Stiletto's Profile

Hardwood, hardwood, hardwood. I had several relatives who owned and ran a family carpet cleaning business together...all of their homes had hardwood floors because carpet is a filth magnet.

It's unhealthy, too. I have asthma and the ONE time in my life when I could breathe easily at night was when I stayed in a friend's carpet-free guest room for two weeks.

I'm a chronic insomniac with asthma. My next apartment MUST have:

-Neighbors who are QUIET between midnight and 6am
-NO CARPET! I will never live with carpet again, it's a dust magnet and makes my wheezing a lot worse. I would rather live with old, sticky plastic flooring than carpet.
-No neighbors who smoke. This might require me to move into the dead center of a larger complex with a no-smoking policy...fine. Whatever keeps the smoke away. (I use a smoke-filtering air purifier inside, but I need to be able to breathe while I walk to my car, too.)

Oh, and I've learned the hard way not to pick a new neighborhood in the dead of winter when you live along the SoCal coast. From now on, I'm going to scout apartments on summer weekends so I know which areas are most flooded with tourists.

Anyone know a good service that can rip VHS tapes to digital format? I'm still hanging onto a few tapes (i.e. short films I made in high school) even though I haven't owned a VCR in a while...

Retrocatz is right about cardboard attracting roaches, and it's also a silverfish magnet, ick! I only keep packaging until the warranty expires (or until my cat finds the box and rips it to shreds). In my case, it helps that I don't own a lot of electronics or appliances anyway, and on the rare occasion I buy them, I buy the best quality I can afford so I won't have to replace them for a VERY long time. I don't think I even HAVE any product packaging left.

Salvage yard, yes...but don't forget auto junkyards, flea markets, or asking the neighborhood car fanatic to save one for you. Many of them buy two of the same vehicle - one to restore, and one (often in worse condition) for harvesting parts - so they just might have a spare mirror (or two).

1. Purge stuff from relationship. A really DEEP purge is best - remove their stuff, things they gave you, things that remind you of them, etc. Get in all your drawers and closets and go through ALL the stuff in your space. (Purging other stuff you no longer need or want at the same time isn't a bad idea either.)

2. Deep-clean entire space.

3. Update the decorating. This doesn't have to cost a lot - even rearranging furniture and taking down pictures of your ex will make a difference.

4. If you're not up to throwing a party, at least cook yourself a meal with foods you like but your ex doesn't, then watch a movie or TV show your ex didn't like either. I swear it helps.

5. Looking better helps some people (me!) feel better. Get your hair trimmed, get a new outfit, and go do something fun!

No. BUT...I'm used to cooking from scratch anyway, and I've never hosted more than 4 people for Thanksgiving. If I had to cook for a big crowd, I'd probably cut a few corners.

And most mail carriers won't honor such a request. Mine refuses and says he has to deliver EVERY PIECE or risk getting fired. Why not stop that garbage from being printed in the first place?

This is also a time-saver: prep as much in advance as possible- i.e. make and freeze the soup a week early, the stuffing three days early, and the dessert the night before. You'll have fewer prep dishes to wash on the actual day.

If you have pots and pans that can double as serving dishes, USE THEM. I have enough Le Creuset to serve a small army and can also use it to refrigerate any leftovers after everything has cooled down.

When preparing mashed potatoes for guests who do not eat dairy products, use a mixture of equal parts almond milk and full-fat coconut milk. It's much creamier, tastier, and easier to digest than soy milk.