First Big Shop: What do you need?

Moving day is stressful, isn’t it? But, it is also incredibly exciting – it is the first day in your brand new home and the start of an exciting adventure.

If you are moving from your parents or a furnished rental then you may have very little to take with you, whereas if you are moving from an un-furnished rental or purchasing your second property then you might have a removals van in tow.

Either way, once you have taken the boxes and placed them in the relevant rooms and started to unpack, you may notice that the space is still very bare – or the belongings that once fit right in aren’t quite right for your new property. If this is the case you can always sell these (pop them in one of our storage units to get them out the way until they can be sold!) and then when they are purchased you can put the pennies towards some new furniture.

But – you don’t want to be worrying about that now. It has been a long day, so you probably just want to order a takeaway, open a bottle of wine and put your feet up – you have earned it. However, once the sun comes up on your official first day, it is time to start thinking about heading to the shops because you don’t want to be sat on the floor eating takeaways forever.

So, here are some tips when it comes to working out what you need from the first big shop after moving house.

Make a plan before you go
It is easy to carried away at the shops at the best of times but head out when you have just moved into a new property and you might find you are leaving with far more bags and a much bigger receipt than you need. So, create a shopping list and think carefully; what do I really need right now?

You don’t need to buy everything at once
Moving house isn’t cheap and with your bank balance dwindling the last thing you can afford to do is go out and buy everything you want. You can, of course, always make a list of the things you would like to buy over the coming weeks and months, as well as the items that need replacing. But, for now, only buy what you really need. If you don’t have a bed, for example, then you can’t sleep on the floor – so this should be your very first purchase. Meanwhile, if you fancy a coffee table for the lounge, you can wait a few weeks before you go searching for one of these.

You don’t have to buy everything new
Similarly, you don’t have to buy everything new – look in second hand and charity shops and you might find just what you need for less than half the price.

You could even upcycle these or simply give them a lick of paint and create something brand new but also a little different and unique. Again, these second hand items can always be replaced to new as and when you can afford it and want to change it.

Don’t forget the essentials
Most importantly you need a few essentials – to start filling up those bare kitchen cupboards and fridge. Firstly, milk, teabags, and sugar – because you are bound to get through a few cups of tea while you are unpacking all those boxes. Alongside this you are likely to need bread, butter, condiments, cereal, pasta, rice – just a few bits to get you started and that will keep for some time.

When it comes to dinners, don’t be ashamed to pick up a few microwavable meals – after you have spent the day unpacking and decorating you don’t want to be in the kitchen cooking – instead these can be popped in the microwave and ready to eat in a matter on minutes.

Aside from food, don’t forget you will also need cleaning products – particularly if you want to wipe down the counters as you unpack. It is easy to get carried away in the supermarket – so that list you made before heading out should help ensure you don’t buy so much food it starts going off before you have a chance to eat it.

Once you have done the first shop, you might discover that you actually need some of it out of the way while you are decorating. If so, pop it in your local storage unit – so painting and plastering is as easy as possible and then once the paint has dried, you can pick it back up again!