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Congratulations on securing your first apartment and settling into your first at your new place. But as you look around, you see boxes after boxes.
You’re so tired from moving you don’t want to start unpacking. This is where a first-night box comes in!
In this blog post, we are going to go over what is a first-night box, and what you should pack inside one.
What Is A First Night Box?
A first-night box is a box filled with essential items you will need to survive your first night in your new home. This could be various items.
From documents, paper towels, and dish soap.
A moving first-night box can be filled with whatever you may need to help you get through the first few hours.
You would not believe how convenient it was to have to search through just one box for everything we needed.
Made moving less stressful and helped us take our time unpacking.
Now without further ado, let’s dive into what items you need in your moving essentials box.
What Do You Put In Your First-Day Box When Moving?
You want to make sure you place items inside your first night move-in box that you will need for the next 24 hours without searching your other boxes. Here is a list down below of the items I had inside my moving essentials box:
1. Box
A cardboard box or even a container that can hold all of your items.
2. Box Cutter
To help open boxes. Grab 1-2 box cutters if you can. The number of times I misplaced my box cutter when unpacking was insane.
3. Scissors
You’re going to be cutting a lot of packages. I recommend Having two sets of scissors. Especially if people are helping you out.
4. Paper Towel
Help clean your hands, and help clean up messes.
5. Dish Soap
When you open your new set of dishes, cups, and cutlery you’re going to be washing A LOT of dishes. You want to have dish soap on hand for that.
6. Multipurpose Cleaner
I highly suggest having your box of cleaning supplies on hand but that’s not always the case. A multipurpose spray can help clean just about any surface.
7. Rubber Gloves
Similar to dish soap, You will be washing and cleaning every inch of your new place. You’re going to want to protect your hands with gloves. Just so the water won’t dry out your skin.
8. Elastic Band
Surprisingly, You will need to use elastic bands on move-in day. May have to tie bags, keep a door open, and so much more.
9. A Sheet Of Contacts
Yes, we live in a digital age. But you want to make sure you have a physical copy of the contact information of your; landlord, building manager, utility company, internet company, and friends who are helping you move, and the moving company.
Just in case anything happens on move-in day.
10. Garbage Bags
You will be throwing out a lot of stuff when you first move into your new apartment. I had so many bags of garbage within the first day of moving in. You want to ensure you have 3-5 large durable garbage bags (Or just an entire box if you can fit it in).
11. Paper Plates
After a long day of moving, the last thing you want to do is wash dishes after dinner. Purchase a set of paper plates and plastic cutlery. This is great if you are treating your friends and family to pizza to help you move.
12. Sponge
Use to wash dishes, and scrub down areas of your new home.
13. Tape
While we were packing up our moving truck, some of our boxes were ripping/the tape was falling apart. Having tape handy helped to keep our belongings intact.
14. Air Mattress
The best purchase I made before moving was an air mattress. After my husband and I moved into our first apartment, we were exhausted. The last thing we wanted to do was build our bedframe.
I highly suggest looking into getting an air mattress that has a built-in pump and cheap bed sheets. Realistically you’ll be sleeping on your air mattress for a couple of days before actually sleeping in your bed (especially if it needs to be delivered!)
15. Phone Chargers
Keeping your phone charged is super important on the day you move in. You need to stay in contact with your movers, friends and family, and landlord.
Having a couple of sets of chargers and a battery pack on hand will help keep your phone charged all day.
16. Flashlights, Candles, & Batteries
There could be a possibility that the electricity is not on yet or something went wrong with the wiring. Have candles, and flashlights as backup lights when you first move in.
17. First Aid Kit
Moving day can come with some cuts and scrapes. Always be prepared by having a first aid kit on hand. Including an extra box of band-aids. Because yes you can get a paper cut from opening boxes.
Overall…
Moving can be such a hassle but it’s worth it in the end! I have a great blog post on what you should do 30 days before moving and some great packing hacks you can try to make your move go smoothly.
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