But a chair is not a house...?

elane226

Hi guys, I'm new to the boards. I kind of just had a few questions maybe you guys can help me with. My fiance and I are both born again Christians and pretty traditional. That being said we are not living together before we are married.  But he's ready to go ahead and move in to what will come to be our apartment. But there's one problem, neither of us have really kept house before, so we don't really have anything for him to take with him.  I mean I have a few things (dishes mainly) since  I did live in an apt with some friends for a couple of years and as far as furniture, his friend is actually giving us his dinette and living room sets and he's taking his own bedroom furniture. At any rate, my question is what should we buy for the apt if we still plan on registering for things that we really want?

Sorry for the looooong explanation and the corney title, but I'll really appreciate your help 

ElisabethJoanne

If I knew I were getting married in a year when I got my first apartment, I'd have bought the bare minimums at Wal-mart, Target, and Goodwill. What the bare minimums are depends on how you live.

I think everyone needs a bed, bookshelves, and dresser. Then a desk and/or table. 3 changes of linens for the bed. 3 sets of towels. 2 chairs for the height of the desk and/or table. 1 comfortable place to sit that's not a mattress. Something to rest a cup of tea on near that comfy seat (coffee table or end table). This is the furniture I acquired for my last year of graduate school, when I knew I'd be moving in 9 months and couldn't take it with me.

The kitchen just really depends. I bought oven mits and a pasta pot early in grad school. I could easily have gotten by with just one large frying pan and one tiny sauce pan beyond the pasta pot. I prefer to cook in the oven, so I bought several baking dishes, but what I really always needed was stuff to store leftovers in. I'd go ahead and buy your Corningware/Pyrex now. It's just so useful to have stuff that goes from oven to microwave to fridge.

More expensive than cheap cookware is stuff to clean an apartment. A mop, broom, dustpan. Cleaning solutions. Paper towels. Vacuum.

AllyG303

i agree with everything that pp said.  If you want to wait on the bed even until you are both sleeping there, he could always just have an air mattress (FI did this for a while, it was the same height as a normal bed, so it wasn't weird...he still made it as if it were a normal bed). 

He will also need some flatware to eat with (places like Ross sell decent stuff at pretty cheap prices if you want to wait for the wedding to get nicer stuff).

yodacub

We're going through the same thing (sort of) - FI is moving into the apartement that will be ours about 6 months before we get married.  We hit "back to school" sales at Target and got him cheap pots and pans, his mom had various extra kitchen stuff that he's taking, and the rest we got at goodwill.  I'd say you can get away with 1 set of sheets and towels, assuming you have a washing machine in your apartment, especially since you'll be registering soon. 

Overall, my advice is go to goodwill or whatever thrift stores are around, and make a list of need vs. want.  You'd be surprised at how little you can get away wtih having when it's only a few months.

drama1308

Like pp said, depending on how long he will be living there bye only the most needed things. Bed, dressers, bookshelves, pot holder, towels, cheap measuring cups, spoons etc.

ochemjenn

My mom tried to convince me when I moved in to my first apartment that I didn't really need a dresser.  HA!

What pp have said is good.  You need something to reheat food.  Reheating in a full size oven every time is annoying, so I'd rec a microwave.

faith415

FI and I just did this. I moved into our apartment in July and FI will move in after the wedding. We were fortunate enough to have someone donate living room, dining room, and bedroom furniture to us, so I have more than needed. The things I've found most necessary:
Bed
Dresser
Desk
Couch/Chair
Sheets, I only have one set, I just wash it and put it back on
Blankets. I had a few blankets, so I just have been using those on the bed instead of getting a comforter for a few months.
Towels
Cups
Bowls
Plates
Silverware
Pot, 2 if possible
Frying pan
Toaster oven, it's annoying to have to heat everything in the large oven, and expensive
Baking pan
Microwave, after 1 week of not having one I ended up going and getting one!
Dish towels
Pot holder
Storage containers! I never realized how many were in the fridge at a time till I only had a couple.
Cleaning supplies, I have a vaccumm, and a swiffer

It sounds like a lot, but you can probably get people to donate some of it to you. I got a lot of stuff from my parents/grandparents. You can also find a lot of it on craigslist, goodwill, or even at places like Ross if you want new. From what you described, it sounds like you have a pretty good headstart. You can always buy kitchen stuff as you realize you need it. The most important thing to remember is that you'll register for what you really want so if you get things cheap and they don't match it doesn't matter. That's been the hardest for me! I hate my apartment being so hodge podgey! Good luck!!

elane226

Wow, thanks guys, you've all been so helpful! @yodacub, I actually scoured thru the college stuff on the target site last night for inexpensive kitchen and bathroom stuffs. I'm pretty sure he won't really care about how "cute" things are. Luckily he already has his own bed and dresser and his friend is giving us a living room suit and a dinette set and sadly to say, I just remembered I have a microwave somewhere, lol so I think we may be good! Thanks for your help guys