Moving into a new home! *update on last page*

seafarers_wife

Lady M, also make sure your gas and electric suppliers know that you are a "vulnerable" customer. It means for the company I work for anyway that depending on your health issues a pre-payment meter wouldnt be installed and if there was one already installed it would be removed!

Gettingtherequickly

While I realise the benefits of direct debits for the gas & electrickery, despite my providers best effort, I refuse to set one up. However, I do have on-line billing which allows me to make payments as and when I want. This means that I am in control of how much I pay, not the provider. I build up a decent amount of credit which means that when the worst of the winter bills come in, I either have nothing to pay, or a minimal amount. The spring time bills I then to pay on receipt and start building up for the winter again, especially as I ensure that they get meter readings at least twice a year. This ensures that they are not having a huge amount of my hard earned unnecessarily and I am not going to receive a huge unexpected bill.

As you will be moving just before the winter, make sure that you have something snuggly to keep you warm and most importantly, enjoy having time to yourselves in your own home. With regard to things you need, as you are happy with Ikea, it may be worth saying to friends & family if they mention it, that Ikea do x mugs, etc which we like and are inexpensive, we would be happy if you bought them for us and we could remember you every time we use them. When my sister bought her flat, my mum, brother & I bought a huge amount of stuff without spending a huge amount of money and included treaty, non-essential things.

Best of luck in your new home.

LadyMorticia

seafarers_wife wrote: »

When I moved out I hit Ikea and spent a fortune on bits as found them to be the best quality for bits. things like towels, pans and crockery im still using over 4 years after having moved out, the following I would say need most of it with some bits being luxury items

Kitchen
Fridge/Freezer
Cooker
crockery - ikea found to be really good and cheap
cutlery - again ikea
glasses - we use supermarkets own basic pint glasses or plastic beakers
mugs
baking trays - we use supermarkets own but not the basics as they are rubbish
couple of mixing bowls
scales
measureing jug
lasagne dishes can be used for a variety of pasta bakes etc as well as lasagne
cooking utensils - fish slice/spatula/whisk/wooden spoons
corkscrew - waiters friend is better in my opinion
tin opener - i prefer the electric ones as i find them easier to use
2/3 saucepans
frying pan - ikea own really good
trays for eating off
kitchen table if can afford one and fit it in
kettle
placemats/coasters
chopping board
cheese grater
tupperware for food storage
decent kitchen knives - dont compromise here. we bought lakeland's own brand for approx £25 with their own wooden stand and they are amazing!
colander
kitchen bin
washing machine
tumble dryer if you can afford one
clothes horse with GREAT ventalation in the room using it in to avoid condensation and mould
washing up bowl
rubber gloves
dish clothes
tea towels - we use ikea 19p towels as they wash and wear great
washing up liquid
anti bac spray/cleaning spray of some sort
sweeping brush
mop and bucket
iron
ironing board
kitchen scissors

Bathroom
towels - at least 6 for the 2 of you so that not a hassel to get them washed and dried.
2 hand towels
2 bath mats
small bathroom bin
loo roll holder
towel rail
loo brush
something to clean bathroom with i.e bleach etc

Bedroom
Bed
Bedding - 2 sets, one on and one in the wash
extra pillows - we have 6 on our bed, plus 2 square ones for snuggling up to watch telly or read
under bed storage is ideal - i store all my spare bedding and towels in lidded boxes under our bed as we dont have an airing cupboard
bedside lights
bedside table is nice to have but not a necessity
somewhere for clothes storage i.e wardrobe/chest of drawers

Living Room
sofa
telly
tv stand of some sort
your own favourite knick knacks
throw/blanket of some sort for snuggling under on the sofa
bookcase if wanted etc

Kitchen Stock items
washing up liquid
cleaning products - bleach etc
shoe cleaning kit, brushes and polish
washing powder
fabric conditioner if you use it
pasta
rice
flour - plain and self raising
sugar - caster and normal
cooking oil i.e frylight or whatever you use now
table sauces - ketchup, mayo, salt, pepper etc
spices that you know you use on a regular basis - dont go mad on this one, best to buy as and when you need rather than buying loads and not using them.
lasagne sheets
tinned tomatoes
bin bags

not sure what else to put but thats the list that i went through when moving out into our own place. Good luck and enjoy it

eta. ikea are amaizng for curtain poles and their own curtains as well are good, even if you do need to hem them to the right lenght yourself, but thats easily done with wondaweb!

Thank you so SO much for the list. I find lists really helpful as I can tick things off as I go along.

seafarers_wife wrote: »

Lady M, also make sure your gas and electric suppliers know that you are a "vulnerable" customer. It means for the company I work for anyway that depending on your health issues a pre-payment meter wouldnt be installed and if there was one already installed it would be removed!

Thank you. We're going to shop around for the best supplier but I've only ever used British Gas so I don't have any experience of anyone else.:o

LadyMorticia

Gettingtherequickly wrote: »

While I realise the benefits of direct debits for the gas & electrickery, despite my providers best effort, I refuse to set one up. However, I do have on-line billing which allows me to make payments as and when I want. This means that I am in control of how much I pay, not the provider. I build up a decent amount of credit which means that when the worst of the winter bills come in, I either have nothing to pay, or a minimal amount. The spring time bills I then to pay on receipt and start building up for the winter again, especially as I ensure that they get meter readings at least twice a year. This ensures that they are not having a huge amount of my hard earned unnecessarily and I am not going to receive a huge unexpected bill.

As you will be moving just before the winter, make sure that you have something snuggly to keep you warm and most importantly, enjoy having time to yourselves in your own home. With regard to things you need, as you are happy with Ikea, it may be worth saying to friends & family if they mention it, that Ikea do x mugs, etc which we like and are inexpensive, we would be happy if you bought them for us and we could remember you every time we use them. When my sister bought her flat, my mum, brother & I bought a huge amount of stuff without spending a huge amount of money and included treaty, non-essential things.

Best of luck in your new home.

I didn't really think of that r.e. DDs. As long as I have some way to pay online then I'll be okay. It's just pre-payment meters that I struggle with because I'm housebound alot so it's hard for me to be able to go out and top them up.:o

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

If you go through Quidco for the utilities, there will also be cashback for you


IKEAs are usually pretty much flat on each floor with a large lift - and it is one time I almost envy you your chair, as plodding round one in pain with a thousand other people going in the same direction reminds me of an Escher picture. Avoid half term or weekends if you can. If they can expect people to push around those enormous flat trolley things, there will be enough room for your little red chair

The sofas are quite good - the Ektorp are very well made, get a three seater at least though, as if you can't stretch to a good sofa bed, at least someone will still be able to sleep relatively comfortably on it.

Kitchen stuff starts at very low prices, so you can get more things for your money - glasses especially. Very cheap fleecy blankets, cushions, pillows, quilts, so many things that just make somewhere more homelike.


But back to the community care grant and the social fund loan - if you ask for it, they will consider it and pay it if they can. If you don't ask in the first place, then they can't even think about it. But pretty pictures are unlikely to feature in any award

The amount can vary from £60 to a couple of thousand, depending upon the various factors relating to health, money left in the fund pots, the mood of the decision maker, etc. You aren't penalised for asking for more than they can give you at all - but telling them you already have a good bed/cooker/hob will help them understand that you are an honest person rather than someone trying it on for Christmas.

LadyMorticia

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

If you go through Quidco for the utilities, there will also be cashback for you


IKEAs are usually pretty much flat on each floor with a large lift - and it is one time I almost envy you your chair, as plodding round one in pain with a thousand other people going in the same direction reminds me of an Escher picture. Avoid half term or weekends if you can. If they can expect people to push around those enormous flat trolley things, there will be enough room for your little red chair

Sam acts like speedy gonzalez with my chair.:rotfl: He finds it great fun to push me.

I do like Ikea but it can be a pain to get to.

The sofas are quite good - the Ektorp are very well made, get a three seater at least though, as if you can't stretch to a good sofa bed, at least someone will still be able to sleep relatively comfortably on it.

Thank you for the tip. We really need something comfortable for anyone who stays and for me as I'm in quite alot of pain usually so don't really want anything hard and uncomfortable!

Kitchen stuff starts at very low prices, so you can get more things for your money - glasses especially. Very cheap fleecy blankets, cushions, pillows, quilts, so many things that just make somewhere more homelike.

I was saying to Sam that anywhere can be a house but it takes somewhere special to be a home so I want us to make it as homely as possible with pictures and cushions and such.

But back to the community care grant and the social fund loan - if you ask for it, they will consider it and pay it if they can. If you don't ask in the first place, then they can't even think about it. But pretty pictures are unlikely to feature in any award

The amount can vary from £60 to a couple of thousand, depending upon the various factors relating to health, money left in the fund pots, the mood of the decision maker, etc. You aren't penalised for asking for more than they can give you at all - but telling them you already have a good bed/cooker/hob will help them understand that you are an honest person rather than someone trying it on for Christmas.

We'll only apply for the CCG for necessary things such as a cooker, fridge etc. I know that carpets are rarely awarded but I fall alot and I'm sure I'd do myself more injury if I fell onto a hard floor rather than a carpet so I'll put that in my application. I'm just going to be honest. We have a decent bed and we have bedroom furniture. It's just mostly kitchen and lounge things that we're going to need.

neverdespairgirl

We had an IKEA sofa bed that was comfy as both sofa and bed to start with, but fell apart within 18 months.

They are great for some things, though.

LadyMorticia

neverdespairgirl wrote: »

We had an IKEA sofa bed that was comfy as both sofa and bed to start with, but fell apart within 18 months.

They are great for some things, though.

We have a wardrobe and bookcase from Ikea. The wardrobe is a tiny bit unstable (it took me ages to shake off the feeling that it's going to fall on top of me.:o).

I do like looking around Ikea though and I used to wander around and dream of when DH and I got our own place how we'd make look.

Not such a distant dream anymore.

make_me_wise

Its a little way off yet but would family and friends be happy to get some bits for your new home as Xmas gifts. Or if you want to go and choose stuff yourselves, which is great to do, can you ask for vouchers for your favourite stores.

LadyMorticia

make_me_wise wrote: »

Its a little way off yet but would family and friends be happy to get some bits for your new home as Xmas gifts. Or if you want to go and choose stuff yourselves, which is great to do, can you ask for vouchers for your favourite stores.

I'm not sure. They're really struggling for money at the moment and I feel a bit guilty asking.