Must-have items for a clean and functional home

Must-have items for a clean and functional home

Boden Lam

Setting up your new home can be an extremely fun activity. You can plan and decorate it in a way that is most convenient and comfortable for you. The initial steps would be installing your appliances, making the home safe for children and pets, giving it a deep clean, and checking for minor repairs. But first, you should list all the household supplies you need, as with proper planning, moving in could become a hassle-free process.

Top household essentials
Making a list of household essentials and supplies helps you avoid making frequent trips to local stores. Every home needs a few key items to ensure it says clean and functional. Household supplies include things that you need for storage, cleaning, maintenance, and general upkeep. You can categorize these supplies into cleaning, laundry, storage, repairs, and kitchen essentials. Here is everything you may need:

Cleaning supplies
These include tools and cleaning agents to keep your space mess- and dirt-free. Must-have household cleaning supplies include sponges, brushes, mops, buckets, brooms, trash cans, trash can liners, dishwashing soap, liquid, or pods, gloves, and all-purpose cleaning liquid.

Tools
Installing equipment, assembling furniture and fixtures, and carrying out minor repairs are unavoidable activities in living spaces. You may need a basic tool kit to fix or install pieces without professional assistance. So, you should consider investing in basic tools like a hammer, screwdriver, pry bar, step ladder, pliers, duct tape, screws, nuts, bolts, flashlight, batteries, measuring tape, and protective gloves.

Bedroom supplies
While installing basic furniture is the first step to setting up a space, the accessories and materials you need for using the furniture are also essential household supplies. You should invest in home furnishings and essentials like:

Pillows and pillow covers
Bedsheets
Comforters
Easy-fit bed covers
Blankets
Headboards
Dehumidifiers
Diffusers, essential oils, and candles
Clocks

Further, you should get bathroom accessories like shower curtains, anti-slip bath mats, hooks and hangers, a first-aid kit, toilet rolls, and sanitary napkins. Cleaning supplies like plungers, toilet cleaners, brushes, and a separate set of gloves are also required for bathrooms.

Laundry essentials
Regardless of the type of washer and dryer you use, some of the must-have laundry essentials are laundry baskets, detergents (pods, soap, liquid, sheets, or powder), fabric softeners, lint brushes, lint roller, steam iron, ironing board, drying racks or clotheslines, and clothes pegs.

Kitchen essentials
Apart from appliances and groceries, here is a list of supplies you need for a functional kitchen:

Cooking tools and utensils: Cutting board, set of knives, pans, saucepans, casseroles, ladles, mixing bowl, egg beaters or whiskers, colanders, can openers, bottle openers, and measuring cups and spoons.
Storage: Storage containers, juice jars, sandwich bags, plastic wrap, parchment paper, aluminum foil, and paper bags.
Serveware: Glasses for water and beverages; tea and coffee mugs; soup, salad, and snack bowls; full, half, and quarter plates; knives, forks, and spoons; table mats and linen.
Cleaning supplies: Dish soap and scrub, gloves, paper towels, sponges, recyclable kitchen tissues, wipes, trash cans, and trash can liner bag.

Home appliances
Appliances can simplify your life and help you complete regular and mundane chores quickly. You can find numerous appliances depending on their usage. Some such appliances are a refrigerator, freezer, washer, dryer, manual or robot vacuum cleaner, microwave, oven, stove, dishwasher, blender, juicer, coffee maker, toaster, and kettle.

Home furnishing
Home furnishings increase the aesthetic appeal and warmth of your home. While curtains and blinds help you regulate the light in the room, linen, rugs, and bed covers can protect your furniture and make it more comfortable. You can find home furnishing in furniture shops, supermarkets, and home décor stores. Must-have home furnishing products include rugs, carpets, curtains, bed linen, table runners, blankets, dhurries, pillows, and throw cushions. You can choose from various materials, including cotton, linen, suede, silk, wool, and velvet. Some of the best sites to shop for home furnishings include Anthropologie, Design Within Reach, Pottery Barn, Wayfair, and West Elm.

Best home inventory apps
A home inventory application helps you organize and keep track of everything in your home. You can add an item to the inventory app, its description, a picture or a video, cost, and current value, and the app keeps track of the value of the item and its location. You can add books, art pieces, valuables, furniture, documents, and expensive clothes to the inventory. You can also categorize the items by room, type and create barcodes or labels, and print them. These apps are accessible even if you are away from home. The platforms also offer tips on protecting your valuables and can assist you with home insurance coverage in case of any damage or theft. Some of the leading home inventory apps include:

  • Binary Formations
  • BluePlum
  • Encircle
  • Home Inventory
  • Inventory Manager
  • Itemtopia
  • Memento Database
  • My Stuff
  • Nest Egg
  • Smart Inventory System
  • Sortly
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