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1. A budget planner, because setting up a budget and monitoring your finances is an important part of being a responsible adult — but this makes it super easy to plan and track expenses and spending, and stay on track with your goals!
2. A handheld frother so you can whip up a fancy latte each morning without having to drop $5 at a coffee shop. Caffeine is definitely an adulting essential, but so is saving money!
3. A seven-piece set of airtight plastic food storage containers featuring easy-lock lids and labels so you can keep things organized. Whether you use them in the pantry, bathroom, or elsewhere, having all your stuff neatly in order is a clear sign you're on your adulting A-game.
4. A slim and portable charging bank since it's tough to get things done on-the-go when your devices die. With this, you can quickly power up your phone or laptop to crank out that work assignment or make that important phone call — no more excuses now that you're officially an adult!
5. A Blue Apron meal kit if you want a super easy and economical way to enjoy restaurant-quality meals at home. After you choose and customize your meals for the week, they'll deliver all the fresh ingredients and simple step-by-step directions — aka everything you need to ~chef it up~. Adulting is hard enough without having to spend all that time meal planning and shopping!
6. A Brita water pitcher to take the place of the fancy water fountains around campus. This will transform your icky tap water into clean and fresh-tasting, purified H2O, which will hopefully motivate you to stay hydrated throughout your busy days.
7. A Birdie personal safety alarm because investing in one of these is pretty much a no-brainer. As soon as I heard about them, I immediately bought one, and I'm so glad I did. It brings me such peace of mind, especially living alone in a city, to know that all I have to do is pull apart this keychain-like alarm to activate a very LOUD 130-decibel siren and flashing strobe light.
8. An all-purpose cleaner that can be used on all sorts of different surfaces — including hardwood, tile, countertop, and walls — because you're quickly gonna realize that things get dirty fast and now it's up to you (not campus staff) to keep everything clean.
9. A reusable shopping bag that very conveniently folds up into a little zippered pouch, making it suuuuper ideal for storage. I keep these types of bags in my car and often times one in my backpack, and boy do they come in clutch on those unexpected errands, which tend to happen a lot when you're doing "adult" things.
10. A toilet plunger and bowl brush, because the last thing you want is to find yourself in a situation where you need a plunger, but don't have one — gone are the days of simply calling up dorm maintenance to fix the problem 😅. And of course, you'll want to use the brush fairly regularly to keep your porcelain throne clean and sparkly.
11. A fireproof filing lockbox to organize all your important ~adult~ documents (passport, birth certificate, bank info, lease, etc.) and make sure they stay safe and undamaged.
12. A no-touch forehead thermometer so you can easily check for a fever when you wake up feeling under the weather, which will help you decide if you need to call out of work. The stakes are a bit higher now that it's PTO on the line and not just a class absence — a.k.a. you want to be 100% sure you're sick.
13. A household tool set because absolutely everyone should have a basic tool kit. I'm convinced it's the most useful thing I own and has been so handy living on my own post-grad for all sorts of things.
14. An Instant Pot so you can still come home to a fresh and hot dinner after work even though there's nobody to cook for you anymore. It's almost as easy (and maybe even just as fast) as the dining hall!
15. A pack of large Command hooks that come in handy for all sorts of random things in your first apartment. I've used them as a makeshift key rack, to hang kitchen mitts and measuring spoons, to string decorative lights — literally so many uses, and they're often a significantly cheaper alternative to putting holes in the wall.
16. A six-outlet power strip because outlets never seem to be located in convenient spots, and you have a lot of things to plug in. With this, you can safely (aka there's surge protection) set up all your electronics, lighting, and appliances wherever you need, which is super handy if you're setting up a home office for the new job.
17. A countertop convection oven since it's a toaster that *also* bakes, roasts, broils and even slow cooks. It's super handy for cooking small quantities, especially if you don't have a full oven or don't want to heat up the whole house by using it — and those unbearably hot summer days are on the way. 🥵
18. An angled broom and dustpan for an inexpensive, yet highly effective tool to keep your floors clean. Sometimes I actually find that my broom does a better job than my vacuum.
19. A 30-piece stainless steel flatware set so you don't have to continually wash the same utensils each and every time you're hungry. It's enough silverware for six people, so you're covered if you live with roommates...or want to throw a classy adult dinner party hehe.
20. A first aid kit with 57 essential supplies because it's always a good idea to be prepared for emergencies or small boo-boos. Especially since you can't just head to the health center on campus to have them bandage you up.
21. A roll of non-adhesive shelf liner for an excellent way to protect your drawers and cabinet shelves, and keep everything from chaotically shifting around in your new place.
22. A portable booster pack that can safely jump your car's dead battery up to 20 times (!!!) on a single charge, all by itself. Definitely worth it for those of you who suddenly have to drive regularly now that you're off campus and/or lowkey panic at the thought of having to ask a stranger to help you jump your car. 😬
23. An Amazon Fire TV stick 4k if you want the functionality of a smart TV, but can't quite afford one on your fresh-outta-college budget. With this little gadget, you can stream Netflix, Hulu, and other media apps in ultra high-def from any ole TV!
24. A fire extinguisher with a hanging bracket because most apartments and houses don't actually come equipped with this super important fire-safety essential. This was very surprising to me when I moved into my own place after graduating.
25. And a carbon monoxide detector because CO is the silent killer! This deadly gas has no odor or color, so the only way to alert yourself before it's too late is to have this alarm go off. (Again, one of those safety things that really just ought to come with every apartment or house but often doesn't.) Being an adult means thinking about safety!
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