I'm about to embark on an adventure at 38 years old that many of you went through at a much younger age. I will be living in my very own place!! Exciting and a bit intimidating at the same time. I was in a relationship for 17 years with a man who was 26 years my senior. So I never really went through the "establishing my own space" phase. I basically moved in with him, he had all the stuff you need and I never really had authority in the relationship to make decisions about house and home. That's not what this thread is about, I'm over it. What it is about is...

I would like to hear from you bright ladies of TE the things that you have in your life that you could not do without. That one item that is a functional pillar in your day to day life. I want to set my new place up minimally. The goal is to keep the clutter down. So I'm looking for advice on things like... would you get a toaster oven? My place has a stove, I don't use microwaves, so I was thinking I'd start searching garage sales for toaster ovens.

I have very little. A bed, a dresser and a bookshelf is the extent of the furniture. I have pots, pans, utensils, dishes, a little cookware, towels and a couple of floor lamps. That pretty much sums it up.

Thanks for your input!!