In your preparation for moving into your first apartment, you’ve probably encountered plenty of lists detailing every single thing you need to be truly self-sufficient at home. You’ve probably noticed that there are a lot of items on these lists, but with each purchase for your first apartment, you spend precious money – and even the smallest items take up space.
If you’re expecting your first apartment basics to chip away at money and space that you’d rather not lose, then you’re probably thinking about ways to cut corners on basics. Instead, resist the temptation to buy things you don’t need for your first apartment. You might think you need some of these items, but if you’re operating on a budget or moving into a small space, you probably don’t actually need them. Avoid these things you don’t need for your first apartment in favor of the basics.
Single-task kitchen devices
Of course, you need pots, pans, and silverware to properly use your first kitchen. But do you really need that egg slicer or tofu press? Probably not. You can easily use other kitchen or household items in place of these super-specific tools. Leave the banana slicer and butter cutter at the store and just use your knife instead.
Multiple kitchen tools that do the same thing
Appliance are big, bulky, and heavy. They take up precious room in your cabinets or on your countertop. Why, then, do you need a small and a large food processor, or an Instant Pot and a slow cooker? Combine your needs into one item instead. If you have a giant blender, use its lowest speed setting for your food processing needs; this may help you keep the food processor out of your kitchen. If you want a rice cooker, a slow cooker, and a pressure cooker for your kitchen, find one device that has all three options (such devices tend to have steaming functions too, saving you another item). Of course, you’ll save money by combining these purchases, but since these are all pretty big items, the space you’ll save is really the benefit of not repeating devices.
Tableware you’ll rarely use
If you’re living alone and don’t expect to have large numbers of guests over often, do you really need more than four or five glasses, plates, bowls, and each kind of utensil? Do you need multiple elaborate multi-tiered serving trays, or will one do just fine? If you stay on top of cleaning and washing dishes, buying only a small number of tableware items is your ultimate space and money saver.
Decorative towels
It’s one thing to keep a couple of dish towels, hand towels, and bath towels on hand. It’s another to hang a couple of eye-catching towels on your towel rack just to add to your bathroom’s aesthetic. Those towels that say “for him,” “for her,” or “for guest” might be charming, but you don’t actually need them – and with how small most bathrooms are, any space you can save for storing the towels you’ll actually use is super important to reserve.
What are some items you think you don’t absolutely need for your first apartment? Sound off in the comments!
