Some people call this a divorce registry

The two-household list

One home is becoming two, and the second one has nothing in it. This is a list of what would actually help, written so you can send it to the people who keep asking.

“Let me know if you need anything” is the kindest useless sentence in the English language. Everybody means it. Nobody knows how to answer it. This is the answer.

It is not a wish list and it is not charity. It is logistics. Your friends already want to help and have no idea what would land, so they send flowers and feel bad. A list is a mercy for both of you.

Half of what is on here costs nothing. The best thing on this page is somebody taking the children on a Tuesday.

Time, not things

First on purpose. These are free, and every person who has been through this says the same thing afterward: it was the hours that mattered.

Tuesday evenings, so I can see the lawyer
A ride to court on the day
Somebody to sit in the hallway with me at the hearingYou will not believe how much this one matters until the day.
One dinner a week for a month
Help loading a van
Take the kids to practice for the rest of the season
Walk the dog on hearing days
Answer the phone at 10pm without needing an explanation
Come and build the furniture with meBring the drill and stay for pizza.
The second of everything

Nobody registers for a can opener at forty-five. Somebody still needs one. Links go to a search, not to a particular product — pick whatever you like.

A can openerfind one →The single most requested object in a second kitchen.
A colanderfind one →
One good saucepan and one frying panfind one →
Plates, bowls, mugs for fourfind one →
A kettle or coffee makerfind one →Whichever one you actually use in the morning.
Sharp knife, chopping boardfind one →
A shower curtain and ringsfind one →Nobody thinks of this until the first night.
A laundry basketfind one →
A basic toolkitfind one →For the furniture that has to be built alone.
Lightbulbs, extension cords, batteriesfind one →
A doormatfind one →Small, and it makes a rental feel like a door you live behind.
The first week

The bar here is: you cannot sleep or eat without it.

A mattressfind one →The one thing that cannot wait a week.
Sheets and a pillowfind one →
A lampfind one →Rentals have overhead lights and nothing else.
A trash canfind one →
Cleaning thingsfind one →
A bed for a child who now sleeps in two placesfind one →This one is worth grouping together for.
Bedding for that child, in colors they chosefind one →
The big, unglamorous ones

The kind of thing several people go in on together.

A locksmithChanging the locks, where the order allows it.
A month of a storage unit
Movers for one Saturday
A contribution toward the retainerThe least comfortable thing on this list and often the most useful.
A month of childcare
One thing from us
A year of The CuspThe tools on this site — saved progress, deadlines, reminders. Bought by someone else, so it does not appear on a shared card statement.

Make your list and send it. Tick anything above, then take the link. The list is stored inside the link itself — not in an account, not on our servers, not anywhere. We never see it. Nothing here needs your name, your email, or a word about your divorce.

Send it to one person and let them run it. The single most useful thing a friend can do is take the list off your hands — forward it, track what is covered, and stop you having to manage a spreadsheet of your own kindness.

There is no total on this page, and there never will be. Nobody sees what has been given, nobody is thanked publicly, and nothing about this is posted anywhere.

How this page is paid for

If you buy through one of these links, Amazon pays us a small percentage. It costs you nothing, and it does not change what is on this list.

Nobody can pay to be on this list. No brand has bought a place here and none ever will — the moment a company can pay to appear on somebody’s divorce list, this page is worth nothing. Product links go to a search rather than a chosen item, so we are not recommending anything we have not looked at.

The Cusp is not a law firm and does not practice law. Nothing on this page is legal or financial advice. Changing locks, moving belongings and taking children between households can all be governed by an order in your case — check what your own order says before acting on anything here.

Page published10 September 2026