Ann in Colorado's Profile

Booyah! The best cat litter and cat litter boxes are the ones that are scooped regularly by the cat guardians! I love Jackson Galaxy's take on it: would you like to go into a tight dark hole that reeks with poop and pee every time you need to use the bathroom? I keep my cat boxes uncovered, accessible, in a quiet space, and I keep them scooped regularly. I have two happy cats with three clean litter pans that no one notices - visually or by smell. I also switched over to stainless steel litter pans because they do not retain the ammonia urine smell like plastic does, so I never have to replace them.

I have never understood the necessity of having a "guest room." Having people stay in your home was a convention back when there were no respectable "rooms for rent." Now there are lots of hotels, motels, B & Bs, etc to fit any budget. If you don't mind the floor or the sofa, you can crash at my place for a night or two in an emergency or some dire circumstance. If you want vacation accommodations, find a hotel.

First, white kitchens are classic. They can look retro, modern, sleek, shabby, traditional, organic, industrial, or glam. In other words, timeless. Second, I'm so happy to see granite go buh-bye! Not that I dislike granite - I'm just sick of it being the "must have" of counters. Third, I personally love marble. I have 1950s laminate Carrara marble counters in my kitchen that I love. Yes, laminate! How fun that marble laminate, which was a trend in the 1950s, is now considered "an authentic vintage choice"! My dream kitchen, however, has real Carrara or Calcutta marble. And is white. As always, the best design is what makes you happy.

Yes - I agree - everything! I once rented a place where the backside of the drapes were covered in bird poop! The previous tenant had a bird (or perhaps multiple birds) which they let fly loose in the house and the bird(s) obviously roosted on top of the drapes and pooped.

On a happier note, a friend of mine said she always scrubbed the front door and the threshold of every new place (obviously in addition to everything else!) to cleanse away the past and open her new home to the future.

I'm not even going to comment on the "Sears vs original" debate because Michelle is happy with her result. I did want to point out that she doesn't have to try to memorize where things are if she just put labels in the label holders on the fronts of the drawers. Some pretty cardstock, some pretty writing = crafty not Craftsman.

I love your comment about having a detente with the kitchen spiders! I have a similar arrangement. I left the door open on one of my superhigh cupboards with an invitation to the very large spider living therein to move along. The door was open for two weeks. The jerk won't move out. I closed the door.

My problem is not with my bathroom or any bathroom per se. My problem is with my hair. I have very long hair (well past shoulder length) and any time I comb my hair I end up with big long hairs on everything: the tub, the tile floor, the sink. I pick up as much as I can but I know I miss some and seeing someone else's hair in a bathroom is just gross. I'm thinking of adding a hand vac right in the bathroom.

I love refurbishing used furniture and have found fabulous highend furniture and have never paid as much as $300. That being said, I think you might like the IKEA Algot closet system - very easy to assemble, all white, very modern looking with options for hanging clothes or using mesh baskets for drawers (which I like for shoe storage). I just put together a freestanding unit for less than $50, so for $300 you could build a whole wall of storage.