Technically, you could get by with just a bed.

[mysteriouspoet]

I've been thinking about moving out, because I can't stand going home anymore, and sharing an apartment with a friend. Well, I don't have money for furniture. My mother has promised to deliver my old bed to my new residence.

So, you don't TECHNICALLY need a couch, or a table. You could sit on the floor and eat on the floor, or you could just sit and eat on your bed.

So, just a few wise words for those who might be facing a similar situation to mine.

[Gracie]

I'll bet there are a lot of us who have lived like that. In my first apartment, I used wooden crates for end tables/bookshelves, my bed served as a couch, I didn't have a tv, and I only had 3 forks. It was pretty grim, but I remember feeling proud of myself for getting by.

Just keep reminding yourself that this isn't forever.

[sky73]

I've never had a couch, so guests basically have to sit on the floor or on my bed which isn't really a problem for me. ;)

[mysteriouspoet]

I'll bet there are a lot of us who have lived like that. In my first apartment, I used wooden crates for end tables/bookshelves, my bed served as a couch, I didn't have a tv, and I only had 3 forks. It was pretty grim, but I remember feeling proud of myself for getting by.

Just keep reminding yourself that this isn't forever.

:lol: @ 3 forks...that's three more than I've got!

This will be so much better than living in a dorm 3/4 of the year and the other 1/4?

Screaming and chaos and "I don't like you."

[thebelovedtree]

start there and then if you feel like you need more furniture buy it used, goodwill has couches for as little as $20 and then all you need to do is find a friend with a truck to pick it up for you. I've even seen a really really nice, white with flowers, nothing wrong with it pull out couch for $60 at the thrift store.

[vggiegirl]

Hmmm if you know of any electrician friends, or live near a scrapyard....those wooden spools they use for wiring make a great coffee table :)

Also, check out www.freecycle.org...you can practically furnish your entire place for free :) Everything...dishes...couches...you name it.

[Gracie]

:lol: @ 3 forks...that's three more than I've got!

This will be so much better than living in a dorm 3/4 of the year and the other 1/4?

Screaming and chaos and "I don't like you."

Yep, when I would cook for friends, I would eat with a spoon & give them the forks. We didn't care; we were on our own & having a great time!

Sorry about the trouble with your family. Sometimes being away from each other does help.

[VegKitten84]

I'm moving to Alberta in a few months. I'll be living in a little bachealor apartment. All I'll have is my futon and a little stand to put my TV on. Oh and of course my computer desk. It's meger to most but it's actually quite comfortable by my standards. I end up sitting on the couch and eating anyway. The chest that I keep my clothes in could probably double as a coffee table, which would be nice . . .always good to have something to set your drink on.

My only real problem is that I don't have any dishes or anything, but that's easily solved as long as I don't plan on dining with fine china.

[VeggieBiker]

Ah, this bring backs memories! My first apartment had a matress and milk crates for my stuff: the stylish milk crate bookcase, the chic milk crate 'chair' by the milk crate table, and the milk crate television stand.
I finally ended up furnishing the place after dumpster diving at the end of the semester and getting lots of freebies.

[Thalia]

All of my furniture I got out of the trash, left over from apartments I've lived in (people left it behind) or hand-me-downs. Most of it is pretty crappy. And I'm 30 and have a decent job. You can definitely make do with very little. And go garbage picking near a college/university at the end of the school year when students are moving out- you'll have a whole set in no time.

(want to say I have bought a few bookshelves and a cheap TV cart, but that's all I've every bought!)

[MsRuthieB]

I didn't have a bed or mattresses for that fact the first year me and my ex lived together. We sleeped on two old comforters with one for the top right on the floor.

The living room was an old floor model TV and a couch that someone was throwing out. We used milk crates turned upside down for end tables. I threw some cheepy table scarf on them to dress them up.

It's hard starting out.

[winking_turtle]

I started out in a studio with a futon that became a bed or a couch depending on my mood, a card table and some folding chairs that belonged to my grandparents back in the day.

It was fun to work around my fiscal limitations - I was still able to create a sense of home with so little. Even so, something was missing until I moved into a place where I could adopt me some animals. The felines quickly became (and remain) the best part of the home life. :)

[colorful]

Some guys in my college dorm collected telephone books and created a makeshift couch chair out of them! Not the most comfortable thing in the world, but it worked!

Suggestion if you're low on funds - get a futon! It's cheaper than buying a bed, folds out usually into at least queen size, and is much nicer to sit on than a bed. :D

[Dirty Martini]

And go garbage picking near a college/university at the end of the school year when students are moving out- you'll have a whole set in no time.

:yes:

hang out not at the dorms but at campus apartment buildings (on the edge of campus). People just leave furniture & stuf that's perfectly good by the dumpster. Just keep your eye out for stuff and you can get a lot of furniture for free.

In the meantime, yeah... my best friend lived in a studio for a while and her bed was her couch while she was there. it was fine.

[LadyFaile]

we were lucky, we had a lot of friends and relatives give us their old stuff when we moved out on our own. someone gave us 2 matching loveseats and 2 table lamps and various little household things like cooking utensils etc. and we bought a queen size bed for $50 from a hotel that was renovating and selling off the old furnishing (ahhh good ol' Lumpy *sniff*), and we were given so many sets of dishes from various people it's rediculous. (all ugly beyond reason)
ask around, people always have extra stuff packed away or cluttering their cupboards that they're glad to get rid of.
when i was visiting my mom easter weekend i helped her finally clean out the cupboard where she keeps her cups and mugs, it's been full to the point it won't close right for... years. most people have more dishes and stuff than they need and just don't have the motivation to go through it and bring it to goodwill, but if you casually mention that you're moving out and are short on some items they'll probably start ransacking their kitchens.
if not save up a few bucks and go to goodwill. you can probably get a complete set of dishes complete with cutlery and glasses for $10.
(hey if you lived near me i could set you up with more dishes than you could ever hope to use. we always joke that we could feed the entire neighbourhood and have extras)

and yeah who needs a couch. if you're not going to have a tv for a while anyways i say find yourself (again goodwill) a comfy cheap armchair so you at least have somewhere to sit up and read or eat. and if you find a cheap one you don't like the look of, easy just throw a blanket over it, cheap is cheap. and yeah milk crates are great. just remember to clean them up before using them. my bf discovered you can make a decent shelving unit by connecting them with cable ties. even after we could afford to buy new furniture he still wanted to spraypaint the crates black and mount them in the bedroom to use in place of a dresser :rolleyes: luckily i talked him out of that one.

but yeah starting out with nothing or very little is tough, but worth it. i remember using my sarongs as bedroom curtains

[SeaSiren]

I left at 16 with only my clothes. So I slept on some borrowed blankets for my bed, and was blessed to have it. Now I have a full furnished house. It's amazing what you can do, when it is necessary! And, all the above, I scrounged for items including using crates for shelves/tables also.

[kpickell]

I didn't have a bed or mattresses for that fact the first year me and my ex lived together. We sleeped on two old comforters with one for the top right on the floor.

Yeah, technically you could get by without a bed.
Having a toilet comes in handy though. It can double as a love seat when you have company over. :flush:

[Marie]

My first apartment was a studio. It came with a card table, a kitchen chair and two (ugly) end tables. I brought a chest from home for my bedding, my dresser which doubled as a TV stand.. and a weird foam couch thing that unfolded into a bed. It was brown, burnt orange and white.. blech.

[zoebird]

i think it would be great to live japanese style. basicly, a futon and blankets for nite--rolled up and put away during the day. small individual trays for dinning (or place mats on the floor) and a few cushions to make sitting for long periods of time more comfortable.

i spend a lot of time on the floor; i often wonder why i have furniture at all.

[Coney]

Agreed. You don't need much to live. You can get crates very easily and make a bench, and get a plank of wood for a table. Paint it real funky. It'll be great! I lived with a roomate and all we had was a futon on the floor and a crate. She had a bed in her room and I lived on the futon. It was great. I wish I could go back to that, but I've collected some great stuff over the past years that I can't part with.

"You can get nice furniture that college students leave by the dumpsters at the end of the school year when they move out of their apartments. I have friends who have found everything from working clocks, stereos, and vacuum cleaners to new athletic shoes in dumpsters."...

http://www.crimethinc.com/library/english/vacation.html

[brahmacharya]

If anything I think we've got TOO MUCH stuff in the world, it's just allocated inappropriately. If furniture is your heart's desire, come on over to my local Sally Ann and you can get done up for a very reasonable price. Or, heck, not to sound TOO greedy but if I can unload some of my old stuff that works well I could use some new bureau drawer-sets and a couch.

That being said, sitting on the floor is supposed to be great for your hips and knees.

[Cinnamon toast]

When my husband (then boyfriend) first moved out my friend's dad made some "custom" ordered crates for us. I just paid for the lumber (cheap cheap) and he made them up. He also made us a wine rack to match. They were so nice, he got orders from lots of people. We still use all of them for kids stuff, holding records (LPs remember them?) etc., and we've been married for almost 14 years!

[crystalteacup]

I have an awesome nice loveseat I got for 23 dollars. It's really funky. A little to funky in fact, I'm thinking of making a slipcover. mysteriouspoet, some day you will look on these days with envy when you are so burdened by posessions in the future.

[spud]

I moved out into the world at 18 and had no money and no furniture or stuff, I never really bought much until I was 26.(automatic washing machine, bliss) But it comes at you from all directions. Like LadyFaille says, loads of people have spare. Ok, it isn't all matching or cute, but it brings out the creative side to you, and now I'm old and prosperous I still love painting and renovating old crap and making something unique and pretty. Today I'm glueing together an old pine side table that I brought for £1 because it was wobbly and dirty, and it's going to look like a classy antique when I'm finished.
My local DIY store has a bargain bin next to it's wood cutting service, anything that gets cut the wrong size or returned slightly imperfect cabinet doors end up there. Prices range from 10p to £1 and it's excellent for finding ready cut bookshelves, or sheets of wood to paint pictures on.
I bought two shower curtains from Tesco last night - £1 each. I'm actually using them as shower curtains around the bath ( we don't have a shower cubicle) but they'd make huge and pretty window curtains.

And then there's Ikea, I only wish it wasn't 50 miles away from me...

[Thalia]

mysteriouspoet, some day you will look on these days with envy when you are so burdened by posessions in the future.Good point. Now instead of just moving clothes, books and records, I have to move furniture, silverware, kitchen appliances, mattresses, good grief!!