Moving into your first place is exciting right up until you're standing in an empty kitchen with no pan, no plunger and no idea where the water shutoff is. A good first apartment checklist saves you that moment.
This one is organized room by room so you can shop in one pass. Then it covers what you can skip for now and the setup tasks worth doing in your first week.
Screenshot it, print it or send it to someone who's about to move out. Tick things off as you go.
Kitchen checklist
Stores love selling 18-piece knife blocks and 12-piece cookware sets. You need far less, as long as what you own is decent. Start with the core three:
- An 8-inch chef's knife. A sharp, mid-priced knife beats an expensive dull one every time.
- A large cutting board, at least 15 by 20 inches, in wood or thick plastic. Glass and stone boards wreck knife edges.
- A heavy 10 to 12-inch skillet in cast iron or tri-ply stainless steel. Thin, light pans get hot spots and can warp.
Then add the supporting cast:
- 8 to 10-inch nonstick skillet for eggs
- 2 to 3-quart saucepan with a lid
- 6 to 8-quart pot for pasta and soup
- Rimmed sheet pan
- 12-inch metal locking tongs, a silicone spatula and a thin turner
- Dry measuring cups, a 2-cup liquid measuring cup and measuring spoons
- Colander, vegetable peeler, two or three mixing bowls and a wooden spoon
- Digital instant-read thermometer
- Food containers, foil and zip-top bags
- Inexpensive fridge thermometer
- Multipurpose fire extinguisher labeled "ABC", kept near the kitchen exit, not behind the stove
For the pantry, start with a neutral oil (canola, vegetable or avocado), extra virgin olive oil, a vinegar, kosher salt, black pepper, a few dried spices, soy sauce, pasta, rice, canned tomatoes and beans. Onions, garlic and potatoes keep best somewhere cool and dark, not in the fridge.
Bathroom checklist
- Two plungers. A flange plunger (with the extra rubber sleeve) for the toilet and a flat cup plunger for sinks, tubs and showers.
- A plastic drain-cleaning strip for slow sinks. Skip chemical drain cleaners, which often miss the clog and can splash onto your skin when you plunge afterward.
- A 5-gallon bucket for leaks and emergencies
- Towels, a shower curtain, toilet paper and a small trash can
Bedroom and living room checklist
- Anti-tip straps for every dresser, bookcase, tall cabinet and TV. They usually come in the box; keep them.
- Power strips plugged straight into the wall. Never run cords under rugs or plug one power strip into another.
- A flashlight or headlamp you can find in the dark
Toolkit checklist
A small kit kept in one bag handles most apartment jobs:
- 16 oz claw hammer and a multi-bit screwdriver
- 8-inch adjustable wrench, tongue-and-groove pliers and needle-nose pliers
- 16 or 25-foot tape measure and a torpedo level
- Utility knife and a putty knife
- Cordless drill/driver (a 12-volt model is fine for most home jobs) with drill and driver bits
- Stud finder and a small anchor kit
- Safety glasses and work gloves
- Step stool, blue painter's tape, spackle and fine sandpaper
Tech checklist
- A spot for the router that's central, up high and in the open, not on the floor, in a cabinet or behind the TV
- A password manager (Apple Passwords and Google Password Manager are free and built in)
- A screen lock on your phone: a six-digit passcode or longer, plus fingerprint or face unlock
Every list here comes from the Obvious, But Not So Obvious Master Edition, which walks through each item step by step.
What you don't need yet
Before buying any gadget, ask one question: does it do a job my knife, pan or pot can't? If not, it's clutter.
- Big knife blocks and boxed cookware sets. They're mostly thin, cheap pieces you'll rarely use.
- Single-job gadgets like avocado, egg and banana slicers, or choppers that take longer to wash than the job takes by hand.
- A garlic press. Optional. It works, but it's one more thing to wash.
- A stick blender and a microplane grater. Worth it once you cook regularly, not on day one.
- Expensive tool brands. A mid-priced tool from any well-known brand will last for years.
- An impact driver. A nice extra for long screws, but your drill/driver covers you to start.
- New router gear. Run a speed test next to the router and in your problem room first. Placement often matters more than a faster plan.
First week setup tasks for your first apartment
- Find the main water shutoff. Look where the water pipe enters: a utility closet, near the water heater or in a box near the street. A lever takes a quarter turn (across the pipe means off); a wheel takes several turns clockwise. Tie a bright tag on it.
- Find the fixture shutoffs. The small oval handles under each sink and behind each toilet turn clockwise to stop water to just that fixture.
- Find the breaker panel. Put a flashlight next to it and check that the labels make sense.
- Test your GFCI outlets. Press TEST, then RESET. One GFCI can protect outlets in another room, so remember where they are.
- Test smoke and carbon monoxide alarms by pressing the test button. Repeat monthly.
- Check fridge temperatures. Put the thermometer on the middle shelf. You want 40°F or below in the fridge and 0°F in the freezer.
- Anchor tall furniture into a stud. If you rent, ask your landlord first; the small holes are easy to patch.
- Lock down your Wi-Fi. Change the router's admin password, set security to WPA3 Personal (or WPA2/WPA3), use a Wi-Fi password of at least 16 characters, and turn off remote management and WPS.
- Automate payday. Send your paycheck to checking, set an automatic transfer to savings for the day after payday (even $25), and put rent and fixed bills on autopay a few days after payday.
- Turn on a low-balance alert, such as under $100, in your banking app.
- Get a renters insurance quote. Your landlord's policy covers the building, not your belongings or your liability.
- Start a home info sheet with the shutoff and panel locations, your HVAC filter size, and numbers for your landlord, the gas utility's emergency line and your water and power companies.
Safety note: Natural gas smells like rotten eggs. If you smell it strongly, leave, don't touch light switches, and call your gas utility or 911 from outside. If you rent, report leaks and electrical problems to your landlord in writing straight away.
Setting up your first place: See the book →
The Master Edition puts all five Obvious, But Not So Obvious books in one, covering cooking, home repair, car care, money and tech with clear steps and checklists.