Moving into a new place, like a new apartment, can give you the thrill of being free and of finally living on your own. But if you are unprepared when you are finally settling into your new apartment, you would want to crawl back to your parents’ house and never have any thoughts of living alone ever again. But worry not; in this article, we give you ten apartment checklist examples that will help you not to forget anything whether it is your first or second move to a new apartment.

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New Apartment Checklist Categories

Moving into a new apartment might overwhelm you and it might cause you to buy a lot of stuff you really do not need. The following is a list of categories your new apartment checklist must have. This will help you in the inventory, and this will also help you in keeping track of the things you could buy or you could just borrow.

Furniture

This is probably the expensive one next to appliances, but you can always go cheaper if you would look out for bargains and second hands. You can even ask our family and friends if they have furniture that they can give to you or can sell to you at a cheaper price.

Kitchen

This is your battlefield and oftentimes, this is the part of an apartment that is often incomplete and deprived of the basic necessities. Make sure your kitchen is equipped with the essential utensils, so that you would not be forced to use your hand in picking up the food you just fried because you forgot to buy a pair of tongs.

Bathroom

The bathroom is one of the two first rooms that you should set up as soon as you arrive, because it might take you days or a week to finish setting, arranging, and decorating your new apartment and you would totally need a fresh bath right after a sweaty move-in. Make sure it is already packed with bathing essentials such as bath towels, shower caddy complete with soap and shampoo, toothbrush and toothpaste, and toilet paper.

Living Room

Most of the things we can find in the living room are pieces of furniture.

Bedroom

This is one of the two room you need to set up soon as you move on. Your new apartment setting-up might take more than a day and you are only going to get a good rest and sleep on top of your bed and not on the couch or on the cold, hard floor.

Cleaning Supplies

Of all the dust and mess that comes from the boxes, you will surely need your cleaning supplies on your very first day. The essential cleaning supplies you must never miss are disinfectants, vacuum cleaner, mop, broom, dustpan bucket, garbage bag and cans, feather duster, spray bottles, laundry detergents, cleaning sprays, and rags.

Miscellaneous

These odds and ends may seem to be extra things but you’ll know how much importance it holds once you realize you have bought and brought none of these things on your first day of your new apartment. The miscellaneous things could be the storage solution where you can place your things when you have a small space. You would definitely need extension cords since not all walls of your apartment have an outlet. Other odds and ends include a flashlight, light bulb, batteries, and first aid kit.

Things to Do Before and During Move In

You would surely need a smooth transition when you would finally move into your new apartment. Here is a list of things that you should do before and during your move-in day so that you will be stress-free:

Before Moving In

For safety purposes, make sure you replace the locks. If you are still doubtful, you can always replace the knobs.
If your apartment is furnished or semi-furnished, clean and disinfect every furniture or appliance. Make sure you have already contacted the utilities, the water supply, and electricity connection so that when you would finally move in, you will not have any problems of not having light in the evening and not having water to be used in bathing.

Upon Moving in

Make sure you have secured important documents of the apartment especially the contract examples. If you already know that you are going to take time or days for unpacking, settling, and decorating, make sure to assemble or set your bed first so that you will have an appropriate place to sleep and not just anywhere you can lie on, and make sure to complete the bathroom with your bathing essentials so that you would be able to take a bath, obviously, during the days of you settling. Put the boxes in its designated bedrooms right away so that you would not have to move boxes a lot–moving it all at once would save you time and energy. Bonus tip knows your neighbors. Who knows you might need a hand when lifting pieces of furniture and who knows you quickly find new friends on your first day at your new apartment?

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Tips for Decorating Your New Apartment

If you have moved your belongings into your new apartment, it’s already time for decorating. You could be one of the people who’s only looking forward to the decorating part of the moving in. You could also be one of the many who despises the setting of the furniture and all the knick-knacks and who thinks that decorating is an unnecessary thing to do and that you could just live fine in your new apartment without having to decorate it. Decoration could go along with the setting part so that you be shooting two birds with one stone. If you are in a hurry to set your new apartment, it is best if you would merge setting and decorating as one. The advantage of decorating your new apartment is that you can personalize it and have it appear just like the home you’ve grown up in. You do not need to break the bank for the decoration. Oftentimes, you can only just make use of what you already have and improvise. But if you have a budget for the decoration, you

In decorating, you have to make sure that you are not only after the aesthetic aspect but you should also look after the space occupied and the space unoccupied. The following tips for decorating your new apartment can serve as your guideline:

Don’t Ignore the Floors

Whether your new abode is covered in wall-to-wall carpet or newly refinished with the finest hardwood flooring, rugs are a great way to add color, personality, and style to your floor. From a small mat in your doorway or entryway to a full-sized area rug beneath a dining room table, rugs are one of the easiest ways to add instant style to your apartment. An area rug can cover up imperfections in the floor, offer durability in a high-traffic area, and add some comfort beneath your feet.

Available in a seemingly endless array of colors, patterns, fabrics, materials, and textures, area rugs let you express your personal sense of style and create a sense of cozy comfort in any room of the home. If you have an open floor plan or a one-room studio or loft, area rugs can also be used to help segment different spaces within your home.

Lighting Always Matters

Even when applying makeup and taking photos, lighting gives a big impact that could make or break and the same goes for your new apartment decoration. Lighting sets the mood and creates the ambiance of your new apartment. If you are a student, an employee who brings work at home, or especially if you work at home, you definitely need bright lights that will aid you in your studying time or working hours. Dim lights is a big no-no especially if you have a lot of writing or reading to do. Make sure you put your lights overhead so that it would make your new apartment much bigger. Do not choose big-sized light fixtures especially if your new apartment is not that big enough. It is awkward to look at a chandelier that would look like five times bigger than your living room. Lighting affects the size of a room and it is possible that lighting would make a small room look big if you choose the correct lighting fixture or lamps, and it is also possible that lighting would make a big room look small if you choose inappropriate and unflattering lighting fixture or lamps.

Pay Attention to Corners

The maximization of corners is the most overlooked part when decorating a space like your new apartment. If not overlooked, corners are the often underestimated because people would just put coffee tables or some random potted plant just so they can have something to put. Corners are life savers especially if your new apartment is not that big enough. You can make an idle corner a storage area where you could bookshelves that you could use as a storage for your other knick-knacks aside from your books and you could also use a storage ottoman. The new storage addition would not be sore to the eye. But if you are not short of space in your new apartment, you can add color and make difference to your room by adding decorative elements on the corners.

Play with Colors

Colors are everything when it comes to decorating. It is best if you would plan out a color palette for every room or for your entire new apartment so that you would be able to know what colors you should choose and buy for your sheets, rugs, curtains, pieces of furniture, and even including your access. Color palettes could also be a combination of colors that could represent a mood or a place. For example, you want your living room to have a tropical vibe, you can buy pillowcases, wallpapers, and other accents in the colors of green and yellow. Like this photo for example:

If you want to add a pop of color to your plain, white bedroom that is preppy, you can always go for the pastel colors of pink, blue, purple, yellow, and green. Take this bedroom as an example:

If you want to make use of the whiteness of your room, you can always opt for a minimalist theme by only using colors in the shades of gray and hints of brown, like this bedroom:

Color, aside from lighting, affects the mood and atmosphere of your bedroom. Having hues or a palette in blue or green would give off a calm feeling and is a perfect color to be used in bedrooms since it is a room for relaxation. Red, orange, and yellow would give off an energetic and lively vibe that will keep you awake so you could have your study area filled with these colors.

Make Your New Apartment Your Second Home

Of course, nothing beats the home you’ve grown up in but it does not mean you can never have a new place where you can equally feel the same thing as you feel in your parents’ house. One way to make your new apartment feel homey is to decorate it the way your previous house is. It does not necessarily mean you have to copy every single thing from your parents’ house; you can just copy the theme and the color used. You could also put up decors that would remind you of home like picture frames containing the pictures of you and your family members. There are also decorations and acchomes that would add to the homey feel of your new apartment. It could be overstuffed pillows, drapes, and shelves filled with books. Making your new space homey by suiting every piece to your personal taste. Anything that is personalized would always give off a homey feeling.