Bare Bones Furniture

[ameliabedelia]

In a few weeks we are going to be moving almost 1500 miles away for dh to go to law school.

We aren't renting a moving truck or hiring movers. We priced it out and it just seemed too expensive for our stuff, which honestly isn't worth that much. Most of our furnitute is 2nd hand, thrift-store anyway.

My dad is going to drive down with us, in his full-size (12-seater van) without the seats and carry whatever we want to bring. Obviously we won't be able to take much furniture

What is the barest amount of furniture you would want.

Where we're moving isn't funished, but it does have all the basic applicanes, fridge, microwave, washer/dryer, etc., etc. We're planning to bring mattresses (top mattress only, no boxsprings/frames/headboards/etc.) to put on the floor, since mattresses are not cheaply replaced (you can't get them used).

Other furniture we are thinking about are
-large desk which dismantles, so wouldn't take up much space
-dining room table (legs come off)
-benches (we use those instead of chairs at the table)
-chest freezer (we could obviously fill this with stuff, and I think having the extra space would save us money on food)
-sofa sized futon
-desk chair for some time
-portable cabinet I use for the kid's school supplies (again we would fill that with stuff).

I don't think all that will fit. How would your prioritize? What would you bring?

[sunshineafterrain]

Originally Posted by ameliabedelia

In a few weeks we are going to be moving almost 1500 miles away for dh to go to law school.

We aren't renting a moving truck or hiring movers. We priced it out and it just seemed too expensive for our stuff, which honestly isn't worth that much. Most of our furnitute is 2nd hand, thrift-store anyway.

My dad is going to drive down with us, in his full-size (12-seater van) without the seats and carry whatever we want to bring. Obviously we won't be able to take much furniture

What is the barest amount of furniture you would want.

Where we're moving isn't funished, but it does have all the basic applicanes, fridge, microwave, washer/dryer, etc., etc. We're planning to bring mattresses (top mattress only, no boxsprings/frames/headboards/etc.) to put on the floor, since mattresses are not cheaply replaced (you can't get them used).

Other furniture we are thinking about are
-large desk which dismantles, so wouldn't take up much space
-dining room table (legs come off)
-benches (we use those instead of chairs at the table)
-chest freezer (we could obviously fill this with stuff, and I think having the extra space would save us money on food)
-sofa sized futon
-desk chair for some time
-portable cabinet I use for the kid's school supplies (again we would fill that with stuff).

I don't think all that will fit. How would your prioritize? What would you bring?

Can anything go on the roof of the van? Maybe the mattresses?
I'd pack the things in that you definitely want first,

I think I would save the portable cabinet, desk and chair as the last items to go in; my thinking is that if they don't fit, the table can serve as a desk when needed and another cabinet/storage piece for the kids supplies should be easy to find.

Or if you really like those items, a futon is easy to replace too, so that would be the next choice

Good luck, it sounds like you'll be off on an exciting new chapter!

[zoebird]

i think that, bare minimum, you'll want the bed--and i would bring the box springs so you don't have to buy slats to keep the bed off the floor (bed needs to be off the floor for air flow and such, better for the mattress)--the storage for the kid's stuff.

then, i would look at the table/benches and the freezer chest.

if your partner is going to law school full time, he can treat the whole deal like a job. my schedule in law school was this: 7 am, leave house for 45 minute commute. 7:45, go to the gym until 8:30. 8:45, start my studies at the school. first class at 9:30 usually. after class, eat lunch while doing homework from that class. take next class (usually had two or three in one day), and do the homework in between classes, or right after class if two were back-to-back. finish homework by 4, drive to my job by 5, work until 10, and home by 10:30 for bed.

so, i never used a desk at home. during exam time, i stayed away from school, but went to a quiet coffee shop and studied for about 3-4 hours a day, rather than doing it at home. then, home could be a place of rest and family (it was before i had a kiddo, btw).

just my thoughts on it.

[confustication]

I think I would consider renting an inexpensive tow behind uhaul trailer for the van to pull.

[ameliabedelia]

I do some work at home, so *I'm* going to need the desk to put my computer on.

[mommaof3boz]

i'd sell everything but the mattresses and freezer. Take the money and buy what you need off craigslist.

[doubledutch]

i agree with you about the mattresses, and it sounds like the desk will basically be flat planks so it seems like a smart thing to take with you. the table and benches, it sounds like they wouldn't fill much space, yet are also probably easy to replace if you're not too attached to them. i guess that's how i'd evaluate everything - can i sell this, for $50 or whatever, and then replace it for the same amount when i get there, or is there something special about this?

the lowest priority things for me would be:
the futon (easy to replace)
chest freezer (you could sell for decent money and buy another used one there or a scratch-n-dent, plus it takes up so much space!)
cabinet for school supplies unless there is something really special about it. storage is easy to buy from craigslist (bookshelves, tv armoire, hutch, buffet - almost anything could store that stuff.

my barebones furniture would be a bed (since we cosleep, but multiple beds if we didn't) and a table/chairs/benches. but that's because i think we spend more time sitting around the table than in the living room. for you, it sounds like the desk is pretty crucial.

[ameliabedelia]

We currently live in a house/apartment above my parents. Our living areas are basically connected and the house is zoned "in-law apartment) (in other words, they can't rent it out to anyone outside the family as that would break zoning laws). Whatever we don't take, we can easily leave here. We will definitely be back up here to at least visit, and possibly to live again, so I don't think we will really be selling much (if anything), as we would like to still have furniture here when we come and visit.

[zoebird]

desk, table and benches, bed, and storage for kid's stuff.