yasue.grogan's Profile

Good point and this is generally true for -anything- you buy, be it food, clothing, etc. The one issue I have is that some things are too expensive relative to a person's budget and lifestyle. I understand where you're coming from and blame the Wallyworld effect for this shift from craftmanship and fair wages (and a myriad of other things in the geopolitical climate), but there's something else to keep in mind...

I had this discussion about mass produced food with a friend recently, who was preaching about how everyone should just buy local and by organic and how life would be oh-so-much better for them. In reality, that's not attainable nor is it reasonable to expect everyone to afford to do so--she'd not consider that this might be the reason that some of her friends pointed out her lifestyle was too expensive; the organic price tag would mean 3 meals for their families as opposed to 6, for example--especially in regions where organic wasn't an easy option or an option at all. Add to the mix that very often expensive things no longer comes with a promise of quality and it is a harried road, indeed.

My approach with my budget and with my lifestyle is to have less overall as a rule of thumb. We do live in a fast-to-acquire and fast-to-trash-things culture.

Oh yeah-the biggest bonus about the medium city: we bought a great house here in a nice area at a price that wouldn't have gotten us even a crummy condo in the city. My big city friends faint when they hear how inexpensive our house is and we have hope to pay it off in 15 years to boot. ;)

I'll add that sometimes the best place to look is from places that supply things to, gee whiz, industrial warehouses. :) Uline has a pretty sweet selection of just about everything you could ever think of wanting--and they have discounts on multiple pieces.

I'm going to suggest finding window treatments she likes first and then using those as a a guide for choosing her wall color. I recently went through this process and read the same advice elsewhere (forget which decor site) and it made a ton of sense once I started shopping for curtains; finding styles I liked in the right length was a pain and I ended up ordering online. Since her ceiling looks high, she might run into similar issues that I had, since I needed 95+ length and those seem to be hard to find on the shelf in stores. I'm glad I waited to paint, since now I know how deep and the exact intensity/undertone ranges I'm looking at for paint. The best sources (I found) for affordable curtains of a good quality and longer lengths was JC Penny and Target. Though I bought online, I also liked the option to return locally if I hated them.

As far as the swatch you shared goes, I think the room is large enough and light enough to handle the depth. It's all a matter of what one finds soothing and I (personally) like richer, deeper shades for rooms with a relaxation theme.

@thomas.boni JC Penny has some nice quality curtains--even in long lengths and good widths (some companies skimp) for reasonable prices. They won't be quite as trendy as Target's styles, but they had great options for less stuffy styles than many other big box stores without the ridiculous price tag.

I'm stunned at the comments that take offense at those who love living in smaller spaces. The previous commenter is spot on about why we need articles like this. Live in as big a space as you want if you feel it suits you. Race to the bottom? Give me a break.

My point earlier was that a large house doesn't fit our lifestyle--that is, that WE don't want or need all that space and all the stuff it would eventually get filled with. I left a domestic violence situation and lost almost everything in that place as a result. I learned (about myself) that I don't need things to be happy. Not a single object. No joke.

When I spoke of quality over quantity earlier I don't mean just a price tag either. I meant something I really enjoy to fill a need, not something I had to just go and and buy in a short time. So many times in my youth I would end with multiples of an item because I was to quick to grab something and change my mind later. Back then, I would get caught up in the thrill of shopping and make poor choices.Loosing almost everything + a small space taught me to slow down and make things count more. Make sense?

I also have a very low sentimental attachment to objects in general--because the memory is in my head--not the object. My mom has tons of china, but when she passes, I don't want any of that; it's better it go to someone in the family who will use it for formal occasions. What I would like of all things? One of her favorite coffee cups, because that's what she uses every day. I understand not everyone has that outlook, but getting snarky and assuming that another way of living automatically judges you is jumping the gun and then some.

I have to agree with the suggestions for looking into other causes mentioned (like flea meds, what they might be getting into, changing their food, and more)--as well as looking into alternative treatments and shots. The only way to know for certain (at least in the USA) is to see a specialist.

For years a general practitioner came up with all kinds of crazy suggestions about what I am allergic to and I took his word for it, until I had a major flare up that even caused me to miss work. The specialist was able to pin it down to mold--so sensitive to mold she freaked out when the test point swelled like a wasp sting and a very mild allergy to cats.

I am fine around some cats though. It all depends on the environment (no carpet houses help) and cats with the right diet produce low dander. If those two factors are in place, I have even been able to live with a room mate's cat as long as they stayed out of my bedroom. I just took an over the counter allergy med during shedding season or if the mold count was high I had to get a prescription to cover both.

Instead of letting them sleep directly on a heated blanket, she should try to cover it and other things they sit on regularly with something that is easy to machine wash a few times a week.

I agree with all of the above. My husb and I have been in a studio with slightly over 300 square feet for 7 years and though it can be a challenge, we insisted on a house that was as close to 1,000sq ft as possible when we bought our (moving next week!) house. We would have preferred even smaller, but that's not an option in the area we wanted to move to, since the typical house is in the 2,000 sq ft range.

I agree with the sell stuff and pack stuff early advice. I treat the last week like camping. No joke! You will be amazed by what you won't miss/don't -really- need that you though you -had- to have it in the past. After you've moved, live in your space for awhile with as little as possible outside of daily needs unpacked. You can never understand a space until you've lived in it for awhile and how you use it will still change over time.

This might sound obvious, but opt for furniture that isn't bulky. One of the best things in our small space is a set of 22'x20' tables on casters. Pushed together, they are a coffee table. Rolled in front of a guest on the couch, they are casual dining tables. They have shelves underneath for stashing things that stay put during rolling. Downsize an enormous couch for a mid size or (if you're not couch potatoes) a love seat. Leggy furniture gives the illusion of space. Clear tops help too. Build upwards! High shelving is magic. Use things in unconventional ways. For example, I put on makeup at my work desk; my "vanity" is a folding mirror on top of a decorative tin until I stash them away again. My beauty supplies are organized in a drawer nearby. Attractive overflow (like perfume bottles) are display items.

Moving to a smaller space is liberating in many ways. It causes you to readjust your idea of what kinds of objects are actually valuable to you, as opposed to there "just because you like them". Things are only things will become a mantra. You'll have less to clean and dust and that = more free time. You'll start to think really hard before bringing new stuff in and that will free up your wallet for more important things, like experiences. My art shifted to new formats out of necessity too. I went from large scale, traditional painting to making digital works and smaller scale pieces. At least once a year, purge anything that you realize is excess.

You're creative people. If you think about it, the best work is brought out by limitations. This will apply to your apartment soon enough. ;)

I'm a HUGE Google Voice lover! We haven't bothered with a landline in almost ten years. We use it in the following ways by forwarding our cell calls through it and texting directly from the number:

1) All of our voicemail is filtered through it. While at a PC, we can listen while people are leaving a message if we want (like an old school answering machine) and decide if we want to answer.

2) It's incredibly easy to block unwanted calls with a single click in the browser interface. Bonus: it tells the annoying caller that the number is disconnected.

3) A great dummy number for anyone you don't want to have your for-real regular number. I use it when filling out forms or listing items on Craigslist, for example. I had a stalker ex in my past, so I also chose and area code that has nothing to do with my area, on the off chance he will try to look me up again someday and finds that number. According to it, I live very far away from where I actually live.

4) With a browser plugin (Chrome) we can text from our PC keyboards and that beats the tar out of using ANY size touchscreen.

5) You can set it up to email you copies of texts/voicemail transcripts. This has been wonderful while buying a house. If I need to go back and find info, it's not buried in my phone and/or clogging up space there. I can check these emails from anywhere very easily.

6) Google to Google calls are free, but if you have anyone overseas, you can not beat the very low cost of international calls.

7) With the same browser plugin mentioned earlier, I get a nice, crisp ding sound when I have a text or voicemail. This is most excellent, since I am prone to leaving my phone in a bag or pocket. Since I'm at my PC so much, I rarely miss a call/text I want to get.

"5 Stylish, Modern, and Wildly Overpriced Storage Beds" is more like it. There are more affordable options out there, not to mention it might be easier just to build something, depending on where you live. We're in a small city, surrounded by corn and soybeans. There aren't any shops that sell anything but very traditional, matchy-mathcy bedroom sets. Unless there's free shipping, we're breaking out the power tools when we move.