Furnishing A Furnished Apartment - Housekeeping, Entertainment and Communication - Updated

If you bought or are buying a furnished apartment, and you plan to stay there or equip your apartment for others to stay more than a night or two, here are a few suggestions of some extra items to bring to your apartment.

If you have any other things to add to this list, please reply and I will post your additions. Equipping your apartment with food and related items will be in my next post. This article deals only with the items you might need to set up housekeeping.

The furnishing packages are fairly comprehensive and include most of the things a person might need to stay a night or two. But without housekeeping, you will need at least the following things, especially for longer stays:

HOUSEKEEPING
1. Broom and dustpan
2. Kitchen wash cloths
3. Dish detergent
4. Laundry detergent
5. Something to clean the floor beyond sweeping. A cleaner that is safe for bamboo floors is recommended, and you will need a mop or something to apply it.
6, A torch (flashlight) and batteries (or candles) in case of power loss.
7. 2 D cell batteries for the hot water heater.
8 Food bag clips
9. Collapsible insulated bag to keep food cool or hot.
10. Cooking utensils (they are on the list, but are not provided). (Spatula, serving spoons etc.)
11. WD 40 or other corrosion preventative spray. Keep metal protected from the corrosive sea air.
12. Toilet tissue
13. Paper towels or re-useable cleaning towels.
14. Soaps for the bathroom.

My thanks to a fellow Bala apartment owner for the following additions:
15. Dishwasher detergent.
16. An emergency contact list (phone contacts)
17. Resort employee contact telephone numbers.


ENTERTAINMENT:
If you will be staying for any length of time, remember, that great novel that you read on the flight down won't last forever! Bring your e-reader, ipad or something for entertainment. If you are not using the optional TV programming, consider bringing a tv streaming device (i.e. Roku (r), Apple TV (r), etc.) and be sure your subscription is paid up. Then you will need the internet service connected to your apartment and you will need to install and configure your own wireless internet router, so bring a router. Don't forget the cables needed to hook everything up. Also, a laptop can be handy for other sources of news and entertainment etc.
1. Ethernet cables
2. Wireless modem/router
3. Streaming device for tv and cables to connect it. (HDMI)
4. Current subscriptions to media as per your preferences.
5. Laptop or other devices.

COMMUNICATION
If you get the wifi going, why not take advantage of Skype, Facetime or Viber to talk to friends and family back home? My experience was that the internet service was less reliable during peak evening useage times. Many, including myself, get a local sim card and buy minutes for cell phone communications. Make sure your cell phone used the frequency band used in Panama. Most quad band phones and iphones do this, but make sure your iphone had a removeable sim card.
1. Sim card
2. Minutes (I use Mas Movil).
3. Wifi if needed
4. Ipad, cell phone, laptop or tablet and software/ subscriptions.
5. Phone contacts. Be sure to add numbers for Resort Management, Resort Maintenance and emergencies.