First Home Essentials: Flat Must Buys Every New Renter Needs!

Pepper

Garlic powder

All purpose seasoning

You can buy them on Amazon Fresh UK (or Whole Foods in the U.S.) using the links above.

Laundry pods

Here are the ones I use, which you can buy on Amazon Fresh:

Here’s what my parents use in the states:

Tea towels

I like these ones from Amazon which are similar to the ones we have. I recommend these ones because they’re actually absorbent. I’ve got some from Sainsbury’s that look nice, but don’t actually dry your hands or dishes well.

You might need:

Drying rack for dishes

I’d recommend one of these from Amazon:

Crockery

The plates and bowls and mugs we have are similar to these from Amazon basics.

The U.S. set doesn’t have mugs, but you can buy some similar ones here:

Cutlery

You can find a decent set on Amazon here:

Cutlery organiser

I’d recommend one of these from Amazon:

Cooking utensil set

This set looks very similar to the one in our kitchen:

Knife set

I bought a set very similar to this one when I first moved:

Chopping boards

I have purchased ones like these from Amazon:

Microwave

I literally could not live without a microwave. Here are two I’d recommend. Honestly, as far as microwaves go, you’re pretty safe just going with a cheap one.

Kettle

You can find a good, basic one on Amazon here.

Strainer

I have this one from Amazon:

Glasses (water and wine)

I’d recommend these 🍷 wine glasses:

And these are good for water and other drinks:

Big mixing bowl

I have this one from Amazon:

Baking dish

Here’s a good one on Amazon:

Large bin

I had one that looks like this one from Amazon here in my old place.

Dishwasher tablets

If you’re lucky enough to have a dishwasher, that is 😋.

We use these ones:

Dishwasher salt

Note: I had never heard of this until my first flat with a dishwasher in London. It’s to help with hard water stains. You load it in periodically into a particular spot in your dishwasher)

Here’s some on Amazon:

Dishwasher rinse aid (Note: this is another thing that I’d never encountered before)

Here’s some on Amazon (reminder, we need to buy some of this ourselves!):

🛒 Buy on Amazon UK

Paper towels

Foil

Paper towel holder

You can find a nice one from Amazon here:

Blender

I have one like this from Amazon:

Cafetiere

I have a similar one to this one from Amazon:

Tupperware

We randomly bought this Joe Wicks tupperware, but, honestly, it’s really good. However, we get most of our tupperware from ordering takeaway 😉. I also have this classic Glad tupperware from the U.S.

First Home Essentials You Need to Buy for Your First Apartment Bathroom

You definitely need:

Rug / bath mat

Your flat may come with one, but I also think sharing this with a complete stranger is gross, so I’m including it as one of my first home essentials.

I have one that’s basically the same as this one:

Shower organiser

I have this one from Amazon UK (I’ve found a similar one on Amazon U.S.):

Command hooks

I use these ones in my bathroom:

Toilet roll

So, this is the toilet roll we buy for our house. I don’t have a particular recommendation from the U.S. Amazon store (as the Whole Foods brand looks like it’d fall apart in a SECOND and normal Amazon only seems to have extortionately-priced tp at the moment?).

Toilet brush and bin set

Even though there’s probably already a toilet brush in your flat, it’s pretty gross to use someone else’s poopy toilet brush.

I have this set (and found a similar one on Amazon U.S. as well!).

Hand soap

Like with the toilet roll, this is another one where I don’t have a good U.S. recommendation (and the U.S. Amazon prices still seem a bit off for hand soap).

Towels

I don’t personally have these (mine are hand-me-downs from my parent’s house), but this is the set I’d buy:

You might need:

Toilet paper holder

Weirdly, none of my flats have had these!

I have one that looks like this one:

Clarifying shampoo

The water in London is SO HARD and can really do a number on your hair.

I like this clarifying shampoo, which you can buy on Amazon here:

Shower head water softener

Now, I’ve never splurged for one of these, but my friend in Denmark has one and loves it (and I have showered at her flat and agree!).

She has one like this one from Amazon:

First Flat Essentials Every New Renter Needs: Cleaning supplies

Now, for these ones, I’ve just recommended what I use here in the UK. In some cases, you can find these products in the U.S., or I know of similar, good products there. But, I don’t want to recommend anything I haven’t used, so some of these only have UK recommendations!

You definitely need:

Mould cleaner

Everything in London gets damp and mould is a real problem. This is the best mould cleaner I’ve found.

All purpose cleaner

This is a good all purpose cleaner.

Shower cleaner

You need something that can specifically get rid of lime scale / hard water stains in London.

You can buy this one on Amazon:

Floor cleaner

This is my favourite floor cleaner. It doesn’t smell chemically at ALL and actually works!

Buy it on Amazon:

Toilet cleaner

Drain unblocker

This one works for getting my drain unblocked (even when I have super long hair) and I’m pretty sure has a money-back guarantee.

Moisture trapper

These are super useful for preventing mould in the damp environment that is London.

Cleaning rags

Buy them on Amazon:

Antibacterial wipes