6 Odd Things To Bring Along When You’re Sizing Up Homes To Buy

A recent article suggested an unconventional house-hunting tip for buyers: bring a dinner plate and a clothes hanger along when touring homes. The logic? Use the plate to check cabinet depth and the hanger to gauge closet space.

If you’re wondering why a good old-fashioned tape measure wouldn’t suffice, you’re not alone. But at the same time, it’s kind of practical…if you can get past the befuddled stare of your real estate agent as you walk up to the house looking like you’re walking up to the register at HomeGoods.

Actually, come to think of it, that might spice up the whole homebuying process! And after all, a tape measure tells you dimensions, but it doesn’t always tell you how something feels in a space. So why stop with plates and hangers?

Here are 6 other offbeat things you could bring on a home tour to help decide whether a house truly fits your life:

1) Your Phone Charger

We’ve all played the bedtime tug-of-war with a charger cord that’s juuust a few inches too short. So bring your actual charger to a showing, plug it in, and do a little test run to see if it can reach your bed from the nearest outlet. Will you be able to doom-scroll comfortably, or are you in for nightly cable gymnastics?

2) Your Laundry Basket

Laundry isn’t fun to begin with, so the last thing you want is to deal with a hallway or stairwell that feels like a full-contact sport every time you do laundry. Carry it around with you as you tour the home to make sure it fits around corners and staircases. See how many times you need to adjust the way you’re holding it in order to avoid scraping your knuckles on the wall.

3) Your Roomba

If you own a Roomba, you know the struggle. It can easily get stuck in a corner, trapped behind furniture, or—worst of all—find a cliff to jump off of like a lemming. If you’re eyeing a home with open staircases, high thresholds, or tricky floor layouts, bring your trusty Roomba and see how it handles the terrain.

If your trusty robot vacuum gets stuck under a cabinet lip, trapped between chair legs, or nearly takes a tumble down the stairs, you’ve just uncovered a few quirks that no floor plan would warn you about.

4) Your Average Dirty Dish Stack

Do they all fit in the sink? If not, how do they look on the surrounding counter area?

Let’s face it, no one has a perfectly tidy kitchen all the time. So, it’s worth testing whether your usual post-dinner chaos can fit entirely in the sink. Bring your dirty dish stack (or just simulate it with a few clean ones if you think that’s a bit over the top) to see how much space is actually available for your typical everyday mess.

5) The Bulk Toilet Paper or Paper Towels You Buy

Buying in bulk is a great way to save money, but finding a place to plop them once you get them home can be quite the challenge. Before you commit to a new home, make sure your bulk TP or paper towels have somewhere to live. And if there isn’t room for one of those bad boys, what’re you gonna do if there’s another pandemic?!

6) Your Bathroom Caddy or Shower Products

Those sleek built-in ledges look nice… until your shampoo bottle does a swan dive every morning. Bring your actual shower setup or caddy and do a little staging in the tub. Can everything sit securely? Is there a spot for your razor, loofah, or absurdly tall conditioner bottle? Or are you going to need suction cups and a prayer?