subject: Improving Your New Place—The Thrifty Way [print this page] Improving Your New PlaceThe Thrifty Way Improving Your New PlaceThe Thrifty Way
Having to move around a lot teaches you a few things, and perhaps one of the most important lessons learnt is that you should try to travel light. If you travel a lot and rent, you might want to keep things simple. The trick to doing this is to buy inexpensive and light furniture that lasts. There are a few other things you can do to frugally furnish any place.
Choosing inexpensive furniture allows you to set aside some money for other things, such as going out or to save a little for a rainy day. Choosing light furniture helps make travelling easier. If you find yourself having to move again, the last thing you want to do is to burden yourself with heavy furniture or lots of it.
If you're buying a house, then you can indulge yourself with expensive furniture as chances are you won't be moving any time soon, apart from that keep your furniture purchases cheap and light.
IKEA furniture can be a great option to consider even though the brand isn't known for durability. IKEA furniture is inexpensive and appropriate for furnishing a new place as long as you only choose static furniture. Avoid pieces with moving parts as they may not do well with time. IKEA desks and bookcases can last for many years and don't cost much.
Avoid IKEA furniture with moving parts such as drawers as they may not do well if you move them around with you. Drawers and moving parts may come undone or damaged during moving and won't last one move.
Try to buy second hand furniture to save some money. You can find a lot of second hand IKEA furniture for sale on Craigslist or eBay. A good rule of thumb is that second hand furniture should never cost more than half its retail price. Again, avoid IKEA furniture that has any moving parts for the same reasons listed earlier.
One thing you should always buy new is a mattress. They don't cost all that much anyway and you don't really want to sleep on a used mattress for hygienic reasons.
Finding free furniture is another option. Craigslist and Freecycle are greats place to find free furniture and you can find virtually any piece of furniture for free. Whether you're looking for a bookcase or plastic Christmas tree, you can find everything you need if you arm yourself with a bit of patience. Inspect furniture carefully before picking it up to make sure you aren't going to be hauling junk.
A great thing about opting for free furniture is that the next time you have to move, all you need to do is donate your furniture and you won't even have to worry about moving it. Many places will even come pick it up, saving you even more time and money.
Try to keep it simple, don't bog yourself down with heavy or expensive furniture when you're renting or travelling around a lot.
