first house

MagicalLeopleurodon

my hubs and i are hopefully about to buy our first house. it got me thinking...we dont own towels. or plates. or silverware. i have a vaccuum, and a coffee pot. i dont have my own cookware.

but then there are the smaller things-like toilet plungers and brooms.

so i started thinking of all the things it takes to have a functional home, and some are so obscure you barely notice.them until theyre missing.

What are some things you can think of that are neccessary to have in your own homw?

Yeah, when I bought my first house I didn't even think about all the crap I'd need to get to fill it up.

Washer, dryer, furniture, shelving, vacuum cleaner, carpet shampooer if you have a lot of carpet, light bulbs, lamps, food (staples), cleaning supplies, extra blankets for guest room/sheets, new fixtures to replace old stuff, new television for downstairs family room, garden hose, lawnmower, weed eater, enough dishes/bowls/cups/glasses/liquor and flatware for guests, really I could go on for hours.

I had STUFF before I bought a house, but not enough stuff to fill up 2500 sq ft... and if you don't buy stuff, it just feels empty.

Yay for consumerism?

we have furniture (okay...beds and a futon), my family is giviny us the fridhge/washer/dryer for a housewarming gift.

and its not going to take much to make it not empty, the house is 672sq ft, but its on five acres fair trade in my book.

MagicalLeopleurodon

all the tool set people: my husband is a plumber and works on classic cars at home....im so excitee to put all his (FIVE. FIVE!!!) toolboxes in the garage!

FIVE tool boxes?!?
So he's fairly new to the business? Pretty soon that will grow to TEN! LOL
Check out garage journal dot com for real tool fanatics

thats five craftsmen rolling toolboxes, then the one mounted in his tundra, and the three truck mounted ones that we have filled and locked outside. then the misc smaller ones that have his assortment of sockets (if you cant find the one you need, you arent looking). plus, his torch tanks and air compressor...and welding machine....and aaaaallll of his cars can finally go in the shop since ive threatened divorce if the 1965 stang doesnt get under a roof soon.

Lochlyn_D

Garden hose, lawn mower, weed whacker, tool kit, toilet bowl brush, broom, dustpan, mop, curtains/blinds (some don't come with them)

fridge, stove, washer dryer (some aren't included)

ILuvMoo

Be careful you don't go overboard though! Get a few essentials and some all-purpose cleaner, and just pick up those details as you need them. I went overboard (and spent way too much money on little things after dropping all my money on my house) and bought a lot more than I needed right away. Accumulate it over time, it won't be such a hit to your bank account, and you'll end up with what you actually need. I still haven't used the stainless steel cleaner I bought nearly 4 years ago!

^^THIS!

We bought a house April 2011. Our mortgage was approved on my 23rd bday, and my husband (fiance at the time) wasn't 23 until June. We dragged the mattress off my bed at my parents' house and spent the night in OUR HOUSE the day we closed, and we hadn't even moved half of our stuff yet.

The first night, I had to run out and buy a shower curtain

We were 7 miles from my parents, and a 5 minute drive from a Walmart.

Pick things up as you realize you need them. What one person needs, you might not necessarily end up needing. For example, I don't have a dish rack. When I handwash dishes, I pull out the top rack of my dishwasher and use that as a drying rack. (I had a dish rack in college. It's lost in my parents' attic. I can't find it, but knowing it exists prevents me from buying another.)

You can usually come up with work-arounds: If you make pasta and realize you don't have a colander, WRITE IT DOWN so you remember next time you're out, then put the lid on the pot and tilt it up over the sink. The water will drain out. You can carefully pull the lid out so there's a couple-millimeter opening if you're brave and you have a good grip, and the water will drain out faster.

MainahGirl

A maid!

ACepero79

On my list that I never thought of until I needed them:

mini flashlights
2-3 step ladder and an extension ladder
basic set of hand tools (hammer, flat blade driver, phillips driver, utility knife, adjustable wrench)
broom/mop/vacuum
Garden hose with a regular nozzle and an adjustable nozzle
Garbage bins with lids (at least 2-3)
Extension cords
Power strips

kristy6ward

Others have listed some good stuff. I'd like to add a good pair of scissors and a pencil (and sharpener) or pens. I went to add shelf liner to my cabinets and didn't think to grab either at the store.

You'll acquire things as you go. If you don't have furniture either.. DO NOT skimp on a cheap couch. I did, a big waste of money. We used a plastic storage bin as our coffee table for months before I found one I loved. I'd rather save for something of good quality than throw money at something that won't last a year or two.

ILuvMoo

Also: borrow a few old towels from your parents to get you through for a few weeks, and wait for a good coupon/sale at Bed Bath & Beyond or something (I ended up using Kohl's), and get yourself a nice set of "house towels." Then you can give your mom her "drying the dog off after her bath" towels back.

That way you can get nice plushy "grownup homeowner" towels instead of just settling for something boring and cheap because your house just sucked all your money but you NEED TOWELS.

(We skipped the apartment step, too! Graduated college in 2010, and you know what the housing market was doing. We got jobs and lived with our parents for a year, squirreled money away, then took advantage of the way the timing worked out for us and bought our own adorable little tri-level in a really great neighborhood full of young families and cops. We have like 6 neighbors who are cops.)