First Home Essentials Checklist

Things to Buy for a New House

first home essentials checklist

What to Buy for a New House

things to buy for a new house

Moving house for the first time is exciting and stressful in equal measure. As a first time buyer, ensuring you have all the new house essentials is an important part of helping the process run as smoothly as possible.

However, it can be extremely difficult to keep on top of all the things you need for a new house. In fact, the list of first home essentials is almost endless – you have to remember everything from kitchen utensils, bathroom supplies and furniture to electricals, cleaning products and soft furnishings. So, there is a lot of room for forgetting things.

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It’s a good idea to create a new house shopping list, comprising all the new home must-haves. But, no need to worry, we have done all the hard work for you and put together a comprehensive first home essentials checklist. Go ahead and start ticking off all the things you need for a new house.

This Article Covers

New Kitchen Essentials

first home essentials checklist

We’re starting off our first home essentials checklist with all the things you will need for your new kitchen. The kitchen is likely to be the room that you will need the most things for in your new house so make sure you don’t forget anything important. 

The following are what we would consider essential for your new kitchen:

Kitchen Appliances 

Some of the obvious first home essentials include kitchen appliances. As soon as you move into your new home, you are likely to need these to both store and make your food. Especially if you by your house in “as is” condition. 

  • Fridge/freezer
  • Microwave 
  • Kettle
  • Toaster
  • Blender

Eating Essentials 

Also on the long list of things to buy for a new house are a wide range of eating essentials. Moving into your new home will be hungry work, and there would be nothing worse than realising you’d forgotten to buy anything to eat with. 

  • Cutlery
  • Crockery
  • Glasses
  • Mugs

Cooking Essentials 

Before you start eating, however, you will need some things to cook your food with. Below are some of the new house essentials you will need to cook your first meals in your new home. 

  • Knives set
  • Chopping board 
  • Tin opener
  • Baking tray 
  • Peeler 
  • Pots and pans 
  • Utensils 
  • Salt and pepper pots 
  • Weighing scales 
  • Measuring jug
  • Mixing bowl
  • Oven gloves 
  • Colander

Bathroom Essentials

first time buyer checklist

Bathrooms tend to be already kitted out with some of the essentials, including a toilet, sink and a shower or bath. However, there are some other bathroom essentials that you will need to have on your new house shopping list. 

  • Hand towel
  • Towel
  • Bath mat 
  • Toilet roll 
  • Toilet roll holder 
  • Soap
  • Toilet brush 
  • Toothpaste 
  • Bin

Living Room Essentials

first home essentials checklist

The number of things you will need to buy for your new living room will largely depend on how much time you plan on spending there. For those who love to relax in front of the TV on an evening, you may want to spend a little more to make this room super cosy and comfortable. 

Nevertheless, we have just included the absolute essentials on this list of new home must haves: 

  • Coffee table 
  • Sofa
  • TV
  • TV stand 
  • Wi-Fi
  • Lamp 
  • Cushions 
  • Rug 
  • Throws or blankets

Bedroom Essentials

Now, onto the bedroom section of our first home essentials checklist. Apart from the obvious things, like your bed, there are a few other new house essentials that you will need for your bedroom. These include: 


Apart from regular bedside lamps, if you are considering adding some light to your room with art decor or wall art, neon wall signs are the most popular. Home decoration neon signs can be used to decorate every corner of the house. These signs are customizable and can be installed in a variety of ways in any area of the home

Home Office Essentials

new home essentials

If you’re lucky enough to have a home office in your first house, you will need to fill it with all the stationary needed for working. Office essentials are becoming increasingly important when it comes to things to buy for a new house given that more and more people are starting to work from home. 

  • Desk
  • Computer
  • Office chair 
  • Mouse
  • Paper organiser 
  • Shredder
  • Pens 
  • Pencils 
  • Highlighters
  • Paperclips 
  • Printer 
  • Stapler
  • Scissors 
  • Post-it notes
  • Telephone

Cleaning Products

first home checklist

Even if your first home is a new build, it is likely to be a bit dusty once all your boxes have been moved in. Therefore, I’m sure you will be desperate to give it a good clean when you’ve finished unpacking. 

Here are all the essential cleaning products you will need for your new house:

  • Cloths, sponges and scrubbers 
  • Feather duster 
  • Bucket and mop
  • washing-up liquid 
  • Dustpan and brush
  • Air spray 
  • Surface cleaner 
  • Disinfectant
  • Bleach 
  • Vacuum cleaner 
  • Washing powder

Other Things to Buy for a New House

isas for first time buyers

In addition to all the room-specific first home essentials, there are some other random things you need for a new house. 

  • Sellotape
  • Smoke alarm 
  • Torch
  • Tool box 
  • Ladder
  • Plug extension leads 

And don’t forget to get all your utilities sorted before moving into your new home. Broadband, energy and water are all first home essentials. 

There you have it! The complete first home essentials checklist, including all of the things you will need for your new house. We have covered every room to ensure you don’t forget any new home must haves. 

Hopefully, this ‘things to buy for a new house checklist’ will help you stay organised and on-track for moving in day. Make sure you pack all your new house essentials into sturdy boxes with labels to make unpacking at the other end that bit easier.

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