There are plenty of things every household needs: toilet paper, plates, utensils, etc. But there are a few items that you don’t think about purchasing until you really need them. It’s easy to forget that you’ll need ketchup the first time you move into a new place and fully stock your fridge with all of the basics. Beyond condiments, however, there are quite a few other useful household items you’ll want to make sure you pick up that do more than you might think.
Aluminum foil
Sure, it might be easy to just stick that last slice of pizza in the fridge with nothing but a plate to keep it from touching the grates, but covering your food in aluminum foil allows you to keep your foodstuffs from exchanging odors while they co-habitate. What’s more, foil serves a greater purpose. You know those pesky stove burners that get all mucked up every single time some of your breakfast lands on them? Well, if you line the stove covers with foil, it makes for easy cleaning: Just pull the burner off and replace the foil when it gets dirty. Sure, you’ll need to do a hard clean every once in awhile, but you won’t have nearly as many stains on the stove, thus guaranteeing you will get a bit more of that security deposit back.
Plunger
It’s an easy item to overlook until you really need it. And the most common situation that you’ll want a plunger in is one you wouldn’t want to find yourself in. Again, the plunger comes in handy in other places other than the porcelain throne room. Appliances with thin metal outsides, such as dishwashers and ovens, can sometimes suffer blunt force trauma during parties or because of rambunctious shenanigans. Applying your plunging expertise to the resulting dents can help even out the surface, again protecting you against unnecessary security deposit subtractions.
Magic Erasers
If you’ve never used one of Mr. Clean’s Magic Erasers, you’ve been cleaning the hard way. The abrasive but semi-gentle surface takes care of most tougher stains, such as those you might inflict on a countertop when cooking up your own spaghetti sauce. If you’ve got white walls — odds are that you do — Magic Erasers work wonders on a stain or otherwise unsightly blemish. It’s the melamine foam that does the heavy lifting here. Magic Erasers have been known to remove crayon, scuff marks, even magic marker stains.
Can opener
It’s pretty sad to see a couple of grown men trying to open a can of Chef Boyardee ravioli without a can opener. It’s best to avoid the sight and get one as soon as you move into your new place, if not before. But it’s not just because of its utility as a way to get to access your food. You know those pesky plastic cases most smaller electronics come in, such as headphones and video game controllers? Guess what’s just about perfect for freeing those gadgets for your use? Yep. Just pretend that brand new Dualshock 3 controller is a fruit cocktail just dying to get out of that Del Monte can.