An empty flat, a first salary, and a shopping list written by a shop. By week two the money is gone on cushions and matching sets, and you are still sleeping badly, eating off your lap, and keeping the deposit argument you were always going to lose because nobody took a single photo on moving day. This checklist builds a first home in the order a life needs it: evidence, clean, and measurements first; then sleep, wash, and cook working at survival level in week one; then storage, safety, and paperwork in month one.
The final section tiers every later buy honestly — what deserves new, what is proudly second-hand, and what to borrow or skip entirely. No sales talk, just a flat you can actually live in by Friday.
The short version: 64 tasks, about 14.2 hours in total if you do it in one go — and every task can be ticked off in the checklist above as you finish it. The full list is written out below, so the page still works printed or saved.
Before and On Moving Day: Evidence, Clean, Measure
- Photograph every room from all four corners, including floors, walls, windows and any existing damage, before anything enters
~20 min · Easy · Needs: Phone camera - Photograph meter readings for electricity, gas and water, with the meter serial numbers visible in frame
~10 min · Easy · Needs: Phone camera - Walk the inventory line by line, note every mark or fault on it, sign it, and keep a dated copy
~20 min · Medium · Needs: Inventory, Pen - Test every tap, flush, shower, socket and light switch, and list anything that does not work, in writing, today
~15 min · Easy · Needs: Phone or notebook - Email the landlord or agent your move-in photos and fault list the same day, so the evidence is timestamped
~10 min · Easy - Clean the whole empty flat before furniture arrives — kitchen and bathroom first, floors last
~45 min · Hard · Needs: All-purpose cleaner, Bathroom cleaner, Microfiber cloths - Wipe inside every cupboard, wardrobe and drawer before a single item goes into them
~20 min · Medium · Needs: All-purpose cleaner, Microfiber cloths - Measure every wall you might put furniture against and write the numbers in one note on your phone
~20 min · Easy · Needs: Tape measure - Measure doorways, hall turns and stair widths — the route furniture must travel, not just the room it lands in
~10 min · Easy · Needs: Tape measure - Measure every window for curtains or blinds, width and drop, before you look at a single curtain
~10 min · Easy · Needs: Tape measure - Find the fuse box, stopcock and meter cupboards, photograph them, and label what each switch controls
~10 min · Easy · Needs: Phone camera, Labels - Put the bin out system in place today: kitchen bin, bags, and where building waste and recycling actually go
~10 min · Easy · Needs: Bin, Bin bags - Change or re-key nothing until you check your lease — but confirm every lock works and every key is accounted for
~8 min · Easy · Needs: Keys - Stock toilet paper, hand soap and a towel before the first night — the three things every mover forgets
~5 min · Easy · Needs: Toilet paper, Hand soap, Towel - Plug in one lamp and charge points first, so moving evening does not end in the dark
~5 min · Easy · Needs: Lamp, Phone charger - Keep lease, inventory and meter photos in one folder, paper or digital, from day one
~10 min · Easy · Needs: Folder
Week One: Sleep, Wash, Cook — the Three Systems
- Set up the bed first — frame, mattress and a mattress protector on before the first night, not after a week on the floor
~30 min · Medium · Needs: Mattress protector - Make the bed fully with clean bedding, and keep a second set so wash day never means a bare mattress
~10 min · Easy · Needs: Bedding, second set - Hang a curtain or temporary blind in the bedroom so week one sleep is dark and private
~15 min · Easy · Needs: Curtain or temporary blind - Fit the shower curtain or screen, put a bath mat down, and check the shower drains without flooding the floor
~15 min · Easy · Needs: Shower curtain, Bath mat - Put towels, toilet paper stock and hand soap in place, with one spare towel for guests or emergencies
~5 min · Easy · Needs: Towels, Toilet paper - Buy and place a plunger now — before you need one at midnight, not after
~5 min · Easy · Needs: Plunger - Assemble the honest cooking start: one pan, one pot, one sharp knife, one chopping board, one wooden spoon
~10 min · Easy · Needs: Pan, Pot, Knife, Chopping board - Stock kettle, mugs, plates, bowls, cutlery and one large mixing bowl — enough to cook and eat a real meal
~10 min · Easy · Needs: Kettle - Cook one full meal in the kitchen by day three to prove the system works and find what is genuinely missing
~30 min · Easy · Needs: Basic groceries - Buy starter groceries by meal, not by aisle: ingredients for three simple dinners, breakfasts and cleaning basics
~20 min · Easy · Needs: Groceries - Set up the laundry route: basket, drying rack, detergent, and where washing dries without damping the bedroom
~10 min · Easy · Needs: Laundry basket, Drying rack, Detergent - Wash all bedding, towels and any second-hand textiles before first use
~40 min · Easy · Needs: Laundry detergent - Set a chair and a small table or surface to eat at — eating off your lap ends in week one
~15 min · Easy · Needs: Chair, Small table - Put a bin in the bathroom and a hook or rail for the towel you use daily
~8 min · Easy · Needs: Bathroom bin, Hook - Test the door lock, intercom and post box, and get a spare key cut for a trusted person
~15 min · Easy · Needs: Spare key - Charge a torch and keep it, spare bulbs and batteries in one drawer you can find in the dark
~8 min · Easy · Needs: Torch, Spare bulbs, Batteries
Month One: Storage, Safety and the Paper File
- Test every smoke and CO alarm, replace batteries, and note the test date in your paper file
~10 min · Easy · Needs: Spare batteries - Locate the nearest extinguisher or buy a fire blanket for the kitchen, and read how it works before you need it
~10 min · Easy · Needs: Fire blanket - Build a basic first aid kit: plasters, antiseptic, painkillers, thermometer, and your own medication spares
~10 min · Easy · Needs: First aid supplies - Complete the paper file: lease, inventory, meter photos, deposit receipt and landlord contact details together
~15 min · Easy · Needs: Folder - Confirm the deposit protection details in writing — scheme name, reference and the date it was protected
~10 min · Easy - Register your address everywhere it matters: bank, employer, doctor, subscriptions and official post
~20 min · Easy - Set up storage where things actually land: hooks by the door, a box for post, a home for keys and bags
~15 min · Easy · Needs: Hooks, Storage box - Add one shelf or set of shelves before you buy any decorative storage — vertical space first
~25 min · Medium · Needs: Shelves, Screwdriver - Sort cleaning supplies into one carried kit: all-purpose cleaner, bathroom cleaner, cloths, brush, gloves
~10 min · Easy · Needs: All-purpose cleaner, Bathroom cleaner, Microfiber cloths - Build the basic tool roll: screwdrivers, hammer, Allen keys, tape measure, pliers and picture hooks
~15 min · Easy · Needs: Basic tool roll - Start the cleaning rhythm now: a weekly 30-minute reset, booked like an appointment, before habits set
~30 min · Easy · Needs: Cleaning kit - Meet the neighbours on your floor, swap first names, and learn the building's quiet hours and bin rules
~10 min · Easy - Check every window closes and locks, and report draughts or faults while move-in goodwill still applies
~12 min · Easy - Label spare keys, meter keys and window keys, and store them in one place that is not a junk drawer
~8 min · Easy · Needs: Key labels - Photograph the flat furnished and tidy once, as your own record of how it should return at lease end
~10 min · Easy · Needs: Phone camera - Write a one-page home sheet: fuse box, stopcock, landlord number, and emergency numbers, kept by the door
~10 min · Easy · Needs: Pen and paper
Budget Tiers: Upgrade, Borrow or Skip
- Buy the mattress new, and the protector with it — sleep is the one system never worth inheriting
~10 min · Easy - Buy the kettle new — it is cheap, used daily, and a scaled second-hand one is a false saving
~5 min · Easy · Needs: Kettle - Buy pillows new, and replace any pillow that fails the fold test instead of stacking two flat ones
~5 min · Easy · Needs: Pillows - Take the table second-hand proudly — measure first, check it is level and solid, and clean it well
~20 min · Easy · Needs: Tape measure - Take shelves and bookcases second-hand — they hold things, they do not touch food or skin
~15 min · Easy - Take pans second-hand only if the base is flat and the coating intact, otherwise buy one good pan new
~10 min · Easy - Take chairs and a small sofa second-hand only after a close smell and seam check, and clean before use
~20 min · Medium · Needs: Upholstery cleaner - Borrow a drill, ladder and extra tools for one-off jobs instead of buying tools you will use twice a year
~10 min · Easy - Borrow guest bedding and air beds for rare visits in the first year instead of storing them daily
~5 min · Easy - Skip matching sets entirely: plates, towels and glasses bought singly do the same job for half the money
~5 min · Easy - Skip guest gear, spare-room furniture and entertaining extras until real guests are actually booked in
~5 min · Easy - Skip the gadget wave: one good knife beats a block of twelve, and a pan and pot beat a gadget drawer
~5 min · Easy - Upgrade lighting first as money allows: warm bulbs and one real lamp change a flat more than decor does
~15 min · Easy · Needs: LED bulbs, Lamp - Upgrade your work or study chair before any decorative buy if you sit in it daily
~10 min · Easy - Keep a written waiting list for every non-urgent buy, and only promote items still wanted after 30 days
~10 min · Easy · Needs: Notebook or phone note - Set a monthly home budget line, even a tiny one, so upgrades are planned instead of panic-bought
~10 min · Easy
Pro Tips
- Photographs are money. A dated, emailed set of move-in photos plus meter readings is worth more at deposit time than any argument — take them before a single box crosses the door.
- Measure twice, buy once is literal here. Room, doorway and stair-turn measurements on your phone stop the classic first-flat disaster: furniture that fits the room but never reaches it.
- Build systems, not rooms. A working bed, a working shower and one cooked meal beat a decorated living room every time — guests can sit on cushions, you cannot sleep on a rug for a month.
- Second-hand is a skill, not a compromise. Solid wood tables and shelves are often better than new flat-pack; mattresses, pillows and kettles are the honest exceptions where new is worth it.
- The 30-day list kills most bad buys. If you still want it after a month of living without it, it has earned its space and its money. Most shop-list items never survive the list.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I do first on moving day, before unpacking?
Evidence, then clean, then measure. Photograph every room and the meters, check the inventory line by line, and email the set to your landlord the same day. Clean the empty flat while everything is reachable, and measure walls, windows and doorways once, in writing, before any furniture is chosen.
What do I actually need for the first week?
Three systems at survival level: sleep, wash, and cook. That means a made bed with a protector, a working shower with towels and a plunger, and one pan, one pot, one knife and groceries for real meals. Everything else — decor, guests, matching sets — can wait until those three work.
What should I buy new, and what is fine second-hand?
Buy new where hygiene and daily wear matter most: mattress, pillows, mattress protector and a cheap kettle. Tables, shelves, bookcases and solid chairs are proudly second-hand if they are sound and cleaned well. Borrow rare-use tools and guest gear in year one, and skip matching sets entirely.
How do I protect my deposit from day one?
Create the paper trail before you create the home. Timestamped move-in photos, meter readings and a signed inventory with every fault noted, all emailed to the landlord on day one, set the starting condition in writing. Confirm the deposit protection scheme details, and keep everything together in one file.
More Checklists and Guides
- All Home Checklists, Calendars, Idea Lists & Templates — every list in one place
- Small Apartment Storage Checklist — Rental-safe storage for every room of a small home — no drilling, no built-ins.
- Move-In Cleaning Checklist — Clean the empty home before a single box lands — insides, drains and floors, in the right order.
- Move-In Cleaning Checklist — the deep clean this setup does on day one, in full
- Small Apartment Storage Checklist — rental-safe storage for every room, once the basics stand
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