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.

My storage units £20 And squishy sofa £30 from British Heart Foundation (dogs not included). I live near a big Tesco and sometimes there are amazing bargains in the homeware department. I got 2 pillows for £4 and Egyptian cotton king sized sheets for £4,50 recently.

Freecycle!

Gumtree freebies, freecycle, preloved, rehomeyourstuff.

You can often find free paint, flooring, tiles etc.
If you properly keep your eye on these and are not picky atm you can furnish the whole house free or for pennies.

We moved into our first flat with literally nothing, we had a double mattress two Cots for the children a tv and a stand and that was it. I went to wilko picked up there basic kitchen utensils/ brought plate set kettle and toaster and a microwave. And the decorating came later. Charity shops and friends/family if you have any close maybe be able to give you some ideas or even items. Building up slowly to what u need/want is better than rushing in buying a load of crap and hating it later on. Good luck I hope you get everything you need. we have just about everything we need now two years later! Everything in the kitchen is stilll going strong from good old Willko. thank god!

Oh and argos forgot about them they have some decent ranges that are cheap but quality. I picked up a few bits from there and some furniture alsoz

Affordable paint scheme
communityrepaint.org.uk/need-paint/find-your-nearest-scheme/

I remember the days of our first flat when we had a 3rd hand sofa from a family friend, old tiny TV, basic kitchen equipment and a mattress on the bedroom floor. No carpets and curtains in the bedroom only.

Building a home takes time, concentrate on the essentials, ask friends /family if they have anything in their lofts they don't need anymore. Worry about aesthetics later, and try not to get into debt with to much buy now pay later.

My first place I slept on a camp bed for 6 months and used bin liners to store my clothes. What sort of floors have you got? If they are floorboards you could paint them. I could never afford carpets, so I painted mine white and them bought rugs at an auction. Chic but cheap.

Definitely try British Heart Foundation. We've just donated a double bed (along with mattress, duvet, pillows and two lots of bedding) and two large chest of drawers to them, all in good condition.

Just don't ask if they deliver. That's beyond cheeky.

Be prepared to pick up stuff yourself somehow.

Peopke on freecycle etc I mean, not ships like British heart Foundation

Assuming you have a child if you’ve got a 2bed, your local children’s centre can make an application for you to Save The Chidlren for an applicance under their Eat, Sleep, Learn Play scheme. There are lots of national schemes out there that usually you would need someone to apply for on your behalf. Google under your area “paint recycling centre” find out where the dump is, keep your eyes peeled outside front gardens or corners near big recycling bins. Quite honestly I believe that getting things second hand, buying via eBay etc is so much better in the long run than walking into Argos or Next and buying up a matchy matchy set of furniture. We aren’t exactly poor now, but have known very skint times and an empty flat. I still have all the second hand stuff years later, as I hunted down solid and high quality items. If you buy on eBay you can get quite obscure but high quality brands for the same price as you can buy second hand Next or Laura Ashley stuff. On eBay I ofetn search for furniture under search terms like ‘solid wood’ or even ‘heavy’. Curtains and soft furnishings under MTM or made to measure - and know your measurements. People usually have stuff made to measure with expensive materials, so it’s worth getting curtains that were £500 for a tenner if they’re 10cms too long and you can sort them out later. Brands like Designers Guild can sometimes go for pennies on eBay. I got one of their rugs for 99p that was still online for £1,100 but sold my old IKEA one the week before for £80... go figure!

Thanks again to all the new posters
A bit of good news this morning ..my housing officer said I will be entitled to decorating vouchers,just need to take in my proof of income.
They are for b&q
I'm going to just paint everything white.
Went to Wilko and got glasses 50p each !!
Utensils (all under £1)
My dad has kindly said he will pay for my carpets (I've been looking and full house deal £549 with underlay ..totally thin carpet no doubt but it's carpet )
Even just knowing that I will have it painted and carpet makes me feel so much better
I've just bought these ..that's me done now with spare cash till 12 days time.
Honestly feel so much better today
Thankyou

Currently sat in my dads looking at my utensils like a loon

For furniture keep an eye on argos,quite often on the website they have £50 off so much spend.

We got a tv unit, sideboard and bookcase for £130 when they had an offer like that on.

I would genuinely consider the furniture from freebies in surrounding areas at this time if I were you and later when you are better off financially you buy new one and pass the old one onto someone who needs it😉 So you can now spend your money on necessities like food, cleaning products etc x

Please can you tell me where the full house carpet deal is from as I need new carpets too?

I wouldn't paint everything pure white as it gets grubby so easily. Light colours yes but not pure brilliant white. Our next door neighbour did that and it looked great at first but is looking tired and dirty now 2 years on and she regrets it.

Agreed it’s never been easier to get furniture on the cheap/free.

It’s going to take a while so start with the important things then as and when you can afford something, see something for free you can get it.

I’d start with a mattress and a kettle and a microwave!

We painted pur house pure white when we moved in and it looked great!

I was 8 months pregnant, we had a lot of outgoings and we just needed to get it done really quickly and cheaply.

So we painted everything white - but chose throws, curtains and pictures for the walls with colour - it looked great! It was also really cheap.

Over time we've painted room by room.

Yes, agreed, second hand furnitire is the way to go. Even now I have more money I buy second hand a lot as I can afford much better quality furniture that way.

Check out Pinterest and Instagram for minimalist living ideas. Some people make curtain rails and clothes rails out of found objects (big sticks, metal pipes etc). They make beds and coffee tables out of palettes. You can make a place look wonderful with a can of white paint, a big plant and white cotton curtains. This is a good time to learn DIY skills and learn how to make, upcycle or just decorate. YouTube, Pinterest and Instagram can be a huge help.

Get ready for a whole new hobby to start! Charity shops and paint are your friends, so go looking for them, once you start you won’t be able to stop! I redone most rooms in my home from charity shops, new people who visit always compliment my home! Always.

Currently sat in my dads looking at my utensils like a loon

Love this image

Reminds me of when I started out with hardly anything. I got cutlery I loved on a great deal - it made me unreasonably happy!

Nearly 20 years later I live with my DP and DC in a different town, in a well furnished home we've built up over years, I've still got most of that cutlery and I still love it!

Have you joined any of the DIY on a budget Facebook groups? They can be good for inspiration and tips.

Eg if you share your decorating job they'll probably have good tips for you.

There's about a zillion similar groups to choose from. I'm in the main one (DIY on a budget Official which is great - and massive) I notice there 's also DIY on a budget for women and DIY on a tight budget.

m.facebook.com/search/groups/?q=diy%20on%20a%20budget&source=filter&isTrending=0&tsid=0.859888870432697

DON'T spend money on sofas, they come up frequently on FB freebie, freecycle and gumtree sites.

Save your money for the big electrical items.

You're where I was just over a year ago. I also got a decorating grant - I went coffee and magnolia hardly exciting but a tad warmer than white. Got my white goods and bed frames with budgeting loan thanks to a sale and some haggling in Currys - tips on mse for haggling.

Sofa, armchair, desk chair and mattresses - free sites and spotless! All I had to pay for was man n van to transport.

No curtains up yet but that's partly indecision