Move-In Essentials Checklist: What You Need for Your First Apartment (and What Can Wait)
You’ve finally finished moving. The movers have left, the door is closed, and you’re surrounded by boxes. All you want is a shower and a decent night’s sleep. Then you realize you can’t find the toilet paper, your towel is buried somewhere in the bathroom boxes, and your phone charger is in a box labeled “miscellaneous.”
We’ve seen this happen more times than we can count. People rarely forget the big things. It’s usually something small that causes trouble on the first night. The shower curtain is packed away, the bedroom has no overhead light, or the screwdriver you need to assemble your bed has disappeared into one of forty boxes.
That’s why we’ve put together this move-in essentials checklist. It covers what you’ll need on moving day, what can wait until your first week, and which purchases you can put off until you’re properly settled.
Since our crews move people throughout New York every day, we’ve also included a few NYC-specific details that are easy to miss. Some apartment essentials are your landlord’s responsibility, while certain new homeowners need to purchase items required by the city.
Before Moving Day: Set Up the Basics First
Some of the most useful things you can do before moving into a new apartment have nothing to do with packing. Getting your utilities and a few other practical matters sorted out ahead of time will make the first day much easier.
Start with electricity and internet. Try to arrange for both services to be active at least a day before you move in. If your electricity is scheduled to start on moving day and there’s a delay, you could end up carrying furniture and unpacking boxes in the dark.
Internet installation appointments can also be difficult to get at the beginning and end of the month, when many people are moving. Book your appointment early, and keep your router or modem somewhere accessible rather than packing it away with everything else.
If you can get into the apartment before your furniture arrives, take advantage of the empty space to clean. Vacuum the floors, wipe down the kitchen shelves and give the bathroom a quick once-over. It’s much easier to reach the corners when there isn’t a bed, dresser or stack of boxes in the way.
Buying a home? Try to leave some time between closing and moving day. Moving on the same day you receive the keys doesn’t give you much room to deal with unexpected delays or anything that needs attention before your belongings arrive.
Remember to file your change of address with the Postal Service a week or two before the move. Update your address with your bank, employer and subscription services as well. These tasks are easy to forget when you’re busy packing, but dealing with missed mail after you’ve moved can be a real headache.
Your Open-First Box: The Essential Items for Your First Night
One thing we always recommend is packing an “open-first” box. This is a box or bag containing everything you’ll need during your first 24 hours in the new apartment.
Keep it with you rather than loading it onto the moving truck. When you’re tired after a long moving day, you’ll appreciate being able to take a shower, charge your phone and make your bed without searching through dozens of boxes.
Here’s what to pack:
- Toilet paper (at least two rolls, since the previous tenants or sellers may not leave any)
- Hand soap and dish soap
- A shower curtain, liner and rings
- Towels, one per person
- Bedding: sheets, a pillow and a blanket for each bed
- Toiletries and any daily medications
- A change of clothes and pajamas for everyone
- Phone chargers and a power strip
- A basic first aid kit
- A roll of garbage bags
- Paper towels and a few cleaning wipes
- A screwdriver, box cutter and Allen wrench set
- A flashlight or small lamp
- Snacks, water and a cup or two to drink from
- Important documents: your lease or closing papers, IDs and keys
Two things on this list tend to cause more trouble than people expect: lighting and garbage bags.
Many NYC bedrooms don’t have an overhead light fixture. If you’ve packed all your lamps, you might find yourself trying to unpack in the dark using your phone’s flashlight. Keeping a small lamp handy will make the evening much easier.
Garbage bags are just as useful. You’ll probably fill several on moving day alone with packing paper, tape and other rubbish. Having a roll within reach means you can start clearing up as you unpack instead of letting everything pile up around you.
If you’ve hired a moving company, let the crew know which box is your open-first box and keep it separate from everything going on the truck. Otherwise, it could easily end up underneath a stack of boxes in a room you weren’t planning to unpack until next week.
The Home Essentials Checklist, Room by Room
Once you’ve made it through the first night, you can start getting the rest of your apartment ready. There’s no need to buy everything at once. Focus on the things you’ll use regularly during your first week, then add whatever else you need as you settle in.
Kitchen Essentials
You don’t need a kitchen full of cookware to make your first apartment functional. Start with enough equipment to prepare a simple meal and clean up afterward.
One good frying pan and a pot will cover plenty of everyday cooking. Add a chef’s knife, cutting board, spatula and large spoon. You’ll also need a few plates, bowls, mugs and glasses, along with enough cutlery for everyone in the apartment.
For cleaning up, get some dish soap, a sponge, kitchen towels and either a dish rack or drying mat.
Once those basics are covered, you can pick up a few other useful items. Food storage containers, a colander, baking sheet and can opener will handle most of your day-to-day kitchen needs. A small trash can with a lid and a separate place for recycling will help keep things tidy.
Paper plates are perfectly fine for the first night when everything is still packed. After a few days, though, having your regular dishes unpacked makes eating at home much more convenient than constantly reaching for disposable plates.
Bathroom Essentials
The bathroom is one of the first rooms you’ll need to use, but it’s also where people tend to overlook the little things.
Once you’ve unpacked the shower curtain and toilet paper from your open-first box, get a bath mat, plunger, toilet brush and small trash can. If the apartment has a tiny medicine cabinet or no bathroom storage at all, you’ll also need somewhere to keep your toiletries.
Buy a plunger before you need one. It’s not the kind of thing you want to be looking for at a nearby store when there’s already a problem.
A second set of towels is useful, too, particularly if you haven’t had a chance to set up your laundry routine yet. Add a hand towel and keep your first aid kit somewhere easy to find instead of leaving it packed away in a box.
Bedroom Essentials
After spending an entire day moving, having a proper place to sleep makes a big difference. Getting your bedroom ready should be one of the first things you do when you arrive.
You’ll need a mattress and bed frame, a mattress protector, two sets of sheets, pillows and a blanket or duvet. Having a second set of sheets means you won’t have to rush to do laundry whenever the bedding needs changing.
Next, take a look at the lighting. If your bedroom doesn’t have an overhead fixture, you’ll need a lamp. You’ll also want curtain rods and curtains, especially if your windows face the street or receive a lot of early morning sunlight.
Blackout curtains can be particularly useful in New York, where streetlights and nearby buildings may keep your bedroom bright long after you’ve gone to bed.
Don’t assume the apartment will come with curtains or blinds. Many new apartments have bare windows, so it’s worth checking before moving day.
Hangers are another easy thing to underestimate. You might think you have plenty left over from your old closet, only to discover that you’re short once you start unpacking your clothes. Having a few extras on hand can save you an unnecessary trip to the store.
Cleaning Supplies and Basic Tools
You’ll probably use your cleaning supplies and tool kit more often during the first few days than at any other point in the month. Keep both somewhere accessible instead of packing them at the bottom of a box.
For cleaning, start with a vacuum or broom, mop, all-purpose cleaner, rags or microfiber cloths, disinfecting wipes and plenty of garbage bags. These should cover most of the cleaning you’ll need to do while getting the apartment ready.
If you’re moving into a house rather than an apartment, a wet/dry shop vac is worth considering. It’s useful for cleaning up spills and messes that a regular household vacuum isn’t designed to handle. Most renters won’t need one, but homeowners can find themselves reaching for it surprisingly often.
Your basic tool kit doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate. A screwdriver set with flathead and Phillips heads, hammer, tape measure, Allen wrench set, box cutter and small level will handle many common moving-day jobs.
Keep a small container of assorted screws, nails and wall hooks, too. Furniture hardware sometimes goes missing during a move, and having a few spare pieces can save you from stopping halfway through assembling your bed to visit the hardware store.
A step stool is another useful addition. It makes it much easier to reach high shelves, change lightbulbs and put up curtains without trying to balance on a chair.
If possible, assemble your main furniture before you begin unpacking everything else. Once the bed, dresser and shelves are in place, you’ll have somewhere to put your belongings instead of leaving them spread across the floor.
Apartment Essentials in NYC: What Your Landlord Provides and What the City Requires
Moving into an apartment in New York comes with a few requirements that can affect your shopping list. Some safety equipment is your landlord’s responsibility, while homeowners may need to purchase certain items to comply with city rules.
Smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are one example. In NYC, property owners must provide and install at least one working smoke detector and one carbon monoxide detector in each apartment.
Tenants are responsible for keeping the detectors working, including testing them and replacing batteries when necessary. If you’re renting, you shouldn’t need to buy the detectors yourself. Instead, keep some spare batteries handy and test the existing devices when you move in.
If a detector is missing or doesn’t work, contact your landlord right away so the problem can be addressed.
Families with young children should also check the windows before moving in. In buildings with three or more apartments, window guards are required where a child aged 10 or younger lives. The landlord is responsible for installing them.
You can also request window guards even if there aren’t any children living in the apartment. If you know you’ll need them, ask your landlord before moving day so they’re already installed when you arrive.
Trash collection is another area where New York has specific requirements. If you’re buying a one- or two-family home or a small building with up to nine residential units, you’ll need to pay attention to the city’s rules about trash containers.
Since June 2026, owners of these properties have been required to use the official NYC Bin when setting out trash for collection. Property owners are responsible for purchasing the bins themselves.
The official containers are available online and at every Home Depot in New York City. If you’re buying your first home, check whether the property already has the required bins. If not, add them to your first-week shopping list so you’re ready before your first trash collection day.
If you’re renting in a larger apartment building, trash collection is handled by the building. You’ll just need to find out where residents leave their garbage and recycling, along with the collection schedule. Your superintendent should be able to explain how everything works when you move in.
Security is another thing to check during your first few days. Renters can ask the landlord whether the locks were changed after the previous tenant moved out.
If you’ve purchased a home, arrange to change the locks or have a locksmith do it for you. You can’t be sure how many copies of the old keys are still in circulation, so getting new locks installed is a sensible early task.
What You Won’t Need on Day One
It’s tempting to buy everything for your new apartment before you move in. You see a sofa you like, a rug that looks perfect for the living room and a collection of storage baskets that seem useful. Before long, you’ve spent a considerable amount on things you haven’t even had a chance to try in the new space.
There’s no need to furnish and decorate the entire apartment during your first weekend. Living there for a week or two will give you a much better idea of what you actually need.
Measure your rooms before buying larger furniture, especially in NYC. Apartment listing photos can make a space look more generous than it really is, and older buildings often have narrow doorways and staircases. A sofa that won’t fit through the entrance is an expensive problem to discover on delivery day.
Rugs, artwork, extra furniture and most decorative items can wait until you’ve unpacked and figured out how you want to use each room.
If you’re not sure whether you’ll need something long-term, have a look at a local thrift store or Facebook Marketplace before paying full price. You may find a suitable piece for much less.
The same goes for furniture from your old apartment. If something won’t fit or doesn’t work in the new space, selling it may be cheaper than paying to move it and then having to replace it anyway.
Getting comfortable in a new home takes time. Start with what you need to sleep, eat and manage your everyday routine. You can take care of the finishing touches once you’ve had a chance to settle in.
Make Your Move a Whole Lot Easier
Having the right things ready on moving day can save you a lot of unnecessary searching and unpacking. Keep your first-night essentials with you, get the main rooms set up and leave the less urgent purchases until you know what your new space needs.
If you’d rather spend moving day getting settled than wrapping dishes and filling boxes, our full packing service can take care of the packing while you keep your open-first box and personal belongings with you.
Our furniture assembly team can also put your bed, shelves and other furniture together when you arrive, so you don’t have to spend your first evening looking for tools and sorting through furniture parts.
If you’re handling the packing yourself, we offer moving supplies for your belongings. We’ve also put together a guide on where to get free moving boxes in NYC if you’re looking to keep your packing costs down.
When your move-out date and move-in date don’t line up, our storage service can hold your belongings until your new home is ready.
Moving into a new apartment should leave you with time to enjoy your new place, not an entire week of unpacking and assembling furniture. Our NYC movers can help with the heavy lifting and make moving day easier to manage.
When you’re ready to book your move, get a free quote.
Move-In Checklist FAQ
What should I buy first when moving into a new apartment?
Start with the things you’ll need during your first night, including toilet paper, a shower curtain, towels, bedding, garbage bags and basic cleaning supplies. These will help you get through the first evening without having to unpack everything at once.
You can pick up kitchen equipment, storage items and decorative pieces over the following week or two once you’ve had a chance to see what the apartment actually needs.
What should I not pack in moving boxes?
Keep anything you’ll need during your first 24 hours separate from the boxes going on the moving truck. That includes daily medications, phone chargers, important documents, keys, toiletries, a change of clothes and a small tool kit.
Pack those items in a bag or clearly labeled open-first box and keep it with you throughout the move. You’ll be able to find everything you need without searching through boxes after a long day.
Do I need to buy a smoke detector for my NYC apartment?
No. If you’re renting an apartment in NYC, your landlord is responsible for providing and installing working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
Tenants are responsible for keeping those devices working, including testing them and replacing batteries when needed. Keep spare batteries handy and test the detectors when you move in. If one is missing or isn’t working, notify your landlord.
Does the city give out trash cans in NYC?
No. If you own a one- or two-family home or a small residential building with up to nine units, you’re responsible for purchasing the official NYC Bin required for trash collection.
If you’re renting in a larger apartment building, the building handles trash collection arrangements. Ask your superintendent where to leave your garbage and recycling and when collection takes place.
