seriously stressed!!! moving home and buying the 'essentials'

zoesmummy_2006

nope, definately not recarpeting, they have already ripped them out. I had a word with the workmen yesterday as i had to walk past to go to the shop. It annoys me as well, surely it would be better to leave it up to the next occupant whether or not they want the carpets that are in. someone i know gave up their house to move in with their partner and the council made them rip out all the laminate flooring they had only put down a year ago!!

and nope, they dont provide a cooker either!!!

The advisor at my lone parent meetings with the job centre ha given me the forms to apply for a budgeting loan to help with some costs, which im undecided on. will see how much carpet costs before i go for that.

Kittendreich

Second hand / recycling centre the best bet for cookers - we got one that was old-fashioned & fairly ugly, but hygenic and functional for about £25 - it was electric so all we had to do was plug it in (there was a cooker socket in the kitchen). Lasted us the 2 years we were in the house and then it went back to the recycling shop.

For carpets look out for small shops not the big, national ones - we got quotes for an insurance job and the national chain was £250 more expensive for poorer quality carpet for just one room! We had a housing association house for a while and they too ripped out everything before you got the keys. It was just a small flat we had, but we got the whole thing carpetted in roll ends (lino in kitchen & bathroom) for less than £200, but my hubby fitted them himself (not perfect, but we had no cash!). In our current house we got roll ends from small, local carpet shops where room sized pieces were really cheap (and much cheaper if you don't mind slightly odd designs!).

Speak to the council's housing office or any local homeless charities - they might know where you can pick up cheap bits & pieces locally. They might also be able to loan you money to get the basics sorted or there may even be grants that you wouldn't have to pay back?

Enjoy your new home!

zoesmummy_2006

thank you, we sooooo will enjoy it, it means so much to me to have somewhere to call and make home with my kids, i never thought that i would be a single parent, never thouht my hubby would up and leave. Im so grateful to my family and all my friends that have helped me and no doubt will continue to help, ive already got my uncle offering to do whatever decorating i need as and when, and my cousin and her brother offering to help move with their cars and work vans.

slowly but surely we will get there lol xxx

pigpen

Carpet the living room .. that is where you are spending most time.. bedrooms can wait a few weeks (says the person who has had just a rug on the girls bedroom floor for the last 6 years!)

Wardrobe can wait surely.. do you not have room in another wardrobe for thins that have to be hung up?

Cooker is fairly vital I guess.. try freecycle first.. failing that see if there are any local bargains on ebay.

I wouldn't worry too much about any of it TBH.. things have a habit of turning up when you need them

SparklyClean

I'm on facebook and for my area there is a group called free to collect, might be worth seeing if theres one for where you live ? I've seen people offering cookers, fridge feezers , sofas allsorts HTH : )

Threebabes

Again, when me and my hubby bought our first house we carpeted the living room & stairs (stairs were in living room). The kitchen & bedroom had bits of scrap carpet that were left over. We managed fine. We used rails as well for our clothes and didnt buy a wardrobe for another 2 1/2 year :-).

podperson

Do you have a Surestart or anything similar in your area? In my old area they used to help families who might be struggling to buy appliances - a friend of mine got a washer through them. Also could be worth trying local carpet places (especially small, independent ones) to ask if they have any end of rolls or offcuts they are doing cheap or sometimes even free, if you have small rooms these can sometimes cover them or can be teamed with a cheap rug to do you for now. Good luck with it x

building_with_lego

spadoosh wrote: »

Message the guy, if hes corgi registered chances are he is a fitter and will remove peoples old ones, worth a try??

Gas Safe Register these days: http://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/ I hope he's not claiming to be Corgi registered!

Bubbabinks

Have you asked your housing officer about decoration vouchers?
I don't believe it's a huge amount and not all councils do it, it's usually for a DIY store.
You could put that towards flooring, laminate/lino etc.

clearingout

three things to try:
a) there are often local charities run independently or run by people like the Lion's Clubs working in an area to pick up furniture etc. from people who no longer want it and give it to those who do (small fee usually applies - where I am it's possible to get a second hand bed in good condition for £14 and pots of half used paint for 50p a go!).
b) try local auction houses and/or house clearance firms. Again, where I am there is a local house clearance firm that auction off the 'best' of what they clear every week. Most of it is tut, to be fair, but I have sourced some lovely bits of antique furniture for next to nothing (cheaper than ebay for similar items generally) and have also found it useful for electrical applicances. My current hoover cost me £12 and works fine and I today picked up a portable TV for my eldest's playstation (his current one went up in a puff of smoke this weekend!) for £4.50. They make sure that these items are working and PAT test them, although obviously there is no guarentee as to how long they'll keep working!
c) your local car boot (try for a big one) as there are often traders. Where I used to live, there was always a chap selling off-cuts/end of line with carpets, lino etc. It's worth a shot.

Hope that helps.