Moving into a new home when you have no furniture gets you into a bit of a situation. Whether you rent or own your home, you have to find enough furniture to fill it. At least, you need enough to make your home functional. If you have absolutely no furniture, you need to start getting what you need as soon as possible. You need somewhere to eat and somewhere to sleep, just to start with. But furnishing a whole home at the same time can be pretty expensive. Fortunately, there are ways you can do it for less so that you don’t empty your bank account making your home liveable.
Think About Your Essential Items
You can start by thinking about the essential things you need in your home. Maybe you might like to make two lists, one of the things you definitely need and one of the things you would like. You know it’s essential to have a bed and a mattress, as well as somewhere to sit down. But while you might want to have some ornaments and artwork to decorate with, it’s not your priority. Different people have different requirements too. For some, it’s crucial to have a coffee table. Others might not think it’s a necessity. It’s up to you to decide what you really need.
Set Yourself a Budget
Think about how much you want to spend on furnishing your home. You can choose almost any amount you want. You just need to keep in mind that the lower your budget is, the more difficult it could be to get all the furniture you need. You can also end up with a lot less choice. If you’re looking for a free table, you might need to take the first one that comes along that’s the right size. But if you’ve got a bit of money to spend, you should be able to shop around a bit more.
See What You Can Get Free
Before you spend any money, you should see what you can find for free. You might be surprised by how easy it is to find free furniture. When people don’t want furniture anymore, they often want to get rid of it as quickly as possible. And if that means giving it away, especially if they wouldn’t be able to sell it for much anyway, that’s what they’ll do. First, try friends and family. Ask around to see if anyone has anything in storage or around their home that they don’t want anymore. You never know if someone might have something they’re happy to give you.
Another great way to find free things is to look online. You can find a range of sites and apps that will help you pick up furniture for free. Craigslist is a popular one that many people use to find free things. There’s also Freecycle, which as you can guess from the name is a way for people to recycle their things by giving them away for free. You can find your local group and search for any items you’re looking for or just keep an eye on what’s available.
Buy Secondhand
If you can’t get what you need for free, there’s always the option of getting it cheap. If you’re looking for good quality, but you also want to save money, one of the best options is to find secondhand furniture. You can get furniture that you know has already survived for a few years and is still going strong, and you won’t have to spend as much as you would on a new item. There are various places where you can get secondhand furniture, both online and offline.
If you’re prepared to start offline, you can put in some time trawling thrift stores and consignment shops. Be prepared to see a lot of stuff you don’t like, but also possibly see some items you love too. Online, you can try Craigslist and eBay to find what you need. Remember when you buy secondhand furniture, you don’t have to keep it exactly as it is. There’s always the option of painting it or decorating it in some other way.
Look for Coupons and Discount Codes
Getting money off full-price items gives you a way to buy new furniture without having to pay more than you can afford. If you’ve found something you like, but you can’t justify spending the money on it, you can look for discount codes and coupons that might help you out. At www.DontPayFull.com, you can search for particular brands or stores to see if there’s a handy discount you can use. It’s ideal if you already know what you want to buy or where you want to buy from. Don’t pay full price and then regret it later if there’s no need to.
Buy in Sales
Of course, you can also check out sales to see if there are any discounted items you can grab. You’ll find great sales at different times of the year, like around the holidays or during the summer, but there are also good deals you can get all year. Have a look around to see which stores run regular sales events so you can keep checking in.
Know the Affordable Stores
It pays to know which stores are the most affordable options for furnishing a home. If you’re furnishing your home for the first time, you don’t necessarily have to think about longevity. While it might be good to get solid furniture that will last a lifetime, you’re likely to want to change things soon anyway, so buying cheaper furniture is perfectly acceptable. Shop at places like IKEA, Target and Overstock.com if you’re looking for affordable but stylish furniture. Sure, your home might not end up being the most uniquely furnished in the world, but you can still make everything your own.
Consider Swapping Items
If you have any furniture at all, but it’s not suitable for your new home, think about whether you could swap it. You might have something someone else wants, and they could have something you can make use of. Start by asking family and friends or perhaps look on Facebook for any local buy, sell and swap groups. You can use the Listia app to swap your things, and you don’t even have to swap directly with another person. You can trade in your items for credits, then use those credits to “buy” other things from other users.
Buy Multifunctional Furniture
If you want to cut down on the amount of furniture you need, don’t buy a different piece of furniture for everything. Think about how some furniture can perform several different jobs. The easiest way to think about this is to consider which items can double up as storage. You can fit extra storage inside or under a bed, underneath a coffee table, or inside a stool or chair. There are other multifunctional items you might benefit from too, like sofa beds. These items could not only save you money because you won’t have to buy so much furniture, but they can save space in your home too.
Watch for Price Changes
Isn’t it annoying when you see something you like, don’t buy it because it’s too expensive, and then spot that the price has dropped after you’ve already bought something else? If there are any particular items of furniture that you really want, you don’t have to turn them down just because you can’t afford them right now. If you set a price alert on them, you can buy them if the price lowers in the future. You can use an app like Yellowbag that will send you a price alert if something you’re watching is discounted.
Ask Furniture Stores for Display and Damaged Items
They say that if you don’t ask, you don’t get. It’s always worth asking for things if you’re trying to save money. One of the things you can ask about when you’re looking for furniture is ex-display and damaged items. Furniture stores will often have furniture that used to be on display, so may be a little worn, or items that have been slightly damaged that have been significantly discounted. Sometimes they will put these out on the shop floor, but not always. So it’s worth asking what’s available if you want to grab a bargain.
Save Money on Delivery and Collection
Wherever you get your furniture from, you will either need to have it delivered or collect it. You could end up spending a lot on these if you’re not careful. Firstly, if there’s a delivery option, check that it won’t be cheaper for you to pick it up yourself if that’s an option. If you have to use delivery, work out if it makes sense to buy several things at once from the same seller. If you’re collecting your furniture, can you make a few trips in your car? Or will you need to hire a bigger vehicle? If you need to hire something, it will make sense to try to pick up as much as you can in one go.
You don’t have to spend all your home furnishing your home. It’s possible to set a low budget and still get everything you need with the right tricks.