If you’ve always enjoyed the hospitality of Mom’s house, you may be in for a few surprises on that first day you move into your new Willow Creek Crossing apartment.  Toilet paper, for example.  Landlords don’t provide this staple of modern life, and its doubtful the last tenant left you any either.  It’s just one example of things we get used to having at home that we won’t find on day one in our new apartment.

Here are a few other items you’ll need to pick up at the store before you can officially move in.

Cleaning.  The first thing I always wanted to do when I moved into a new apartment was to clean everything before bringing in all my stuff. Go ahead, look in the closet.  You won’t find paper towels and cleaning products like Mom always had there.  A broom and dustpan would help, as would dish washing detergent.

Bedding.  Maybe you’re bringing your old mattress from your previous home, but if not, you’ll need a mattress, bed frame, sheets, and blankets.   One bit of advice, don’t go cheap here and buy a used mattress.  Buy a new one, and get a good one.  You’ll be spending a third of your life on it.

Personal Care Items, such as shampoo, conditioner,and hand soap.  Don’t forget towels as well. Sorry, but an apartment is not a Hotel and you won’t find little bottles of soap or shampoo, or even toothpaste when you move in.

Kitchen.  Ok, it’s great you went to the store and bought that can of soup for dinner.  Hopefully, you also bought a can opener and a sauce pan, not to mention bowls and spoons to serve it with.  Minimum kitchen needs are a skillet, a saucepan, a spoon and that can opener.  Use paper or plastic dishes, cups, and silverware to get started, then check with family members to see what spare dishes they may be willing to donate before buying new.

One other important item often overlooked until it gets dark outside are light bulbs. You may have overhead lights, or your own lamps.  Either way, check out your lighting before sundown.

Unless you’ve called ahead, you won’t have cable TV or internet service either on move in day.

So, if this is your first apartment, start the move in process early in the day, and plan to make a few trips to the store for all of those items you always took for granted, but won’t find in your new apartment.

If you’ve made the move from home to an apartment, what items did you find that we should we add to our list?