So if you are a close friend of mine... you know what a sucker I am for IKEA. All those IDEAS, all those PROJECTS.... I love it. Although often times I go there stock up on everything I need for 30 different projects and come home and do 2 of them! So this year I tried to pull that back and concentrate on 3 projects TOPS for my trip.
So this post is for any of our followers who have never been to IKEA before, I wanted to give you a couple of our favorite Tiptoe tricks, tips and to do's while you are there! 
1st- Know what you need- I would suggest concentrating on a certain room in your house or 1-2 projects because you will go there and want to try everything! Start with the catalog and make a list! Also a good tip is to have all your "stuff" measured out before you get there, so you don't have to call your husband 50 times to have him measure for you (mine always gets pretty annoyed with me, LOL). Here's my catalog and notebook!! 
2nd- If you have to bring your young kids, it's OK!! They have child care! But keep in mind it is only for 1 hour at a time, and it depends on how busy they are that day! So Olivia and Tre have both accompanied me there, so I always take them through the showroom and to lunch with me and drop them off at childcare during my time in the marketplace (when I need to be able to concentrate, lol )
3rd- Schedule- So if you are a first timer I would allot yourself a good 4 hours to get through it all! Here is the way me and my girlfriends always do it! 1. Bathroom- go ahead, you don't want to get half way through the maze and have to go!! 2. Showroom- where you get to see lots of rooms already put together, and draw inspiration from them. If you see items you like there write down the item name and location in the marketplace, so you can find it! Tip: there is also an app now that helps you locate items in the Marketplace. There are only a few items there that you can actually put in your cart in the showroom. 3. YUMMY lunch at the IKEA cafeteria. I usually add the caprese salad, TRY IT, yummy! 4. Marketplace- where I fill my cart! You wind your way through all the different sections from kitchen, bathroom, office, closet, fabric, lighting and finally the warehouse where you get the larger items and furniture. 5. Checkout- pretty self explanatory, don't forget to get some swedish fish!! LOL! So comical! And go ahead and buy that .99$ bag for your items, you will find so many home uses for it too!! 6. Frozen yogurt - yes there is a little counter where you can buy some before you leave for 1$!!! 
4th- Wear comfy shoes- This is pretty obvious too! But you walk a lot. Also their carts are FUN and take a little getting used to! My biggest tip is to try to keep your body behind the cart when you are walking!
Check out this video on the carts!! LOL!!
5th- Bring a BIG car- LOL... This is always something we do! Because we all say we are going in there for a couple things and come out with 20!! LOL!
Some of our fun pics from our last trip there! I hope you all enjoyed! And let me know if you are planning a trip soon! I may NEED to go with you! LOL!
