GUIDES

Not to brag or anything, but I feel like I've probably prepared the most for moving out more than anyone else in the world. I have literally spent over a year coming up with a list of things I will need when I move out. What you need will of course vary depending on where you're moving to, and what is already provided, but this list should act as a good base list, covering all of the essentials.

Kitchen

• 8" chef knife
• 8" bread knife
• 3.5" Paring knife
• Knife shapener (I got the small, 2 stage KitchenIQ one)
• Honing steel (I got the Victorinox Wood 23cm one)
• large produce/bread cutting board
• small produce/bread cutting board (for cutting 1 slice of bread, mincing galic, etc)
• large meat cutting board (different wood type than produce ones for easy differentiation)
• Beeswax based cutting board cream
• Glass or metal food storage containers
• Food scale (I like this OXO one)
• set of metal measuring cups and spoons
• Set of glass measuring cups (better for liquid)
• oven mitts
• Set of Reusable Silicone storage bags (basically reusable ziplocs)
• Metal lemon squeezer (such as this one)
• glass kettle (mainly for oatmeal)
• Aluminum baking tray (I like the Nordicware Baker's Half Sheet)
• Baking & Cooling grid (for cooling off bread and stuff)
• Immersion blender (useful for smoothies with easy cleanup, I like this corded KitchenAid one)
• KitchenAid Stand Mixer (maybe only if you make your own pasta or bread)
• Ecomesh Scrub Daddy (seems cool)
• Dish drying rack
• Metal kitchen tongs
• Large wooden spoon
• Metal spatula
• Can opener
• 12" frying pan (I like the cuisinart Professional series one with a helper handle)
• 10 qt Stockpot (for soups, chili, and chicken stock)
• 4 qt saucepan with lid (for pasta, reheating soup, etc)
• 2 qt Saucepan (for sauces, boiling eggs, etc)
• Kitchen sink strainer for catching bits of food
• Rice cooker (I got the hamilton beach one)
• Water filter (I got the 10 cup glass LifeStraw one)
• Metal mixing bowls (Ziruma makes ones with glass lids)
• Kitchen shears
• pots and pans organizer
• magnetic knife stand
• 12" glass frying pan lid (if your pan doesn't come with one)
• apron
• Cotton washcloths
• Metal apple slicer
• Bamboo dish scrubbers
• Pizza cutter
• mesh strainer
• Bag clips
• Meat thermometer
• Bread loaf pans

Cleaning

• Dustpan
• Broom (I got a wood/corn one, but plastic is fine I guess ): )
• Coordless vacuum (I'm getting the DREAME R20)
• Mop & Bucket (preferably one that can be collapsed to fit in a small space)
• Plunger and toilet brush
• Garbage bags
• Block of dish soap (such as Nellie's Dish Butter)
• Nellie's laundry soda bulk 16.5 kg bucket from costco (1100 loads, comes out to $0.13 CAD a load)

Misc

• collapsible clothes drying rack (better for your clothes and the enviroment)
• Some large coommand hooks (Comes in handy for hanging keys and jackets and stuff)
• Screwdriver set
• Hammer
• Bath towel set (I got cotton ones)
• Prepared Hero Emergency Fire Blanket
• Wire storage shelf
• Full spectrum lightbulbs (soft white)
• Fire-proof safe (just big enough to fit any important documents)

I just discovered the Bullet Journal Method a week or two ago (as of 2026-05-15) and it might be the best thing ever.

If you didn't know, bullet journaling (BuJo for short) is a very efficient method of journaling, which can replace all of your habit trackers, calenders, to-do lists, notebooks, and anything else you need! The great thing about bullet journaling is that it's complettely modular, meaning you can create your own systems whenever you need them, and it's completely linear, meaning you aren't pre-assigning a bunch of pages for specific uses, you just start a new page whenever you need it. Any pages you create will also be really easy to find, because this system also uses an Index, which would have any page title, followed by the page number. If you want to continue that page later, you can just go to a new page, then add the page number to that index entry you already made! For example: Favorite Movies: Page 4, 9, 16. IT'S THAT EASY! Anyways, let's get into the guide.

Supplies

All you will need to start Bullet Journaling is a Notebook (Number the pages), and a Pen or pencil. You could also buy the book if you wanted to, or y'know, just go to good old libgen, look up "Bullet Journal Method" and download it for free using one of the download mirrors to the right. (I recommend downloading the epub file then using the librera app on your phone to read it)

Index

As previously mentioned, the index is an integral part of bullet journaling. It allows you to quickly find specific notes, Months, or anything else you write down. Whenever you start a new page, you would simply write down the page topic, and page number in the index. Here's an example of an Index:

Future Log

Flipping to the next section, you would then have your future log, which is a calender of the events / things you need to do in the next 6 months. For example, a dentist appointment, or a deadline for a project.

Monthly Log

This is where it gets fun. In the monthly log, you would add the dates and days of the week on the left, then events and tasks would get put on their respective days, migrated from the future log each month. I also put recurring tasks here, like "Wash bedsheets" (Written as WBS to save space) or "Clean floors" (Written as CF). Another thing I like to do is have a habit tracker on the right, planning out what days I would do habits (Drawing, workout, etc). You would plan out your next week of habits with little dots in a grid at the start of each week, and as you go, you would X off the dot on days that you completed the habit.

You would also have a page in your monthly log dedicated as a master list of all the tasks you need to complete that month. As you go through the month, you would migrate tasks to your daily log by drawing a ">" symbol over the dot, and rewriting the task in your daily log.

Daily Log

Your daily log is something you create either at the start of every day, or the night before. This is where all of the events, tasks, and spontaneous notes go. When creating your daily log, you would check your monthly log for events, tasks, and habits that you will do today. I also like to put trackers in my daily log for how much water I drank today ( 1 dot for each water bottle of water I want to drink that day, followed by the word water), meal logs (so I can track and reference what I ate in any given day, both to track nutrition, and help come up with dinners in the future), and also the time that I woke up and fell asleep. To save vertical space, I sometimes group tasks (like my habits) into one line on the page, divided by a slash (ex: - Draw / - Guitar / - Read). Your daily log should also house things that happened spontaneouslly throughout the day, for example if you chatted with someone you hadn't seen in a while, or got really motivated and organized your whole house.

Indicator Guide

Here's a guide of the meaning of all the indicators:

Cover Details

A few other useful things to have on/in your bullet journal are:

• 3 thirds of sticky notes as bookmarks (1 for future log, 1 for monthly log, 1 for daily log)
• The dates that you started and finished your bullet journal
• Volume number of your bullet journal (useful if you need to reference a previous note from an older bullet journal)

Conclusion

That should cover the basics that you need to get started, but again I HIGHLY recommend reading the book, even if you never read, it is seriously LIFE CHANGING how great it is for organizing, and living a more intentional life.

Kitchen

• Use wooden cutting boards, hand wash them and treat with A beeswax based cutting board cream occasionally.
• Use glass or metal containers for leftovers and ingredients, or reusable silicone bags with food wrapped in butcher paper to prevent direct contact.
• Use beeswax wraps for storing food short-term in the fridge.
• For the freezer, the silicone bag + butcher, wax, or unbleached parchment paper combo is still the best.
• Use a wooden dish brush and a solid dish soap block such as this one.
• If you use the dishwasher, use dishwasher tablets made by Also Green instead of plastic-wrapped ones, or simply make your own.
• Replace paper towels with cotton dishcloths, or at the very least these recycled ones.
• Consider this Spray Cleaner Kit by Also Green if you prefer something beyond a warm soapy dishcloth.
• Use a compost bin and set up a simple composting system, especially if you're gardening.
• For cooking, use stainless steel cookware. Avoid non-stick pans at all costs.
• Use cloth napkins instead of paper ones.
• Consider not using any smaller garbage bags, and just dumping any trash either straight into a big trash bag, or into a small trash bin with no bag inside, and just rinsing it after dumping everything into a larger trash bin

Food & Water

• If you can, grow your own food. The Square Foot Gardening book is highly recommended.
• For grocery shopping, get reusable 100% cotton produce bags and try to avoid processed food or food wrapped in plastic, make your own pasta, bread, tomato sauce, and more.
• Use a reusable metal water bottle.
• When you're ready, invest in a good quality grain mill such as the KoMo Tyrol Classic, and some soft and hard white wheat grains.
• If one is nearby, shop at bulk stores that let you bring your own containers to fill again and again.
• When buying any type of cheese, ALWAYS buy a block of cheese, never pre-shredded. Not only is it horrible for making sauces, but It's also covered in microplastics and other chemicals.
• Always bring a reusable shopping bag.

Personal Care

• In the shower, swap body wash for a bar of soap with natural ingredients. For hair, massaging the scalp under warm water then rinsing with cold water is better for hair health, but if you still want shampoo and conditioner, try the TANIT shampoo and conditioner bars or a similar product.
• Invest in a 100% cotton towel set when you're able.
• Use a bamboo toothbrush and TANIT toothpaste tablets instead of toothpaste in a plastic tube.
• Try this Hand Soap Set by Also Green, it's really good.
• Use a safety razor with replaceable metal blades for minimal waste.
• Use bamboo or silk dental floss.
• Use a natural deodorant such as this one from TANIT.
• For toilet paper, only buy brands that wrap theirs in paper, such as Who Gives A Crap.

Clothes

• Wear socks as little as possible, it's better for the health of your feet.
• When you do wear socks, choose 100% cotton.
• For all other clothing too, try to find pieces made from 100% cotton.
• Consider buying all your clothes secondhand as a cheaper option that still minimizes plastic waste.

Laundry

• Find a laundry basket woven from natural materials instead of one made from plastic.
• Wash clothes in cold water and air dry them whenever possible instead of using the dryer.
• Use Also Green Laundry Sheets as a zero-waste alternative to liquid detergent.

Bedding

• Use bamboo sheets such as these ones from Douglas.
• Also try to find a natural duvet, pillow, and mattress if you can afford it.