Reddit mentions of Stack-On PS-508 Extra Wide Strong Box Safe with Electronic Lock

My senior year of college, I lived in a house with 12 other guys. It faced the ocean, had a hot tub, and a huge backyard. You might not have control over those factors, but if you're still looking for housing, go for the biggest outdoor area you can find.

In the back yard, a BBQ, and lots of tables. We built, sanded, and finished our own. We had 3 tables which were consistently used the entire year for games, potlucks, serving drinks, dancing platforms, etc. Get lots of chairs, strong weatherproof ones. We probably destroyed ~30 thrift-store-found chairs in one year just through normal (drunk) use.

A kegerator.

One of these suckers. Cost around $220 when I bought it, and it outlasted some professional audio systems that DJs brought in for house parties. I ended up selling it for $50 less than what I paid when I moved out. On a similar note, get some kind of strobe/laser/club lighting. Doesn't have to be too exotic, but it's cool to have when you're throwing a party. Fog machine was cool too but broke after 2 parties.

We had a trampoline for a few weeks but some girl broke her arm on it, no bueno. A couple days later, our landlord came by and said it violated some random clause in our lease, and made us get rid of it.

Don't get cable. Go to the bars to watch sports. Netflix and torrent everything else.

A Nintendo 64 and 4 controllers. Super Smash Bros, Mario Party, Mario Kart. Bitches love Mario Kart.

Someone already said a mini-fridge for your room. That should be a no brainer. Beer or leftovers in the common fridge(s) might as well be considered a charitable donation to the house.

These. Doesn't matter if you have 5 people over or 50 people over. There will always be at least 3 people fucking around with these and leaving hilarious phrases on your fridge.

Get lots of dice and lots of playing cards. They will be needed for drinking games.

Shot glasses, wine glasses, beer mugs, mason jars, et cetera. Go to bevmo or the thrift shop. Our local thrift shop had shot glasses at 65 cents a pop. Get tons of them.

Don't get a wire-mesh trash can, for anywhere in your house. If you can't figure out the incredibly obvious reason for this: barf.

Get a couple boxes of medical exam gloves from Costco. They come in handy for cleaning up the nasty aftermath of a good party.

Also, I feel this should be a no-brainer, but clean your fucking toilet every once in a while. 80% of the houses I went to look like they had a science experiment going on in the bowl. I can't help but feel bad for girls that sit down and pee there. A brush is 5 bucks, a two-pack of toilet bowl cleaner is 3 bucks. It takes 20 seconds to scrub the bowl. Do it every once in a while.

On that note, everyone loves a clean house, girls especially. If you keep your place clean and not run down, you will have nothing to be embarrassed about when you bring a group of girls home from a party for some nightcaps. In fact, it just might make the difference between getting laid vs not.

Get a personal safe for valuables (laptop, passport, cash, medicines like vicodin etc). I got mine 3 years ago and still have it today. It's good to have that layer of protection from randoms, potentially shady roommates, etc.


That's all I can think of as far as material items... What I listed are what turned out to be bare essentials, and our year wouldn't have been the same without em. That being said, don't go out and buy all this shit and not put it to use. We threw a potluck once a month, and a party with >1 keg every 2 weeks or so. Make your pad the one that everyone wants to pregame at. When you have people over often enough, you'll realize what you'll need to keep your friends coming back, and to keep new people coming in.

Edit to add:

Learn woodwork, get some tools and materials, and build a bar.

Get a trash can with a lid in your bathroom, for the ladies.

Decorate your house for the holidays. No one really ever did (presumably because the entire town was so poor), but chipping in a few bucks a person at our house made for some pretty cool decorations. They didn't last long but they made the holiday parties cool.

Posters for your living room and bedrooms.

Coffee table books.