What to Pack for your First Night in your New Home

Once you have finally gotten through the arduous series of challenges that are required to reach your first night in your new home, you may feel as though you’ve gotten through the worst of it and can finally take a load off and relax. This isn’t far from true—while you will have certainly overcome a great deal of tasks to reach the point that you’re at now, it is still important to remember that you won’t be entirely out of the woods just yet!

So what can you do to ensure that your first night will be a positive start to the next chapter in your life? One of the most significant (and convenient) ways that you can make sure that things go off without a hitch on your first night will be to put together a box or similar container of pure “essentials” that you will need to make your way through the early phases of living in a new space—accounting for everything from dinner in an empty kitchen, to staying hygienic without a solid bathroom setup, are all factors you’ll need to take in.

Below, we’ve compiled a simple checklist of key things to plan for when it comes to the contingency of your “first night” box. If you follow this list, you will feel almost indestructible as you kick back in your empty new home, without the hectic confusion that usually comes with getting settled in emptyhanded.

Keeping Clean:

• Socks, underwear, etc.—the classic go-to

  Believe it or not, that old advice on staying prepared in any situation rings especially true when you’re staying in your new home for the very first time.

• Hygiene, and plenty of it

  It’s good to place a particular focus on keeping yourself clean once you arrive at the new digs. A house that has sat uninhabited for months or longer can often be host to some unique buildups of funk that will wear off after a quick once-over from the new tenants (in this case, you). However, when you first arrive, you’ll want to take matters into your own hands, in the form of antibacterial soaps, wet wipes, and other basic cleanliness items to ensure that you stay on point.

• Any and all needed toiletries

  You don’t want to avoid skipping out on any needed personal maintenance along the way. It can almost go without saying that you’ll want to keep items such as your bathroom essentials, tooth brush, etc. on hand. Review your bathroom loadout multiple times before you head out to make sure you aren’t forgetting seemingly minor things such as tooth paste, toilet tissue, and the like.

Personal Items:

• A few changes of clothes

  Ensuring good hygiene and peace of mind in a new place requires more than just a change of socks. At least one full change in clothes are essentially a requirement for your first night, so you’ll want to have them on hand without having to dig.

• Needed documents; paperwork

  Do you have any relevant documents that you’ll need to keep on hand shortly after arriving in your new town? Whether it’s a lease, a passport, or basic things like your ID, you’ll want to make sure that all of these are on you throughout the move, and quickly accessible in case you need them.

Electronic chargers and accessories

While things like your phone or tablet may be good to go for the duration of your road trip without needing to be charged, you might quickly realize that you’re in trouble once you get settled in at your new place. Keeping a couple of key chargers on you (or even a multipurpose charger with some adapters) will mean that you won’t have to worry about using your electronics on borrowed time.

Food, Drink, & Kitchen Needful Things:

• More snacks than you think you need

  Food is generally presented by movers as one of the most underrated (and unexpected) challenges they run into along the way—for an easy fix, keep an eye out for snack foods that are easy to keep on the go –sealable containers of nuts, individually wrapped crackers, granola bars, boiled eggs, sliced fruit and more are all suitable foods to tide you over as you make your way, and for after you’ve arrived.

• Portable utensils/plates

  Whether you opt for a slew of portable paper plates and plastic forks, or simply throw a handful of your own kitchenware into an on-hand box, you’ll want to do what you can to ensure that everyone has the supplies they need to eat with upon arrival. Keep in mind that your new kitchen won’t be very useful for the next day or two.

Getting Some Shut-eye:

• Prepare some pajamas

  Regardless of the kind of person you are, odds are you’ll want to be able to change out of the clothes you’ve been in all day before turning in for the night. With that being said, it’s a good idea to keep a set of pajamas or other sleepwear essentials on-hand.

• Sleep solutions

  In most cases, you’re not going to have a bed be sleep-ready on your first night after moving. An ideal (and easy to pack) solution can be an air mattress or similar inflatable bed. Just make sure that you keep the appropriate air pump or other needed accessories on you as well. If an air mattress simply can’t happen, try to bridge the gap with needed sleeping bags or similar items—anything that you can fall back on in order to get some rest.

• Sleep accessories

  An air mattress or sleeping bag alone might not be enough to cut it. At the very least, a few blankets and pillows should come along for the ride to allow enough comfort to truly get some sleep on your first night. In addition, these types of accessories can also be great in a pinch during long road trips the involve making your way across the country overnight.

First Aid & Tools

• Any and all regular meds

  If there are any medications regularly taken by you or your family, it’s a priority to keep these on-hand throughout the trip. Additionally, you might consider bringing along basic over the counter staples such as aspirin and the like.

• First Aid supplies

  Getting scraped up along the way tends to be a realistic risk factor when moving furniture in. Having supplies on-hand to handle basic disinfecting, bandaging, etc. can minimize a great deal of issues.

• Box cutter

  This go to tool’s time to shine has come! From unpacking to breaking down boxes, this handy tool can be used in a number of ways. Just make sure to read up on a few safety tips in order to stay protected from any unwanted mishaps.

• Screwdrivers

  Having a basic flat head and Phillips head screwdriver on hand can save you a great deal of hassle when it comes to setting up certain pieces of furniture.

Miscellaneous

• Pet supplies

  Whether or not this step matters comes down to whether or not you have one or more pets on deck for your initial arrival. If so, getting them acclimated healthily (and cared for properly) during your first days will mean that you’ll need to bring along everything that they would normally need at home. Food, water, leashes, medications, a familiar place to sleep, and items like toys to help them make the new place feel like home.

• Babies and young children essentials

  If you have any young movers along for the first night, you’ll need to ensure that any goods they might need are on-hand throughout. Anything from special snacks, diapers and cleaning supplies to favorite personal items are all great ideas and can help smoothen the overall process as you and your family attempt the crash course in getting settled in.