First Apartment Checklist: What You Need to Buy

Living in a dorm means a lot of things are handled for you without you ever thinking about them, furniture, utilities, maintenance, common area equipment, and more. When you move off campus, all of that becomes your responsibility.

This checklist focuses specifically on what changes: the things your dorm provided that you now need to supply yourself. It’s not an exhaustive “everything you need in an apartment” list. It’s a targeted gap-filling guide for students making the transition.

Quick answer: The biggest gap is furniture, bed frame, mattress, desk, dresser, and seating all need to be sourced. For your first night, you need: somewhere to sleep, toilet paper, hand soap, and a few dishes. Set up electricity and internet before your move-in date (internet installation can take a week or more). Most everything else can be staged over the first two weeks once you see what the apartment actually needs.

📄 Free printable: Download the First Apartment Essentials Checklist (PDF) — the complete two-page list covering every room, print it and check off as you go.

Furniture (The Big Shift)

Your dorm came with a bed frame, desk, desk chair, and dresser. Your apartment probably comes with none of those.

What you now need:

• Bed frame or platform. Your mattress needs something to sit on
• Mattress, unless you’re bringing a twin XL from the dorm, which usually won’t fit a standard frame
• Desk, the dorm desk was small; decide if you need something larger now
• Desk chair, if you’re working from home or studying a lot, this matters more than you might expect
• Dresser or wardrobe, many apartments have minimal closet space and no built-in storage
• Seating, a couch or at least one comfortable chair for the living area
• Dining surface, a small table and chairs, or at minimum a bar height counter with stools

What to do first: Measure your rooms before buying any furniture. Apartment floor plans vary wildly, and a couch or desk that looked right online can easily not fit through a doorway or into the room.

Kitchen

The dorm had a shared microwave down the hall and maybe a mini fridge in your room. Your apartment has an actual kitchen, and an empty one.

What you now need:

• Pots and pans (at minimum: one medium saucepan, one frying pan)
• Plates, bowls, and mugs (2–4 of each is enough to start)
• Glasses or cups
• Silverware (forks, knives, spoons)
• A kitchen knife and cutting board
• Cooking utensils (spatula, wooden spoon, tongs)
• Dish soap and a sponge
• A dish rack or drying mat
• Oven mitts
• A can opener

What to skip at first: A full knife set, a blender, a stand mixer, a full set of pots. Start minimal. Add what you actually use.

For more detail, see First Apartment Kitchen Essentials.

Bathroom

In the dorm, the bathroom was stocked with toilet paper (sometimes), the toilet flushed when maintenance fixed it, and cleaning was someone else’s responsibility. Not anymore.

What you now need:

• Toilet paper (buy more than you think)
• A toilet brush and cleaner
• A bathroom trash can
• Hand soap
• A bathmat
• A shower curtain and liner (if the bathroom doesn’t have a glass door)
• Shower curtain rings
• A tension rod (if there’s no existing rod)
• Cleaning supplies: multi-surface spray, scrub brush, rubber gloves

Cleaning Supplies

The dorm had a custodial staff. Your apartment has you.

What you now need:

• A broom and dustpan
• A mop or Swiffer-style floor cleaner
• A vacuum (especially important for carpeted apartments or if you have pets)
• Multi-surface spray cleaner
• Glass cleaner
• Toilet bowl cleaner
• A bucket
• Garbage bags in the right size for your bins
• A laundry hamper and detergent

Laundry

Many dorm students used coin-operated machines down the hall. In an apartment, you may have:

• In-unit washer and dryer (lucky)
• A shared laundry room in the building
• No washer or dryer (you’ll use a laundromat)

Know which situation you’re in before move-in day. If you’re using a laundromat, budget for that, both the cost per load and the time it takes.

What you now need:

• Detergent appropriate for your machine type (HE detergent for HE machines)
• Dryer sheets or dryer balls
• A laundry bag or hamper
• Quarters, if your machines are coin-operated (or know if there’s an app)

Utilities and Admin

The dorm bundled your utilities. Your apartment probably doesn’t.

Things to set up before or right after move-in:

• Electricity, needs to be in your name or a roommate’s name before you move in
• Internet, schedule installation before your first day; setup can take a week or more
• Renter’s insurance, inexpensive and often required by landlords; covers your belongings in case of theft, fire, or water damage
• Gas (if applicable), needs to be transferred to your name

The full sequence — what to set up two weeks out, what to document on day one, and what can wait — is in the College Apartment Move-In Checklist.

Tools and Maintenance

The dorm had a maintenance request system. Your apartment may have one too, but for minor things you’ll handle yourself.

A basic toolkit to have on hand:

• A hammer
• A screwdriver set (flat and Phillips head)
• A measuring tape
• A level (or use a free app)
• A set of Allen/hex keys (most flat-pack furniture requires these)
• Command strips and hooks (for hanging things without putting holes in walls)
• Basic picture-hanging hardware if your lease allows it

First Week Priority Order

You can’t buy everything at once. If budget is tight, here’s a reasonable priority order:

1. Bed setup (frame, mattress, bedding). You need to sleep on night one
2. Toilet paper and hand soap, non-negotiable
3. A few dishes and utensils, so you can eat at home
4. Cleaning basics, bathroom cleaner, a sponge, dish soap
5. Trash bags. You’ll need these day one
6. Everything else can wait until you see what you actually need

What to Ask the Landlord Before You Sign

Before you move in, confirm:

• What appliances are included (fridge, stove, microwave, dishwasher?)
• Is there laundry in-unit or in the building?
• Who pays for which utilities?
• What’s the policy on hanging things on walls?
• Is there a maintenance request system?

These answers will change what you need to buy and when.

Key Takeaways

• Furniture is the biggest gap, the dorm provided bed, desk, dresser, and chair; your apartment provides none of them; measure rooms before ordering.
• First night priority: bed setup → toilet paper + hand soap → a few dishes and utensils, everything else can wait.
• Set up electricity and internet before your move-in date, internet installation takes a week or more in many buildings.
• Renter’s insurance ($10–$20/month) is inexpensive and often required by the landlord, arrange it before or at move-in.
• Start with minimal kitchen supplies, one saucepan, one frying pan, a knife and cutting board, and 2–4 each of plates, bowls, and utensils; add what you actually use.
• Know your laundry situation before move-in: in-unit washer/dryer, shared building laundry, or laundromat each require different preparation.
• Confirm what appliances are included before you sign, fridge, stove, microwave, and dishwasher vary by apartment.

For more on the transition from dorm life, see Moving from a Dorm to Your First Apartment and First Apartment Cleaning Checklist.

Related Dorm Guides

• Moving from a Dorm to Your First Apartment, what changes when you leave campus and what carries over
• How to Furnish a First Apartment on a Budget, sourcing furniture cheaply and buying in the right order
• First Apartment Kitchen Essentials, kitchen setup for someone coming from a dorm with no cookware
• First Apartment Cleaning Checklist, cleaning supplies and a schedule for your first place
• Dorm Move-Out Checklist, what to do before you leave the dorm for good
• Dorm Room Storage Ideas, storage habits from the dorm that translate well to apartment living