Robyn.Bowles.es

One of the most time-consuming endeavors as newlyweds has been to furnish our house. We had sold a majority of my (Robyn’s) furniture 2 weeks before we got married, and other than a small couch, 2 chairs and a whole lot of boxes, we didn’t have much to sit on. We decided that we would do the bulk of our home decorating with furniture from IKEA, which was 200 miles away.

Neither of us had any idea what an endeavor that would be . . .

We rented U-Haul and 2 days prior to our journey, we were told we would have to go 30 miles out of our way to pick up; but we made the most of the extra mileage by stopping to visit with my friends Tim and Jen who lived literally on the way from the U-Haul place and IKEA.

We did not have a plan when we started. Long story short: we arrived at IKEA at about noon, and 30 minutes before closing (8:30pm), we still had not picked out or picked up half of what we needed. We were also very tired and cranky. We knew we would need to go back the next day, so we found a hotel (inspired by multiple successes using Priceline, Samuel tried to bargain with a few). We then stopped to buy toothbrushes, paste and contact solution, had dinner, went to bed and started over the next day. All together we figured that we had spent about 15 hours, and thousands of dollars shopping at IKEA.

We also learned a few things:

1. Look through the catalog before you go so you have some idea of what you actually want before you get there.
2. If you are planning a large purchase, drag along someone to help. It is really hard for just two people to navigate five large carts filled with very heavy furniture.
3. Don’t rely on IKEA employees to be happy to help (at least not in Chicago). It was like pulling teeth to get any help – I think pulling teeth would have been easier and less painful.
4. If you are planning to furnish your entire home, and haven’t made a plan ahead of time, try Priceline a few days prior to get a good deal on a hotel room which you will inevitably need.
5. Don’t bring children (this we learned by observation).
6. Don’t write a check unless you enjoy standing in line for an additional 15 minutes while the register attendant has to wait for her supervisor to initial the check; and don’t put away your twelve forms of I.D. after you’ve shown them only once, because the supervisor will need to see it too.
7. Do eat at the cafeteria, they give you lots of good food at reasonable prices. Try the pasta!

By the time we got it all home, we were exhausted. Samuel spent most of the following week assembling furniture. I’m happy to say we have just one more dining room chair to put together, and it’s great to have matching furniture. We are now just waiting for our couch and a comfy chair to arrive. We ordered those from a store here in G.R. 34 days ago (“it should arrive in 30 – 40 days” is what they told us).

So, when you come to visit, there will be a comfy place for you to sit, fun coasters for your drink, and the long version of the story if you care to hear it.

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