that look like? ....plate and a knife or bowls and a spoon.....fridge ....microwave ???

etc etc as you go through your day.

See if your local area has a Facebook upcycle page. It's amazing the things people put on our local one. They also allow people to put a 'looking for' post again it's amazing the things people will pass on.

My first flat was a hotch potch of stuff, all passed on from other people, but it got me started & then meant I could replace things with new/to my taste as time went on

Good luck in your new home

I’d really recommend subscribing to Which? for a few months - it made it a lot easier for me to figure out what appliances to buy, they have all the reviews on their website and usually links to where to buy them. So good for stuff like hoover, washing machine, fridge, kettle etc

I’ve put a list of basic requirements for a first home on the Austerity Housekeeping website.

Do look in charity shops and on FB marketplace for expensive things like sofas. You can often find really good ones for a fraction of the new price.
Antique/junk shops can also be v good for e.g. chests of drawers that were properly made with dovetailed joints, I.e. not flat packs or fibreboard - much more sturdy. Ditto e.g. vintage dining or kitchen chairs - equivalent, properly made new ones cost a lot more.

Take it easy with the buying and try not to get carried away. Don't clutter up your lovely new home.

Definitely start with essentials. I moved to my first house from a furnished flat. We got sofa, a bed and mattress, things to cook and eat with, things to clean with, a TV, curtain poles and curtains. Got most things from ikea where delivery can be the same day. The sofa and beds from ikea is very good. Don’t discount them. But don’t get curtain poles from the though,p. They are fiddly to put up. I get basic poles now from Next or John Lewis. You can get ready made curtains from Next, John Lewis or Dunelm too. If you want blinds, you can get made to measure from online shops. They are a lot cheaper than Hillary’s.

All the best. It’s very exciting.

Kitchen
Plates
Bowls
Cutlery
Mugs
Saucepans
Serving spoons/spatulas
Kettle
Toaster
Microwave

Bedroom
Bed
Mattress
Wardrobe

Lounge
Sofa

Bathroom
Towels

Toilet roll
Coffee
Tea
Milk
Cleaning stuff