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In about a month I'll be moving back to southeastern pa from the Midwest. It's the first major move I've made since I started grad school and I was hoping for some advice. More specifically, what sort of household staples do people tend to forget to buy (e.g. a toilet plunger) and then regret later? I'm leaving a bunch of stuff with my roommate and am only taking what I personally own, but I'm making up a list for things to buy when I get there.

I moved out from shared housing to living by myself this summer, so here's an incomplete list of stuff I realized I didn't own:
Plunger/toilet brush/all related cleaning supplies
Drawer divider for flatware
A good chefs knife
Variety of saucepans/other kitchen utensils
Shower curtain/bath mat
Garbage can(s)
Furniture pieces (dining room chairs, had the table already)
Pillows/blankets for guests

The other thing I noticed the most was now that I live on my own with sole control in how the house looks, I've put a lot of time into decorating it with all my unique flair. I did also buy a new bookshelf. Honestly a trawl through Ikea will be filled with "Oh, I should get one of those! And these!" etc. But I'd recommend going to the thrift store for a lot of stuff. Basics like serving spoons and whisks can be found fairly thriftfully.

Hope this helps!

I moved to Britain a few months ago so I have gone through this recently.

Even if you move into a furnished place you still have to get random stuff. There is a bare minimum of things like bedding and basic kitchen stuff but to some extent you figure out that you need something, then go buy it. Outside of what betsytheripper has mentioned, I have gotten a toaster, a kettle, a vacuum and a laundry hamper.

I have to admit I haven't really done anything to spruce up my flat. I need to get a couple lamps and some pillows for the chesterfields that came with the flat.

Edit: A good thing to have when moving and such is a tape measure. Another thing I want to get is set of tools.

Oh yes, appliances, good call. Especially kitchen ones. I already owned most of the stuff from the kitchen in my shared housing, so that wasn't such a big deal for me.

Second on the tape measure, especially if you think you'll need to buy just one more piece of furniture, measure exactly how big the space is. Basic tools are good to have around, and make sure you stock up on pantry staples, like flour, rice, pasta, etc.

And like Chrusher said, you'll end up getting random stuff because you realize you don't have it. I'm still occasionally doing this, and I moved six months ago.

Gloves, sponges, other cleaning supplies.
Tupperware.
Matches or a lighter of some kind.
An emergency kit and/or a first-aid kit.

Lots of cleaning supplies. Plenty of cookware and dishes. Plenty of clothes hangers. Tool kit for various minor fixes. Trash cans. That's the main stuff I can think of right now. I'll add some more later.

Can opener.

Nothing quite like sitting in your empty apartment with a can of soup and a saucepan, and no way to open the soup.

Bottle opener.

Duct tape. There'll always be something you need it for at some point.

A few basic pots and pans, eating utensils, kitchen utensils, cutting board, plates, bowl, cups/mugs, drinking glasses, cleaning supplies, BUCKETS! (one can never have too many buckets, they seem to disappear down the same black hole ball point pens do), spare light bulbs (figure out which ones you need and have atleast one of the important ones in stock. You never know when things get dark). I'm sure theres much more.

Maybe some basic emergency supplies. Couple of bottles of water, a torch (don't put the batteries in but keep them together) some candles, some canned foods.

Just keep in mind it might be best to just wait until you need something to buy it, or you might end up cluttering your new place with stuff you never use. It can be annoying to find out you need something 5 minutes after the shops close though so...

Dutch guy wrote:It can be annoying to find out you need something 5 minutes after the shops close though so...

That's usually when you find out you urgently need a toilet plunger...

trash cans and liners, a knife to help tear down moving boxes, lamps, broom/dustpan, hot pads and kitchen towels, and some way of managing your bills.

This is more of a premove thing. Pack up stuff you think you can live without for a month now. get yourself living as spartanly as possible. It will alleviate a lot of stress from the last minute "oh crap im moving in two days and I haven't even started to pack yet"

even if you don't think you have that much stuff, it will take longer to pack it than you think it will.

Thanks for all the advice!

I'm partially moved in now and have a shopping list for this weekend (assuming that blizzard doesn't put the kibosh on shopping).