Things to buy for our first home

PLL

ABajaninCork wrote: »

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!

I'm a little confused. OP said they were moving into a new home after RENTING for 6 years. I have been renting for 5 years and I already own all these things. Are there places in Ireland where property is rented with all these things coming with??

ABajaninCork

PLL wrote: »

I'm a little confused. OP said they were moving into a new home after RENTING for 6 years. I have been renting for 5 years and I already own all these things. Are there places in Ireland where property is rented with all these things coming with??

I guess it depends. I rent now, but use my own stuff, even though the LL has provided them. A lot of places do seem to have this stuff already there, so if the OP's now buying, then they would have to replace the stuff.

Anyway - it's nice to have new stuff for a new home!

Tarzana

ABajaninCork wrote: »

Always buy a good bed and a good pair of shoes. If you ain't in one, you're in the other.

'Cept if you're me and wear shoes as little as possible. :pac:

ABajaninCork

I don't like shoes either! Walk barefoot most of the time...

Mrs OBumble

on_my_oe wrote: »

At the risk of sounding unsupportive of Ireland, Amazon is your friend;

And it's even better combined with Parcel Motel which gives you access to Amazon's free delivery to the UK.

PLL wrote: »

I'm a little confused. OP said they were moving into a new home after RENTING for 6 years. I have been renting for 5 years and I already own all these things. Are there places in Ireland where property is rented with all these things coming with??

Yup. Mine came with pretty much all of the 2nd list (kitchen stuff), and a laundry basket.

I spent most of my money on a very good mattress/bed and sofa for the sittingroom.
I spent nearly 3000 euro on both.
Reckon I would spend most of my time on these plus they will do for years, I'm here 5 years and they will easily do another 10!

I got lots of things second hand, bedside lockers, spare room beds, washer/dryer etc.
I still have them. They do a good job.
The cutlery/ delf/cleaning equipment I already had from my renting days.

Pay good money for things you will keep for years, the other things you can gather up as you go.

Thoie

Once I'm living somewhere, a tube of table salt lasts forever (I think I've had the current one 8 years). Any time I move, salt and pepper disappear, never to be found again, and they take stock cubes with them.

With friends and family helping out, if the fridge is already there, keep it filled with jugs of water than can be topped up from the tap, and bring a bunch of plastic paper cups and bin bags for day one.

If the furniture's not in, ask the friends who are helping out if they can bring a deck chair with them for the day, to give people a chance to sit from time to time.

Don't count on there being lightbulbs, and remember toilet paper, soap and a towel for the first day as well.

Leave some paper and a pencil somewhere handy, to note all the things you think of when you're over in the new house.

And congratulations!

meeeeh

Fire extinguishers and fire blankets.

ABajaninCork

eBay!!

iguana

We're hopefully buying what will be our second home but is a bit like our first as we sold our first home 6 years ago and have been renting since then. The place we're sale agreed on has a great garden so in the last couple of days I've hit the sales and bought the all important trampoline and swingset!

I hope the sale doesn't fall through.

wexie

jon1981 wrote: »

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!!!

I've an old one here thats going to be skipped if ya want it OP?
or anyone else (old electric mower but should work fine if blade is sharpened, strimmer to go with it)

mel.b

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?

That is what i did over the course of a few years. I picked up nice things when they were reduced. By the time i moved in to my place i had:
- Dinner set
- knife set
- kettle and toaster
- pots & pans
- Cutlery
- various cooking utensils
- bed linen
- tv & stand (got 2nd hand)
- washing machine
- glasses
- enough pyrex storage containers to sink a battleship (thanks tesco!)
- Rubbish bin
- mattress
- cooking trays

Places like homestore & more have great 50% offers where you can pick things up - that's whe i got my bin & cooking trays, but they also regulary have dinner sets, pots & pans and bedding on sale.

The one thing that i have probably used the most since moving in that is not immediatley obvious is a lawn mower...i'm using that damm thing every weekend at the moment so if you don't want the yard looking like a jungle then that's top of the list.

Oh and also a coat stand / rack and somewhere safe to put the keys. I got a little key holder that i screwed into the wall just above the alarm panel and it has been a life saver.

And for winter, a coal bucket, fire gaurd and set. I think that was one thing i really didn't think of and had to rush out and buy.

BigAl81

A cork screw!!

The amount of times I've gone to sit done with a glass of wine after moving into a new apartment and not been able to open it!!

Also, a tin opener!

Also also, hooks for the back of doors are super handy.

Go team!

wexie

BigAl81 wrote: »

A cork screw!!

The amount of times I've gone to sit done with a glass of wine after moving into a new apartment and not been able to open it!!

pffft....you must not have wanted it bad enough.....

back of a spoon works fine in an emergency

veliktom

Our house had been rented out before we bought it and the owner lived miles away and had no interest in clearing it out, so we had pretty much everything we needed to get us started. The most expensive thing we bought in the first 3 months was a chopping board, and then I found one buried in a cupboard afterwards!

One thing that did come in handy was an indoor tv aerial, as there was no cable or satellite dish when we moved in. I think I used a wire coat hanger at first, but I'm not sure if that would work nowadays with digital.

The Cool

A mini tool set with a hammer, screwdrivers, WD40 and on your first day, check which type lightbulbs you need, and keep a few spare.

Also make sure the kettle, cups and teabags go in the first load!

Don't scrimp on crappy cutlery. I bought cheap stuff out of Euro Giant and it has square ends. I regret that every time I eat with the corners of the end of my cutlery digging into my hands.
Same goes for knives, and frying pans. Buy cheap and you'll buy repeatedly, invest and you'll have them for years.
Cheap glasses are fine, but for some reason having one matching set of cups, plates and bowls makes you feel like an actual functioning adult

Also, after living with my boyfriend and in this house for two years, we recently realised we do not have an iron!

mel.b

Don't forget a cutlery tray and dish tray for the sink either!

mrcheez

Power tools and one of those 101-bit sets you get in Aldi/Lidl.

You will need the power tools for everything from building IKEA furniture to hanging pictures on the wall ... plus get a utility set with scissors/spirit level/screwdrivers etc.

This is the one I got in Woodies for €12.99. I use it pretty much every 2nd day. SUPERB quality despite the cheap price.

http://www.woodiesdiy.com/Product/tactix-14-piece-kitchen-tool-set/11152/1.2.4#.U9ETU0CTuPY

In fact this, along with my Harrisson mattress are the most essential things I ever purchased since I bought my place a year ago.

Little Miss Cutie

mrcheez wrote: »

Power tools and one of those 101-bit sets you get in Aldi/Lidl.

I am a big fan of tools and have a tool kit already - totally agree you never know when you will need a hammer!

The_Morrigan

Just an FYI - lidl have some household stuff on their specials this week (saw a sweeping brush on the email )

mrcheez

The_Morrigan wrote: »

Just an FYI - lidl have some household stuff on their specials this week (saw a sweeping brush on the email )

I think that's next week no? 28 July afaik ... got my eye on that as well

The_Morrigan

mrcheez wrote: »

I think that's next week no? 28 July afaik ... got my eye on that as well

Maybe! I don't know what day of the week it is to be honest lol

Little Miss Cutie

And DIY stuff on 31.07.14 http://www.lidl.ie/cps/rde/SID-DD6CA0CC-E7FB1C7B/www_lidl_ie/hs.xsl/Offers.htm?id=236

I will be first in line for filler and paint brushes

mrcheez

Ooh stapler gun. Can finally repair the chairs that came with the house...

One thing you'll realise is that you NEVER stop buying things for your first home

murph226

George Foreman.

Mrs OBumble

mel.b wrote: »

Don't forget ... and dish tray for the sink either!

Why does someone need one of these?

orchidsrpretty

I'd recommend buying the big items way before you move in. We moved into our house and were using a blow up plastic sofa and a inflatable bed for the first two months while we waited for furniture to be delivered. Was really frustrating as I wanted my house to be nice so we could have party's etc. Get some new toilet seats too, you want to be able to fully relax when you are sitting on your own toilet, not wondering who's been using it in the past.

Best of luck. Such an exciting( and expensive!) time. Enjoy.

ABajaninCork

The toilet seat part I agree with. The furniture I don't! Why over-extend yourself ? What's wrong with guests sitting on the floor? That's what I did when I got my first flat. Simply couldn't afford it at that time, and our friends understood that. My guests didn't mind floor sitting and carpet picnics because I had no table either!!

If you're that fussed get some cheap bean bags for people to sit on...

meeeeh

I agree. We took our time and got stuff we really liked. Plus I think it is nice to get the feel for the place and decide what you want and where you want it. For me it's better to do things slowly unless you are getting a good interior designer, not one of those who stick couple of cushions somewhere, upholster the head board and put couple of candles into the bathroom and call it hotel chic. (Sorry I had to rant)...

the_syco

Surprised no-one has mentioned candles yet.

A bag of tealights (get them in the pound shop), a clear jamjar (so that wind doesn't blow your candle out) and a box of long matches (to avoid burning your fingers lighting candle in the jamjar) can be a life saver if the electricity goes out. And ensure it's an easy to get to place.

Near the fuse box is a good idea, as it's usually where you'll be going when the power goes.

mrcheez wrote: »

Power tools and one of those 101-bit sets you get in Aldi/Lidl.

In regards to the power tools; get the mains plug version, as the battery one can be annoying when the battery goes midway during the day, and you have to stop for a few hours whilst it charges.

Also, ensure your screwdriver bits have a drill piece, so you can use the power drill to screw your flat pieces together.

murph226 wrote: »

George Foreman.

Put a few cup mats under the front legs, and you can fry eggs off it. Toast potato waffles by in the toaster by toasting twice.

George Foreman and microwave can be lifesavers if you have no cooker.

=-=

Finally, don't buy the small blue Ikea couch. Mate got one, and it's now referred to as the "unwanted guest" couch, as it's that uncomfortable :P