Amber wrote:
>
> I have a dilemna and wanted your help. I have had a house fire and
> lost everything but the shell of my house. They are going to rebuild
> it but I have lost everything inside. So.. I have to refurnish my
> kitchen, I mean dishes, cookware, utensils everything. Can anyone give
> me any tips or hints or any ideas about what I need or don't need. I
> don't want to go out and buy a lot of stuff I won't ever use and I
> know that a lot of the things in my kitchen were, well OLD. I know
> there are new things out there that everyone but me has and uses and I
> just wondered if any one might help. On one hand I am so excited that
> I get all new stuff but on the other hand I don't want to fill my
> kitchen with a lot of useless stuff I will never use. Can someone
> suggest a starter list of what every kitchen needs.


You had better check your insurance policy to see what type of coverage you
had. Policies usually offer replacement up to a certain limit. Major
appliances, furniture carpeting and clothing are going to eat up a large
chunk of that, and they may want an itemized list of the lost lost . Then
they may want to go to a supplier who will provide those items to get some
sort of deal, one that will usually work out in their favour.

My house was broken into about 15 years ago and the burglars took most of
my CD collection. I had to provide a list of the CDs lost, which was then
sent to a dealer who replaced them all, sometimes substituting titles that
were in their inventory rather than what I had lost. They also stole an
electric guitar that I had been trying to sell. I had already bought a new
guitar and had been planning on selling the proceeds of the sale toward the
new one. They would only pay for the replacement cost of the stolen one
minus depreciation. I had to go to the music store and get a price. I
explained the situation and pointed out that I had bought 4 guitars there
in the previous 6 years and that the last one, a Martin, was quite
expensive. They came up with a price that was almost 4 times what I had
been hoping to get for the old one, and after depreciation it still paid a
good chunk of the cost of the Martin.


My suggestion is to use the insurance money to get yourself a good set of
pots and pans, mixing bowls, kitchen knives, dinnerware, flatware, glasses
table and chairs, a good hand mixer and food processor, measuring cups and
spoons, some baking sheets and pans. The coverage should manage all that.
Then you can start replacing smaller items as the need arises.

The limit is going to be the problem. Consider the cost of your major
appliance... fridge, stove, dishwasher.... close to $3,000 right there.