Everything you want and need

The top-10 essential items for off-campus living:

Vacuum cleaner
You’ll at least want it when Mom’s in town. Maybe pick up a broom or mop while you’re at it.

Pots and pans
Cooking for yourself requires more than a trip to the store. You’ll want all the necessary kitchen accoutrements.

Furniture
Places for guests to sit, a table for the TV and pile of textbooks, a table for sharing meals with friends and pong showdowns. No house is complete without furniture, and many off-campus options are unfurnished.

Cleaning supplies
Sometimes you’ll need to make a good impression, avoid growing mold in the kitchen or regain as much of your security deposit as possible. That’s where Lysol, Comet and Windex come in handy.

Kitchen towels
It’s the little things that make all the difference. If you spend a few bucks on towels or cut up some old T-shirts, you can save a lot in paper towels.

Tools
From setting up IKEA furniture to hanging holiday lights on the porch, a few wrenches, a hammer and a couple screwdrivers will always come in handy.

Lights
Odds are your new place will have lights already, but it might not. Make sure you know what you need, but that first night will be awfully dark if you don’t get a bedroom lamp.

Shower curtain
One of the least-remembered furnishings in the house. Not buying a shower curtain will lead to a very wet bathroom.

Toilet paper
It’s amazing how quickly this stuff gets used up. Make sure to keep a healthy stock of it. The last thing you want is to run out.

Trash and recycling bins
One secret to saving money in Bloomington is to recycle. It’s free, but you’ll need to separate your recycling from regular trash. Cheap five-gallon buckets will do the trick inside, but find the biggest trash can available for outside if it’s not included with your house or apartment.

The top-10 not-so-essential items for off-campus living:

Pizza X cups
They’re a staple in Btown and so versatile. Use them for a glass of wine with dinner, water to put on the bedside table or a heated game at a party.

Comfortable seating
Camp chairs technically count as living room furnishings, but you’ll be much happier with an old, used chair.

Extension cords
The plugs aren’t always where you want them to be, but cords will quickly solve your problems.

Things to hang on walls
It wouldn’t be a college house without stolen signs and cheap posters.

Coffee pot
It’s cheaper than Starbucks and much needed for that morning kick.

Grocery store rewards card
Sign up for loyalty programs, and you can save 10 to 20 percent on your groceries. It’s way cheaper than delivery, even if it’s not as easy.

Barbecue or grill
Nothing competes with a thick, char-grilled burger and a cold beer outside during Little 500 week, and a grill completes the picture of paradise in spring.

Proof of Hoosier pride
Whether it’s an IU flag, a bar light or an Indiana Daily Student front page from the day after a big basketball win, you’ll want to show off how big of a fan you really are.

Porch swing
Now that the city’s banning couches on porches, see if you can find a cheap swing or hammock as a replacement. Just make it secure in case of wilder nights.

Old-school game system
Nintendo’s “Mario Kart” brings friends together and puts your TV to very productive use. The same can be said for most other old games, and you can get a system cheap on eBay.