Easy way to make background objects?

In an animation I’ve been fiddling with I’ve noticed that I need lots of props. Everything from the chair the protagonist sits in to the lamp on his desk to the tools of the guy at the morgue to buildings flying past him as he drives his car.

Do people really model each and every one of these objects or is there some method I’m too blind not to notice to render these things quickly?

There are many ways you could do this. First, decide what camera angles are going to be used so you don’t do extra work modeling objects you don’t need. Then, decide whether or not there is going to be a close-up on the object or not. If not, you dont really need to model in great detail. For the buildings, if your lazy, u could use images of buildings mapped to planes.