Thea77's Profile

The whole makeover of the room is amazing!

Maybe one way to keep the tree in your life is to do something with the wood? I have no idea what kind it is and what it would be suitable for, but I have always loved how my parents had an old tree from our land made into a big book case, by a carpenter in the village.

I think that's a nice way of dealing with the simple fact that trees die. Cycle of life, and all that...

I think I would consider making them myself from some unusual things like PET bottles or something. Maybe try drilling some holes in existing planters?
The last one looks great, and the one you waited for, too.

Wow. I disagree with almost every point! Except 7. Having a floor plan is very important. People will know where to put stuff and it saves a lot of time and mess.

I'd say:
1. Pack everything well, and well ahead of time. Have one type of boxes (really, it helps so much you won't believe it) and DON'T overload them. Have two lighter ones instead of one heavy one. Keep the weirdly shaped stuff to an absolute minimum. Just put it all in those boxes.
2. Move everything through the window if possible. Rent one of those lifts. It's heaven.
3. Purge before you move.
4. The floor plan mentioned in the post.

I always have found that moving is much easier than it seems. I've done it in two and a half hours once, and that's including unpacking all the books and putting them into the book case. If you do it well, it shouldn't take more than a Saturday morning to do it all.

I've done without a kitchen for about 6 months.
Apart from the Holy Trinity that has been mentioned before (toaster oven, microwave, hot plate) that I agree really do the trick, I'd also get creative with how you cook.

A few tips:
- Cook for three or four and refridgerate the rest, treat yourself to a microwave dinner every now and then.
- Buy a recipe book about cooking in the microwave (there is much more you can do with it than most people think).
- Learn how to cook simple.
- Even use techniques like cooking rice by starting it on the hot plate and let it steam in the pot in an old blanket if you really like a challenge :-) I use this when I'm camping, with the sleeping bag for the blanket.

Also, don't forget you also need a tap and drainage. Do you have that in the unit? If not, things will get really complicated. If possible, set your make shift kitchen up near a tap and near ventilation. But I'm sure you thought of that.

In the end, when I got tired of not having a kitchen, I also made do by eating heavy hot lunches at work and lighter salads in the evening at home, or by going to a good deli for freshly made lasagnas and other meals. I enjoyed the challenge, but I'm happy I've got a big kitchen now!

Good luck!

@rexrayfan: wow, you were creative! :-)

I think it's a great idea. I use this in a different way: whenever I need something from my freezer (soup, frozen veggies, whatever) that needs to be thawed or heated, I take it out 24 hours before I need it and put it in the fridge. That way it keeps the fridge cool on less electricity than normal, and I don't need to use the microwave to thaw.

I'm going to try this trick with ice from outside. See how it goes... Thanks!

I have to say, after having read the comments, that I'm surprised at how many people apparently don't know how to hang their laundry properly. If you need to iron a lot, you're not doing it right!
And if it takes forever to dry, try not overloading the laundry line. The clothes need air. And don't let them hang outside overnight, it gets humid. Unless you're in a hot climate perhaps, but even when I was living in Australia I took the laundry in before night fall.
If I had the space and were not a single household, I would probably hang my laundry outside instead of taking it to the laundrette. The problems people are reporting here, really can be avoided.

Love it!

I hope this doesn't come accross as too aggressive, but why would I bother with Hannukka? I don't even know what it means, other than a jewish holiday, and I'm not jewish. This post assumes that the reader has a dilemma, and I find that very politically incorrect. Festivities are supposed to be fun, so why not just let everyone do their thing?

By the way, I'm an atheist raised in a christian household, and I celebrate christmas, this year with a lot of decorations and stuff, because my family is coming over for dinner. We don't do gifts, because that's not the tradition over here. I have no problem with observing a holiday I don't believe in. I just like all the lights. :-)

I thought Heathers joke was rather funny. :-)

Anyway, I also really love the window seat in the same picture. Wish I could do something like that in my own place...