Ikea makes every budget look too high. Besides being a madhouse of shoppers and lacking enough employees, Ikea works for every first apartment budget. I planned on paying around $800 to furnish my room. I needed a bed frame, a night stand, a dresser, a bookshelf, a desk, a chair for the desk, and some really big picture frames.
I walked into Ikea and within ten feet was an advertisement for an wooden bedroom set that included a bed frame, a dresser, an armoire, and two night stands. All this for $300—I’m still shocked when think about this. Ikea has daily specials all the time, and that particular day it was for bedroom furniture—this almost hints at fate or a force of karma that agreed with my decision to move-out May 1st.
As I searched aimlessly for service, trying to track down an employee so I could purchase this bedroom set, I stumbled across their linens and pillows. I got three different designs and two real comfortable pillows for under $100. Finally, I found an employee to help me and she brought me to the place to order the bedroom set. When I finished paying for the set, I turned around and right there were their desks and office chairs. I was so excited with their prices that I completely forgot to look for picture frames and a bookshelf. The desk and chair were $150.
Tomorrow I am going to search craigslist.org for the stuff I’m still missing and Cubs tickets—I mean I have extra money because Ikea was so damn cheap—I might as well spend it wisely. Craiglist.org is another place to look for first apartment stuff. It’s mostly second-hand goods, but it’s cheap. I bought my old desk and 2 bookshelves from a guy for $30. Ikea rocks though— I never thought I’d say that about a furniture store. I don’t lose man-points because of that, right?
