Tips for new homeowner

PasturesNew

Siebrie wrote: »

...water cooker ...

Er ... kettle?

Siebrie

PasturesNew wrote: »

Er ... kettle?

If that's the electric one, then, yes! Sorry, English is not my first language and I was too lazy to look it up

MandM90

PasturesNew wrote: »

These "essentials" many speak of are unnecessary fripperies.... do not be fooled into believing you need these "essentials".

Remember, a table is the thin end of the wedge... if you buy a table, you need chairs. You need a tablecloth, then a "for best" tablecloth, then a differently coloured tablecloth, then a Xmas tablecloth.... then cutlery, then "for best" cutlery ... then placemats, then different placemats, then Xmas placemats..... then bowls, serving bowls, Xmas serving bowls, a large trifle bowl, glasses, flutes, tumblers ... then people want/expect to be fed because "you've got room for them" .....

And where are you going to store all that stuff? Now you need a cabinet, a sideboard .... and that "looks bare", so you need ornaments and bowls for the top ... and little protector mats.... then it needs dusting...

Do not buy that table.... instead, buy a bottle of wine, to take to the house of others, who have a table and "all that stuff" .... and simply say "Oh you've such a lovely table, here, have a bottle of wine.... shall I sit here?"

Or do what we did and buy a second hand solid wooden table for £50 from ebay, get your chairs from freecycle and have one set of everything (no 'for best'). Loads of stuff to be picked up for free or from the chazza. Our friends are happy to sit around our scrubbed cloth-less table, be fed a big vat of veggie chill from 'normal' bowls and 'normal' cutlery, and drink Lidl wine from short glasses when the small collection of wine glasses is exhausted. It's about the laughter and friendship, not the Waterford crystal.

OP: buy as little as possible now. When you notice a 'need', add it to a list you keep about you and refer to when trawling charity shops, ebay and the like. Loads of our stuff is for free or cheap. Until recently our sofa was a freebie - 25 year old Laura Ashley. I'd dyed the covers and it was still pretty and very comfy. We have a painted rocking chair (£15 from the dump then whatever paint cost), and a free nest of teak G plan tables, a hand me down rug and an IKEA armchair in our living room and we love it. It's taken a good 3 years for our house to feel near 'finished' but most things were thrifted somehow and we love the final look.

Agree on spending on bedding - good quality sheets are a real luxury. I don't spend loads though, check out the Dorma range at Dunelm in the post-xmas sales.

Buy as few kitchen gadgets as possible to start, unless you're a MasterChef wannabe. They just clutter the kitchen and generate more washing up. A decent knife, pots, colander, tin opener, wooden spoons, chopping board and bottle opener will do to start.

If you are intending to cook from scratch, freeze and capitalise on yellow sticker baragins - and I hope you are - start to build up an arsenal of herbs, spices, stock, pulses, tinned toms etc so the making of a home cooked meal is always in your cupboard.

Congrats on your new home.

GreenQueen

VfM4meplse wrote: »

Also keep a measuring tape about yourself, you'll find this will come in very handy!

Also, have a notebook/place on your phone to keep a note of room sizes/curtain lengths, etc, then if you see something in a charity shop that looks perfect, you can tell if it's the right size - it's amazing how something can look just the right size in a shop and then be absolutely HUGE whan you get it into your house - don't ask me how I know this:think:

Out,_Vile_Jelly

I would prioritise investing in the basics:

-decent quality mattress (lots of online based companies offer to collect it if you're not satisfied after a 100 day trial)
-decent quality bedding
-powerful shower
-reliable boiler (a new one is the second most expensive thing you'll probably ever buy after the house)

Curtains, cushions, pictures, nick-nacks etc are just visual fluff. Nice to have eventually, but not urgent.

New sofas are expensive and take about 6 weeks to be delivered; find a comfy one in your local BHF furniture shop and cover it in a nice throw if it's ugly. If you don't mind being old-fashioned, older style wooden wardrobes and units are hard to shift and often very cheap second hand.

In the excitement of filling your house with new stuff, don't forget that as a homeowner you need to put money aside each month for "boring but necessary" expenditure; ie if the washing machine/freezer dies, or if a gutter starts leaking.

bexster1975

Great advice here already.

Many congratulations on your new home.:beer:

I would second eBay, cat boots and charity shops. I wouldn't buy a mattress second hand. I also agree excellent bedding is worth the investment. Sales are your friend for this. The thing is, you will know how you want to live. You will know if you want to entertain, have stuff " for best" - I'm not a fan of this, but just a personal thing.

Lots of my large furniture is second hand. I don't want to replace it, I bought it as I decided I wanted things, then looked around until I found what I wanted. I have fewer than half a dozen items of furniture in my home that I bought brand new.

The most important thing is buy when you can afford, and what you know you will get true value from.

Bexster

moneyistooshorttomention

From my own experience -

- don't buy "family size" casserole dishes (eg for 4 people). Find the sizes of this sort of thing that are suitable for just 1 or 2 people. (That may be something my generation did more - as we were at some level obviously thinking "bottom drawer" stuff - as I can see in hindsight:o).

- cheap sheets last about two seconds. Buy the best quality you can afford.

- don't buy those jumbo size bath towels. They are a luxurious size - but just get standard size bath towels. They're much easier to wash/much easier to find room for (in the bathroom or whilst stored in a cupboard).

- don't buy curtains with integral thermal linings. I've done that twice recently - with different type integral linings both times. One set disintegrated the second I washed it. The second set have just about "hung on in there" after a wash - but I'm not going to dare wash them again before I can afford to replace them.

EDIT; Not sure whether younger people may not know what the phrase "bottom drawer" means - it means stuff bought in the expectation of getting married at some point. I'd got visions in my mind of "dinner parties to support husbands career climbing the ladder" - ahem.........excuse me whilst I go off and laugh about that one.....whoops...

lessonlearned

A decent bed is your top priority.

Money I have to disagree with your comments out jumbo sized bath sheets. I guess standard size are ok if you are a small person. The bigger, the fluffier, the more luxurious the better. :rotfl:

trailingspouse

Sources of free/cheap stuff -



Family and friends. It's amazing how people throw perfectly good stuff in your direction when you tell them you're setting up home...
Freecycle.
ebay - but check that large items are local to you and that you have the means to collect them.
The post-Christmas/January sales - you'll need Christmas decorations for next year, so might as well pick them up cheap this year!! Also good for white goods and household linen (bedding, towels etc).

Charity shops - many will deliver the larger items. Good for furniture, crockery and cookware, glassware.

Local auctions - they don't just sell antiques!! So-called brown furniture (old wooden furniture) is very cheap at the moment and is better quality than cheap modern furniture. Also, when times change and you can afford to buy what you really want - just send them back to the auction!! We do this, and sometimes we even make a profit! Remember that there will be commission to pay over and above the hammer price. This is usually about 15% but check with the auction house to be sure.


Enjoy it!! Furnishing a house is great fun - and it's amazing what you can manage without if you have to. When OH and I first set up, we had two single beds (different heights) and a TV that people had given us. We bought bedding, and a kettle. We lived in the bedroom, and ate a lot of cup-a-soups... We thought long and hard about buying a TV licence or giving the TV back, but decided that as we couldn't afford any other sort of entertainment, we 'needed' to get the licence. It was a big day when we could afford a microwave - and an even bigger day when we could afford a worktop to put it on!!

Siebrie

Maybe friends and family are asking if they can contribute? If so, give a quick thought about how you would feel being reminded about that person every time you see the item they give. Items for kitchen and living room would probably not bother you, but do you want to be reminded of that family friend every time you step into your bed?