What Actually Belongs in Your First Toolkit (and What You Can Skip)

A realistic starter list for new homeowners, first-time renters and anyone tired of borrowing tools from the neighbours.

Moving into your first place, or finally building a proper toolkit instead of borrowing your neighbour's? Here's what earns its spot in the box.

Walk into any hardware store and it's tempting to walk out with one of everything. You don't need that. A first toolkit should cover the repairs and small jobs that actually come up — hanging a shelf, tightening a wobbly chair, fixing a squeaky door — without paying for tools that'll sit unused for the next five years.

Here's a realistic list, split into what to buy first and what can wait.

The essentials — buy these first

A claw hammer. Get a mid-weight one, somewhere around 450g. Too light and you'll be swinging twice as hard for the same result; too heavy and it's tiring to control for small jobs.

A set of screwdrivers. Choose flathead and Phillips drivers in a few sizes. Skip the single multi-bit screwdriver as your only option — it's fine as a backup, but a proper set means you're not fighting a bit that's slightly the wrong size and chewing up a screw head.

An adjustable wrench. One decent adjustable wrench covers most of what a full set of fixed wrenches would, until you're doing plumbing or car work regularly.

A tape measure. Get one at least 5 metres long. This is the tool you'll reach for most often, so spend a little more here for one with a locking mechanism that actually holds.

A spirit level. Nothing ruins a shelf or picture frame like eyeballing it “close enough.” A basic 60cm level is enough for most household jobs.

Pliers — combination and needle-nose. Combination pliers grip, twist and cut light wire. Needle-nose gets into tight spots the combination pliers can't reach.

A utility knife. Use it for opening boxes, scoring drywall and trimming carpet edges. Keep spare blades on hand — a dull blade is more dangerous than a sharp one because you end up forcing it.

A cordless drill. This is the one tool worth spending a bit more on. A basic corded or cordless drill with a decent bit set handles pilot holes, driving screws and light masonry work with the right bit. If your budget only stretches to one power tool, make it this one.

Worth having, but not urgent

A hand saw. Useful the day you need it, dead weight the rest of the time. Fine to wait until a specific project calls for one.

A stud finder. Genuinely helpful once you're hanging anything heavier than a picture frame on drywall, but not something you need in week one.

A socket set. Great for furniture assembly and light mechanical work, but the adjustable wrench and screwdriver set cover most of the same ground when you're starting out.

Clamps. Nobody thinks they need clamps until the exact moment they're gluing something and don't have a spare hand. Add a pair once you're doing more than the odd repair.

Buy quality where it matters, save where it doesn't

You don't need to spend big across the board. Screwdrivers and pliers can be mid-range without any real downside. But it's worth spending a bit more on your tape measure, your level and your drill — these are the tools you'll use constantly, and cheap versions tend to drift out of accuracy or lose power faster than you'd expect.

Building the kit as you go

You don't have to buy all of this in one trip. Most people build a toolkit the way they actually need it — the hammer and screwdrivers first, the drill once there's a project that calls for it, the rest as jobs come up. Basic Blocks Hardware stocks the full range at our Whitehouse, Candy Shop (Southlea Park) and Msasa branches, from the basics above to the specialty tools you'll eventually want. If you're not sure which drill or level suits what you're working on, that's exactly what our tools counter is there for.