Cort: not just for furniture commitment-phobics

A few years ago when I moved to this town, I was looking for a few minor furnishings to complete my living space. One day, less than a mile from home, I passed a sign for a furniture clearance center. It turned out to actually be a furniture rental company, but they sell lightly used furnishings from executive rentals -- everything from mattresses and sofas to bedroom furniture, desks, and lighting. I was thrilled to find a perfectly nice contemporary metal lamp that day for $9.

That was about seven years ago, and I'm still using the lamp today. A better deal than most consignment shops. I would say that I've gotten my money's worth on that purchase. Another time, I needed to find an inexpensive but sturdy TV stand. I'm embarrassed to say that I still didn't have a flat screen at the time, but I wasn't about to buy one when the TV I had was relatively new and worked just fine. Okay, so I'm practical -- or cheap. I found a robust stand there for $25.

Found: the final piece to my home office puzzle

I don't know why I hadn't thought of stopping there to look for a filing cabinet, one of the last things on my list of furnishings for my home office. I pass the place virtually every time I go anywhere in my car. I just didn't remember they had office furniture, too. When I did an online search for used filing cabinets, however, their name came up. Cort.

So last week on my way to buy groceries, I stopped by, only half expecting to find something. I walked in and was ecstatic to find exactly what I was looking for right away -- 50 bucks and comparable quality to what I'd find at someplace like Office Depot. As for its condition, it was far better than what I saw at a used office supply store in town, and a lot less money.

While transacting the sale, the manager told me that Cort has over 100 locations all over the country. In Los Angeles, they rent furnishings for movies, and the pieces go on sale in their clearance center when they're returned. You could theoretically find a chair that, say, Brad Pitt or George Clooney sat in -- if you're into that sort of thing.

Even if you don't live in LA, if you have a Cort near you, check them out -- not only to buy clearance items, but if you want to rent furniture by the piece, the room or for the whole house or apartment. If you don't have a Cort near you, you can shop their clearance items online.

For those of you who move often and don't want to take anything more with you than the dog, your partner and your iPhone, this place is the perfect solution to quickly filling your home with all the necessities. I really wish some of the guys I'd dated when I was younger had known about them -- I can't tell you how many times I had to sit on the floor to eat dinner.

Really, rental furniture is ideal for the commitment-phobic.