We had the pleasure of sitting down with Rob Russo and discussing the topic of all things you should know about living on your own for the first time. Specifically focused on 20 something’s moving into their first rental apartment or home and the “tools” they need, both literally and figuratively, to thrive. Rob discusses the importance of what to have in a proper toolbox, and also goes over what to tackle vs. when to call in backup.
What tools do you think kids should have when they go to move into their house?
- The most important is a box to put all your tools and know where they are! Pick a color that sticks out and have a common place for it.
- Tape Measurerer
- Utility Knife
- 5-in-1
- Battery-powered cordless drill
- A basic hammer
- Screwdriver
- One of the most practical tools is needle nose pliers
- Adjustable wrench
- Hex Keys Set
- Step stool
Tips for buying tools: Sticking in a consistent tool family is very helpful because their batteries are transferable across the platform.
I don’t understand the difference between an impact driver and a regular one?
ROB: I think for what we are talking about here even into homeownership, you very rarely need an impact driver. The impact driver has a hammer that sits at the back of the spin shaft, it applies a consistent pressure so it allows you to drive screws through things or do more heavy duty.
When living in an apartment, what is important to know?
ROB: It’s important to know how to operate a typical fuse panel (circuit breaker). With a circuit breaker, you need to understand how to solve the problem of tripping it. If you trip something in the living room and everything powers off, you go to your panel and open the panel door and look for something that is out of order. Most of the circuit breakers are in the “on position” all the way over to the right. The one you tripped is in the middle or if it’s a hard trip it’s over to the left. The way to safely reengage the circuit breaker, which is protecting your electrical circuit and protecting people is the receiving end of the circuit voltage. What you want to do is you want to unplug the things you think tripped it. Then go to the panel, and throw it all the way over to the right. It should catch and stay because you reduced the load on the circuit. If it continues to trip you should let the landlord know.