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First apartment checklist, priced per unit

Every other list tells you to buy trash bags. None of them tells you what a bag should cost, so none of them can tell you whether the pack you are holding is a good one. These are the consumables you actually run out of first, each priced in the unit it is used in.

Quantities cover roughly the first three months for one person. Prices are live medians across 447 tracked listings.

ItemHow muchTypical priceYou’d spendCheapest we track
Toilet paper
about 12 rolls
36 100 sheets$0.444/100 sheets$16.00$0.056/100 sheets Amazon Basics 1000 Sheet 1-Ply Bath Tiss
Paper towels
about 6 rolls
12 100 sheets$2.27/100 sheets$27.24$1.23/100 sheets Bounty Essentials Select-A-Size Paper To
Trash bags
one a day
90 bag$0.215/bag$19.35$0.103/bag Reli. Tall Kitchen Drawstring Trash Bags
Dish soap
two large bottles
28 fl oz$0.245/fl oz$6.86$0.064/fl oz Ajax Ultra Liquid Dish Soap Vinegar and
Laundry detergent
five loads a week
60 load$0.210/load$12.60$0.080/load ARM & HAMMER Liquid Laundry Detergent, C
Dishwasher pods
five a week
60 pod$0.323/pod$19.35$0.107/pod Amazon Basics Dishwasher Detergent Pacs,
Food storage bags
a box of each size
100 bag$0.100/bag$10.01$0.026/bag Amazon Basics Reclosable Food Storage Sn
Paper plates
for the first week, honestly
100 plate$0.110/plate$11.00$0.029/plate Dixie 6in Light-Weight Paper Plates by G
Batteries
smoke alarm, remotes, clock
8 battery$0.891/battery$7.12$0.138/battery Amazon Basics 300-Pack AAA Long-Lasting
Total for roughly the first three months for one person$130$45.68 65% less

The “typical price” column is the median across every listing we track in that category, not an average of the cheap ones — so it is what you would actually pay without looking anything up. The gap between the two totals is what the looking-up is worth.

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