The short version
- Bed first, mattress new. Everything else can wait a month.
- Kitchen, bathroom, cleaning, tools: about €250 gets you a flat that works.
- Borrow or buy second-hand for anything you will replace in two years.
Why this matters
You will live with these decisions for years, and the cheap ones are not all bad. A €9 kettle lasts a decade. A €12 pan warps in a season. The skill is knowing which is which, and the answer is almost always the thing you touch every day.
The first flat is also the only time you get to buy slowly. Nobody expects a finished home in week one. They expect a bed, a towel, and a glass of water. Get those three right and the rest is furniture.
Bed and sleep
- Mattress, new. This is the one thing you do not buy second-hand. €200–400 for a basic foam or hybrid in a standard size. €500–800 if you want it to last ten years. Buy from somewhere with a return window, because you cannot tell in ten minutes in a shop.
- Bed frame, €80–200. Simple wooden or metal with slats. A mattress on the floor works for a month and is not a crisis, but a frame gets air under it and stops the mould.
- Two pillows, €20–40. One good one and one spare for guests.
- Duvet and cover, €40–70. Check the size against the mattress before you buy. A double duvet on a single bed is a weekly annoyance.
- Two sets of sheets, €30–50. Two, so you are never washing on a schedule.
- A blind or curtain that blocks light, €30–60. More useful than a bedside table. Sleep is the thing you cannot fake.
Kitchen
Buy for four people, not eight. You will cook for yourself and one other person for the first year.
- One 24cm non-stick frying pan, €20–30. Replace it every two or three years, not every ten.
- One 2–3 litre pot with a lid, €25–40. One small pot, €15–20.
- One chef's knife, €25–40, and one small paring knife. A bread knife if you eat bread.
- One wooden board, one plastic board. €15–25 for both.
- Wooden spoon, spatula, tongs, can opener, peeler. €20 for the lot.
- Mixing bowl, colander, measuring jug. €20–30.
- Four plates, four bowls, four glasses, four mugs. €40–60.
- Cutlery for four, €15–25.
- Kettle, €15–25. Toaster if you eat toast, €20.
- Bin with a lid, bin bags, washing-up bowl, dish rack. €25–35.
- Three tea towels, one oven glove. €10–15.
- Three containers for leftovers, the same size so they stack. €10.
Bathroom and cleaning
- Two towels and a hand towel, €30–50. Buy them in one colour so the wash is simple.
- Shower curtain and rings if the flat needs one. €10–20.
- Toilet brush, plunger, toilet cleaner. €15–20. The plunger is the cheap insurance.
- Small bin with a lid, €10–15. Mirror if there is not one, €15–30.
- Basic medicines: painkillers, plasters, antiseptic, a thermometer. €20–30.
- Vacuum, €60–120 corded. A cordless one is convenient and the battery dies in three years.
- Mop and bucket, broom, dustpan, €25–35.
- Spray cleaner, bathroom cleaner, a pack of cloths, rubber gloves. €20–25.
Tools, laundry, light, paperwork
- Tools, €40–70. Hammer, flat and Phillips screwdrivers, pliers, tape measure, adjustable spanner, a box of screws and wall plugs. One box, not a wall of tools.
- Laundry, €30–50. Drying rack €15–25, basket €10, detergent and stain remover €10. A heated airer is not worth the electricity.
- Lighting, €30–60. One floor or bedside lamp and a warm white bulb. An overhead light on its own makes a flat feel like an office at 9pm.
- Paperwork, €5 and an hour. One folder for the lease, the inventory, the utility contracts, and the meter readings from the day you moved in.
What to skip
A 16-piece dinner set. You will use four plates and two mugs, and the rest will live in a cupboard you open twice a year. A bar cart. It is a shelf for bottles you do not own yet, and it costs €80 to make a small flat look like a hotel lobby. A robot vacuum in a one-bedroom flat with two rugs. It will spend more time stuck under the sofa than cleaning. Decorative anything in month one. A full knife block. One chef's knife and one small knife do every job in that list.
What it costs
Bed €250–500, including linen. Kitchen €180–280. Bathroom €60–100. Cleaning €100–180 with a vacuum. Tools €40–70. Laundry and lighting €60–110. Paperwork €5. A one-bedroom flat that works: €700–1,200 if you buy it all at once. Half that if you take the family spares, buy second-hand for everything except the mattress, and wait a month before you buy anything decorative.
Buy the bed new, the pans cheap, and the plates in fours. The rest can wait until you notice you need it.
Do this today
Photograph every wall, every appliance, and both meter readings before you unpack a box. Email the photos to yourself with the date in the subject line. It takes ten minutes, and it is the only record that matters when the deposit is discussed.
