The best thing about living on your own is getting to do whatever you want.* There’s no one telling you to pick up your socks or making you go to bed. It’s pretty freaking awesome.
But there are downsides.
One of the big ones being that there’s no one around to make you dinner. Or any meal, for that matter. And if you’re living in your first apartment, you probably don’t have a pantry full of standbys that make, say, baking a breeze at your parents’ house.
Sure, you can eat cupcakes for dinner. You might even have a fully equipped kitchen (like the residents at The Commons on Kinnear in Columbus) and fancy stainless steel appliances (hello, residents at The Lofts in Morgantown, West Virginia). But do you have the flour, sugar, salt, etc. to make them?
That’s where we come in.
We’ve compiled a helpful list of 32 items that everybody needs in their fridge and cupboards. Think of it as your starter grocery list.
Baking Products:
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Cornstarch
Flour
Condiments/Sauces:
Hot Sauce
Jelly
Ketchup
Mayonnaise
Mustard
Olive Oil
Pasta Sauce
Peanut Butter
Dairy:
Butter
Cheese
Cream
Dry Milk
Eggs
Milk
Plain Yogurt
Sour Cream
Grains/Cereals:
Bread
Oatmeal
Pasta
Rice
Tortillas
Spices:
Bouillon Cubes
Cinnamon
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Pepper
Salt
Seasoned Salt
To really get cookin’, check out THIS checklist of kitchen essentials.
*barring anything illegal, of course