jditrimares's Profile

I have done a few things like this myself, and I suspect it will worsen when we buy a house! However, my mom had a penchant for doing impulsive home improvement. Not only did she very suddenly rip out the lime green shag carpet to reveal hardwood floors, when she was 8 mos pregnant with my sister, she took a sledge hammer and began to knock down a wall that made a pointless hallway next to my brother's and my bedroom! (The house was half a farmhouse that was moved across the country to LA in the 30s...). And I totally understand why she did it! She just wanted to get it done and give us a larger room, and once she pounded that hole in the wall, my dad had no choice but to finish the job!

I unabashedly love velvet.

Yay Jenny! :D

I'm also a downstairs neighbor in a building with beautiful vintage floors -- I've been living here for 4.5 years and I have had two different upstairs neighbors. I have some things to echo and some things to add!

- No hard soled shoes. This is the most important one!

- Do not vaccuum at 5:30 in the morning, unless its an emergency like broken glass or something. (My old neighbor vacuumed every morning!)

- Bouncy balls for your pets or kids sound like boulders from the first floor.

- Make sure your bed doesn't squeak-- my current upstairs neighbor has a squeaky bed. For this reason, we know his entire bed time routine and when he rolls over at night... and more, if you know what I mean.

- DO NOT LEAVE YOUR PHONE ON VIBRATE ON THE FLOOR!

- Don't dump your mop water over your balcony. (My neighbor does this, and it lands on my car and leaves a little waterfall over backdoor.)

- I'm sure area rugs and maybe even curtains would help absorb noise.

I've never complained to my neighbors, because I think we all have to have a little give and take in a communal living situation, and so noises are reasonable and expected! But if my neighbor ever asked me if there was anything he could do, I would make these points. Also, I'm not sure he would be comfortable with us knowing every detail of his sex life. =/

Good luck! If you lived above us, I would be so HAPPY to have you as an upstairs neighbor! :)

I decided to make this my mantra about 6 months ago. I have a 2 year old and I work from home. I was driving myself nuts trying to do everything all the time. I watched my mother descend into depression and alcoholism, partially due to trying to keep up with looking "perfect". So what if my laundry sits on the couch for a day sometimes?! I'm staying sane and getting work done, and that is more important to me than cleaning my counters twice a day. :)

"Don't apologize for your house not being perfect." You're right, I SO need to stop doing this! I have probably annoyed all of my friends and family by my constant "it's in transition", "it's not yet what I want" comments about my apartment, instead of graciously accepting their (hopefully) genuine compliments! :)

Omg I just caught all the alt/title text. AHHHHHHHH! I <3 it.