Lessons you learn from getting a new couch

So on Friday, I went to purchase a new couch. This process has been weeeeeeeeeks in the making. I mean I am the girl who can usually NEVER make a decision, but I am also the same girl who went to "just look" at cars a few years ago and ended up driving one off the lot that same night. But a couch.....oy, this has taken a long time.

1. There are a LOT of choices out there. Almost too many. It has been overwhelming.

2. My tastes are more expensive than my budget. No surprise there.

3. Some places will take you to the cleaners on delivery charges. Like, adding an additional $25-50 for each set of stairs the furniture must be carried up. So living on the top floor of a garden apartment building can run you $150 extra in delivery fees. Note I said EXTRA...that would be $150 over and above what they are automatically going to charge you for delivery.

4. I have found another job to add to the "Oh my lord, I would never ever want to do that job" list. Furniture salesperson. Sometimes you could see them just circling the door of the store when they saw you walking up. I was always upfront and honest about what I was shopping for but that I was not in a position to make a purchase that day. One or two places were great....the rest followed you mercilessly around the store, sometimes being very aggressive and pushy with their sales tactics. To the point of me being made to feel so uncomfortable that I would never consider purchasing anything from that store.

5. Some furniture out there is U-G-L-Y. I mean way past simply not being my cup of tea...like I wanted to ask if people actually BOUGHT that crap.

6. Costco sells some pretty good furniture. And because it is good stuff at a good price, it sells out. Quickly.


The new couch!!

7. Always jot down the item number at Costco so you can keep calling all the Costcos in a 15 mile radius to find out when they have that item back in stock.

8. Shoppers in Costco, for the most part, are jerks. They are oblivious to those around them and will walk right into you in an attempt to get to their next free sample. Even as MVP and I struggled to get a huge box onto our cart, people wanted to push us out of the way to get down the aisle. The FURNITURE aisle. You have a box of frozen waffles and a big tub of cashews in your cart. Are you also in the market for a new bedroom set today? I'm thinking no, so turn around and go cut down a different aisle.

9. On that same note of free samples, MVP will NOT see the humor in my asking him if I can leave the furniture unattended to go see about a free sample of something for myself.

10. You MUST pay attention to how many boxes there are. I incorrectly thought it was one big box and a smaller box for the ottoman. WRONG. TWO big boxes and a smaller box for the ottoman that could not all fit into the back of a rental van does NOT make for a happy MVP.



11. If you are renting a van, ALWAYS spring to add the furniture mover on wheels. That thing was a lifesaver.

12. If you try to stay calm and focused, you can pick up your rental van, go to Costco and purchase a sectional sofa, move two pieces away and into an apartment, return for the last piece, go move that into the apartment, and then go back and return the rental van all in under 4 hours. I know that may SEEM like a long time, but trust me, it went by FAST.

13. If MVP and I can make it through that ordeal without seriously losing our cool, I feel like we can do just about anything.