Occasionally, I write something that I believe might actually be useful for just about anybody. I think it is one of those times. It’s not a “retirement thing”, but it certainly would have been helpful to me. As in, I wish I’d known this a long time ago because it would’ve gotten my little issue resolved much sooner.
I think it is reasonable to say that IKEA is now ubiquitous around the planet. Please raise your hand if you DON’T have something from IKEA in your home. I have often joked that I did not think Airbnb could have gotten off the ground without IKEA having already been in place. Virtually every place we have rented through Airbnb has either been mostly or partially outfitted from IKEA.
As I lie here stretched out on the sofa in the lower level working away it dawns on me just how deeply IKEA has slipped into our day-to-day life. My line of view is absolutely filled with IKEA furniture. There are Billy bookcases, two yellow chairs whose names I can’t remember, three little end tables nestled together under the fake fireplace, a TV stand, one black leather chair and footstool, one Kallax shelving unit. and the glass cabinet that I am writing about today. And there are a few items to my right that you can’t see. A member of our household might just have an IKEA problem… and I think it is me. 🙂
It’s true, I’m actually going to write about the glass storage unit in the photo. Have you ever had a small task that you thought, “I must try this one day. It’s not important, and I don’t think it will work out, but I’ll give it a go.” Then you put the related paperwork aside on your desk and left it there… for a year or two.
This piece isn’t about procrastination. It’s about the thought of replacing a small broken part on something you use all the time, but assuming there’s no way you’ll be able to find a replacement part anyway. It’s more of a dream than a realistic goal.
So, the two years’ wait to get this task done was more about assuming there was zero chance I would be able to get the part than not getting to a task that’s well down on my to-do list. This thinking was reinforced by the fact that I bought this piece almost a decade ago and they no longer offer it. What were the chances of getting a part for it… seriously?
Over the years I have actually been able to pick up replacement parts at IKEA stores because they typically would have a wall of bins filled with the sorts of things that you would either break or lose or were shorted in the box. But the nearest IKEA store is probably an hour’s drive away, and there was no way I was going to pop down there on the off chance that they would have the part I needed.
I was all set up to perform this particular task because I still had the original manual and knew that it showed the part number. Not too long ago as I was sitting at my desk, I found the manual in my little long-term to-do pile, and I decided it was time to give it a go. Assuming, at the very least, I would be able to confirm that it was never going to happen. So, I fired up Google and searched how one might go about getting IKEA replacement parts.
1) To my surprise, the search produced the following page on the IKEA website. And the words that caught my eye on the page and got my immediate attention were “Get them free and delivered…”. It now seemed that there might actually be a chance I could get the replacement part, and I wouldn’t even have to pay for it.
2) Backing up a bit. Here is the cabinet that I am talking about.
3) And this is the item that was broken. The little lock that stood between my thirsty friends and my expensive Scotches. The expensive Scotch stockpile has been whittled down to nothing because I can no longer drink it, so that had also tempered my need to get a replacement lock quickly.
4) Manual in hand, I prepared for action.
5) If you are wondering how I knew the part number, it was because I remembered that every single IKEA manual comes with one page that shows all the parts to be used in the assembly of the product you purchase. The parts page also provides quantities and part numbers for each individual part included in the box.
6) I would have to admit that I didn’t remember the parts page until later on, but I knew the part number was on following page of the installation instructions.
7) If you are sitting there thinking, “geez, this guy is super anal. I never save any of those manuals”, not to worry. On the product page for any item at the IKEA website, you simply follow the “Assembly and documents” link to see the product manual, which you can download in PDF format if you like. That would not have worked for me this time though, because it was so long ago that I bought the unit and they no longer sell it.
8) When I clicked on the “Order spare parts” on the replacement parts homepage…
9) …it brought me to this point where I typed in the product number and hit the search icon. Up popped an image of the part… In this case, the lock… and the part number. You click on the part number, which should take you to a page with the part that should allow you to commence the ordering process I surmise.
10) However, when I clicked, I ended up at the following page with the message “Please contact IKEA Customer Service to place this order”.
11) I looked up the phone number and to my great delight, I ended up speaking to a person who was happy to take the order for my replacement part. She took my delivery information and told me that the order would be sent out sometime in the next couple of weeks. The next day, July 30, I received the following email from Canada post telling me that they were preparing my order for shipment. It looked like it was only going to take about a week to get my part. My hopeless dream was about to become a reality.
12) The day after that, July 31, this package arrived at the door in Amazon like fashion.
13) I failed to mention that as I was speaking to the customer service representative she asked me if I only needed one lock. I asked her if I could have two, and she said, of course. I am all about redundancy, so now not only do I have a new lock on my cabinet I have a backup one at the ready as well.
14) Step one, undo 2 screws and remove the old lock. The stick-on pad you see here was not damaged, so I was able to reuse it with the new lock.
15) Step two, slide on the new lock and tighten two screws. Let the record show that I managed to undertake this bit of handyman work without even looking up a YouTube video to figure out how to it. 🙂
16) There we have it, my shiny new lock installed.
17) And once again, the now the collection of inexpensive and generally unnecessary liquors, and the family glassware, are all safely under lock and key.
Perhaps I should take the key out of the lock. 🙂
