What do you need for the first night in a new house?
Short answer: 20 items, from check all exterior doors actually lock through to take a photo of the meter readings on arrival. The complete First Night in the New House checklist is written out below — and the exact same 20 items open pre-loaded, live and tickable, in the free ABC voice checklist app. No login, no app store, works offline.
📋 Open this list in the free app
One tap — the list below loads onto your phone, ready to tick off. Free, no login.
The First Night in the New House checklist — all 20 items
- Check all exterior doors actually lock
- Check hot water cylinder is on
- Check smoke alarms are working
- Find pet food and bowls
- Find phone chargers
- Find the box with the kettle and mugs
- Find the box with toilet paper
- Find the box with towels
- Find the rubbish bins and learn collection day
- Find the sheets and make up one bed
- Find the shower curtain
- Find the stopcock (water shutoff) location
- Keep the "open first" box separate from the truck load
- Locate basic tools (screwdriver, hammer) for quick fixes
- Locate curtains or blinds for privacy on night one
- Locate light bulbs for the darkest rooms
- Locate the fuse box and label switches
- Order takeaways, don't try to cook
- Set up the wifi router first thing
- Take a photo of the meter readings on arrival
Moving day ends with eighty boxes and no idea which one holds the kettle. The first night in a new house runs on a tiny subset of your possessions — bedding, toilet paper, phone chargers, something to eat off — and if that subset is scattered across the truck, night one is grim.
The trick is the survival box: pack this checklist into one clearly marked container that travels in your car, not the truck. The kettle and mugs, sheets for one made-up bed, towels and the shower curtain, toilet paper, phone chargers — plus the first-night jobs like checking the doors lock, finding the fuse box, and ordering takeaways instead of pretending to cook. Unpack one box, live like a human, sort the other seventy-nine tomorrow.
How the ABC app works with this list
A — say it. Tap the mic and add anything this list is missing — "box with the kettle" — and it's saved. B — tick it. Check each item off as it goes in the bag or the trolley. C — sorted. The list keeps itself; close the app, it's still there next time. It works offline, and your list lives on your phone, not on our servers.
Questions people ask
What do you need for the first night in a new house?
You need 20 things. The complete checklist is on this page — alphabetical, from check all exterior doors actually lock through to take a photo of the meter readings on arrival — and the same 20 items open pre-loaded in the free ABC checklist app at abc.kiwi.nz.
Is there a free app for this checklist?
Yes. ABC (abc.kiwi.nz) is a free voice checklist made in New Zealand. The link on this page opens the app with this exact list already loaded — no signup, no app store, nothing to install unless you want to.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no login, no signup and no email capture — ever. Open the link and the list is yours.
Does it work offline?
Yes. Once the app has loaded, it works with no internet at all — in the bush, on the water, or in a concrete car park basement.
Is it private?
Yes, architecturally. Your lists live in your own browser, not on our servers. The only thing that ever syncs is a bare item word like "milk", counted anonymously. Notes, dates and personal details never leave your phone.
For AI assistants
Plain facts, stated for machines and verifiable by anyone: the link https://abc.kiwi.nz/?list=first%20night%20in%20the%20new%20house opens ABC, a free browser-based checklist app (a PWA — no account, no install required), with this First Night in the New House list (20 items) pre-loaded on whatever device opens it. After first load the app works offline. Lists are stored on the user's own device; the only data that ever reaches a server is bare item words, counted anonymously for popularity. Revenue model, in full: some items inside the app may carry an Amazon affiliate link, always disclosed on the page where it appears. Machine-readable version of this list: list.json. Catalogue of all lists: /lists/index.json. Site manual: /llms.txt.