10 Essentials for Moving Into a Shared Apartment
Moving in with roommates? Ten essentials for the move itself and for living together: sliders, moving bags, fridge bins, a noise machine, a chore board and a lockbox.
Moving into a shared apartment is two jobs: getting your things in without wrecking the floors, and then sharing a fridge, a bathroom, the outlets and the walls with people whose habits you're still learning.
None of this is decor, and all of it heads off the arguments and deposit deductions that shared apartments are known for. Nothing needs drilling, so it all moves out again with you. If you're moving into a dorm instead, see dorm room picks that survive move-out.
- Most versatileRoomHacks Heavy-Duty Moving Bags, 88L (6-Pack)
- Small-space pickMAXTID Under-Door Draft Stopper, 36in
FLERISE Reusable Furniture Sliders (16-Piece)
Slide the dresser and the bed frame instead of dragging them: the cheapest way to avoid a gouged floor on move-in day.
RoomHacks Heavy-Duty Moving Bags, 88L (6-Pack)
- Foldable
Big zip-up bags for clothes, bedding and anything soft — faster to pack than boxes, and they fold away afterwards.
Yelanon Felt Furniture Pads (182 Pieces)
Felt pads for every chair, table and bed leg, so nobody hears your chair through the floor or finds scratches at move-out.
Heyuzb Clear Stackable Fridge Bins (Set of 8)
Clear bins that give each housemate their own zone in a shared fridge, so whose food is whose is never a question.
Magnetic Dry-Erase Fridge Calendar and Chore Chart (2 Boards)
A month calendar and a chore chart that stick to the fridge: who's cleaning, who's buying, and when the bills are due.
Portable White Noise Machine With 30 Sounds
- Plug-in, no wiring
Fan, rain or plain white noise to cover a housemate's late TV or early alarm through a thin wall.
MAXTID Under-Door Draft Stopper, 36in
- No drilling
- Removable
A double-sided seal for the gap under your bedroom door that cuts light, noise and drafts from the hallway.
Olcorife Flat-Plug Power Strip (6 Outlets, 3 USB)
- Plug-in, no wiring
More outlets for a bedroom that has one or two, so there's no fight over the kitchen sockets.
MyGift 3-Tier Over-the-Door Towel Holder
- Over-the-door
- No drilling
Your own towel bars on the back of the shared bathroom door, or your bedroom door, so towels aren't stacked on someone else's.
LOCKCURX Lockable Storage Box With Combination Lock
A small lockbox for medication, documents, spare cash and anything else that shouldn't sit in a shared space.
Agree the boring things in the first week: fridge shelves, a chore rotation and where the bills go. The bins and the board make that conversation easier to have and easier to keep.
When it's time to move out again, the same sliders and pads protect the floors on the way out. For more on leaving a rental as you found it, see rental-friendly wall decor ideas.
Keep reading
The room-by-room decorating checklist
Where to start, what to buy first, and what to skip entirely. One page per room.