[Glenda]

We coped for over two months without out our furniture, but we did have 11 suitcases packed with enough towels, duvet covers, cutlery, saucepans, etc. as well as clothing to help us. We slept on the floors on fold-up mattresses and ate at a garden bench table. Of large items, we bought a tv, fridge/freezer, washing machine and dishwasher - but we had planned to buy these new anyway.

We stayed in a motel until moving into the unfurnished rental. Furnished rentals can be found but are often expensive, especially during the summer months when they are often used as holiday accommodation.

We got rid of some stuff at the local landfill tip recently ... what a place! It was so well organised with areas for different items, and everything was inspected with anything remotely useful put to one side for resell. Fascinating.