kendrart's Profile

I have to agree - I don't think "upcycle" is the right word for this.

But seeing these pictures I went "NO WAY" and fell in love. Want want want.

I love this post. I'm lucky enough to have a few things like that too. And I love that figurine, I want one!

If by no brainer you mean a collective facepalm.

The few parents who've posted here saying "get a clue" - it's wonderful that you're so accepting & willing to roll with it, but that sure isn't the case with all parents.

My Dad in particular is incredibly fussy about cleanliness and decor - I used to have a bright turquoise ceramic parrot that he consistently talked about how "weird" it was - along with my other colourful art & decorations. For anyone outside my family I don't care at all, but to avoid lectures and feeling put down when my family visits, I scrub scrub scrub and 'normalize' my apartment. For the record, I nicknamed my parrot Big Blue and was heartbroken when my cat knocked it over & shattered it.

I have a latex mattress with a pillow top I purchased on sale from Ikea. It's amazing. Legitimately amazing. I don't ever want to buy another mattress.

One of my big keys to a stress free bedroom is the temperature. For me that's leaving the window open a couple inches for fresh air, and having a few extra blankets at the end of the bed I can just drag up (no complicated unfolding, in the middle of the night when I'm cold & not completely conscious that drives me nuts) in case I get cold.

I just bought a sleep mask a few weeks ago and it's changed my life! I have a hard time getting to sleep, and I've had heavy light blocking curtains in the past that have helped falling asleep enormously, but made getting up in the morning much more difficult. Now I put on a light-blocking sleep mask at night, and in the morning I slide it off to my light curtains letting the morning light filter in and I can actually wake up!

I second that request AT - can you make a way we can access all of the renters solutions posts? I'd love that!

I move often because I get restless, and because my life changes. I love the apartment I'm in now, but when I go back to school to finish my degree (hopefully within the next year) I won't be able to afford it. But I don't see moving as a huge issue as some do - I think the hassle is worth being somewhere where you're happy, and packing is such a good opportunity to do a good purge!

@ Erica Romeo - your story made me really sad, as someone who's experienced cockroaches I'm so sorry that was something you had to deal with on top of everything else in that time. But try to think about your next move positively - you're getting away from bugs! Maybe you'll have more space, and your husband while have a better commute! Maybe you'll be close to a grocery store!

The trick to getting landlords to be honest about cockroaches is saying that if you move in to discover an infestation, you will happily break your lease to get away from them. Doesn't matter if you're bluffing - they won't want the hassle. To keep any kind of bugs at bay, every time you wash your kitchen & bathroom floors spray along the edges & especially in the corner with an indoor bug spray, it works a trick.

I was disappointed by this article because to me all those photos look like very workable spaces! I'm at a total loss what to do with mine - the heavy fire escape door opens facing the wall of the hallway. There isn't enough room to put a table or bench on that wall or the door won't open all the way. It's a fairly narrow hallway that has two closets to the right before opening into the main space. To the left of the front door it ends with the bathroom opening to the right - I had originally wanted to put a bench at the end of the hall there, but then you can't get into the bathroom. Maybe I'll take pictures and send them in here and hope it can be a "good question". Bah.