FIRST APARTMENT CHECKLIST
You need this.
Day One, Week One, Month One. Room by room. Stop buying everything in one panicked Target run and run out of money for the layering pieces that actually finish the apartment.
Drop your email and we'll send the printable straight to your inbox. No spam, only the file plus a few smart follow-ups.
We render apartments for a living. We make the printables we wish renters had.
Rendered by Design produces faceless YouTube shorts and digital guides for first-apartment renters in NYC, Austin, Phoenix, Seattle, Atlanta, and beyond. Every printable on this site is a byproduct of real production work, built because we needed it ourselves.
Meet RbDWithout it, you'll forget half the list.
- You forget toilet paper, light bulbs, and trash bags on day one and pay 24-hour drugstore prices at 11pm
- You blow $400 on decor in week one and run out of money for the bedframe in week two
- You move in without a power strip and cannot charge your phone until the floor lamp arrives
- Your roommate buys duplicates because nothing is tracked and there is no shared list
What's Inside
- ✓ 100+ items across 5 rooms, organized by Day One / Week One / Month One
- ✓ Per-room spend targets so the sofa cannot eat 60 percent of the budget
- ✓ Tier-tagged purchase order: essentials first, layering items last
- ✓ Printable + fillable PDF formats for phone or paper
How It Works
Print the Day One sheet and pack a Day-1 box with the must-have essentials
Tape Section 2 to the fridge so single batch trips to IKEA, Target, or Amazon catch the whole Week One list
Save Section 3 for month two so layering items never come at the cost of essentials
Track per-room spend totals against the targets at the bottom of each section
Choose Your Adventure
All four other RbD printables. Pick the one you need next.
Shop the Look
Pieces from the RbD retailer index. Use the printable as your shopping checklist.
FTC: Some links below are affiliate links. We earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only feature pieces we'd put in a real RbD render.
NYC Apartment Design Guide
Every product, room, layout, and budget breakdown, done for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this really free?
Yes. PDF arrives by email in under five minutes. No credit card.
Does this cover furniture?
Lightly. Furniture is in Section 2 (Week One) but the per-piece spend math is in our companion First Apartment Budget Planner. Use both together.
How is this different from a generic moving checklist?
Generic lists drop 200 items in one bucket. This one stages the work across three time horizons so you do not blow Week One budget and run out of money for the items that actually finish the apartment.
Can I share this with my roommate?
Please do. The shared sheet is the single biggest fix for roommate friction over duplicates and missing essentials.
What format?
PDF, 5 pages, US letter. Print or fill on phone.