IKEA ain't for Wimps

So, I have been to IKEA before. I love the place. I joke about how I get overstimulated. I know I'm not the only one. But, my recent trip reminded me the intensity of taking a trip to that store is no joke. It is SERIOUS! In hindsight, I commend myself for making a plan. I do recommend "shopping" online to make a selection of the items one plans to purchase. I also (and obviously) recommend lowering your seats prior to departure out of town especially if you are like me and it takes you about 10 minutes, getting into the trunk, reading the manual twice. I also recommend finding the selected furniture in person to verify that you do indeed like the way it looks and still want the original color (which I changed my mind a few times). The last helpful choice I made was to be open to something I had not come for. It is a long drive that I don't want to or plan to make in a while and they have really good deals. Things to keep in mind for next time. If at all possible take a buddy. This would not have worked for me anyway in my Corolla. I used the front seat for bedding. The back seats were taken for the boxes which fit perfectly- thank you, Lord! Another tip is do NOT place your cell phone on the furniture right in front of your face thinking you could not possibly forget about it. I will blame it on the overstimulation and multitude of decisions to make, but I did leave my cell phone unattended for about 20 minutes (aka I lost it). I notified a worker in another department and gave an exact location and to both of our surprise it was still sitting there. I highly recommend one of the odd looking buggies. The normal looking ones are only if you are not going to purchase heavy furniture. You will need a yellow bag to put any regular items, but you can't take this out of the store with you or you have to purchase a blue bag- not expensive and very large. Actually I recommend it unless you already have one. Finally, you are going to need to bring your car to the loading zone. Honestly, not sure if you are supposed to park before shopping or leave your cart with a loader (or better your buddy which I didn't have) and bring your car around. It would be good to have cash on you so you can tip the guy for helping you do something you couldn't do alone especially in the heat. Finally, you are about to hit a major traffic jam upon leaving the Mall of Millenia until you pass downtown. You happen to be around the theme park area, I think? So, be prepared and plan accordingly. Basically, I just used a bunch of mad skills heavily immersed in His mercies! Once I assembly and decorate I will let you know if the finished product was worth it.