Most people moving into a Spanish home end up making the same mistake: running to the store three or four separate times in the first week because they didn’t think ahead about what they’d actually need. It’s a common frustration, and an easy one to avoid. Here are things to put on your move in shopping list for your first day in Spain.
Tools, cleaning supplies, and basic household items are heavy, cheap, and often sized or wired for a system Spain doesn’t use, which makes shipping them a poor use of your container budget on top of the wasted trips. This is a shopping list built for what you’ll actually need the moment you get the keys, so you can spend that first week settling in instead of running errands.
Buy These Locally, Don’t Ship Them
US tools are measured in inches (SAE), while Spain and the rest of Europe use metric, so a US wrench or socket set won’t reliably fit Spanish nuts and bolts. Combined with how affordable basic tools and hardware are at stores like Leroy Merlin or Obramat, this is one of the clearest cases in our [ship, replace, or skip post] where replacing wins over shipping.
The Concrete Wall Problem
This is the single biggest surprise for Americans doing DIY in Spain.
US interior walls are typically wood-framed drywall, soft enough that a basic drill or even a screw by hand can get into a stud. Spanish walls, interior and exterior alike, are almost always solid concrete, block, or brick. A standard drill won’t reliably get through it.
What you actually need is a hammer drill (taladro percutor), which combines rotation with a hammering action to punch through masonry. Along with it, pick up a set of wall plugs (tacos), the plastic anchors that go into the drilled hole before a screw goes in. Without them, a screw driven straight into concrete has almost nothing to grip. This combination, hammer drill plus tacos, is the single most useful purchase for anyone planning to hang shelves, mirrors, curtain rods or artwork in a Spanish home.
Basic Tool Kit
Hammer drill (taladro percutor), worth calling out again here since it’s the one tool on this list you genuinely can’t skip
Screwdriver set, both Phillips and flathead, various sizes
Allen key (hex key) set. Genuinely essential, since flat-pack furniture from IKEA, Leroy Merlin, and similar retailers is common here and almost always assembled with hex fittings
Metric adjustable wrench
Claw hammer
Metrictape measure. A laser measuring tool is a useful add-on for bigger rooms or measuring alone, since it gives an instant reading without holding the other end
Level, for hanging anything straight. A digital or laser level is worth considering over a bubble level, since it reads the angle numerically rather than relying on your eye, and prices have come down enough to make this an easy upgrade
Utility knife
Pliers, standard and needle-nose
Wall plugs (tacos) and picture hooks, an assorted pack of each. For anything light, adhesive picture hooks skip the drill entirely. For anything heavier, use the taco-and-screw combination described above
Electrical Basics
Spanish outlets and plugs use a different standard (Type C/F) than US ones (Type A/B), and voltage runs 230V instead of 120V. Any extension cord, power strip, or surge protector from the US is functionally useless here without a permanent adapter, and not worth the hassle of converting. Buy these locally instead:
Extension cords, Spanish standard
Power strip (regleta), ideally with surge protection
A basic flashlight or headlamp, useful during the inevitable power blip, and genuinely handy during your first few weeks before you’ve found your way around a new home in the dark
Outdoor And Garden
Garden hose. US and European hose fittings use different thread standards entirely (GHT in the US versus BSP in Europe), so a US hose won’t thread onto a Spanish spigot without an adapter. Buy locally rather than bringing one
Rake and broom, for basic yard upkeep
Hedge clippers or shears, especially useful if your property has hedging or Mediterranean landscaping like what we cover in our [gardening and landscaping post]
Watering can, useful even if you also set up irrigation
Outdoor bucket
Moving Day Extras
Furniture dolly or hand truck. Genuinely useful on move-in day and for years after, whenever you’re rearranging heavy furniture or hauling boxes from the driveway
Furniture sliders, a small set that goes under heavy furniture legs to move it across a floor without scratching. Worth having alongside the dolly, especially on tile flooring, which scratches more easily than most US flooring
Storage containers or bins, a set in a few sizes, for transferring items out of moving boxes and into closets, cabinets, and other storage areas as you unpack. Far more useful long term than the cardboard boxes everything arrived in
Cleaning And Move-In Basics
Vacuum cleaner. Worth buying locally rather than shipping one, since it’s another item tangled up in the voltage and plug difference, and a decent one is affordable here
Broom, mop, and bucket
General cleaning supplies: all-purpose cleaner, glass cleaner, counter/surface cleaner (check whether your kitchen counters are stone, since some natural stone needs a non-abrasive, pH-neutral cleaner rather than a standard all-purpose spray), sponges, and microfiber cloths
Rags, for anything a sponge shouldn’t touch
Paper towels
Trash bags, and a small waste bin or two if the property doesn’t already have one for each room
Dishwasher detergent and laundry detergent, since you’ll likely go through your travel supply faster than expected during the first week
Towels, both bath and kitchen
Rug and floor protectors, worth having if you’re bringing or buying furniture with hard feet, especially on tile flooring
Step ladder. Useful constantly, from changing light bulbs to reaching a persiana box or a high shelf, and one of the more awkward things to ship given its size relative to its cost
A Few Extras Worth Having On Hand
A basic lubricant spray (a WD-40 equivalent), handy for persiana mechanisms, gate hinges, and door locks that stick after a while, especially relevant if you’ve read our [persianas post]
Basic first aid kit
Fire extinguisher, especially worth having in the kitchen or garage. Many Spanish homes don’t come with one by default the way some US building codes require
There’s certainly more you could add to a list like this. Every household is a little different.
Our goal here was to cover the things most people find themselves needing in that first stretch after moving in, the kind of stuff that otherwise sends you back to the store three or four separate times in your first week. Get most of this ahead of time, and you’ll spend that first week settling in instead of running errands.
