Part 2 of our Apartment Living Essentials list. These items are great to have on hand, but may not be needed on move-in day.

Flashlights, Batteries and Candles: In the event that a power outage occurs, you want to have a flashlight with working batteries easily accessible. There’s nothing worse than being in the dark only to realize you don’t own a flashlight, or that the batteries are dead. The most common battery sizes for flashlights, remotes, smoke detectors and other household items are AA and AAA. Another option is to keep candles and matches handy in the event you lose power.

First Aid Kit: Avoid the scenario of realizing you don’t have bandaids when you really need one. Purchasing a first aid kit now will save you the hassle later on, and help you be prepared.

Basic Tool Kit: One of the benefits of renting is having maintenance technicians who can easily make repairs to your apartment. Although you may not need your toolkit often, it comes in handy when you want to measure your space for furniture, or if you purchase furniture that requires at home assembly.

Wallet List and Fireproof Safe: A quick list of your credit cards, insurance information and other essentials will help you act quickly to secure replacements or place holds on any accounts if you lose your wallet. Consider storing your wallet list in a fireproof safe with other important documents you don’t want to be lost or damaged.

Keep a Fire Extinguisher on Hand: Keeping a small fire extinguisher in your kitchen for emergencies will allow you to put out any fires faster, and can sometimes save you money off of your monthly renter’s insurance cost! Mini fire extinguishers can be purchased off Amazon or at a home improvement store.

Air Filters: Air filters should be replaced on average every three months, and potentially more often depending on the number of pets in your home. Champion supplies our tenants with free air filters! Set a reminder for yourself every 3 months to place a work order to have your filters replaced by a maintenance technician.

Extra Light Bulbs: Typically you can submit a non-emergency maintenance request to have a light bulb replaced. At Champion, our maintenance team replaces the light bulbs for the light fixtures that come with your apartment, but extra bulbs are handy for any additional lighting such as floor lamps, bedside lamps, etc.

Reducing Noise: Oftentimes, apartment living means sharing walls with your neighbors. Ways to reduce traveling sound for your comfort and the comfort of others include laying down an area rug and adding throw pillows to soft seating. Another clever way to reduce traveling sound is by wearing house shoes or slippers!

Snow Shovel: If you live somewhere that gets snow seasonally, it may come in handy to have a small snow shovel in your home. At Champion, our maintenance team treats the roads and sidewalks of the community before the snow occurs, and shovels the community after a minimum of 2 inches of snow arrives!

Cart: A cart can be extremely useful to get your groceries or shopping bags from your car to your apartment home! Carts work best in hotel-style apartment communities that have elevators, or if you live on the first floor of your community.

Picture Hanging Kit: A quick and easy way to make an apartment feel like home is by adding personal touches, such as photos! Easily hang your photos with a picture hanging kit, which can be purchased from Amazon or at a home improvement store.