Confessing My Furniture Commitment Phobia

For years, I've been reluctant to acquire any furniture that wasn't "disposable." Before purchasing a Kitchenaid mixer, I mentally performed a cost-benefit analysis to determine whether the mixer would be "worth" the extra poundage. I likened the 25 plus pound kitchen appliance to a "small piece of furniture" and my coworker Steve had to help me get the cumbersome box home. Ironically, my aversion to acquiring large items, such as furniture, is offset by my absurd willingness to acquire and collect what Adam likes to call, "useless crap": books, scraps of paper, pieces of lint or random junk.

Most of the furniture my housemates and I share fall within the following categories: parental castoffs, gleaned off the streets prior to trash day and some combination of the first two categories. We've done a lot with relatively little and I like to think our home is pretty warm and hospitable. Our frequent houseguests don't seem to mind our decor given that they continue to request accommodations, but then again free lodging with mismatched decor is, after all, free.

Lately, the housemates and I have been echoing the following sentiment, "we want real furniture." Maybe it's because we're hitting our mid-twenties. Maybe it's because we've been working for a couple of years and life is no longer a post college experiment. I'm realizing that this is my life and I haven't purchased a major piece of furniture save the dresser I finally broke down and purchased after my wardrobe resided in boxes for months. We've been sitting on the same random couches we picked up off the street for years. Our dining room table, found in the basement of our house, is perpetually wobbly and I managed to strip off some of the paint when I accidentally spilled some peppermint extract. Pure peppermint extract is not only an excellent flavor additive, but is also a paint stripper.

We're not actually poor, but we've chosen to not buy furniture because we actually like our free stuff. We've also been blessed to find functional free stuff for our house. We have a "bed-couch" that's essentially a twin bed with big pillows on it. It's comfortable, not horrifically unsightly and our guests definitely appreciate sleeping on a real bed when they stay over. I'm so used to thinking in terms of not buying anything permanent because who knows when I'll be moving and do I really want to lug furniture back to California, it's almost unnerving for me to think about purchasing a couch. I'm puzzled why I'm seriously considering furniture when I've already been here for nearly four years and why the heck did I not simply buy something four years ago so we could have enjoyed it for longer. I guess I simply didn't care about furniture and I didn't actually want to own any.

All that said, I think this Ultralight Sleeper Couch would be perfect given my furniture commitment issues because it's "ultralight" and I could actually move it myself. My housemates are game, but we'll have to wait until we move into a new apartment next year. At this rate, it is highly unlikely I'll actually buy furniture because whenever I think of the hassle and cost, parsimony ends up winning my battle with apathy and I'm back to square one...a room with boxes.