List of Apartment Items - especially kitchen?

Parent Cafe
21

<p>I agree that less is better. Both of my older two kids moved out this summer. I was happy to supply both kids with kitchen stuff but what I got each of them was different. </p>

<p>Son, doesn’t cook and he got plates, silverware, glasses, microwave saucepan, frying pan, baking pan, large cooling rack that can be used as a trivet, cutting board and pot holders and some small misc. stuff. He asked for a medium size saucepan with lid which I was happy to give him. He’s in college and I’m hoping some of this stuff comes back but most was Target or used so no big loss if it doesn’t. </p>

<p>Daughter, OTOH, enjoys cooking and was moving into an apartment that she may well live in for a few years. She got the above items, most from Pampered Chef that should last her for many years. I sold Pampered Chef and have quite a few things that I bought or got free and saved just for that purpose.</p>

<p>If son somehow goes from easy mac to Iron Chef, I will happily supply him with the good stuff but I don’t see the point in going over the top if he’s going to be mostly micro-waving. </p>

<p>Oh, One thing I did tell him, which he’s actually done, is to buy Rotisserie Chickens at the grocery store. No cooking involved and meals for two sittings.</p>

22

<p>How many of your son’s really cooked? I am not sure how much cooking he is going to be doing. Apartment residents are required to take a small meal plan. I am imagining he will eat lunch or a meal in the late afternoon on campus in the dining hall. Breakfast and late night dining will be at the apartment. I think he has several night classes this fall so I doubt he will be making dinner on those nights unless it is something from the freezer.
I could see him eating lots of cereal. Maybe he only needs a bowl and spoon.</p>

23

<p>I’ve been poring over craigslist as S needs to furnish a new apartment from soup to nuts (both the edible and the non-edible kind). It’s amazing what people do not take with them when they move. I would not want to buy really “good” good stuff for S, unless I was sure that he could take it along when he moved again; or that he would not ruin the good stuff while experimenting. I’ve burned quite a lot of food and have had to apply a lot of elbow grease to get the burnt bits off; I have the suspicion that S would just toss the pot. I’d rather he not toss $$$ worth of pots.</p>

24

<p>Mom60- Our S does cook. However, with a few exceptions, he doesn’t cook how and what I do! </p>

<p>Marite- The pans I have given to him (from my cast offs and TJMaxx/Marshalls) are stainless steel. I have included a large stack of those green scrubby pads.</p>

25

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<p>Mine did…in addition to some really good cookbooks, he also has a number of excellent knives.</p>

<p>BUT an essential for an apartment… A PLUNGER.</p>

26

<p>great list, S is preparing to to an apartment next month. One thing I did do, was call our local relatives and asked them to take a look around their house and if there is anything that they want to get rid of let us know. So far thanks to grandparents, he will have a vacuum (my mom forgot she had one in the garage) and a kitchen dining set for 4. He has been invited to raid their kitchen cabinets and see if there is anything he needs. They have all accumulated a lot of stuff over the years. My mom still has the plates and stoneware we had when I was growing up.</p>

27

<p>mafool: My pots are stainless steel, too. I’ve used quite a few green scrubby pads on them. I don’t think my S will have the patience to do the same. Ah. well. I did not learn to cook until I had my own apartment, in grad school. Same age as S. He’ll survive. </p>

<p>Justthismom:
We do have lots of plates, etc… to spare, but we’re not giving them to S, as we don’t want to hire a moving company. This is why we’ll be hitting IKEA for S2 as we did for S1.</p>

28

<p>We discovered that an important piece of “kitchen equipment” is a chair. My S lived in an unfurnished apt last year, and when I saw pictures of it, the counters were lined up with cereal boxes, baking goods, etc. I asked why they weren’t in the cupboards, and he said, “They don’t fit in the lower shelves, and we can’t reach the upper ones.” (None of the three boys is tall.)</p>

<p>For his birthday, his older - broke - brother gave him his used coffee pot and toaster. (Older brother’s roommate has one, and they didn’t need two.) He was thrilled. He uses the toaster a lot. For Christmas I put some of those silicone baking cups in his stocking, and he loves them. He makes muffins a lot.</p>

29

<p>I forgot to mention that the other thing both my Ds really like and use is the tiniest version of the George Foreman Grill. It only cost about $20 at Target. Both of them thought it was a weird thing for me to buy them but now they love it. They make hamburgers and turkey burgers, grilled chicken breasts, and my younger D “paninis” (the verb form) all her sandwiches.</p>

30

<p>Just remembered a great basic I got both of my kids - a coat tree. Great for apartment entrance ways. If you have an Ollie’s near you, they sell them for $20. I realize it’s not really a kitchen item, but thought I would throw it in the thread.</p>

31

<p>Yes. Our son wanted a Foreman grill and uses it frequently. Grill, toaster and blender are the appliances that get used, along with the mircro that was supplied with the apartment.</p>

<p>Binx, I can’t reach the upper shelves in our kitchen, either. I have a little folding stool that saves the day!</p>

32

<p>mom60
My S and his three roommates cook all the time! they started when the lived in on campus apartments (two different apts) on a schedule, shopping and cooking on a rotation.I never thought it would work! But lo and behold, this will be their third year cooking and now living together in a 4 person off campus apt seniors). S has become an accomplished cook, with quite the collection of equiptment,spices and cookbooks.
Both the on campus furnished and off campus furnished apts did not have any kitchen goods or cleaning goods included,they did have window blinds but not curtains.
Its a good idea to supply some lightbulbs, and a plunger is a must!!</p>

33

<p>Great suggestions! Keep them coming!</p>

<p>We made a trip to Homegoods yesterday for some other stuff and ended up purchasing a nice broom/dustpan and some cute bathroom stuff - wastebasket, toothbrush holder,etc. - all pretty cheap.</p>

34

<p>Too funny about the George Forman. Both my kids are totally minimalistic on most kitchen items, but they’ve got George at the top of their lists. We have one at home because they bought me one for Christmas a couple of years ago, as I absolutely refused to have another item in my kitchen. (totally in the less is more phase of my life :)) Anyway, I have to admit – totally reluctantly of course – that we’ve used the bajeebees (sp?) out of that thing. </p>

<p>Oh … some good shopping places besides garage sales … old time pottery. D’s roommate just picked up their dishes/flatware there last week. Totally mismatched and funky and TOTALLY cheap. <g> Also, we just had a goodwill store open near the university in town. I keep pointing my s and d there, too. </g></p>

<p>zebes</p>

35

<p>Re: the George Forman…just make sure your kids know how to clean it…and do. DS had a roommate who had one. It was always filthy and dripping oil. The others wanted to toss it into the trash. Once when I was there I TRIED to clean it (roommate was out) but it was beyond hope by that time.</p>

<p>Did anyone mention a cutting board…saves the counters and furniture from cuts.</p>

<p>Also, my son swore by one of those little plastic electric teapots for tea or hot chocolate. He didn’t like the microwave (makes the water bubbly) and used his electric teapot every day. Get one with an auto OFF switch. VERY inexpensive at Target or Walmart.</p>

36

<p>Did anyone mention a colander? I think S lives on pasta. Also, measuring cups & spoons, potholder, dish towels.</p>

37

<p>Small crock-pot. That way they have dinner waiting for them “after a hard day” of classes, and trudging through the snow…"</p>

38

<p>hmmm. The list gets longer and longer. S’s apartment has two handkerchief-sized areas where he will need to do all his, setting out of utensils and ingredients, chopping, cutting, dish drying. A grill? A crockpot? Where? :)</p>

39

<p>Actually DS had a tiny crock pot (with recipes of mine cut in half) AND a small rice maker. BOTH got extensive use…but remember, my kid cooks. I would put both of these in the “not essential” category.</p>

40

<p>My S moved into his apartment in NYC with 2 suitcases last year. (Along with the stuff he’d left in his music locker at school.) He let me pack one of them, then we rearranged them to balance the weight. </p>

<p>Not only did I have to pare down to essentials, but they all had to be pretty lightweight. The stuff I put in:<br>
thin plastic cutting board,
flat metal cookiesheet,
medium fry pan,
small saucepan,
small baking pan,
plastic juice pitcher,
cooking spoon and lifter,
sharp knife,
plastic measuring cup (the kind for liquids - it works well enough for both),
measuring spoons,
pot holder,
tea towel,
manual can opener,
church key,
orange peeler (he’s the only one of us who ever uses it, and it’s small).<br>
I put a lot of the little things in a large tupperware-type bowl with lid - which he can use as a mixing bowl or storage container.
And probably some other things I don’t remember now.</p>

<p>He already had a plate, bowl, mug, glass, and utensils from dorm living.</p>

<p>Over time I’ve offered other things, but he’s turned most of them down. As mentioned previously, he got a second-hand coffee maker and toaster. One roommate has a crock-pot, but S doesn’t use it. </p>

<p>Over Christmas he confiscated some old plastic cereal bowls I’d gotten from cereal premiums (the kind with Tony the Tiger, and the Fruit Loops Toucan, and the Rice Krispies kids…) His roommates were thrilled with them. They use bowls often - for cereal, soup, and ice cream. And he bought a $1 silverware tray at IKEA as their kitchen drawer was a little haphazard.</p>

<p>He is a pro at living simply and cheaply. He eats a lot of hard-boiled eggs, oatmeal, pasta, PBJ, fruit. When he eats at the school cafeteria, he goes for the salad - it’s cheap, and he doesn’t have to buy and prepare veggies at home.</p>

<p>He was home for 2 weeks this summer, and I noticed every meal he requested was heavy on meat!</p>