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Things I Wish I Had When I First Turned Nineteen
25
items Nobody gives you a shopping list when you suddenly have to adult. You just figure it out after ruining a load of laundry, eating cereal for dinner again, or realizing you don't own a single bandaid. This is for the nineteen year old who just moved ou...
Sections
5
Apartment and Dorm Basics Nobody Mentions
Cleaning Supplies for People Who Never Cleaned Before
Health and First Aid Stuff You Forget Until It Hurts
Kitchen Stuff So You Stop Eating Out Every Meal
Random Life Admin Things Nobody Tells You About
Apartment and Dorm Basics Nobody Mentions
When I moved into my first place, I had a bed and literally nothing else. No trash bags, no plunger, no way to hang a shelf. These are the boring things you don't realize you need until 2 AM on a Tuesday.
Get this before you resort to using grocery bags hanging from a doorknob. My roommate and I did that for three months and it was disgusting. Anyone in a small apartment needs a real trash can from day one.
Mainstays 13.2 Gallon Plastic Step Trash Can with Lid, Silver
Buy this the day you move in, not the day you need it. Trust me, standing in a flooding bathroom at midnight is not the time to go shopping. Every single person living alone for the first time forgets this exists.
Mainstays 3-Piece Toilet Plunger and Brush Set
Keep this in your closet because you will need to tighten, hang, or fix something within the first week. Borrowed my neighbor's screwdriver four times before I caved and got my own set.
Hyper Tough 38-Piece Stubby Tool Set in Click Fit™ Case
Swap out that one fork you've been washing between meals. This covers spatulas, spoons, and all the cooking basics for anyone who just realized they actually have to feed themselves real food now.
Mainstays 20-Piece Stainless Steel Cookware Set
Throw all your random stuff in here instead of piling it on the floor. My room went from looking like a tornado hit to actually presentable. Perfect if you have zero closet space in a dorm or studio.
Better Homes & Gardens 8 Cube Storage Organizer, Red
Cleaning Supplies for People Who Never Cleaned Before
My mom made it look easy. Then I moved out and realized I didn't even know you were supposed to clean a microwave. These are the starter pack items that keep your place from becoming a biohazard.
Grab a canister and just wipe things down when they look suspicious. Counters, doorknobs, that weird sticky spot on your desk. Takes thirty seconds and you won't get sick as often during flu season.
Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, 75 Count, Crisp Lemon Scent
Use this instead of getting on your hands and knees with paper towels like I did my freshman year. The wringing mechanism means you barely have to touch anything gross. Great for anyone with hard floors.
O-Cedar EasyWring™ Spin Mop & Bucket System
Run this over your shelves and TV once a week. Took me embarrassingly long to realize dust was why I kept sneezing in my own room. If you have allergies, this pays for itself immediately.
Swiffer Dusters with Extension Pole, 3ft Handle + 3 Refills
Spray it on crusty dishes, wait a minute, rinse. No scrubbing required for the person who lets dishes sit in the sink for two days. Wish I'd found this before I threw away a pan I thought was ruined.
Dawn Platinum Dish Soap and Powerwash
Stock up on these before you run out and start cramming trash into random plastic bags. They stretch enough that you can overstuff them without a blowout on the way to the dumpster.
Glad ForceFlex 13-Gallon Drawstring Tall Kitchen Trash
Health and First Aid Stuff You Forget Until It Hurts
I once had a paper cut and realized I owned zero bandaids. Then I got a cold and had no medicine. Being nineteen and unprepared for a headache is a humbling experience.
Toss this in a drawer because you will cut yourself cooking, blister your feet in new shoes, or scrape something at some point. Way better than wrapping your finger in a paper towel and tape.
Band-Aid Brand Variety Pack Adhesive Bandages
Keep a bottle in your nightstand for headaches, cramps, sore muscles, whatever hits you at 1 AM. For anyone who used to just yell for their parents when something hurt, this is step one of self-sufficiency.
Advil Ibuprofen Coated Tablets, 200mg 300 ea
Snag this before cold season wrecks you. Getting sick alone in your apartment with no medicine is genuinely scary. Having both the daytime and nighttime versions means you can still drag yourself to class.
Vicks DayQuil and NyQuil Severe Cold and Flu Liquid
Use this to figure out if you actually have a fever or if you're just being dramatic. My roommate thought she was dying once and it turned out she was 98.6. Saves you a panicked urgent care visit.
Equate Digital Thermometer
Dab this on any cut or scrape so it doesn't get infected. Learned the hard way after a kitchen knife slip turned into a week-long ordeal. Costs almost nothing and sits in your cabinet until you need it.
Equate Triple Antibiotic First Aid Ointment, 2 oz (2x1 oz)
Kitchen Stuff So You Stop Eating Out Every Meal
Spending forty dollars a day on food because you can't boil water is a phase, but it doesn't have to last long. These got me from burning ramen to actually meal prepping on Sundays.
Pack your lunches instead of buying a sad twelve dollar sandwich every day. These are microwave safe, dishwasher safe, and they don't stain like cheap plastic containers. Your bank account will thank you.
Pyrex Simply Store 10-Piece Glass Meal Prep Set
Try opening a can of soup with a knife exactly once and you'll understand why this exists. For anyone living on canned goods and pasta during finals week, this removes one tiny frustration from your life.
Hamilton Beach, Electric Can Opener, Smooth Edge
Start here if you own zero pots or pans. Made my first real dinner with this set and almost cried because it tasted better than anything I'd microwaved all semester. Nonstick means cleanup is painless.
Farberware Easy Clean 12 Pcs Nonstick Cookware Set
Quit chopping vegetables directly on your counter. Different sizes mean you can use the small one for a lime and the big one for actual cooking. Dishwasher safe so you won't just leave them dirty forever.
OXO Good Grips 3-Piece Everyday Cutting Board Set
Pour tap water through this instead of spending fifteen dollars a week on bottled water. Tastes way better and you stop accumulating a recycling pile that takes over your kitchen. Filters last about two months.
Brita Pitchers Water Filtration Collection
Random Life Admin Things Nobody Tells You About
Somewhere between eighteen and twenty you realize you need a filing system, a sewing kit, and an actual alarm clock. These are the deeply unglamorous purchases that quietly hold your life together.
Toss your lease, insurance cards, tax documents, and car stuff in here. When someone asks for proof of address and you can actually find it in under a minute, you feel like a real adult for the first time.
Vaultz Portable File Storage Box with Handle
Sew a button back on instead of throwing away a perfectly good shirt. Took me five minutes to learn from a video and saved a pair of pants I almost donated. Tiny kit fits in any drawer.
SINGER 130-Piece Beginner Sewing Kit with Thread
Plug this in when winter dries out your apartment and you wake up feeling like you swallowed sand. Especially for anyone with a dorm heater that blasts hot dry air all night. Your skin and throat will recover fast.
Sunbeam Cool Mist Humidifier
Hit your shirt with this ten minutes before a job interview or date. Ironing boards take up space nobody has, and this thing works standing up in your closet. Wrinkled to presentable in about ninety seconds.
Conair Handheld Garment Steamer, 1200W, Portable Blue
Bring this to any apartment or dorm without central air before summer hits. Reversible means you can pull cool air in at night and push hot air out during the day. Saved me from sleeping on top of my sheets in July.
honeywell window fan