Well, remembering back to the distant past when I first moved out of my parents' house, I needed just about everything. Start with the necessities: do you have dishes, glasses, pots and pans, knives and forks, bedding, and towels? You won't get far without them. Of course, if you don't, you can probably beg a few of your family and hit a few op shops for an inexpensive supply. Then think essential furniture - you have beds and some sort of dresser, so that's good, but you'll need a table and chairs and a lounge as a minimum. Then, coffee tables, end tables and bookcases can become pretty important. And something to put the TV on. What about curtains or blinds - will they be supplied?

I think those were all pretty up on my priority list: as I settled in and got the hang of paying for myself, I added things like lamps, a desk, wall art, rugs, cushions and so forth, but you really need to have the basics sorted first. Things to cook with, eat with, wash with, sit on and lie on.

Quality bed, quality couch if you can, fall in love with sales & 2nd hand everything else & budget for the best you can afford. Ikea is a great place for affordable cutlery, crockery, furnishing, decor & most things required to start out.

Ask around friends & family for cast offs to start with, you might be surprised at what is available in the dark recesses of their cupboards waiting for a new home.

Might need to like retro though in some cases & be prepared to refurbish to your taste, good luck!

Hi check out gumtree for funiture theres some really great stuff look for people down sizing i sold all our furniture and they were bargains and great condition people just need it gone plus op shops you can fit a house out at very low cost if you shop around good luck let us know how you get on sally.

I would second the K-mart suggestion, they are extremely cheap and although it's not great quality it will last longer than you'd think. Ikea is not too bad either. I would also try local garage sales as sometimes you can get great quality items for very little. Especially if you have time to pick and choose and somewhere to store items. When I first moved out the only new thing I bought was a frying pan. If your family are anything like mine they have two or three of everything you need to get going and then you can gradually add things as you go. I mostly used garage sales and was a bit lucky.

If you are happy with second hand things, then the suggestions above are great. However, if you want new, then - Fantastic Furniture or Super Amart for your furniture - Ikea can be expensive. For electrical equipment I wouldn''t go past the Good Guys - they will give you a great discount for large purchases. As suggested - K-Mart or Big W for crockery, saucepans, etc.

check out freebies on gumtree amazing things people need to clear out quickly