Tips and Tricks: IKEA building

I think I may be one of the few people who absolutely love putting together IKEA furniture.  I understand the pictorial directions and can just follow along without an expletive to be shouted.  I realize that this isn't the case for everyone else in the world, so I thought I would compile my personal tips and tricks to building IKEA furniture.

1)  Use the instructions.  I know, should be a total no brainer, but it's amazing to me how many people wanna just grab an allen wrench and start shoving in wooden pegs.  You have to remember that IKEA furniture is very well engineered and just because peg A would logically go into hole B to you, doesn't mean that the engineers have the same idea (or think it should be done at that time).

Also be sure to use the little diagram that shows you how many of each hardware piece you should have.  Yes, this means making little piles of pegs and screws and counting.  On of the most suck situations to end up in is one where you run out of screws and have to leave a half-finished project in the middle of your living room floor, and then run to the hardware store to find a replacement, only to realize that you already put all of them into the table and that you have no idea what size wood dowel to buy so that you can cut it into a little peg shape, so you have to buy 4 different sizes of dowel and then you come home and see that they're all too big, so you just say "fuck it" and don't put anything in that hole and you have a permanently effed piece of furniture...not that anything like that has ever happened to me. *ahem*

2)  Prep your space to get building.  Clear a space on a carpeted area.  If a carpeted area is not available, throw a blanket down on the surface. It will prevent scratching and extra stress on the materials.

3)  Only use the tools that are recommended.  Which means NO POWER TOOLS.  Although a drill is gonna make those 48 screws go in lots faster, you will inevitably damage the wood/particleboard/etc. in the process.

4)  Easy does it.  If the diagram shows you four screws that need to go in at once, put them all in a little bit at the same time and tighten them at the same time.  Don't put one screw in all the way, then move to the next. 

5)  Simmer.  (simmah dahn nah)  Don't get yourself worked up or rush to get it done.  The more frustrated you are, the more inevitable a mistake.  Remember that most IKEA furniture is meant to be put together once and once only.  Sometimes you really can't go back and fix your mistakes, so be sure to take your time and get it right the first time.

What are your personal tips and tricks for furniture assembly?