Move in is the next few weeks. I've lived on my "own" (roommate I never interacted with) for a couple months my last semester of college, but that was a temporary setup whereas I'm hopefully moving out for good this time.
Bear in mind that the place has window/wall A/C and electric heating.
Things I'm already considering:
- Drain guard
- Bidet
- Cold brew coffee maker
- Rice cooker
- Space heater? I'd like to keep the temp largely down during the winter to save money while warming up the part of the place I'm in
- Key for washer/dryer
Things I already have:
- Most furniture
- Air fryer
- Seltzer water thingy
- Meal prep containers
General advice is also welcome!
Instant pot > rice cooker. It cooks rice and does a ton of other things, totally worth splashing a little extra cash for.
Houseplants are great, pothos are easy care and can be hung in wall mounted pots. Also consider a window bird feeder if that's an option where you live so you can see the wildlife.
Baskets for fruit and fridge trays for veggies can help keep things organized and help you remember stuff before it goes bad.
Coasters are always nice.
On the maintenance front, try to have stuff that you can use to avoid a maintenance call, snakes for drains, a channel lock for loose plumbing fittings, sink and toilet plungers if not already present are inexpensive options. Check your heaters and window seals for dust and mold respectively when you move in because they're commonly missed cleaning steps (also under the fridge and stove, ew).
Edit: sneaking in a couple more things - glass pint jars are great for food storage and as water glasses and for small-batch pickled veggies if that's your thing. I like throwing in some chopped bok choy and cherry peppers to top stir fries and salads.
Shelf liners are great and can make cleaning up when moving out easier.
The biggest problem with the instant pot is that it does so much, you might need two for when the first is occupied.
Good thing they're readily available at thrift shops for like $10
Full disclosure we have an instant pot but I've had horrible experiences cooking rice with it. A big benefit of the rice cooker is that it's very hard to fuck up when using it, especially the nicer ones with the sensors. Plus the instant pot might stay with my mom anyway
I have an instant pot and a little cheapy old rice cooker. it rocks, because you can use the instant pot to focus on your main attraction, but have your rice and maybe some dumplings or broccoli on the steam tray of your rice cooker. I am not a kitchen gadget guy, but those two are the heroes of so many dishes.
That's odd, for short grain rice I can just throw in two cups of rice and two cups of water, do 4 minutes high pressure and 10 minutes pressure release and be good to go.
Sweet rice is a little bit more of a pain in the butt and if you do it regularly a rice cooker might work better, but I've been successful pre-soaking and then steaming using the trivet.
The thing I like about my instant pot is that I can do just about anything - soups, beans, yogurt, sous vide, overnight oats. It's pretty versatile.