Buying your first stuff

nollag2006

Before you buy anything - check what the vendor is leaving in the flat. You may be (pleasantly) surprised.

BitterAndTwisted

Dunroamin wrote: »

Mind you, I moved into somewhere with only a blow up mattress and a Woolworth's deck chair so perhaps I'm not typical.

You might not be typical but unfortunately you're not unique either. I moved into where I am now thirty years ago and I had a second-hand cooker and fridge which my mother found, and carried them up three flights of stairs with me. I slept on a mattress on the floor for the first six months. It's amazing what you can put up with when you don't have any money or transport!

Lots of young peeps in their first "proper" homes together want new stuff straight from the off. Some even get into debt to have them. I wouldn't advise this, of course.

As long as you have the absolute essentials all sorts of things could come your way with very little effort. Most especially if you put the word out with family, friends and work-colleagues if you're clear that you'd be grateful for almost anything.

Charity-shops can be fantastic for getting things like curtains, which can cost a bomb to have made new. Very handy if you know someone with a sewing-machine who is prepared to make alterations for you.

mqandy

What I hate doing when I've been in your position is buying the same thing over and over.

Eg. Buying a £30 toaster then wanting a nice fancy £90 one when I'm all settled in... (silly example maybe!).

I now try and buy either the best I'm ever likely to want, or the cheapest I can get away with until I can afford the upgrade... (£5 from Tesco).

When we moved in we spent big on a brand new amazing bed and a reasonable sofa. Everything else was second hand or the cheapest we could get away with, and will be eventually replaced when it breaks...

Not sure if this helps at all, but it's what I've learnt from the last 3 years of setting up our home...

EvieSaver

I definitely agree with the people suggesting you wait a bit to see what the previous owners are leaving. When we moved we left oven, hob and fridge as they were all built in/integral to the kitchen. We also left all the curtains except one pair as they wouldn't fit our new windows anyway.

When we were first time buyers we bought a fridge & microwave. We had bits like you such as cups, towels etc from student days. We were given a second hand sofa and wardrobe from family and borrowed a blow-up bed until we could afford to buy one. We managed fine with this.

Not having much stuff makes moving much easier! Good luck with your new home.

Mrs_Imp

nollag2006 wrote: »

Before you buy anything - check what the vendor is leaving in the flat. You may be (pleasantly) surprised.

Yep. When I moved in to my flat it came fully furnished, including beds, wardrobes, sofas, white goods, crockery and cutlery. I replaced stuff as and when I needed to/could afford to. When I sold it I left sofa, white goods, crockery and bookcases.

As others have said, check out freecycle etc, and once you've exchanged, make it known to people that you have nothing. You may find a few freebies heading your way.

19lottie82

phoebe1989seb wrote: »

decided to buy a sofa bed from Ikea for their reception room. It wasn't cheap at around £1800 but after only a couple of months it is showing signs of wear, despite them being incredibly careful with their stuff and they now wish they'd spent a bit more on something of better quality.

£1800 for a sofa bed from ikea?! wish they had spent more?! :eek:

oneburge

For white goods check out http://www.clearance-comet.co.uk/

I haven't needed anything yet so can't report back on service but everything comes with a year warranty, and you can seemingly get huge discounts if you're willing to put up with the odd dent or scratch. Considering most white goods only have the front showing, it doesn't bother me in the slightest.

londonlydia

That site looks awesome, thanks oneburge!

PasturesNew

londonlydia wrote: »

The top level having stuff we MUST buy really before we can move in (Bed & Matress, Fridge/Freezer, cooker, Washing Machine, Sofa, Iron, vacuum, wardrobe, bin).

I'd say go as cheap as you can for your first home. You can buy better/nicer later on, maybe in your next home, once you really know what's important and that you like. Local auction houses can be good ways to pick up cheap sofas. Iron, vacuum, bin = supermarket basics. Rest just "best cheapest"

londonlydia wrote: »

Then it is stuff we could at least live in the house without but would want pretty soon (Dining Table, Tumble Drier, more bedroom storage, toaster)

I've never had a dining table, you can pick one up cheap at an auction house for now, see how you get on .... or just a cheap one from a modern/cheap shop.

Tumble drier - don't need .... I've never had one - and it's another big thing to move when you next move.

londonlydia wrote: »

followed by stuff we can build up on over the next couple of years (New curtains/soft furnishings, coffee table, lighting, Dishwasher, Rugs, Spare room furnishings, study storage etc).

OK ... stuff that you'll stumble across as you go along...

londonlydia wrote: »

Anyway, there's not much I can do about needing to buy the stuff, but what I would like to do is make sure I'm as savvy as possible about getting it all.

So, does anyone have any tips as to where to buy stuff, their thoughts on getting 2nd hand on some items (is it worth it if it will break sooner?) and anything obvious I have missed off (I have a few more desirable items on the list which I didnt feel I need to put on, what I want to know is if I've missed an important item!).

You'd be surprised what good stuff you can find at local auction houses. Some parts of the country have things like an Argos returns outlet etc.

I will be kitting out a whole house in the next 1-2 years, my Day 1 purchases will be: bed, fridge/freezer, something to sit on, washing machine.

If you hold out ... there's the January sales to look forward to!

Yorkie1

You need something to sleep on, and something to sit on when you eat tea / watch the TV.

Obviously, fridge / freezer and cooker.

You can get these from freecycle to start with if your friends / family don't have them available.

If you are buying a house, do not underestimate what you may have to spend on it when you move in. There will almost certainly be something the sellers haven't told you about which you need to deal with first.

Whatever you do, don't order anything before you've exchanged.