lbilyeu's Profile

I'd love to know more about replacing a refrigerator as well. My husband and I are in the market for a new one as well- we have white appliances and are looking for topfridge/lower freezer with no ice maker or water feature. A plain ol' refrigerator. I'll be checking back to see what others have to say.

My sister lives a stones throw from a small strawberry farm that is a u-pick farm which is typically picked over within a week or so of being ready. She gets a call from the lady who owns the place when they are just about ready and we always go pick early. Last year, we picked over 20 pounds and made wonderful jam. I am down to my last pint. Just waiting for the phone call to go pick!

And if you are allowed to pull out the unit and build a new one, I'd suggest lowering the unit all together and build it as a place to sit rather than display dishes. Maybe build a place for wine storage on one end and shelving for books on another. Make it a window seat with a pad and showcase the window with pratical storage underneight.

OR! You could leave the platform, close the fronts up, put a hindged seat on it and make it storage for items around the home.

If your landlord lets you, your options really are unlimited.

Sorry for the multiple posts..I thought more about it :)

FamousAmos- I would go with the 24" if you have the space for it. And spend a little extra for a nice model that runs quietly. Otherwise, if your kitchen is near your living space, you will be competing with the tv (if you have one) with volume.

The reason I say go with the larger model is because if you like to cook at all, you'll be able to fill it no problem. We have a 24" and fill it almost every day and it is just my husband and I.

I collect the coffee grounds my husband and I make each day and keep it under the sink until my container is full, then spread it in my garden. Great for the soil.

As a piano player, I LOVE that the piano is in the kitchen. The only downside- I'd NEVER get anything done! I sit down at mine and have to be peeled away from it. I love playing the piano! However, as mentioned in the CL article, I suppose if it is out in the open for people, they will play it then. However, this makes an excellent dream for me some day!

I hear you EMB343 and ALISON6971, but as a it is just me and my husband and who doesn't want to polish off an entire batch of cookies within a week (who likes stale cookies anyway?) so I bake a dozen at a time. I drop the cookies onto a cookie sheet with wax paper layerd on it, and flash freeze. Then I dump them all (minus one or two frozen cookie dough balls that get eaten) into a freezer bag. I can't tell you how many times we've had guests that drop by and I have nothing for them, so I pop them in the oven and in 10 minutes there are fresh baked cookies.

Also, have you ever needed cookies for a snack at lunch and didn't have any? My husband LOVES it when I bake them in the morning before work- they are still warm by the time he gets to work and the house smells great!

Ham Stock- freeze or pressure can it.

@MSTARK08- if you have that many eggs, share the wealth! I buy eggs weekly from a lady at work at $2 a dozen. She has several hens, and she constantly has an overflow of eggs. Sell them! I never, and I mean never buy them from the store. Growing up having hens, I don't like the store bought eggs- say what you will, but they are just not the same!

I don't know what neighborhoods you are living in, but in mine- heck, there was no including utilities, water, cable, etc, included in the rent. There was no benefit to renting versus owning, My husband and I rented one side of a duplex before we bought a house- and renting a short 8 months was long enough. The unit was new, the land lord was dandy- it just wasn't our bag. We lived next to the woods, which was great- except that the yard was covered in ticks. The snow removal, etc, everything else that is mentioned here- sure our land lord would come plow the driveway- but my husband loves his snowblower. We almost had our basement flood when the sump pump failed our first winter there (caught it just in time) and sure a land lord would have had to take care of the issue if we rented our home- but seriously, we love our house and our neighborhood! Wouldn't change it for the world. There is just something about knowing this place is "mine" (and if I want to paint the walls 100 different colors, I can)

I guess if you like to move around a lot, renting is easier, but if you were looking to settle down, owning sure is nice.