Amy_in_StL's Profile

Unfortunately a Nest doesn't work for all systems. I bought a Honeywell since I have both Central A/C and hot water heat and Nest can't deal with that combo. My Honeywell connects to my wifi network and I can access it via my Android phone. It's also easier to do a vacation or temporary temperature override. It was no harder to install, in fact the only difference is that you have to use a computer to finish installation on your wifi network.

I'm usually more of a DIY kind of girl. But when my closet rod fell down in the middle of the second night in my new home; I needed a new closet system fast. I went to the container store on my lunch and explained my needs and dimensions to the guy. He emailed me configuration choices and once we had that settled, I called in with my credit card and picked up the system after work. I have old plaster walls with weirdly spaced studs so their system worked great and required minimal drilling for a solid system. The time saving and peace of mind was worth a little more money.

Have you tried the furniture slider pads? I use these under an ottoman and they're great. They're a hard slick plastic.

@rosebud I wish more people would be afraid of salt. Too many people oversalt food while cooking it and you can't take salt out of food. I personally find the taste of salt horrible. A little used to sharpen flavors is fine but some people really don't like salty food - and its always awkward to not eat much and then have to decide if I want to be honest when the host asks what is wrong. (And yes, I'm often told that no-one else at the table finds the food oversalted.)

I consider 120 sq ft a pretty good sized kitchen and I agree if you have an island in your kitchen (unless it's actually half in another room) your kitchen isn't small.

What in the world is plugged into the wall in the second to last picture? Was the ceiling fan plugged in and not a permanent install? It doesn't look like it was screwed to a box properly more like it was just attached to where a ceiling fixture used to be - which is dangerous. If this is in your parents' condo you should make sure that contractor didn't screw everything up this badly - a good general contractor should have caught this.

I moved into a brand new complex and was given permission to change multiple things. The company that built the complex told me as long as I was willing to undo each thing they were fine with it. I put in a wand shower head in one bathroom and a rain showerhead in the other, painted one room, installed a Hunter ceiling fan in one bedroom, put in a closet system in the storage closet and replaced the builder basic fixture in the dining room. I also put cabinet and drawer pulls in the kitchen and bath since the basic white cabinets had no pulls. Three years later the apartments were sold as condos and my new landlord decided to raise the rent substantially. I gave her a list of the changes I had made and asked if she wanted me to undo anything. She said no, she was actually happy to see I'd made upgrades. Then she charged me for undoing every last one of them.

Lesson: Get it in writing if they're okay with changes being left. Otherwise you're left with hundreds of dollars in bills and/or a court date in small claims court. Also, you lose money you spent on customizations that are tossed out.