Furniture & moving in on a budget

emi_elt

Hi,

We have recently got married and are in the final stages of buying our first home....hence totally and completely broke!! :rolleyes:

We have only a bit of money left now for furniture and decorating etc. Already have a bed, TV and a few bits and pieces but we still need to furnish the place and re-decorate.

Does anyone have any good advice about where to buy cheap but reliable furniture, curtains, home stuff without breaking the bank? In fact, any ideas for making our money go further would be really useful.

Any advice or ideas gratefully received

lil_me

Have you tried https://www.freecycle.org.uk or https://www.dontdumpthat.com for free items, charity shops and second hand stores for not so new ?

Cheapish furniture if I want new I usually use Ikea.

Bogof_Babe

Congratulations, both on the marriage and the moving house! I hope you will be very happy together. Don't worry about starting with nothing (much) - most of us have been there and it can be half the fun!

Do you have a local Freecycle group in your area? (Try googling to find out). You can advertise on there for any unwanted furniture, kitchen equipment etc., and if you get lucky and someone has some things you can use, it won't cost you a penny.

Lucie_2

Another vote for freecycle, it's great. A couple of tips though:

Put in short requests for 1 or 2 items, rather than a big long list of everything you want.

If you say you are going to collect something from someone who has been kind enough to offer it to you, then go. People not turning up is one of the biggest bug bears of freecycle.

For household stuff, cups, plates etc, supermarkets are as cheap as anywhere. Charity shops are worth a look too.

Remember, you don't have to have everything NOW. A friend of mine nearly bankrupted herself when moving into her first house, as she had to have every brand new, up to the minute, top of the range, high fashion whizzy gadget she could lay her hands on. The house was immaculate, but it didn't make her happy.
We are still using a 20 yr old plus bedside table that was a "temporary" measure about 10 years ago. It's fine & doesn't make my life any less enjoyable for having it. We've lived here for over 5 years and there's still no lampshade in the spare bedroom. So what?

kangamama

I agree with the others, things don't have to be brand new, I've bought things from charity shops that still have the labels on from new. Also, ebay, carboots & table top sales (these should be listed in your local paper.)

Nearly forgot to say, congratulations & good luck with it all. Enjoy yourselves.

rosieben

Absolutely agree with previous posters; check if there is a furniture clearance place anywhere near you, I just bought a beautiful rocking chair, dressing table stool and trolley from the one near me, it was really cheap and they delivered it for free! Also a local charity shop near here sells all types of furniture and will deliver for £5.

lil_me

https://www.adtrader.co.uk is another one to try, any other local free ads. Adverts in shop windows/supermarket notice boards etc

Auction houses are another good one if you have one locally

Forgot to say congratulations & good luck

jovichick123

Also try http://www.efreeko.co.uk/index.php?catid=-1, They're like a corss between Ebay and freecycle.. You bid for items by emailing the buyer, the buyer chooses the winner of the item who then pays nothing for the item itself but pays for postage and packaging of the item.. I've used them a few times and they've been great..

Sarah xx

emi_elt

Thanks all for your ideas and very good suggestions. Will be investigating all these links and looking around locally this weekend - I'm now looking forward to furnishing the place on a shoe-string and not buying everything brand new!

belfastgirl23

I'd also say put the word out around the family about what you're looking for. People are often only too pleased to be able to pass on furniture to someone who needs it. I benefited a few times from aunts, uncles etc who were planning to update sofas etc and they were really pleased to be able to help me. I've done the same thing myself now with younger relatives as well. When you think of how overstuffed some older relatives houses are because they can't bear to get rid of anything you can see why they might be pleased to pass it on.