To think it's impossible to furnish your house when you have little money?

[marry3456x]

I've just got the keys for my new home.
It's basically a shell..no carpets,no appliances no furniture.
It's my first place and I have nothing.
I currently receive ESA which is £202 a fortnight,I have no credit cards.
How on earth am I meant to do this?
It's 2 bedrooms..
Cooker,fridge,washing machine,carpets,kettle toaster,plates,cups,knife,forks
Wardrobe ,bed,dresser,tv,sofa ,blinds /curtains,vinyl floor,coffee table etc etc etc
Is this impossible?
I'm really stressed about it
It all needs decorating..everything
The doors,skirtings,ceiling are all a dirty magnolia /dirty stains on them.

Also ask your friends and family, you do not need anything new or posh for now until you are able to start buying yourself stuff bit by bit.

But definately try freecycle as long as you are able to collect you will be able to find a lot. Also talk to the council, I know there are departments within councils who are able to provide you with cooker, fridge etc. especially as you are on benefits. So use them do not be shy, you need and they will have. Also there are charities like family and baby etc who are able to help families.

If you can bag yourself a free slow cooker all the better.

Can your Dad help you?

Asda home (mega cheap) . Car boots. Free cycle. Also Gumtree has house clearances, free stuff, trendy 2nd hand furniture. My local charity shop gets brand new duvet sets, crockery, cushion covers, lightshades etc. Where do you live? (If it's central or North or East London I know best charity shops for home stuff:in wealthy areas people don't ebay it) . Benefits used to do loans for cookers/sofas but not sure that's still going, I will investigate. Good luck.

We didn't have a bed at first - just a mattress on the floor which is fine.

freecycle as suggested above could be useful. Most people need much less than they think they do anyway.
You might need to save up for a washing machine and just do hand washing for now to save some money.

not only do free cycle have things that people might want they also have a section for things that are "wanted"

I searched:Benefits still do interest free Social Fund Loans or Budgeting Advance Loans for large items like cookers/sofa/fridges. Enquiry line:0345 603 6967

Congratulations on your new home. Great suggestions here and remember that what makes a home is not flash furniture but love.
Go and get some cheap candles and cheap pot plants -those things make a room.

You're neither stupid nor a beggar Chin up and many excellent ideas to follow up. My own top tip - already mentioned - is sugar soap for cleaning. Cheap as chips, v. easy to use and can make an enormous difference - to the extent that you might find that you don't need to redecorate immediately.

The stuff we discard these days is shocking. As already said, you'll be doing your bit for the environment.

Lots of luck!

marry3456x you don't have to do it all at once!

Just do it bit by bit.

When I moved into my first home, I had £180 to furnish it.

I bought a sofa bed and a bookcase, and those were my only two pieces of furniture for ages!

I slept on the sofa bad at night, and put the sheets away and had it as a sofa in the day.

But bit by bit I built up my home. It was lovely, and all mine by the time it was furnished.

Now I have way too much stuff, lol! You will too. One step at a time...

How much can you afford to spend on furninshing it a week? Even if just £5, put that away and get bargain hunting.

I've been in my home 12 years. Same state as yours when I moved in. There is masses of stuff out there now. People change sofas just because they don't like the colour.
Get on Facebook and just ask. Getting a cheap van will be your main issue. I predict you'll have a house full of stuff within the week.
My entire house is still free or cheap second hand even though I can afford new stuff.

If it was me, I'd prioritise these things:

1. blinds /curtains - if there's nothing on the windows and people can see in (although something temporary should do if needs be)

1. Bed.

1. Kettle, plates,cups,knife,forks

1. Fridge (shame it's not winter, you could use a window sill as a fridge for a while!)

1. Washing machine (unless you can wash stuff at a family member's maybe) as laundrettes get expensive - or you have time to hand wash maybe?

Then, the rest of the stuff.

Your council may have a local assistance scheme and they will buy you new white goods. There are also furniture schemes where you can get the essential furniture. Sugar soap and elbow grease will help and white paint is really cheap. So you need help now, one day you will be working again and pleased to pay your taxes and NI to help others.

Tips for "winning" things on freecycle.

The stuff often goes to the first person. Don't wait for emails to come to you. If your local Freecycle publishes things on a page, make sure you check it several times a day so you can be first to ask for it.

Write a nice message, explain you're starting from scratch. Be really friendly and polite. Say you can pick it up whenever suits them (if you can) - or something like "I have lots of free time to pick it up this week".

Don't ask them questions like "please can you tell me the dimensions" or "what make is that"? When I was getting rid of stuff on freecycle I gave the stuff to people who sounded like they actually wanted it, not those messing about asking me questions!

Wow I'm overwhelmed by all your helpful advice.
Thankyou
I've been cleaning like a mad woman tonight hence my slow reply.
Will go through all your messages later tonight
I'm going to go to wilkos in the morning.
I've just noticed Argos are having a clearance.
I've just reserved some mugs for £3.99 a sheet for £2.99 and duvet cover £4.99

In answer to your question - be patient! You know building a home takes time, priorities change as do tastes. I moved into my first house 30 years ago furnished entirely by hand me downs from my family who were only too pleased for it be used, and via friends who had been in the same boat and were pleased to see it going to someone else. One of my friends still has a stool I lent her, everytime we meet up we say we must sort it.

I got my first place on my own in the 1990's. It had no central heating, had been previously owned by a chain smoking alcoholic who had a taste for cooking everything in lard and the place was falling apart.

I owned a bed and a tv.

It took me years to sort it all out, I did it all bit by bit, got heating put in, cleaned it all up, redecorated, replastered some of the walls etc. But it was a very long slow process and my first white goods were all second hand. Ebay was a godsend.

Don't be in a rush to get it pristine just yet. Take your time, think about your long term aim and you will gradually get the home of your dreams.

British Heart Foundation do some lovely furniture, and they deliver

Hello everyone

We've had a number of reports from people concerned about this thread so, as we usually do in these circs, we're putting our heads round the door with some important reminders.

Right now we can't see any evidence to indicate that the OP isn't above board – if we did, we'd remove the thread straight away. But the truth is that, sadly, we at MNHQ can't know with 100% certainty that any poster is genuine, no matter who they are or how long they have been here. As frustrating as it is, we're not able to vouch for anyone here.

So we always ask everyone to remember that not everyone on the internet is who they say they are – and remind folk not to give more to another poster, either financially (in cash or gifts) or emotionally (in time or care and support) than they'd be prepared to lose if things went wrong.

Sorry to hijack your thread briefly there, OP – we really hope you get it all sorted soon.

Here's Durham Freecycle: groups.freecycle.org/group/DurhamNC/posts/all

And other NE groups: www.freecycle.org/browse/UK/North%20East

marry3456x sounds like you've made a great start, excellent!

Some virtual celebratory and for you!

Our local Freegle and Freecycle often have carpet off cuts and rugs on the listings and curtains and blinds. You need to be able to collect though. Things like fridges, freezers washing machines go quickly though so you may need to ask several times before you are sucessful. I had about 8 requests for an oldish, high spec microwave. Beds and sofas come up quite frequently as well.
You can ask for articles but I suggest you try to be specific.
Also Preloved and Gumtree have free loved and freebies.
Local charities also help those starting out.
BHF, local hospital often have charity furniture shops - there is also a charity called Emmaus run by homeless people who sell donated furniture..

You can get some great bargains on eBay, especially if non one else bids on it.

I got a great sofa for 99p once off ebay. Absolutely gutted it couldn't get round the bend in my stairs though!! It sat in my hallway for about 3 weeks till a charity shop came to pick it up!

Keen an eye on what's being auctioned near you. Here's eBay furniture, sorted by distance from the centre of Durham.

(I enjoy this kind of thing, can you tell? We're about to move into a bigger house and can't wait to furnish it with bargains!).

www.ebay.co.uk/b/Furniture/3197/bn_1633685?rt=nc&LH_Auction=1&LH_PrefLoc=99&_dmd=1&_from=R40&_fspt=1&_ftrt=901&_ftrv=1&_ipg=50&_sadis=10&_sop=7&_stpos=DH1+3NJ&_udhi=100

Great news OP. Just remember that the vast majority of us started with hardly anything in our first homes and it takes time.

I agree with knowing your room dimensions and door widths etc. Write it down and keep it with you.

Find a friend/relative with a decent sized car if you don’t have one and find out the boot dimensions so you can collect items from freecycle/freegle. I give to the first genuine sounding person that’s polite and can collect.