Things to buy for our first home

Little Miss Cutie

Hi all,

This is meant to be a lighthearted thread

We are starting to think about all the things we need to buy for our first home after renting for many years. I am surprised by how much certain items cost - starting with hoovers!!

What essentials would you recommend for our new home and did you have any funny/ surprising stories buying your home?

If this isn't forum appropriate please move/ delete

ABajaninCork

It's amazing. You buy what you think you need, but end up running to the shops every five minutes. That's what happened to me anyway...

You need:

Bed linen
Towels
Bath Mats
Curtains
Cleaning stuff - and lots of it!
Laundry basket
Bathroom storage (trolley/basket/cupboard)

Chopping board
Decent set of knives
Storage containers
Kitchen utensils (Turner, spatula, wooden/slotted/serving spoons)
Tea Towels!!
Cutlery
Crockery
Mug trees (about 2)
Indoor bins
Bowls

Most of this I only discovered as I needed them. All I had were the bare essentials. Amazing how much crap you need for a home!

The_Morrigan

Go to Ikea and take a note of the items in their mock -ups; especially the apartment ones as they tend to throw in everything you could need.
I'm in my apartment nearly 6 years now and I'm still buying stuff for the house; buy the essentials now and upgrade to the fancier stuff/non essential stuff later. For instance, if you only have wooden floors & tiles, don't buy a hoover a sweeping brush will do for now.

ABajaninCork

Add that to the list. You need a dustpan & brush, and a broom! I made the same mistake when I moved into my flat and needed to sweep the floor. Ended up borrowing my upstairs neighbour's Hoover until I could get to the shops!

The_Morrigan

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Add that to the list. You need a dustpan & brush, and a broom! I made the same mistake when I moved into my flat and needed to sweep the floor. Ended up borrowing my upstairs neighbour's Hoover until I could get to the shops!

That's very fancy! A sweeping brush and a piece of cardboard is sufficient!
:pac:

Little Miss Cutie

Funny, I see a hoover as an essential - better not let my OH see this he will insist a sweeping brush is enough for now

iguana

My advice is don't skimp on the bed. You spend at least a third of your life in it, so get the very best one you can. If you are in a couple and the bedroom is big enough consider a kingsize or even superkingsize, especially if children are in your future as they will spend more time than you can imagine starfishing in your bed. Test out mattresses in the shop, don't be embarrassed, lie on them, make sure you really like how it feels. If something annoys you slightly in the shop, don't assume you'll learn to live with it, on a sleepless night it will drive you insane. If you opt for a foam/gel mattress don't settle for a sprung slat bed, they won't hold the weight well. Either sturdy, solid slats or a box-spring divan is the way to go. Metal bedframes look fabulous, they feel crap and can can be noisy. I have one at the moment and will be replacing it soon with a super comfy, slanted padded headboard. I laughed at them for looking naff in the shop, then I sat against one and realised how much nicer my life would be with one. And always go for sheets and bedding made from 100% natural materials like cotton. Egyptian/percale for summer, brushed/jersey for winter.

Other than the bed look at secondhand options. There is nearly always a great selection of items on adverts/donedeal/etc. Take your time and choose pieces you love rather than just what will do. When buying a couch, I suggest one with a high back, as it's nice to be able to rest your head when reading/watching tv. Recliners are fine but tend to have shallower seats. It's personal preference but I prefer a deep seat to the ability to raise my legs up.

Calina

The_Morrigan wrote: »

Go to Ikea and take a note of the items in their mock -ups; especially the apartment ones as they tend to throw in everything you could need.
I'm in my apartment nearly 6 years now and I'm still buying stuff for the house; buy the essentials now and upgrade to the fancier stuff/non essential stuff later. For instance, if you only have wooden floors & tiles, don't buy a hoover a sweeping brush will do for now.

On the sweeping brush front, if you are tall, get one with a decent long handle on it and not one of the pretty patterned ones with the dustpans.

The_Morrigan

I absolutely fully agree with the second hand options, especially for stuff like shelves or coffee tables, bedside lockers.
I bought a second hand sofa bed from a couple who had only bought it new from ikea that year, however they had a baby on the way and there were 'dangers' associated with little fingers and springs/hinges being under the cushions. They sold me an 700 euro couch for 250 euro and they delivered it to my door.

Mrs OBumble

Hoover is only essential if you have carpet.


Flooring (in at least some of the house)
Window coverings

Bed (one space per person) and bedding

Chair
Cup, plate, knife, fork and spoon - one per person
One cooking pot / saucepan
One wok / frypan.
One fishflap or wooden spook.

Dishwashing liquid, dishmop and sponge

Way to wash clothes (can be a public laundry at first), and dry them (line or clothes-horse).

Very basic first aid kit (few bandaids etc)

Lightbulbs.

Towel.

clothes hangers.

After that, everything is optional.

Calina

Worth noting you won't have everything you need on day one and that you'll need to set certain priorities. You might find a microwave more useful in the short term than a cooker/oven, for example.

I'd also strongly argue that you get some sort of a table in place as well.

The_Morrigan

I had no fridge/freezer or hob/oven for my first week in my apt. I had a camping fridge, microwave and camping stove. I think people forget that you don't need the highest spec items on day one and that you can compromise, borrow items and live with mismatched furniture that people offload donate to you as a new owner.
I also slept on an airbed for a while till I got another pay cheque to buy stuff.

ABajaninCork

iguana wrote: »

My advice is don't skimp on the bed. You spend at least a third of your life in it, so get the very best one you can. If you are in a couple and the bedroom is big enough consider a kingsize or even superkingsize, especially if children are in your future as they will spend more time than you can imagine starfishing in your bed. Test out mattresses in the shop, don't be embarrassed, lie on them, make sure you really like how it feels. If something annoys you slightly in the shop, don't assume you'll learn to live with it, on a sleepless night it will drive you insane. If you opt for a foam/gel mattress don't settle for a sprung slat bed, they won't hold the weight well. Either sturdy, solid slats or a box-spring divan is the way to go. Metal bedframes look fabulous, they feel crap and can can be noisy. I have one at the moment and will be replacing it soon with a super comfy, slanted padded headboard. I laughed at them for looking naff in the shop, then I sat against one and realised how much nicer my life would be with one. And always go for sheets and bedding made from 100% natural materials like cotton. Egyptian/percale for summer, brushed/jersey for winter.

Other than the bed look at secondhand options. There is nearly always a great selection of items on adverts/donedeal/etc. Take your time and choose pieces you love rather than just what will do. When buying a couch, I suggest one with a high back, as it's nice to be able to rest your head when reading/watching tv. Recliners are fine but tend to have shallower seats. It's personal preference but I prefer a deep seat to the ability to raise my legs up.

I agree totally with this. When I moved into my flat, I had no bed for six months and had to borrow a Z-bed to sleep on. When we were finally ready to buy a bed, I happened to be talking to my friend's Nan about it. She gave me an excellent piece of advice: Always buy a good bed and a good pair of shoes. If you ain't in one, you're in the other.

I've always tried to follow that!

Little Miss Cutie

Calina wrote: »

On the sweeping brush front, if you are tall, get one with a decent long handle on it and not one of the pretty patterned ones with the dustpans.

Being 5ft nothing, my main concern is reaching the presses I have a little stool currently.

Regarding white goods we are buying second-hand so have most applicances and also windows/curtains to get us started

ABajaninCork - The bed is the one item we will not be skimping on. We have an awful bed currently and are really looking forward to buying one ourselves. Have picked a lovely kingsize firm kingkoil

ABajaninCork

You can get brooms and dustpan/brush sets cheap enough in Dealz/pound shops. Got myself a new dustpan & brush for the princely sum of E1.49! :pac:

cookiecakes

there are stupid things that you forgot about! Salt & pepper shakers, egg cups, coasters and placemats and tea towels! We're only in our place 7 weeks and we're still finding things that we've forgotten and making emergency runs to Tesco or Dunnes!!

Little Miss Cutie

cookiecakes wrote: »

We're only in our place 7 weeks and we're still finding things that we've forgotten and making emergency runs to Tesco or Dunnes!!

Congrats!

wexie

As a piece of somewhat related advice, when you're moving have a separate box (which you know where it is at all times!!!) with :

kettle
coffee/tea/sugar
cups
spoons
milk
biscuits (lots and lots of biscuits)
chocolate bars or something
softdrinks
other snacks

Very few problems seem quite so big of a deal if you can sit down with a cuppa /beer and have a think about it.

You'll be thankful for this at the end of a long hard day of moving stuff around, driving around collecting things etc. etc. etc.
Also if you are planning on having friends help make sure to keep them fed and watered (specially with the temperatures and muggyines these days) it'll help keep tempers cool and moral high.

(if you're moving into a brandnew house and need to do painting /decorating /flooring etc. also make sure to keep this up for the following days)

Also very important is a radio/ipod dock etc. etc. etc.

wexie

ABajaninCork wrote: »

You can get brooms and dustpan/brush sets cheap enough in Dealz/pound shops. Got myself a new dustpan & brush for the princely sum of E1.49! :pac:

can absolutely recommend dealz for this kind of stuff. It's amazing the amount of cleaning stuff you can get for 1.49 each. All the brands you'd pay way more for elsewhere.

Don't know how they do it

(also, buy loads of bin bags!!! and not the cheap kind that will tear if you put anything in)

Little Miss Cutie

wexie wrote: »

As a piece of somewhat related advice, when you're moving have a separate box (which you know where it is at all times!!!) with :

kettle
coffee/tea/sugar
cups
spoons
milk
biscuits (lots and lots of biscuits)
chocolate bars or something
softdrinks
other snacks

Very few problems seem quite so big of a deal if you can sit down with a cuppa /beer and have a think about it.

You'll be thankful for this at the end of a long hard day of moving stuff around, driving around collecting things etc. etc. etc.
Also if you are planning on having friends help make sure to keep them fed and watered (specially with the temperatures and muggyines these days) it'll help keep tempers cool and moral high.

(if you're moving into a brandnew house and need to do painting /decorating /flooring etc. also make sure to keep this up for the following days)

Also very important is a radio/ipod dock etc. etc. etc.

Thanks, this is definitely some good advice. The house is full of horrible wallpaper that we have roped family/ friends in to help strip!!

Think we might need lunch supplies and a couple of beers on hand over the bank holiday weekend

Speedsie

Little Miss Cutie wrote: »

...a couple of bears on hand over the bank holiday weekend

To be honest, I'd forget about the bears for the time being.

Beer on the other hand..... always welcome!

wexie

Little Miss Cutie wrote: »

Thanks, this is definitely some good advice. The house is full of horrible wallpaper that we have roped family/ friends in to help strip!!

Think we might need lunch supplies and a couple of bears on hand over the bank holiday weekend

bears? To scare the rellies to keep them working? You're a harsh mistress :eek:

When it comes to wallpaper stripping, the way I used to do it (have done it a few times) is to use a plant sprayer (you'll get them cheap in pound shops etc.) with boiling water, soak the wallpaper and leave it for a bit, should come off a lot easier.

You can buy/rent an actual steamer but I've found this works nearly as well?
If you need to clean any painted walls you can use ammonia with hot water (make sure to ventilate very well) and you'll see the dirt run off the walls, especially nicotine stains.

ian87

I'm hoping to buy in the next year or so. I intend on buying 1 item a paycheck for the next while eg a toaster/kettle set 1 paycheck, canteen of cutlery the next, dinner set and so on. Any other suggestions guys?

wexie

ian87 wrote: »

I'm hoping to buy in the next year or so. I intend on buying 1 item a paycheck for the next while eg a toaster/kettle set 1 paycheck, canteen of cutlery the next, dinner set and so on. Any other suggestions guys?

I think you'd be much better off setting the money aside until you can go into a place with a big wad of cash and tell them : I want that, that, that, 2 of them, some of those, that, that, that and that.....no how much will you give me off retail?

In the current climate there is very little need to pay full retail for anything if you're kitting out a whole house from scratch but you do need to ask for a deal and show you're serious. We're just in the process of building and we've yet to pay the full advertised price for anything including fridge, cooker, stove etc. etc. etc.

Just remember : cash is king, but you'll hardly get much of a discount buying a kettle here and a toaster there.

Calina

ian87 wrote: »

I'm hoping to buy in the next year or so. I intend on buying 1 item a paycheck for the next while eg a toaster/kettle set 1 paycheck, canteen of cutlery the next, dinner set and so on. Any other suggestions guys?

Only do that if you specifically want THAT kettle and THIS PARTICULAR toaster. Otherwise yeah, I'd go with saving it. You won't need to find somewhere to store them temporarily.

On the other hand if you need to use them...

ian87

Well I'd be looking at picking things up if I saw them in sale etc. I saw a belleek cutlery canteen for instance today reduced from 175 to 80. I'd leave the furniture etc to when I actually buy. I'm talking about the small things like linen sets etc.
I have a bed already and a tv so that's two of the big things out of the way.

wexie

wexie wrote: »

I think you'd be much better off setting the money aside until you can go into a place with a big wad of cash and tell them : I want that, that, that, 2 of them, some of those, that, that, that and that.....no how much will you give me off retail?

In the current climate there is very little need to pay full retail for anything if you're kitting out a whole house from scratch but you do need to ask for a deal and show you're serious. We're just in the process of building and we've yet to pay the full advertised price for anything including fridge, cooker, stove etc. etc. etc.

Just remember : cash is king, but you'll hardly get much of a discount buying a kettle here and a toaster there.

Also rather than going to different places for deals it could be worthwhile going into one place and buying everything there. We were looking at wooden floors and tiles and ended up buying them all from the one place as they gave us a much better discount for getting everything from them.

Just be bold, don't ask, don't get....

John Mason

electric screwdriver is an absolute essential. try putting together flatpack with a butter knife!!

pwurple

I had to google what a Mug Tree was! Never even seen one of those before, I've lived a sheltered life.

Are you buying a new build, or an already lived-in house? If it's the second, hold off to see what people leave behind. There were 40 cups left in our place when we moved in, as well as some furniture we never expected.

Oh, and bring a chair in your first batch of moving in. My husband managed to get a bad knock on the head in the first hour of us moving (not me, i swear), a chair would have been handy for him to sit on afterwards to have his cup of tea while recovering.

on_my_oe

At the risk of sounding unsupportive of Ireland, Amazon is your friend; we saved nearly €120 on our Hoover, and a decent amount in our kettle and toaster, and pots. If you can, get a pot set and buy additional medium sized pots... Never use the the bleeding milk saucepan unless desperate.

TK Maxx was my friend for crockery and cutlery - similar to Ikea, but not 'every single kitchen in the world' (something odd about watching a TV show from Australia and seeing 'your' coffee cups on screen).

If you're looking for storage, buy jars in bulk from http://www.alpack.ie, and chalkboard stickers from eBay - write 'pasta' and the expiry date etc, or tear off the expiry date and throw it in the jar as well.

We are buying a new house, so need curtains etc, and will be going to Belfast to stick up - Dunelm Mills will be our friend.

jon1981

Lawnmower if you have grass and can't borrow one. I can nearly see the grass growing at the moment, I only cut it a week ago!!!