Stocking A House

July 5, 2024

It’s common to think that if you just have the right bins, paper planner, or the right organizational gadgets, you can be organized. However, these items won’t help you get organized unless you have the right mindset on how to properly declutter and group items so you can find what you need. However, there are several items that I highly recommend having in your home to make it much easier to stay organized! Since I just moved, these items have been top of mind for me. I made sure to prioritize them while packing so that they would be easy to find and unpack first. In this post, I’ll list my “must haves” when stocking a house.

Cleaning Supplies

Having the proper cleaning supplies will make it so much easier to be organized because little messes can get cleaned up right away. Avoiding little messes will make much bigger messes which can cause some major procrastination. I’m just listing the “must have” basics here, so feel free to add your favorites or specialty cleaners as you go.

A cordless vacuum. I use this almost every day! This is a majorly loved item in my home. I can use it on the floors or switch to a handheld attachment to vacuum up smaller countertop messes, drawers, hard to reach places, or my car.
A corded vacuum. If you don’t have lots of carpet (or pets who shed a lot), you probably can skip this item.
A broom and dustpan. Even if you have a vacuum, having a broom will be handy for sweeping up damp messes.
A small handheld broom and dustpan. You’ll need this too.
A mop and bucket. I like to use a bucket that’s about 2.5 gallons and has a wringer.
Plenty of paper towels AND microfiber cloths or other reusable rags. I like to have a nice variety to choose from.
Sponges, scrubbies, and cleaning brushes. Dedicate some for doing dishes. Have a separate stash for cleaning the bathrooms. And then have more dedicated to doing other jobs that aren’t in the kitchen or bathroom. If you live in an area with hard water and you have a glass shower door, I highly recommend using a window squeegee on the door after each shower.
Scrapers. I like to have both the plastic and metal kinds. I also have a dedicated 1.5” plastic scraper for use in the kitchen.
A toilet brush and plunger in every bathroom. (Your guests will thank you!)
Cleaners. This is really based on your personal preference and the mineral content in your water. I like to use the mildest soap that will get the job done. I’m a big fan of Dr. Bronner’s, for making an all-purpose spray. I’ll also have a vinegar/water mixture for certain jobs. I’ve also got more chemical based cleaners like Clorox, Scrubbing Bubbles, Windex, Goo-Gone, Pledge, etc. when Dr. Bronner’s isn’t enough.
Soap! Have plenty of handsoap, body soap, shampoo/conditioner, dish soap, dishwasher detergent, laundry soap, and whatever other soaps you like to use.

Nice to have

A steam mop. This is great if you have a lot of tile or laminate floorspace to clean.
Dusters. I have a few different types depending on what the job calls for.

Kitchen Supplies

I’m not going to list all the basics like food, dishes, cookware and silverware. That all really varies based on dietary restrictions, cooking habits, and quantity of people living in the home.

Ziplock bags in all sizes. Shoot for re-using bags or using re-usable containers first.
Saran wrap and aluminum foil. Ideally use something reusable rather than reaching for these items, but they are good to have in a pinch.
Plastic and/or glass storage containers. I have a wide variety and they all get used! If you’ve got a large stash like me, take extra care when storing these so that it doesn’t become a jumbled mess.
Sharpies/Blue tape. It’s great to have these in the kitchen so you can label leftovers. I like using the 3M blue masking tape because it’s easy to use, it sticks when you need it to, and it comes off easily.
Scissors. I’m a big fan of having a variety of scissors. I have 3 different types dedicated for the kitchen, but more in the office.
A box cutter for opening packages. Dedicate a place for this to live and make sure to return it when you’re done.
A pen and post-it notes. I like to use these for making lists or reminding myself to do things. I also like to put post-it notes on cabinets and drawers when I’m sorting out where things should be stored. Just be careful not to have too many loose notes all over the place.
A trash and recycling can and plenty of trash bags. Depending on how the recycling program is structured in your area, you may need additional containers for separating different types of items.
Kitchen towels. In addition to having the cleaning supplies from the category above, I also recommend having dedicated kitchen towels for drying hands and possibly some dedicated for drying dishes as well.

Office Supplies

A desk. This is a good “home base” so that you can keep your important to-do’s in one place. I recommend each person in the home (older than the age of 5) have their own dedicated desk space.
A desktop or laptop computer. Smart phones and tablets are great for convenience, but downloading and organizing files can be hard on those devices. Desktop computers are a much better value than laptops and usually have large monitors so it’s easy to see what you’re doing. If you don’t know how to use a computer, empower yourself by taking classes or asking for help.
A printer. I say this with a little hesitation because some people can get a little too “printer happy” and generate way too much paper. But sometimes you just need to print off an important document. Having a printer that you can use when you need it will make your life much easier.
A shredder. Get a good one! Fellowes makes high quality shredders. The cheap ones jam easily, overheat, and break quickly.
Adequate storage! Make sure to have enough drawer space so that you can organize all your different types of supplies.
A filing system. Depending on what you decide to do (file boxes, drawers, binders, folders, or something else), you may also need to get hanging folders, manilla folders, and plastic file tabs.
A stapler. You won’t need it till you need it.
Paperclips and binder clips. You don’t need an excessive amount, but I recommend having some on hand.
Envelopes. I like to have a few different sizes to fit my needs.
Basic stationary. Have a stash of thank you cards, birthday cards, and blank cards, so that you can send out a quick note when you need to.
Stamps! Treat these like cash, and keep them where you can find them.
Plenty of blank 8.5” x 11” printer paper. This is good for using in the printer, but also good for plenty of other uses as well.
A good stash of pens, pencils, Sharpies, and/or other writing implements. Don’t keep things that don’t work or you don’t like.
A pencil sharpener.
White out (I like the tape kind).
A “cutting” section. As I said in the kitchen supplies, I love scissors! I recommend having a good place to store cutting implements such as box cutters, scissors, X-Acto Knives, and other specialty items. I have a small miter saw that I’ve been using for over 20 years! In this section I also have plexi-glass and glass cutters.
A “measurement” section. I like to have a variety of tape measures and rulers at my disposal. In this section I also have other specialty measurement tools.
A tape drawer. I love tape just as much as I love having the right pair of scissors or box cutter for the job. In my tape drawer, I have Scotch tape, double sided adhesive, duct tape, packing tape, my beloved blue masking tape, washi tape, Command Strips, and some other specialty adhesives.
Glue! The type of glue you’ll need is really dependent on what you have to glue. I recommend having a variety.
A label maker and label tape. I use post-its or blue tape and a sharpie for temporary labels. But when it comes time to make a real label, I love using my label maker!

Bedroom

Nightstands. I recommend having some sort of furniture next to the bed for your lamp, a glass of water, and other bedside essentials.
Lamps. Have a lamp next to your bed so you don’t have to rely on getting out of bed to turn on/off the overhead lights.
Hampers. I like to have separate ones for clean and dirty clothes so that I don’t get them mixed up.

Tools

You may want to have a basic set of tools in the house and then another set of tools that aren’t used as frequently stored somewhere else. Here are the basics.

A screwdriver (with interchangeable bits)
A drill/bits
A hammer
More box cutters
A rubber mallet (if you are putting together metal shelves)
A tape measure
Pliers (have a few types)
Hardware: basic nails, screws, picture hanging hardware, wire, hooks, and other hardware that you often need.
Allen Wrenches. Have both a metric and standard set.

Trash Cans

Aside from the big trash cans that get taken to the curb, I recommend having trash and/or recycling cans in each of these places, at a minimum. The kitchen, the laundry room, each bathroom, each office, and anywhere else you find yourself needing a trashcan. Have plenty of bags available for replacing when needed.

Toilet Paper!

Have plenty of toilet paper on hand in all bathrooms. Have a backstock somewhere else in the house so that you can keep the bathrooms well stocked. You don’t need to go over-board like everyone did back in 2020, but just make sure you don’t run out.

Batteries, Lightbulbs, and Chargers

A rechargeable charger (or multiple). I have one that has a light and another that can be solar powered (and has a light too). Both have USB ports for charging devices. I used to live in a neighborhood that lost power quite frequently due to old equipment and had nothing to do with the weather. I had to use these chargers and light on a regular basis.
Batteries. Have a good stock of the basics that you use on a regular basis.
Lightbulbs. Inventory the types of lights you have and what kinds of bulbs they require.
Extension cords. Depending on what you like to do, have both the interior and heavy duty exterior kind.
Charging cords. Set up several charging stations around the house so you can keep all your devices juiced up.

Personal Essentials

This list could get really long really quickly, so I’m just going to keep it very basic.

Toothbrush/paste
Dental floss
Hairbrush
Nail clippers
Tweezers
Triple-antibiotic ointment
Hydrogen-peroxide
Band-aids

Emergency Essentials

There are plenty of other emergency essentials that I recommend having, but if you don’t have a stash of water, please go out and get that asap. At the very minimum, have 1 gallon of water per person for 3 days.

Other

Bins! I love having an assortment of organizing bins available so that I can group like items in drawers or on shelves. I don’t recommend going out and buying bins before you start organizing though. Use what you have (cardboard boxes, Ziplock bags, bins you already own) first. But if you are really starting from ground zero and need a good assortment to get going, buy extras, but get them from somewhere local so you can return what you don’t use.

It would be impossible to list everything that you would need in a house, but these are my favorite items to make sure I can keep my home clean and organized. What are your “must have” home essentials? Send me a message. I’d love to hear about them!