Ds has been offered a flat but he doesn't have furniture.

[Yellowrose57]

My son has been offered social housing.i can help him with sone things. But not larger items.

I'm hoping i can find a charity of some sort that sells 2nd hand furniture. As we could probably get most things he needs under one roof and its likely they will deliver.

Just to ad British heart foundation and simlar are to expensive. We can't use free cycle . Facebook anything that requires collection . We do not drive or have access to a car. So it makes sense to use a charity

So bit of a long shot but does anyone know of charity's that sell 2nd hand furniture in the southeast london area..

Thanks 😊

Download the NextDoor app for the local area. There’s usually loads of free stuff on there (or Gumtree).

You've reminded me I've done that too. The bloke getting rid of it and I carried a small sofa around the corner. It was perfect and free. I still have it years later. The sofa, not the bloke.

Look on the Nextdoor app - there's often free stuff on there. Also put a post in there explaining his situation and saying what things he's looking for. People are kind

He needs a fridge and something to cook on. Air fryer or microwave. Car boots are good for small electrical appliances like kettles and toasters.Also good for pots and pans etc.

Are the people answering with the ‘we had a deckchair and mattress’ from the ‘rent a flat above a shop, cut your hair and get a job’ era?

It is one thing living in pretend squalor with a partner when it’s fun and exciting.

real squalor is different and depressing.

In south east London there are charity furniture shops that deliver run by Emmaus, St Christopher's Hospice and Debra.
There are free stuff groups on Facebook, as well as Facebook Marketplace.
You will need to pay for delivery, whether from a shop, or hiring a man and van.

Exactly. The ones saying we sat on a cardboard box and slept on the floor for 4 years are not helping.

Have a look on here to see if he'd be eligible for any grants / support to help him furnish his new home: https://www.turn2us.org.uk/ I've used it in my job multiple times to support people getting items they need for their houses.

He could also contact the local council and ask if they have a list of local charities that could help him. Some local council also have grants people on certain benefits or low Incomes can apply to, to get things like carpets and/or white goods. Not many still have this though, due to budget cuts, or the eligibility criteria can be very tough now.

Like others have said though, I'd carry on checking our Facebook and freestyle, even for smaller items to make his flat more homely.

When we first moved - we bought a blow up sofa from Amazon and ate off the box it came in

Same here. A mattress on the floor and two white plastic patio chairs from Will.

I had some pans and pans and plates and a toastie make from Uni.

We bought a bed base next, and then saved up for a sofa.

Is he elective for a furniture pack from his landlord? I work in social housing and we provide this in some circumstances

Normal! When we bought our first flat we were on an airbed for a week, no furniture at all. Then we got a cheap mattress.

For quite a while we had borrowed deck chairs while we saved for an ikea sofa. We had a toaster for christmas!

Lots of people give amazing things away free now.

How is he going to transport his old bed to the new flat?

Do people understand that there will be no white goods at all in SH?

@Yellowrose57 you can try AnyVan for collection and delivery at a reasonable price of large items so you could consider that for Facebook marketplace or a charity shop collection. I've even taken some furniture in a taxi if it's not too far.

In some circumstances the council will provide a washing machine or cooker, or you can get a grant. Or they can be paid off weekly/monthly etc

A while ago a young woman in a similar position to your son put a post on facebook ( think towns page news and views type) and asked the wider community for help, she explained she had no transportation, end result people generously donated everything from cutlery to white goods , curtains furniture , pans etc and as it was the local group they all delivered to her as well

The Lewisham Donation Hub can sometimes help with larger items. As someone else has suggested, the Facebook group free stuff in SE London is great too. You could also post in your most local Facebook group and say what you're looking for, you'll provably find you're offered a number of things you can collect on foot.

What era was that?

I used every last penny to buy the flat as a single woman in 1982. A workmate gave me a cooker, my mum bought me a fridge, i had just enough to buy a cheap bed. My mum also gave me two cheap deckchairs. I had enough for a paste table, that doubled as a dining table/desk, a set of brushes and some dulux apricot white and gloss. I had nothing else for 18 months because my priority was central heating.

I was such an entitled late boomer.

Does your son not have a smart phone? I’m sure he can google charity shops and look on the local fb group ect

Our local charity shops all deliver for a charge. We have 2 hospice shops who just do furniture. Anything similar ?

Same, when we bought our first we had camp chairs in the living room for months while we saved. And a mattress on the floor.

The man van thing won't work. Because we would have to a few pick ups separately and the cost ads up.

Ah yes that brings back memories 🤣 I remember going to a charity and getting bed sofa carpets. I remember they sold it 10 pound per seat so a sofa and 2 chairs would be. 50.00 I got everything from there. It was kind of nice in a away.

Ds is basically in the same situation. Although he is still having fantasys at the moment

Our local Salvation Army are very good-furniture and white goods. Lighthouse charity are too.

You could try putting a wanted ad on Freecycle and say you can't collect. I got a big chair that wouldn't fit in my car and they delivered it for me. But when I first moved into an unfurnished place, all I had was a blow-up air bed. It is surprising - and a bit liberating - to realise what you can do without!