Ikea Madness

One of our first stops, of course, was Ikea. Who doesn't love cheap, Swedish, wholesale furniture? This is one question we should have asked ourselves prior to making our way over there. My biggest oversight was that classes start in early September for Harvard, MIT, BU, and BC. And who loves cheap, Swedish, wholesale furniture more than frugal college students?

My friend Matt recently moved to Philadelphia for grad school. He spent the last couple weeks at home furnishing his apartment in his mind. If you asked him what coffee table he was planning to get, he was able to tell you the color and price of the model he wanted, the relative cost compared to similar models, and how many were in stock at his location. During the last few days before he made the move, he constantly checked the Ikea website to make sure his products were still in stock. If they were out, he'd figure out when they would have more. He had Ikea shopping down to a science.

I thought his strategy was ridiculous - even amusing - until I arrived at Boston's Ikea. Out of the three products we had picked out for the living/dining room, only one was available. Out of the three pieces of furniture I had picked out for my bedroom, none were available. All the cheaper items (products that I would have happily taken as alternatives) were sold out. The bottom line is that I ended up paying significantly more to furnish my place just because I didn't plan ahead. Lesson learned: check inventory and availability before going to Ikea.

That last bit of advice is just common sense. But this next anecdote is something I never really considered until my trip to Ikea. I didn't sleep too well the night before I left for Boston. I got a call at 2AM and couldn't fall back asleep until around 5:30. Overall, I got about 3 hours of sleep. My first night in Boston was no better. The boys and I finally decided to hit the sack around 2AM. Since we didn't have any furniture in the house, we laid out a sleeping bag and shared it (don't judge us - the hardwood floor around us wasn't clean yet). It was probably a combination of excitement, uncomfortableness, and ambient snoring that left me unable to fall asleep until 5AM. Waking up at 7:30 the next morning to go fetch the moving truck wasn't too thrilling. When it came to picking out a mattress at Ikea the next day, it was incredibly hard to choose. Every single mattress on display felt infinitely better than the hard ground from the night before. And running off such little sleep in the past two nights didn't help. I couldn't choose. All of the mattresses felt wonderful. Weight-watchers and nutritionists warn us not to go to the grocery store when you're hungry. I am warning you not to shop for mattresses when you're sleepy.

Last bit of advice. Think twice before buying that solar powered lamp that Ikea sells. It seems like a cool concept, but it's really not practical. They recommend that you leave it in direct sunlight for 9 to 12 hours (more than 12 hours in cloudy weather) for 4 hours of use. Even then, the lamp will start out at an adequate brightness but dims over time. The only "perk" is that for every one that Ikea sells, they will give one to UNICEF to distribute to children in developing countries. My roommate Vincent picked up a couple for $20 each but is unsatisfied with the brightness and plans on returning them. This sparks the question: for every solar lamp that is returned to Ikea, will they take one away from a child in need?