1. A set of bath towels so you don't get your new bathroom sopping wet every time you get out of the shower. (And with two of everything included in this set, you'll have enough for a guest, too!)

Wayfair

The set includes two bath towels, two hand towels, and two washcloths. 

Promising review: "These towels are so thick and soft. I was skeptical that they would change after being washed in the laundry but they continue to impress me. Glad that I purchased them." —Dorian

Price: $38.99 (originally $89.99; available in 10 colors)

2. A 16-piece stoneware dining set for ensuring you're not eating out of takeout containers and paper plates for the rest of your first-place-life. This set includes enough dishes for four, so you can even invite your friends over without having to fight over the Good Plate™️.

Wayfair

This set includes four dinner plates, four salad plates, four soup bowls, and four cereal bowls.

Promising review: "I absolutely love this set. It's even prettier in person and goes perfectly with my decor. I have washed them and they seem to be holding up pretty well. So happy with my purchase!" —Taylor

Price: $69.99 (originally $79.99)

3. A gorgeous bohemian area rug with the most colorful of twists! I'm pretty sure this rug counts as a peace treaty between Barbie's Dream House and Ken's Mojo Dojo Casa House because it manages to be both chill and shockingly fun.

Wayfair

Promising review: "Love the colors! It has really brightened up our living room!! If you’re on the fence, go for it!" —Robbie

Price: $39.99+ (originally $280+; available in nine sizes)

4. A mildew-resistant weighted shower curtain to elevate your space and protect your floor from unwanted splashes.

Wayfair

Promising review: "Perfectly fit. Not one of those cheap ones that wrap around your body when you turn on the water! Recommend highly! Gives u a feel of a high-end hotel shower curtain." —Gerald

Price: $30.99+ (originally $42.13+; available in three sizes)

5. And a cotton bath mat reviewers love for its instant room-brightening pop of color and easy-washability factor.

Wayfair

Promising review: "Cute bath mat. It has held up to constant use and many washing. I think I have been using it for a year and a half now and I see no damage to it." —Sherri 

Price: $24.99 (originally $49.99; available in two colors)

6. A nonslip two-tier organizer with a sliding drawer to rejuvenate your crowded counters and under-sink cabinets and add some delicious ease of access, no matter where you put it. (And trust me, no matter where you end up, you WILL want more space.)

Wayfair

Promising review: "Easy to assemble and fit perfectly under my bathroom sink. That makes it easy to find what I need when I need it. I bought two: one for me, one for my girlfriend." —Chris

Price: $24.99+ (available in two colors)

7. A set of two cooling gel pillows designed to help keep you comfortable no matter the temperature outside.

Francis Antonia/Wayfair

Promising review: "Love these pillows! Very plush and comfortable. I can sink into them pushing the soft material under my neck for support while sleeping on my back or turn on my side and feel how high and comfortable it feels to rest my head giving room to my shoulders. They fill out my king size cases all the way. Great quality for the price!" —Francis Antonia

Price: $35.99+ for a set of two (originally $75+; available in queen and king sizes)

8. A rolling utility rack that'll hold everything from your TBR books, to your nail polish collection, to tools, to baking essentials. Your new place sometimes needs an in-between space for things, and make your life easier by putting it all on wheels!

Wayfair

Promising review: "Sturdy, very functional, and easy to put together. Plan to use in my office to hold my laptop and supplies. We have a glass desk, so this is perfect to hold everything. Comparable to one from The Container Store but much more affordable." —Elizabeth 

Price: $29.99+ (available in three colors)

9. A set of Farberware pots and pans if you plan on not eating out every single meal for the rest of your life. Take advantage of that new kitchen and get to cooking with a set that comes with basically everything you need to get started!

Allison/Wayfair

The set includes one bakeware, one griddle, one Dutch oven, four lids, six cooking utensils, two saucepans, and two frying pan/skillets. 

Promising review: "Love, love, LOVE my new cookware! I don't know how I ever cooked with my old stuff. The nonstick surface is amazing, and makes both cooking and cleaning so, so easy! The color is GORGEOUS.—Allison

Price: $69.99 (originally $200)

10. A pair of blackout curtains that'll keep the sun out but the happy hues in. Because YOU should get to decide what time you go to sleep and wake up, not the giant glowing orb in the sky rudely trying to stream through your windows at weird hours.

Wayfair

Promising review: "Finally! Colorful, quality blackout curtains that ACTUALLY block out light. The fabric feels super thick and high quality. Nothing like those crinkly, stiff old variety with the yucky white backing. Get these! You’ll love them and they will look gorgeous too!" —Christine

Price: $23.99+ (originally $42.99+; available in three sizes and 12 colors)

11. A six-piece bathroom accessories set because pro tip: matching pieces instantly transform your bathroom into, "Oh, a real life adult lives here," even if you just moved in yesterday.

Wayfair

This set includes a soap dish, soap dispenser, storage jar, toothbrush holder, wastebasket, and toilet brush.

Promising review: "LOVE MY BATHROOM ACCESSORIES!! Just what I needed to complete my bathroom look!" —Anais

Price: $26.99+ (available in three colors)

12. A locking SentrySafe fireproof safe box if you need an ultra-protected place to put important documents like passports, jewelry, or banking stuff. It's like a wizard vault, but one that you can slip under your bed and doesn't need to be guarded by magical beings. (Just remember where you put your key!)

Wayfair

Promising review: "If you need something small starting out, then this is the perfect safe for you. Price and size is ideal for a few items." —Christina Mcclain

Price: $45.57 (originally $54.44)

13. A lightweight Eureka vacuum powerful enough to get all the ick out of your space for a fraction of the price of some of those competitors. Call me old fashioned, but I love a clearly visible dustbin so I can 👀 at all the sweet, sweet dust I'm busting as I clean. Very motivating.

Wayfair

Promising review: "Great suction, light weight with the perfect attachments. I love the light on front to see and love the retractable cord.... no more wrapping cords." —Debra

Price: $119.99

14. A bamboo hamper because it's a truth universally acknowledged a hamper makes it look like you've got your life (and laundry routine) 100% together. Pro tip: you can also use these bad boys for straight-up storage if you've got too many towels or linens and nowhere to put them!

Wayfair

Promising review: "This hamper is perfect. This is exactly what I needed for my bedroom. It’s modern and it matches my furniture. Wayfair always delivers quality. I love it." —Anonymous

Price: $44.99 (available in three colors)

15. A classic KitchenAid cutting board designed with grooves to catch liquids so you don't get your new kitchen super gross the first time you decide to cut some produce. (Because remember, lemon juice smells nice but WILL leave your counters sticky.)

Wayfair

Promising review: "Nice board in a handy size. Love the groove to catch juices. Those plastic boards dulled my knives. So I’m switching back to all wood boards." —Susan

Price: $13.99

16. A GE countertop microwave to help you in your on-your-own pursuits by zapping a meal into existence on nights when you just don't feel like cooking.

Wayfair

Price: $109+ (originally $119+; available in three colors)

17. A super swanky five-piece Le Creuset nonstick cooking spoon set (with a crock!) so you can extend the life of your pots and pans and make cleaning your utensils off at the end of a long cooking session a breeze. Plus, this is a GREAT leave-on-the-counter piece for your first place because it's useful and gorgeous. The ombre crock is the stuff dreams are made of.

Wayfair

Promising review: "I love it! The color was exactly what I was looking for, it arrived safely, and with great packing. The utensil set is large enough to hold other items, it has good weight to it and the perfect addition to my counter top." —Nicole

Price: $69.95 (originally $87; available in five colors)

18. A two-pack of wicker baskets because everyone knows that if it's in a cute container, it doesn't count as clutter, and when you first start out, you're gonna want to learn the fine art of hiding your stuff.

David/Wayfair, Lindsay/Wayfair

Promising review: "Seems sturdy. Corrals all my closet items to give an organized and uncluttered appearance at an affordable price. They're a good size, big and deep enough to be truly useful." —David

Price: $28.99+ for a set of two (originally $34.99; available in four colors)

19. A GE 7-in-1 toaster oven and air fryer that'll have you singing, "I forgot that you existed," to your big oven, especially in the summer when you don't want to heat up your house anymore than necessary but still want your dino nugget fix.

Wayfair

It can hold four to six slices of bread at once. The seven cooking modes are air fry, bake, toast, keep warm, broil, roast, and convection. The air fryer comes with a rack, a baking pan, and accessories.

Promising review: "This was a gift for my daughter, she loves it, and it has everything she needs since she lives in a small apartment." —Cindi

Price: $123.99 (originally $179) 

20. A 20-piece flatware set I personally swear by because it's dishwasher safe, has killer reviews, and I've been using it for months with no discoloration or dullness. This was my household's first "big kid silverware set" after using the same weird combo of hand-me-downs and mismatched Ikea forks for years and I'm so glad we finally graduated to a matching set.

Wayfair

Promising review: "I’ve been using this lovely everyday flatware for decades at home and in our cottage. Just the right combination of rustic and elegant. This is my third time purchasing to add to earlier sets… the earlier pieces are just as bright and sturdy after years of dishwasher use as the new ones. Compliments!" —Michelle

Price: $90.53 (originally $96.12)

21. A rechargeable four-speed personal fan with an LED light in case your new place doesn't *quite* have the air circulation you need. It also has a hole for wall-mounting, which makes this the most versatile little gadget ever for your cool-off needs.

Kelly/Wayfair

Promising review: "Excellent little fan, love love love!!! Perfect size, gives great breeze, is SO quiet I didn’t even know it was on!!! Love the different speeds, easy to flip up and down and put away easy if you want to. Such a great fan to have at your bedside if you like some extra cool air on you at night. Love it!!" —Kelly

Price:$36.99 (originally $43)

22. A cute wire metal desk organizer set because ~spoiler alert~: Being on your own means lots and lots of Important Papers. Help wrangle them in one spot with these shiny pieces that also work for magazine hoarders who can't let that last issue of Vanity Fair go!

Wayfair

Promising review: "Cute and useful! I overestimated the amount of extra room I'd have on my desk, so I'm going to have to get crafty with where it all goes, but I am excited to be more organized!" —Abbey

Price: $31.99+ (available in three colors)

23. A set of three floating shelves that are both great decor and extremely functional. Bonus: they can take up as much or as little wall space as you need to fill!

Jian Hong / Wayfair, Wayfair

Promising review: "These shelves are awesome. They look great and now I can display things that were just clutter before." —Tammy

Price: $19.99+ for a set of three (originally $39.99; available in four colors)

24. A bright velvet office chair so you and your visitors can take turns swiveling away from all your problems. Plus, it can roll from room to room, so no more scrambling to find a spare seat for extra humans at the dinner table.

Ngoc / Wayfair

Promising review: "Love it! Soft and easy to assemble. My mom has one as well that she purchased in 2020 and it’s still holding up so I decided to get one." —Kaitlyn

Price: $146.99+ (available in 14 colors) 

25. An adorable duvet cover because if you don't have the cash for a ton of new bedroom decor just yet, a bright duvet cover can be just the thing to liven up your new sleeping quarters and make it feel like home!

Emily / Wayfair

Promising review: "Absolutely beautiful. The colors are just as depicted. The cotton is soft and not thin. The size will accommodate even the largest and the most fluffy of inserts. Love it." —Victoria 

Price: $84+ (available in sizes queen and king) 

26. A colorful bookshelf to store your books, your knickknacks, and anything else you want off the floor. Bonus points: This one is quirkier than the plain ol' brown alternatives and looks like it fell out of Chutes and Ladders!

Wayfair

Promising review: "I was so happy with the bookcase that I ordered a second one. Nice color and very sturdy and practical." —Anonymous

Price: $88.99 (available in three colors)

27. A coffee table with a removable top that doubles as storage on the inside because more storage is always better, and this one will also hold your drinks in addition to squirreling away spare blankets and such. (Don't forget some coasters!)

Wayfair

Promising review: "This is adorable and was super easy to assemble. Very cheerful color. I am using it in my therapy office and love it." —Lisa

Price: $124.99+ (originally $199.99+; available in six colors)

28. A handbag organizer that lets you see all your purse/mini backpack/fashionable basket options at a glance. This has been one of my favorite closet upgrades because it takes my bag collection from sad piles to a Disney Channel Original Movie get-ready-with-me sequence, and I love that.

Ashley Schumacher/BuzzFeed

Promising review: "This is such a smart item! It’s a little hard to change the size, which in a way is good because when it’s set it’s SET. But versatile and sleek! Good item." —Anonymous

Price: $39 (available in two colors)

29. A foldable laundry drying rack to hang your freshly laundered clothes upon without the fear of them shrinking. (And it saves on electricity! Yay!)

Wayfair

Promising review: "This is a great clothes drying rack. I air dry all my clothes year-round. I use it outside three seasons of the year and inside during the winter. I've had this for over two years and it's still in great shape, despite that I move it around and use it outside. I usually take it in when it rains, but I've forgotten a handful of times, and it hasn't rusted. It dries a lot of clothes at one time." —Jennifer

Price: $53.90+ (originally $89; available in three colors)

30. A laptop desk so catching up on emails can be as ~cushiony~ an experience as possible, no matter your apartment setup. (And that wrist support cushion will help keep your hand posture A+ and scare carpal tunnel away, too!)

Wayfair

Promising review: "It's a pretty lap desk. I love the wood finish. It has a professional look to it. The carry handle and wrist pad are useful. Very nice quality! I am very happy with this purchase!" —Aleksandra

Price: $41.96

When you have guests over for the first time post-move:

Tap to play GIF Tap to play GIF

Peacock

Reviews in this post have been edited for length and/or clarity.