Outfitting new kitchen for college student
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Anonymous
| My now upper classman will be off the meal plan this year in an apartment with a full kitchen. Trying to plan a fun shopping trip for everything (pots and pans, knives, dishes, etc) in a brick and mortar store. Any ideas for places to go, and does anyone have a tight list of must-haves? It’s a fully modern kitchen. TIA! |
Anonymous
| IKEA |
Anonymous
| we did Dollar stores |
Anonymous
| A lot of thrift stores have a great selection of pots and pans |
Anonymous
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Are there roommates? Will they be bringing anything?
When my DS was in an apartment he waited until his other roommates got there and then they went shopping. One's mom came with him and brought all kinds of stuff. |
Anonymous
+1 my DC and roommates have started a google sheet for them to pool resources. |
Anonymous
+1 They usually have lots of pots and pans and dishwear that come pass down from parents. I'd wait and fill in the gaps. And I'd resist the urge to buy nice good stuff. It will be shared and they just don't take care of it - scrub off the non-stick finish,e tc. |
Anonymous
|
Target
But be sure to check what the kitchen has already and the state of those items. Depending what there is/what is useable, get a pot large enough to boil spaghetti, a mid-size pot, a large skillet/frying pan with fairly deep sides, and a small/medium skillet. Unless your kid is already an avid cook or has a specific item they love to make that requires a specialty pan, tool, or utensil, stick to a few basics and then can add on if they start exploring cooking more (panini/grill pans, crepe pans, panini press, electric griddle, rice cooker, egg cooker). Consider a slow cooker if they think they’ll use it (rice cookers actually can be more multipurpose than people realize too, if your kid likes a lot of rice-based dishes). Get several silicone spatulas (small and large), a colander/strainer big enough to dump a pot of pasta into, a couple of flat serving spatulas (the kind used to get grilled cheese, eggs, or fish out of a pan - why do they have the same name as stirring-type spatulas?). One big whisk, one tiny whisk (honestly the best thing for mixing powdered hot chocolate), a pair or two of tongs. A long microplane grater. A basic set of kitchen knives (teach them how to sharpen with the included sharpener - a dull knife is a dangerous knife). Or if you prefer separates, a chef knife, a serrated bread knife, and one or two paring knives, plus sharpener (the stick things is fine, you don’t need the fancy electric sharpener). Hot mitts and towels if needed (more towels than you might think if they are likely to skimp on laundry days or use them as napkins). Blender of choice - a bullet-style blender is good if they like smoothies. Again, I’d hold off on things like immersion blenders and hand mixers unless they are already into cooking and baking with those things. A basic set of dishes (melamine would be my recommendation) and glasses for twice the number of housemates. Forks, knives, and spoons for at least four times the number of housemates. I’d honestly get a big bag of paper plates, plastic cups, and plastic utensils for either parties or when they’ve just not washed anything for a week. A set of stacking mixing bowls work for both mixing and serving (although they likely serve straight from the pans; with lids they can double for storage too). At least two 9x9 Pyrex dishes and a 9x13 one. At least couple of cookie sheets, with rims so they can work for roasting veggies/fish if your kid is into that (tin foil is your clean-up friend!) |
Anonymous
| IKEA. You will get ideas as you walk through. |
Anonymous
But do it early. IKEA gets crushed around th time move-in day starts. |
Anonymous
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IKEA has a. basics box for the kitchen for about $60. Has pots and pans and some other. things. Seems like a good deal.
My DD wanted specific things so we went to Home Goods. They have a really good selection. Also, see what you have extras of and send hand me downs. |
Anonymous
| Cheap. We did target, bed bath and beyond. Used stuff from my kitchen at home etc. |
Anonymous
| Just tossing in that while DD was in college I bought her some things that I thought would be good for many years as she graduated etc. Then her first job was in CA. Most of those quality items are still here in our home in MD. The dollar store might have been a better idea looking back. |
Anonymous
This. I wouldn’t buy anything new. |
Anonymous
I once accidentally went to the College Park IKEA on move-in weekend. I’m still scarred. |