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Meeper posted:Are you in a cold environment or hot environment? Humid or dry? If it's going to approach humid or hot at all, do NOT use a mattress bag, the condensation on the inside of the bag will lead incredibly quickly to mold growth. When we store mattresses, we just wrap them in our storage blankets. Uh, not really sure, it's not coastal Maryland, but maybe 20 to 30ish minutes from water, so it'll probably be semi-humid. So, I talked to my parents about it, and they told me I have to put my stuff in a storage locker. I've used one before (decided $90/mo was too expensive for crap I wasn't really needing) and know they have a tendency to have rodent issues, so I'm kinda nervous about storing soft things like mattresses and blankets there. It's starting to feel like I should just skip town and leave everything behind.
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Aug 7, 2012 12:40
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Iron Crowned posted:It's starting to feel like I should just skip town and leave everything behind.
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Aug 7, 2012 13:59
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Oh god, my move date has been pushed forward to next weekend. This Thursday we're doing the first wave of moving (things that are in my basement and already boxed, things I'm packing now...). I'm so anxious about not getting things packed in time. I'm actually going to call into work tomorrow so I can just stay home and pack. I'm possibly even more anxious that when I move there, I'll never get everything unpacking/set up/organized and I'll look like a slob. I know this isn't e/n or anything, but any words of advice or wisdom to calm my move-wracked brain?
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Aug 8, 2012 08:08
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LISTS! Things to pack last: Furniture to go on the truck: Kitchen: cabinets (1, 2, 3, 4 whatever); pantry; lower cabinets (1, 2, 3, 4) Living room: books on big shelf; books on little shelf; DVDs; video games; wii etc. Things to clean: Stuff to do: pack kitchen; pack linen closet; do load of laundry; go to Goodwill; drink Any of those as needed. Lists are great because they give you a very visual way to 1) keep track of what you have done, 2) keep track of what you need to do. When you're panicking and you keep looking around and going OH GOD THERE IS SO MUCH STUFF  having a list means you can break up the packing into manageable bits. When you are flipping out like "woah I need to move the whole kitchen, why am I wasting time putting these dvds in carefully? THROW THEM IN A GARBAGE BAG OH GOD," you can add whatever it is you're flipping out about to the list and know that you'll attend to it in time.Keep cool and try to remember to drink water. I dunno if it's hot where you are but it's easy to forget things like that if you're running around packing. Listen to music or podcasts you like to pass the time. When you do move in:
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Aug 8, 2012 13:21
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Eggplant Wizard posted:LISTS! Lists are good. Lists keep you sane. In addition to keeping your "poo poo to do oh god i can't do all of this" list organized, if you're in a panic you can look at all the things you've already gotten done and give yourself a little confidence boost. You're also less likely to forget to do something this way as well. If you are using movers do not specifically label your boxes. This is probably common sense, but if you pack your blu-ray player and XBox in one box, DO NOT label it "Blu-ray player and XBox". There is a very high probability said box will get put in the truck then mysteriously vanish en route. Instead just put something generic like "living room" on it. I know entirely too many people who have had poo poo stolen because they over-labeled their boxes. Even kitchen stuff, a coworker got all of his spoons stolen by drug-addict movers once. Not saying all movers are thieves, most of them are normal decent people, but there are some bad ones out there and it's better to be safe than sorry. If you're just moving yourself, go hog wild with the labeling. Take the toilet paper in the car with you. Don't even pack it. Stick a roll in every bathroom as soon as you get there. Edit: If you still want to know what's in every box, a good alternative is to number each box and keep a running inventory in a notebook instead of writing it on the box itself. Problem! fucked around with this message at 01:41 on Aug 9, 2012 |
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Aug 9, 2012 01:38
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Posted about this in another thread already, but this might be more relevant here. I moved into a new apartment and after maybe two weeks noticed that the floors were hosed up in a few places: It took a while because the floors were covered with some plastic, and the damage is not very apparent from normal standing heights and lighting conditions. I thought I'd get hosed over by this, but actually contacting the landlady and the agency guy got me a written confirmation that the damage was there initially and both were very reasonable during the whole process. The just confirms the need to carefully examine everything before signing and contacting the landperson immediately if something's not right, things don't have to turn ugly.
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Aug 11, 2012 20:40
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Or just live in the same unit for five years so everything will be replaced when you leave anyway 
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Aug 11, 2012 23:17
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mobby_6kl posted:Posted about this in another thread already, but this might be more relevant here. I moved into a new apartment and after maybe two weeks noticed that the floors were hosed up in a few places: What kind of floor is that? it looks unfinished in the picture, or even maybe like it's a soft wood, in which case the damage could be caused by something as simple as high heels.
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Aug 11, 2012 23:56
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So I finally decided on a desk, and I ended up getting a HEMNES. v vhttp://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30196374/ I was thinking about getting the Galant, but I couldn't find any drawer attachments that didn't cost more than the actual desk itself. For that price, I might as well go for something made out of solid pine. This desk is basically VALLVIK but bigger and with actual drawers. So far it's great and very sturdy. I'd recommend it if you have the funds and space. For something that I'm gonna use everyday, I'm happy with it.  Pics:   Thanks, Eggplant Wizard and glompix!
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Aug 12, 2012 23:00
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I live in a studio apartment, and need some advice on what color of bedding to buy (very important), and some general decorating advice. Here are some quick pictures I took with my phone: http://imgur.com/a/wtfFv#7cEpd TV will be wall mounted at a more appropriate height as soon as I get the mount, and the component stand will be tucked further back and off to the right a bit - there's a cement pillar in the way. I'm planning on picking up a Poang chair to replace the folding chair, and a 36x22 Lack coffee table to go in the middle. I was planning on going all black, but something is telling me that isn't the best idea. I really want to hang things on the wall, but I cannot figure out what kind of thought process to use when choosing art or where to hang something. Sizes, colors, positioning are all important but I am failing at Google for figuring this one out. Some guidance here would be fantastic! Being that it's a studio, should there be different themes in each area, or should there be an overriding aesthetic? Finally, and most importantly, what color sheets/duvet cover do I choose? I get the feeling this would be a much easier choice for me if I lived in an apartment with a separate bedroom, but I do not. I originally chose white, and they looked great, but they stopped looking great after a while. A brown sounds like it would be the best bet for neutrality and matching, but it seems kind of boring. Anything beyond white and brown, tho, goes beyond what I know about color matching. Any suggestions for my place would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the terse explanation, but I've gotten burned out on shopping for small apartment poo poo. Anything good looking and reasonably priced is huge, and anything small is either expensive, ugly, unobtainable, or from Ikea and that has driven me nuts. I have looked at enough pictures of places and furniture catalogs that I do not trust my taste.
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Aug 14, 2012 02:34
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CountOfNowhere posted:I live in a studio apartment, and need some advice on what color of bedding to buy (very important), and some general decorating advice. My god, man, never have I seen someone so terrified at personal expression! Red, do you like the color red? Since everything in your apartment is black, white, or wood toned, you can pick a jewel tone of any kind - red, royal blue, violet, emerald, etc - and use that as the theme for your bedding and artwork. I prefer one large centered piece of art that pops with color and then smaller corresponding pieces where the wall looks boring. Hang it anywhere but above your bed (don't want that poo poo to fall on you) and if you are really devoid of personal preference I've seen some nice typical prints for sale at ikea, get the one with giant red poppies if you really need some hand holding. I would hang the big painting on the wall at the foot of the bed next to the TV, and smaller pieces of corresponding theme on the strip of wall by the bathroom door, 2 or 3 on top of each other. Get a matching throw rug and done.
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Aug 14, 2012 02:48
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Trilineatus posted:My god, man, never have I seen someone so terrified at personal expression! Thank you! I am not afraid of personal expression, but, ahh gently caress, I have no idea how to make it look good. I'm over car posters and technical drawings. This advice seems like a good baseline for how not to gently caress up. quote:Hang it anywhere but above your bed (don't want that poo poo to fall on you) and if you are really devoid of personal preference I've seen some nice typical prints for sale at ikea, get the one with giant red poppies if you really need some hand holding. This is the kind of general advice I couldn't find in the internet.
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Aug 14, 2012 03:10
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Dear gooncave experts... The move is coming up this week and I'm very excited! I have a question about posters though. I have some posters that I really like (namely the different ones for each level of Left 4 Dead 2 and some other stuff like that) that I'd love to put up, but I feel like just putting up the posters chances making my place look like a college dorm, when I want it to look a little more sophisticated. I guess what I'd like to do is find a way to incorporate the posters in a way that it'll look more grown up? Thoughts?
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Aug 14, 2012 03:11
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CountOfNowhere: Your apartment is 100% neutral right now so pick any color you like and go with it. I'd say ideally it'd be a non-neutral (neutrals: black, brown, navy blue, white, beige, gray...) so that your space is less  . As for wall art, what are some things you like? Favorite movies? Put up some posters in nice frames. Music? Album covers in frames. Plants? Go to kinkos, print that poo poo out, put it in frames. Same goes for basically anything. Don't try to arbitrarily find stuff, just think about things that make you happy, and incorporate them. What are some of your interests? We can try to make suggestions based on that.I'm not too keen on your layout. Is there any way you could straighten out your bed, maybe put it on the wall? If you're comfortable with it, that's fine and stick with it then. For me it seems kind of cluttered and the lines don't feel clean. I get that you're trying to separate it into two or three 'rooms' (kitchen, computer, bedroom/living room) but it just feels messy to me. Are you open to changes there? Is that carpet built in? Definitely stick to one set of coordinating colors/themes. Mixing it up would make it feel even more cramped. Also, OPEN THAT CURTAIN. Natural light would go a long way toward making it less cave-like. You could get some sheer curtains to cover the window instead, which would improve privacy while retaining light. e: cuntvalet, frame them and it's fine. Eggplant Wizard fucked around with this message at 03:17 on Aug 14, 2012 |
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Aug 14, 2012 03:14
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Repeat after me, goons: "I solemnly swear to always frame and hang posters as if they are real art that I appreciate and improves the space I live in." You can get cheap poster frames at target, ikea, and art stores everywhere, but I love the look of a nice properly sized frame with glass and not plastic, which can also be affordable. Amazon, baby. Sheer curtains are wonderful things, and if you are looking for something "colorful but neutral" abstract art pieces in either a warm or cool (BUT NOT NEUTRAL) palette are excellent for the design challenged.
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Aug 14, 2012 03:31
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Eggplant Wizard posted:CountOfNowhere: Your apartment is 100% neutral right now so pick any color you like and go with it. I'd say ideally it'd be a non-neutral (neutrals: black, brown, navy blue, white, beige, gray...) so that your space is less Very open to changes here, but unfortunately the carpet is built in (as is that angle, the headboard is right against the carpet trim the whole way down - wood on the other side), and I would prefer to not be able to see the kitchen from bed. That being said, very open to changes. What were you thinking? I almost always have the blinds open, but the pictures all ended up washed out with how sunny it is. I've got tons of natural light and a pretty fantastic view. The sun is going down so I'll get some new pictures right now. (Sheer curtains are a great idea, tho, thank you! I love the sunlight but have wanted more privacy).
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Aug 14, 2012 03:36
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cuntvalet posted:Dear gooncave experts... Go to an art store and they'll have pre-made poster frames. They even make beer posters look grown-up art.
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Aug 14, 2012 03:37
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It's 7:45 PM here and not very sunny anymore, still lots of light. edit:// I am a retard and failed at Ctrl+V: http://imgur.com/a/NeC2k RIP Paul Walker fucked around with this message at 03:52 on Aug 14, 2012 |
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Aug 14, 2012 03:46
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CountOfNowhere posted:I live in a studio apartment, and need some advice on what color of bedding to buy (very important), and some general decorating advice. The issue with a studio apartment is that you don't want it to feel like people are invading your bedroom when they come over to hang out. Here are my suggestions: -Dark sheets. Navy, burgundy, or dark brown. White sheets feel very "bed" to me, and you want people to think "daybed" or "wide couch", even though you sleep there. -Quilt/duvet/comforter in a dark, interesting color but more importantly WITH TEXTURE. So if you get navy sheets, something like this:  Finally, if you can't fold it up into a couch, get some long, decorative pillows to place on the long end of the bed so it looks more like a couch.  This one is kind of dumb looking but it shows the general idea.  This one is more masculine. Go nuts on pillow colors/patterns and try to tie them in with some posters or art (ie red and white patterned pillow - poster with both red and white).
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Aug 14, 2012 14:11
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CountOfNowhere posted:Very open to changes here, but unfortunately the carpet is built in (as is that angle, the headboard is right against the carpet trim the whole way down - wood on the other side), and I would prefer to not be able to see the kitchen from bed. That being said, very open to changes. What were you thinking? Hmm. Well, I would hate the layout as you have it, but it makes sense given the carpet, and I'm not you. If you did want to open up the space a bit, I'd flip the bed around and put it against the wall, and use a room divider to block your view of the kitchen (random walmart example of what I mean). Then you could do as vonnegutt suggested in terms of duvet + pillows to make it look less bedlike when you have people over, and if it were against that wall that I guess borders on the bathroom, you also would get back that space that's kind of wasted in a wedge shape right now between bed and wall. As for the rest of it, do you think you could MS paint us a rough layout with measurements? I can't really tell how big the space is, especially that corner where your computer is.
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Aug 14, 2012 15:43
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CountOfNowhere posted:Very open to changes here, but unfortunately the carpet is built in (as is that angle, the headboard is right against the carpet trim the whole way down - wood on the other side), and I would prefer to not be able to see the kitchen from bed. That being said, very open to changes. What were you thinking? As another option, move your bed so it's placed lengthwise next to the large window, and hide it behind your couch. So you'll need to rotate your couch 90 degrees clockwise, so its length will hide the length of your bed. This way when you walk into the apartment, you'll see your couch, and not your bed. Also, we need more pictures of your cat please.
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Aug 15, 2012 01:26
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Nadine Hauklund posted:While I may be repeating what has been said already, do not underestimate the power of the following two things: walk-through documentation and renter's insurance. This thread was one of the kicks I needed to get renter's insurance for my new place. Less than a week later, we evacuated ahead of a wildfire--our place didn't burn down, but it was very nice to be able to take our pets and a few irreplaceable things and write off the rest as insured in case it did.
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Aug 15, 2012 04:54
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CountOfNowhere posted:Very open to changes here, but unfortunately the carpet is built in (as is that angle, the headboard is right against the carpet trim the whole way down - wood on the other side), and I would prefer to not be able to see the kitchen from bed. That being said, very open to changes. What were you thinking? I see what you're trying to do here, but you just don't have the space to have 3-4 separate living areas. I would square the bed off with at least one, and preferably two, walls. Get rid of one of the nightstands, they're different heights and styles and are making everything look cluttered. If you really want to delineate some spaces, you can go with a room divider that follows the carpet/kitchen line. Put the bed in the corner facing the window, and if you have space put a nightstand between the bed and the divider. If you can, paint the slanted wall a light color that compliments your bed sheets. It should go without saying, but the key to having a nice studio is cleanliness. Put your dishes in the sink, your clothes in the hamper and for the love of God, make your bed. Think of it like a puzzle: everything has a place. Ideally you can get two uses out of things, so use the space under your bed for storage, your coffee table as a dining table, etc. If you haven't used something in the past year, throw it away.
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Aug 15, 2012 05:33
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edit:nvm
chunkles fucked around with this message at 08:44 on Aug 15, 2012 |
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Aug 15, 2012 08:22
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This may sound like a really really dumb question but what rights do I have if the landlord isn't fixing things that really need fixing? Can I legally pay a tradesman to fix it and take that money out of my rent? The hot tap in my bathroom is broken and I've informed the landlord about it and he's done nothing. I left him a phone message and when he didn't phone me back I sent him a text which he replied to saying he'd get on it ASAP. The tap was dodgy when we moved in but now it's completely out of action- if you turn it on it's a complete wrestle to turn back off. I think the washer is corroded and I'm aware that it's an easy fix but I don't own any tools and why should I have to buy tools to fix something that was hosed when I moved in? I also want the extractor fan working- the consensus there is that the fuse is blown but the fuse is tucked way up in the chimney and is a total pain to get to. That too was broken when I moved in. I want that fixed before winter so I can cook without freezing to death with the window open or stinking out the house. Oh and the hob is missing a knob so you can't use one of the rings. Lastly, there's a panel of inner glass missing from the sash window in my bedroom and again I want this fixed before winter. The lettings agent assured my flatmate and I that all of this would be taken care of before we moved in or shortly after, but nothing has been done. I don't know what my rights are in this situation, but I'm getting sick of washing my face every night with a jug of water from the kettle in the kitchen.
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Aug 15, 2012 19:15
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Depends on your lease probably and your state/local laws also.
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Aug 15, 2012 19:17
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When you were assured that things were going to be fixed, did you get any of that in writing? If not, whatever the agent said probably doesn't count for poo poo. If its in writing, then you have some hope of enforcing it. Most of the stuff you are talking about is not really something you can force your landlord to handle. He probably doesn't need to provide you with an extractor fan, for instance. Hot water is iffy, though, and its possible that not having accessible hot water could be an issue with your local regulations. Probably not enough to actually do anything, though. At this point you should probably send him certified letter that says 'These are the things that need to be repaired; these are the things I was told would be handled when I move in. Please provide us with confirmation that they will be dealt with a timeline for doing so.' Depending on what he does, go from there.
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Aug 15, 2012 19:41
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Ashcans posted:When you were assured that things were going to be fixed, did you get any of that in writing? If not, whatever the agent said probably doesn't count for poo poo. If its in writing, then you have some hope of enforcing it. I'm not sure if we got any of it in writing, I need to talk to my flatmate but he isn't moving in until September and it's been difficult to get hold of him lately  I'll go see if I actually have an address I can write to to get in contact with him. The day we got the keys we sent him a comprehensive email saying "hey the flat is really dirty and here is a list of things that are broken" (promised by the agent that it would be cleaned and it hadn't been!). His cleaner then came and "cleaned" (it was still filthy) and stole a bunch of cleaning stuff we had bought and put in the bottom of my flatmate's wardrobe with instructions not to remove it. She didn't take the trash out, but low and behold, £20 worth of stuff magically disappeared. And yes, I understand that something like the extractor fan not working isn't a massive deal. I just really don't want to lose my deposit- the last place I lived the landlord took half of my deposit to repaint the room despite the fact that it needed repainting when I moved in (I was an idiot and didn't take pictures, it was the first placed I'd independently rented and I was living with the landlord so I figured he knew the state of the room and wasn't a money grabbing dickhead). It's also piss annoying because it's not like this is a mega cheap studenty digs flat- it's costing me £650 a month. I work hard to live here and I'd like to have it as a functioning home instead of as a place where you have to tell guests which tap to use and what window won't open and all the rest. Thanks for the advice.
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Aug 15, 2012 19:56
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Thanks for all the suggestions! The layout has been a constant struggle, I like some of the new ideas tho. I'll draw up a layout when I get home from work, and will be sure to include lots of cat pictures when I post the final layout
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Aug 15, 2012 21:20
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madlilnerd posted:I just really don't want to lose my deposit- the last place I lived the landlord took half of my deposit to repaint the room despite the fact that it needed repainting when I moved in (I was an idiot and didn't take pictures, it was the first placed I'd independently rented and I was living with the landlord so I figured he knew the state of the room and wasn't a money grabbing dickhead). It's also piss annoying because it's not like this is a mega cheap studenty digs flat- it's costing me £650 a month. I work hard to live here and I'd like to have it as a functioning home instead of as a place where you have to tell guests which tap to use and what window won't open and all the rest. Well, in terms of not getting charged for it, make sure to take a ton of pictures of everything. Video if you can. Put something into the shot so that you can date the pictures, as well. Sending notices to your landlord, even if its by email, also help you to create a document trail when you might need it. On these sorts of questions I often have to ask myself how much its actually worth. Like having a working fan would be nice. But is it worth pissing off the landlord? Maybe, especially if the place is frustrating enough you don't think you'll stay on there. There are definitely times I have taken a hit and dealt with something myself because I feel that  is worth the landlord's goodwill. I didn't realize you were in the UK, and my experiences are very US-centric. It might be worth it for you to look around and see if there is any sort of tenants rights organization or something that can advise you. It's possible that there is a different/better framework for arbitration than we have here.
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Aug 15, 2012 21:26
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We took a buttload of photos when we moved in, but it's kind of hard to take a photo of "the extractor fan doesn't turn on" or "the tap won't turn off". But video is a good idea, I'll ask my flatmate (I don't have a good video function on my phone). And yeah, I'm not staying on after I graduate next summer. I wouldn't be able to afford the rent off the bat and won't be able to afford council tax either. It's back to basecamp (hi mum and dad!) when I'm done with uni. I don't like confrontation and I hate contacting the landlord, but he's the dickhole renting out a flat with all these little problems. But that's London for you- I guess I should be glad I'm not a migrant worker living in a flammable shed and paying rent to a real slumlord. The thing about fixing it myself is that I literally cannot afford tools and parts, plus I have very limited knowledge of DIY and I don't want to gently caress things up further. I know my neighbour has a wrench because she used it to get my key out of the lock when it got stuck, so I might ask her if she'd help me out.
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Aug 15, 2012 21:40
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Hey guys, finally (mostly) moved into my new place. What a loving adventure. Let me tell you about what I learned. There was a frightening amount of poo poo in that stupid house.  Way more than I could have possibly imagined, and that's after we sold a crapload of furniture and other household stuff to the incoming tenants (rising sophomores coming in with nothing except what they had in their dorms (clothes, bedding, a lamp)). I am glad they were out of 10ft trucks which forced us up to a 14ft truck, because we filled it up two and a half times with poo poo, and there was a couple more carloads of poo poo we didn't get to. It would have been more trips with the 10ft truck.So yeah, since the move was two blocks, I thought it would be feasible to move poo poo with dollies and such and forgo the truck, but holy loving poo poo did I underestimate how much stuff was crammed in that little duplex. Thing is, this was the first total turnover of this house in twelve years, so a long string of college students can amass a lot of stuff in a decade+. And since it was sort of rolling tenancy, no one was really obligated to take stuff with them. It was to the point where the house was like the Room of Requirement. If you needed something, it was practically guaranteed that that something was already somewhere in the house. So yeah, we had to haul all that poo poo out. When I was thinking of the move, I was thinking about the JUST the things I'd brought in myself. Stuff in my room, my bed and dresser, etc. Luckily our new place is bigger with a massive (but creepy as gently caress) basement. It has easily absorbed the stuff, and we can stash extra stuff in the basement until we garage sale it (I need the extra cash, otherwise I'd trash it). Lesson one: There is always more poo poo than you think there is. It decided to rain the day we rented the truck. So that blew. On the way back from the moving center, the truck hydroplaned over a large puddle, my boyfriend (who was driving) momentarily lost control and we ripped the passenger-side mirror off on a telephone pole. Lesson two: Avoid moving in the rain. Lesson three: Always, ALWAYS buy the $10-$15 dollar insurance option when renting a van/truck. You never know what will happen, and if we hadn't paid it, we'd owe several hundred bucks in repairs to Uhaul. On the bright side, not a single piece of glassware broke during the move, not even our spindly dessert wine glasses and stuff. We had a couple original boxes, but otherwise, we packed it all in loose bottle beer cases. Lesson four: Beer cases (with loose bottle dividers, preferably of corrugated cardboard) are fantastic for packing glassware and stemware. So if you plan to move soon, keep your beer cases. Also they're good for books and heavy things. In general, we had a very motley assortment of moving boxes. One of my friends helping me move went and got some moving straps namely to haul the rear projection TV up the stairs. The hilarious part was that one of the product pics on the packaging showed people moving a rear projection TV. Lesson five: Any device to help you lift/move things like straps or dollies are your friends. Use them to save your back, energy, and friendships. Lesson five and a half: Don't have a rear projection TV. They are heavy and stupid. Bonus lesson: Move grill before the last load so you can get your fire started and ribs on so that they will be ready when the moving is done. Yes, I fed everyone who helped all the ribs and beer they could eat/drink. And now owe them haul-furniture-up-steps favors. All in all, it was a lovely, disorganized move. After thinking about it for a bit, I realized how inexperienced and naive I was. My family has been in the same house since the 20s, and the only time we actually moved was to a rental house across town so we could fix up the house, and I was too young to meaningfully participate or even remember it that well. The only other time was moving some boxes of stuff from my dorm after graduating college to the house I just moved out of. But dear god moving for real sucked. Next time around I'm saving up to hire movers.
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Aug 16, 2012 01:36
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Authentic You posted:holy loving poo poo did I underestimate how much stuff was crammed in that little duplex. Thing is, this was the first total turnover of this house in twelve years, so a long string of college students can amass a lot of stuff in a decade+. And since it was sort of rolling tenancy, no one was really obligated to take stuff with them. It was to the point where the house was like the Room of Requirement. If you needed something, it was practically guaranteed that that something was already somewhere in the house. That sounds kind of amazing though. Just like you wake up one day, want a toasted sandwich and BAM there must be a sandwich toaster in the house somewhere, you just have to dig through several cupboards and wander all floors of the house until you find it. But I dread to think how much stuff college students could amass in a over a decade. The rooms I rented for my 1st and 2nd year of uni were smaller than my childhood bedroom and the amount of stuff I managed to cram in them completely floored me, especially as I was only in the 2nd room for 5 months! I'm a bit worried now I've got half of a flat to fill up, especially because I'll have all my degree show stuff too.  Anyway, happy news, I got a phone call from a handyman who works for my landlord today. He's coming round tomorrow to take a look at the tap and the extractor fan. Hooray!
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Aug 16, 2012 18:50
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madlilnerd posted:That sounds kind of amazing though. Just like you wake up one day, want a toasted sandwich and BAM there must be a sandwich toaster in the house somewhere, you just have to dig through several cupboards and wander all floors of the house until you find it. However, you usually didn't find what you needed until after you'd already bought it. A while back I bought some sandpaper to fix up some of my wooden cooking utensils, and during the move I found a mountain of unused sandpaper. Go figure. I've just had to be really conscious of not accumulating stuff. I'm still really bad about picking neat old things up from the curb. Most recent acquisition was a travel chest made with square nails (100+ years old). I have space for it, and it's perfect for storing winter bedding and coats. But yeah, it can be hard to quantify how much stuff you've amassed until you have to pack it up. quote:Anyway, happy news, I got a phone call from a handyman who works for my landlord today. He's coming round tomorrow to take a look at the tap and the extractor fan. Hooray! That's awesome. If the handyman is cool, get his contact info so you can get in touch with him directly. Sometimes it can just be the landlord/office slowing things down. My downstairs neighbor happens to be one of my landlord's maintenance guys, and told us that if we needed anything, tell him first since he's right there. When my boyfriend rented from these guys, he had the head honcho maintenance guy's cellphone number and when the house had an issue, didn't even bother with the formal maintenance request process.
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Aug 16, 2012 20:18
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I was going to come in here and ask about desks since I'm going to IKEA tomorrow, but after skimming through the thread I already decided on one of the corner GALANT desks. I'm also going to be looking at bed frames while I'm there, does anyone have any recommendations on those? Going for a Full, mayyyybe a Queen. I still need to review the pictures I have of the apartment to make sure a queen might fit. Are the mattresses they sell decent quality at all? In the past year I've slept on a dorm mattress and a twin that I got new about 12 years ago, so anything better than either of those is probably an instant purchase.
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Aug 18, 2012 08:07
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Crawford posted:I was going to come in here and ask about desks since I'm going to IKEA tomorrow, but after skimming through the thread I already decided on one of the corner GALANT desks. I'd get a real mattress from a mattress store. IKEA mattresses are ok, but don't hold up for as long as a regular mattress.
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Aug 18, 2012 16:22
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Has anyone ever used a real estate agent to search for rentals before? Is the cost worth the convenience? My fiancee and I are tentatively relocating to the Albany, NY area next summer for grad school but neither of us are familiar with the area, and I'd think that an agent would be able to steer us in the right direction for a house or apartment to rent for a year or so until we're ready to buy. I'm not entirely sure how much we should expect to pay for their services, though, and if we wouldn't just be better off doing it ourselves, though.
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Aug 19, 2012 01:17
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serewit posted:Has anyone ever used a real estate agent to search for rentals before? Is the cost worth the convenience? My fiancee and I are tentatively relocating to the Albany, NY area next summer for grad school but neither of us are familiar with the area, and I'd think that an agent would be able to steer us in the right direction for a house or apartment to rent for a year or so until we're ready to buy. I'm not entirely sure how much we should expect to pay for their services, though, and if we wouldn't just be better off doing it ourselves, though. I have never used one, but as a grad student, I'd suggest you get in touch with current students and ask where people usually live, what the rents are, etc. They'll know what you'll be able to afford and where is/isn't sketchy. It's also possible that your university will have married/couple grad student housing available.
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Aug 19, 2012 01:53
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I'm moving out to be on my own for the third time, but I'm completely overwhelmed. I've moved a few times, but it's always been into (or out of) dorms, and now that I have to look for a place I'm feeling really overwhelmed. I'm not worried about what I have/don't have for moving, since I know I have the essentials (and everything else I can get in time), but I am stuck on where to go for the hunt. I'd love to be able to ask people/check bulletin boards on campus/just walk around areas I'd like to live, but I'm not actually in the city I'm moving to right now. I have family living there that I'll be staying with for a while, but they're quite busy and not really able to help that much. I've checked the OP, and I've poked around on craigslist/kijiji but I'm not sure where else to look, and I don't know how to narrow things down effectively. I'm going to be moving (back) to Calgary, AB, so if anyone knows of anything specific to there it would be a great help. I'm familiar with the city so I have a general idea of where to avoid/where I would like to live, I just don't know where to start.
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Aug 19, 2012 04:56
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You might want to ask in the Western Canada thread in LAN. They may be able to point you to some more local resources. When are you moving? For right now, just browse. Look at stuff on CL and kijiji without regard to whether or not it's perfect or worth looking at. Get a sense for how much you can get for what price. What amenities can you expect reasonably, what are some trade-offs you might have to make, what are your priorities about amenities/location/price/etc.? It'll be a lot less overwhelming once you have a basic idea of those things. That will give you a reasonable idea of what's realistic for you. Then you can move on to other things, like local newspaper classifieds, or even just looking at different apartment complexes in the area (Try the phonebook and also sites like apartments.com). If you know people in the area, ask them to put the word out that they know a guy who needs an apartment.
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Aug 19, 2012 14:27
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