When does furniture stopping being a want and become a need

**frugalwarrior2** · 09-29-2010, 04:02 PM

Art Van is a furniture store here. It has a clearance section but I take you don't have that store near you.

Mamamia-no. There is a newspaper magazine subscription that MIL got us that told all the auctions coming up in your area. Some times we would go but I don't speak to them anymore. (Long story regarding DH's big accident and MIL's unbelievable self-interest). So I haven't been lately. I still do suscribe to Estatesales.net. I think it's net. They send e-mails right to you per week. Basically how I got all my many bookcases and tons of cookbooks.
Sorry to hijack.

**LuLuBleen** · 09-29-2010, 04:22 PM

It was embarrassing for me if people came over (as our slip covers would never stay in place).

Have you tried using thick dowels in the sofa's crevices to hold the slipcover in place? We do this with our WalMart slipcover and it hardly moves at all. Before the slipcover, we used an old bedspread to cover the dog's sofa and the dowels held it in place really well. Even with that spoiled totally rotten dog jumping on and off of it all day.

**pollypurebred39** · 09-29-2010, 04:34 PM

Originally Posted by imagine

I have only heard of IKEA here and on TV from time to time.

So they have a on line site?

Yes, and they will send you a catalog. A lot of times the catalog has deals that are not listed on the website. Each country has different things, you'll see where you can choose your country on the opening page.

We are lucky that Ikea is about 45 minutes from here. They have really great sales and clearances. They have a room set up just for clearances. The last time I was there the clearance room was filled with sofas, beds, tables & chairs, desks. It was packed and everything was dirt cheap. On one of their sales I bought a wooden wardrobe that was under a $100, it was a third it's regular price. My DH was really impressed with the quality and construction. We have two bookcases, a computer closet & the wardrobe in furniture and we've had them all for about ten years. They look as good as the day we purchased them, and my boys are hard on things. I also have a set of really heavy duty curtains I bought from Ikea that I paid $14.95 for the pair and they've been washed repeatedly and they are as deep in color as the day I bought them. I have several kitchen items that have withstood the test of time. I really can't say enough about the quality of the items we've purchased. I recently (about 9 months ago?) purchased a chandelier from Ikea. Although I have yet to hang it, I'm positive it is as good as quality as anything I've ever purchased from them. I have a friend whose sister has an Ikea bathroom and kitchen they put it in over 20 years ago, and it's still perfect.

If you get online you just may find one that isn't so far that you wouldn't consider driving to it. I'd wait till they had their HUGE yearly sale though. If I remember correctly it takes place after the holidays. They also have a huge playroom where they babysit your kids while you shop.

I hope you find something that works for you soon.

**frugalfranny** · 09-30-2010, 01:42 AM

Originally Posted by imagine

When does furniture stop being a want and become a need?

Does it change if you are working on debt reduction?

When does a need become more important than debt reduction?

It becomes a need:

When you are sleeping on the floor and your body is rebelling. So you buy one of the mattress size air mattresses only to discover they are damn cold when placed on a wood floor.

When you are trying to sew using a card table and can't go very fast or the card table wiggles...........and will possibly collapse.

When the only chairs you have are canvas 'sling back' lawn chairs and it is killing your back to sit in them!

I have had great luck on CL.....both selling and buying........EXCEPT for the desk I have been looking for.......but I am being picky!

**MomToTwoBoys** · 09-30-2010, 12:06 PM

For us, it becomes a need over a want when the following happens:

1) Your health starts being compromised.

2) You lose a lot of sleep in the process.

3) Things are visibly breaking and cannot be fixed.

I don't think outdated style becomes a variant for need vs want. You can always have things refinished if the style becomes an issue. It's usually cheaper to refinish something than to buy brand new. For example, our couch needs replacement. It's a want because it's still working, so we got a slipcover and new pillows for it. Now the couch is awesome again!

My general rule of thumb is that if you can't fix it any more and you've given it your best shot, it's time to replace it and it becomes a need at that point. If you can live without it, it's a want.

**pollypurebred39** · 09-30-2010, 02:53 PM

Originally Posted by MomToTwoBoys

My general rule of thumb is that if you can't fix it any more and you've given it your best shot, it's time to replace it and it becomes a need at that point. If you can live without it, it's a want.

So using that logic our bed supported by bricks on one end so it does not collapse (Our youngest jumped on our bed and broke the frame years ago) is in essence, fixed because we did the best we could and it no longer collapses. LOL!

As far as we are concerned it's fixed, can't see the bricks because of the bed skirt, so what's it matter? The mattress on the other hand...

Need to replace our sofa too, it's coming apart at the seams and the wood and stuffing is exposed. But I've been putting heavy comforters over it and it covers the nails (they will cut you it I don't have a cover) and you can't see the ripped seams, stuffing and wood. It works for now, but I'm going to say we've hit the need a new sofa level.

**Wendy99** · 10-02-2010, 11:41 AM

Originally Posted by LuLuBleen

Have you tried using thick dowels in the sofa's crevices to hold the slipcover in place? We do this with our WalMart slipcover and it hardly moves at all. Before the slipcover, we used an old bedspread to cover the dog's sofa and the dowels held it in place really well. Even with that spoiled totally rotten dog jumping on and off of it all day.

Yeah we tried that and the foam pieces that come with the slip covers, but it never worked. The furniture was in such a state of disrepair. We got it free (used) and although it was in new shape when we got it, it went through pets and babies etc and we had it for 10+ years. We needed a 'new' set. We looked for about a year before we found a 'new to us' set that worked in our small space, and was affordable. We ended up with a couch and love seat in new condition for $130 that looks and feels great to sit on.