What Essential Items Should I Consider When Moving Out for the First Time?

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Moving out by May 1st is a significant step, and understanding potential expenses, including utilities, is crucial. The individual has a list of items they already own and those they still need, such as kitchenware and bedding. Suggestions from others include considering a real mattress instead of an air mattress, acquiring basic cooking utensils, and being mindful of unexpected expenses when stocking a pantry. It's also recommended to have a phone for emergencies and to utilize local libraries for internet access if needed. Preparing for independence involves careful planning and budgeting to avoid being overwhelmed by small, recurring costs.
  • #31
This slipped my mind until Bob's last post. I always like to keep a stash of nylon and/or aluminum screen around. It's cheaper than dirt, and has lots of uses. One of those is to stretch a piece through an embroidery hoop (about 50¢ at a craft or fabric shop) to act as a strainer. With a stick duct-taped on for a handle, this can double as an improvised fly-swatter, although you might want to wash it before using it for your pasta, or a badminton racquet should you happen to be invited to a match.
A bigger piece (aluminum only) makes a good safety guard when you're frying bacon naked, and you can make your own teabags out of little bits. Some of it scrunched up works as a 'scrubby' for cleaning pots and such.
Last, but not least, a bunch of it rolled up and stuffed in a paper-towel tube serves as a semi-effective silencer if you have to start shooting mice.
 
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  • #32
Danger that's a bit too creative!

I'll just buy a strainer.

So, adding to my list...

- Strainer

I guess there could be a lot of hot women around, but I doubt it. The two places that I'm thinking about definitely most likely not. But the third place, there is a chance for it though.

There is one place that has the sweetest spot. It has a park nearby (2 minutes), bus terminal nearby (2 minutes) and library nearby (2 minutes), and among other things. The only problem is that it costs $100 more than the cheapest place. The cheapest place is like 7-8 minute walk from all the above. Really close to my buddies house though.
 
  • #33
MILK CRATES: THEY ARE YOUR FRIEND...you live in teh ontario area right?

They are multipurpose. Act as the bottom of your bed(if you have wooden planks) shelving and clothing unit...Dinner table...if you can get your hand on long planks of wood and like 6 milk creates you can make yourself one helluva tv unit/bookshelf/clothing unit.

Best thing is that if you go to the right school they sometimes leave it out in the open...and if you scrounge aroud you may be able to find the cafeteria or labs getting rid of some.

Make sure you wash them though =].

Oh yeah and when you move agin they will be with you for a long time carrying your books.

I still use like 7 or 8 in my room. As clothing/book storage.
 
  • #34
I work at a grocery store. I can get my hands on some crates if I need them. :smile:
 
  • #35
I didn't see this mentioned yet, so I'll mention it. Buy a can opener. For some reason, when I first got my own apartment, I sort of assumed they just "came with the place". I'd never witnessed anyone ever actually purchasing one of those. But after I'd finished my first major grocery shopping trip and decided to open a can of soup for lunch, I noticed a bit of a problem.
 
  • #36
Danger said:
Okay, I totally missed that. Sorry.
And, being a Yank, you can't handle my beer. Stick to that fish piss that they sell in the other 50 provinces. :-p
Watch what you say about Yanks and beer. I made my own for many years. Drink one 16 oz bottle before supper and you won't remember what you had for supper. Drink two and you won't remember if you even had supper. If I can't get to the Oak Pond Brewery for some jugs of micro-brewed ales, I'll take German/Dutch imports, though sometime I drink that watery Molsen Golden when I'm on a "light beer" kick.
 
  • #37
Jason, get a spray bottle and a big bottle of rubbing alcohol. Mix the alcohol 50:50 with tap water in the sprayer. It's great for cleaning windows and mirrors, countertops, and other surfaces. It works great and it's way cheaper than commercially-available cleaners and it disinfects (kind of a nice feature since you don't know the personal habits of the previous tenant). This stuff is great around the bathroom, too, and it won't poison you with nasty fumes like some cleaners. If you don't have cleaning rags/cloths, you might need to buy a couple of big rolls of paper towels for your initial cleaning of the apartment. Hint - clean the apartment BEFORE you move in - it's a whole lot faster and easier that way.
 
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  • #38
Thanks for all the advice guys. I'm really noticing on the tiny things I need as I'm thinking about it.

Right now, I'm working out the finances. So far, from what I read and heard is that my parents need to pay child support. My dad is already paying child support while my mom is not. She thinks she is, but really she isn't. It's complicated. I'll have to talk to a legal aid advisor and see what the facts are. If I get child support, then I certainly have way more than enough to live. If not, I'll make just enough to live. Say $700 a month for rent and expenses plus $200 a month for groceries. And I'll make about $1000 cash a month. That's if I get no child support. It's really tight, and I might have to get another job, but it's worth it.

My current situation. My mom moved out. So technically I'm living on my own. I do my own laundry, dishes, cooking, and grocery shopping and all that. But the problem is that my mom charges us $300 rent (those in the house), but I'm paying with my dad's child support of way more than that. But my mom's child support is... I don't know where it is because I never see it, so really it's in my rent. So, technically I'm paying way more than that in rent. She doesn't know I know this, which really bothers me because she wastes money on a lot of stuff. Anyways, the rest of the money from my dad's child support pays for groceries and a bit more.

So, if I moved out, I would technically be paying less in rent according to the numbers. But honestly, I wouldn't need all the money. I just want to move out. Whatever is left after say rent and some groceries, I'll split it up and give it back. I just want out for the following reasons...

I'll will have much less stress. Sure I'll get the stress of I don't have this or that, or I need to pay this or that, but that's SSSSSSOOOOOOO much better than stress about people whining about nothing and complaining about nothing. Everything has to be done their way or no way. I like to do dishes and let them sit out to dry. That's just me.

Now, my sister is pregnant and is expected in like 4-5 weeks! So, like they already said I have to do more work around the house and stuff. And babysit and whatever. That's not right at all. I'll help out, but I'm not obligated to. I don't have to babysit just because my sister wants to go out. That's just ridiculous.

It's really insane in my house. I need pppppppeeeeeeaaaaaaaacccccccceeeeee and quiet.

If you cared to read until now, what do you think?
 
  • #39
Can't you find a place for less than $700 in rent? That's a lot. Especially if, given your expected food budget (guys sure do eat a lot, don't they?), you're only leaving $100 leftover for incidental expenses, utilities, etc.

If all the places really are that expensive, then you might want to find a roommate to share expenses. Or, as you suggested, get a second job. Afterall, if your place is fairly sparse on stuff anyway, what much else will you have to do with your time?

Given what you've described of your family situation, personally, I'd pass on accepting child support (How does that work out anyway? Aren't you over 18? And if you're moving into your own place, why should either of your parents support you anymore?). Afterall, if your parents are still giving you money, they still have a good deal of control in dictating what you do and how you use it.

I can definitely understand getting out when they are expecting you to help out with your sister's child. That's not your problem or responsibility, and any babysitting you do should be out of your own free will and desire to do so, not to let your sister have a life...that was her choice to have a child, so hers to live with as well. And, it's wise of you to see this and not get sucked in. I had a friend from high school whose parents put her in a similar situation when her older sister got pregnant. Instead of going to college, which she really wanted to do, she was basically forced to be a live-in nanny so her sister could have a life, while she had none. I never could understand how parents could be so lopsided in their expectations from their two children, but wished she would have just left like you plan to so she could live her own life and not her sister's. And, yeah, living with a baby when you don't want to live with a baby isn't much fun either.

Oh, yeah, and Georgina's suggestion about a can opener is a good one. That had me laughing, because I did the same thing when I first moved into dorms...got some canned food for the room, was all set to eat, and then realized I didn't have a can opener. Fortunately, in dorms you can borrow someone else's until you get your own, or else I'd probably have been attacking the can with a screwdriver or something.
 
  • #40
Moonbear said:
Can't you find a place for less than $700 in rent? That's a lot. Especially if, given your expected food budget (guys sure do eat a lot, don't they?), you're only leaving $100 leftover for incidental expenses, utilities, etc.

That's included all the in the rent.

The most expensive place I'm looking at is $586 and the cheapest is $475. I included the extra $100+ as expenses. No internet or cable.
 
  • #41
Moonbear you gave all great advice.

The reason I'm not skipping out on child support is because I'm still in school full-time. According to the divorce agreement, they have to pay. My dad said he's willing to continue paying if I move out. He was hoping my sister would move out. She makes a good deal of money, like a lot! Our whole family wonders where all the money goes. Anyways, I'm moving out instead. My brother plans on following suit in September. I can't live with him either. He gets miserable really quick... really quick. And eats my stuff with asking sometimes... a lot of stuff like a whole pan of pizza sometimes.

Of course, I can still skip out on the child support. But if I can get some of it, why not? I can't do two jobs during school. I have one year left why delay it even more. Why **** myself up the ass because my sister is getting a kid? I talked to other parents about my situation (best friends parents and girlfriends parents) where I can explain the situation, and they seem to also agree that I should get some support. I didn't put myself in this mess. Either way, I'm moving out with child support or not. If I don't get it, I will opt out for the cheaper places for sure.

Note: I've been in the middle of a tug-o-war of money between my parents for a long time. Of course, you can say I will still be in a tug-o-war, but atleast I won't hear about it. Hang up the phone or shut the door. Bye, bye.
 
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  • #42
One more thing...

My sister and brother also whine a lot on how I should get kicked out or move out. My mom threaten to kick me out. It's ridiculous. Why hasn't it happened? Because I'm a big pool of money. I get kicked out and they lose a lot of money.

So, I'm just going to move out myself. Believe it or not, I was in such fear of where I could be going for the last like 4-5 months. I already had plans with my girlfriends mom and best friend in the case that I get kicked out, so that I had a place to live. I also even fear that the second I say I'm moving out that they will kick me out that instant and not let me take my stuff. Believe or not, before I tell them, I will have packed boxes already at a friends house.

If I can get child support, I get it. I'm entitled to it. It says it's for the child and not for the parent. And all parents that the child is not dependent on must pay, so that means if I move out, they must pay.

It's hell and don't know this. I just realized awhile ago about how much stress this puts on me. I want out... FAST! If it wasn't for finals right now, I'd be out. But, I have to do school first. And it's affecting school! Dammit!
 
  • #43
Moonbear said:
Save some of the boxes you use for moving, because a sheet thrown over them will make them into a useful end table or coffee table in a pinch.
In a pinch? The box my monitor came in has been my nightstand for four years, and I still can't imagine a "real" nightstand doing the job any better. :biggrin:
 
  • #44
I just realized something no one else said!

A nail cutter!
 
  • #45
JasonRox said:
I just realized something no one else said!

A nail cutter!

Nah, you don't need that...you can just bite your nails. Well, that gets kind of difficult and gross if your toenails need trimming though. Do you have scissors or a sharp knife? :biggrin:
 
  • #46
Moonbear said:
Nah, you don't need that...you can just bite your nails. Well, that gets kind of difficult and gross if your toenails need trimming though. Do you have scissors or a sharp knife? :biggrin:
Jason, Moonie will personally trim your toenails with her teeth. It's part of the PF sisterhood outreach program. Be nice and wash your feet first and don't wear your stinky sneakers that day. PS, you might want to have a few pieces of high-cocao dark chocolate ready, because the sisters get cranky when they go into choco-withdrawal. :cool: Don't be rude to Moonie or MIH will stalk you with very large fish - frozen fish if your offense is blatant.
 
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  • #47
Man, biting nails or someone else's nails!

I used to bite my own as a kid because some cool kids did. I'm happy not to have that habit anymore.
 
  • #48
JasonRox said:
Man, biting nails or someone else's nails!

I used to bite my own as a kid because some cool kids did. I'm happy not to have that habit anymore.
Let me get this straight - you chewed off your own toenails because some "cool" kids did? Some of my childhood in the '50s-'60s was strained and dysfunctional at times, but I never got anywhere near that weirdness.
 
  • #49
haha that can't be good for you! ewww disgusting... How did they end up as a cool kid?! cool kids played kissing catches, and did pretty ordinary things, biting your toe nails is just foul! hmmm...
 
  • #50
Man, get away from your family. Thats one screwed up bunch you got there... :rolleyes: :frown:

Also, your well past 18. I don't think your parents have to pay you a dime, legally.
 
  • #51
cyrusabdollahi said:
Also, your well past 18. I don't think your parents have to pay you a dime, legally.

It's on paper that they have to.

Child support must be paid as long as the child is a dependant. Usually, a dependant child is one who is under the age of 18. In some instances, child support may continue past the age of 18 if the child is not financially self-supporting, due to illness, disability or because he/she is going to school full-time.

http://www.owjn.org/issues/child/qa.htm

And the divorce papers say that they have to pay until I get a degree/diploma or turn 25. Whichever comes first.

It's legally binding. My dad once attempted to not pay and the credit bureau got involved. He had a fine awaiting him as well as his property would be seized if he tried to continue not paying. So, it's pretty hardcore.
 
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  • #52
I just found a case online from the Supreme Court of Canada where two kids moved out and the parents were still obligated to pay. The kids even got retroactive pay because the father stopped paying when they moved out!
 
  • #53
Screw your parents over, yippie!...
 
  • #54
cyrusabdollahi said:
Screw your parents over, yippie!...

Not really. I already talked to my dad about moving out. He said he will help me out and continue paying for support and for school. (He just started paying for school.) He will probably get me the truck to move too!

Although if my mom doesn't pay, he doesn't want to pay. But believe it or not, he wants to pay just so my mom has to pay.

They got themselves in this mess. Not me. So, since I'm in the middle of a mess, I'm going to get out of it and since they put me in the mess, they will help me get out.
 
  • #55
Canada seems very generous. I've heard of some divorce agreements including stipulations for the kid's college tuition, but never child support if they weren't living at one of the parents' homes.

To me, once I moved out of my parents' home, they no longer paid for anything for me. Not that they wouldn't have bailed me out if I really wound up in a bind (i.e., they did pay for the new brakes on the car, and then helped me learn how to install them myself, because I guess they figured they had put too much effort into raising me to let me kill myself driving around without brakes), but it wasn't something I ever counted on. Of course, I never counted on them paying college tuition either, but I think most parents do choose to help with that if they can, so I can understand at least part of the tuition payments being included in a divorce agreement.

Besides, most people just hit a point where they are ready to be independent. When I moved out, and my parents were all upset that I was "leaving the nest," my step-sister pointed out that surely they'd prefer a daughter who was ready to be independent over one who keeps reappearing on the doorstep looking for a place to sleep or needing to get bailed out of one mess or another.
 
  • #56
Moonbear said:
Canada seems very generous. I've heard of some divorce agreements including stipulations for the kid's college tuition, but never child support if they weren't living at one of the parents' homes.

To me, once I moved out of my parents' home, they no longer paid for anything for me. Not that they wouldn't have bailed me out if I really wound up in a bind (i.e., they did pay for the new brakes on the car, and then helped me learn how to install them myself, because I guess they figured they had put too much effort into raising me to let me kill myself driving around without brakes), but it wasn't something I ever counted on. Of course, I never counted on them paying college tuition either, but I think most parents do choose to help with that if they can, so I can understand at least part of the tuition payments being included in a divorce agreement.

Besides, most people just hit a point where they are ready to be independent. When I moved out, and my parents were all upset that I was "leaving the nest," my step-sister pointed out that surely they'd prefer a daughter who was ready to be independent over one who keeps reappearing on the doorstep looking for a place to sleep or needing to get bailed out of one mess or another.

Usually it's the parents that want to be generous, like my friends parents. They chose to pay for school and what not.

For my parents, the court decide on all the numbers. It only passed like 6 months ago, and it took like 6-7 years to get to an agreement. I suffered a lot during that time, which was freaking bull****. They spent more money on lawyers than they did for my schooling would have been if they just paid it to begin with!

Also, I want to be independent, but it's just not practical right now. My sister could have moved out and everything would be fine. She's making mad money. She should have atleast $25,000 in the bank, yet she has like $-10,000 in the bank. That's messed up. When she found she was getting a kid, guess what she did? Bought a LCD TV with a very expensive mount. WTF?

Oh, it gets worse. For the baby shower, I bought my sister some nice things. So, I thought I got it covered. But apparently, she wanted some leather chair and my mom acted as an agent saying I would pay half! Which is like $90! I never agreed to do this. I didn't know about the chair or about having to pay half until a week after it was bought! That's messed up. That's like my weekly paycheck at one of the small jobs I do!
 
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  • #57
Yep, definitely getting why you're chomping at the bit to move out. Zenmaster and I were talking not too long ago about our parents, and where shocked to learn they are very much alike...while we were surviving on Ramen noodles in grad school, they were feeding the dogs steak. Well, my parents fed the dog hamburger, not steak, but I was shocked when I was asked to dog-sit one weekend and they showed me all the burgers in the freezer and my mouth was watering envisioning some nice, juicy, rare burgers for dinner, and then they finished the sentence explaining that I should cook those for the dog!

Just remember, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Some day, hopefully all will go well and you'll make a great parent remembering these experiences and vowing not to ever do that to your own kid(s).
 
  • #58
Moonbear said:
Just remember, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Some day, hopefully all will go well and you'll make a great parent remembering these experiences and vowing not to ever do that to your own kid(s).

Yeah, that's the plan.

You want to know what's really crazy. I have a hearing disability, so when I was a kid my parents got a tax break of $10,000. It would have been nice if they put it up for school for us 3 kids. I never saw it.

My life hasn't been all that bad, but it's quite sad that a lot that I have learned came outside of the house or all that I have learned is outside the house. My friends are amazed that I'm completely different from my family. They consider me very lucky that I came around in good shape.
 
  • #59
Moonbear said:
Just remember, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.
If that were true everyone with a difficult childhood would be a strong person.
 
  • #60
Moonbear said:
To me, once I moved out of my parents' home, they no longer paid for anything for me. Not that they wouldn't have bailed me out if I really wound up in a bind (i.e., they did pay for the new brakes on the car, and then helped me learn how to install them myself, because I guess they figured they had put too much effort into raising me to let me kill myself driving around without brakes), but it wasn't something I ever counted on. Of course, I never counted on them paying college tuition either, but I think most parents do choose to help with that if they can, so I can understand at least part of the tuition payments being included in a divorce agreement.
Same here. Except even though they weren't technically supporting me any more, my dad usually gave me anywhere from 1 to 3 hundred dollars every time I visited (I lived out of town after moving out). He kept that up for a long time, well into my 30's. After a while, I kind of found it a little embarrassing, even though I all I ever did was thank him and keep it.

I can't help but keep up the tradition whenever my daughter comes to visit. :smile: