hilaw's Profile

I was born in New England, to a Scot...... and I've have a perpetual fossil fuel log ticking away in my head since I was a kid in the '60s. That said, I use what I have and I've use for years the double sided velcro that binds up heads of lettuce from the market. It works perfectly for neatly binding any size bunch of cords together and leaves just that much more plastic out of my life and that much more money in the couch fund. For those gardeners out there they are also fantastic for tying up plants in the garden come summer!

OH MY GOODNESS!! even on your extended list you've missed the best of the best. You will be glad you made the effort if you go see Joanne Rossman's in Roslindale. It truly is like stepping onto another world!
www.joannerossman.com

Yes. Absolutely. Without a doubt.
Paint it.

Who wears their jeans 13 days in a row without washing them? Gross. I think I'll stick with soap and water.

not particularly impressed.

Oh! and once, thirty years after they bought the house my parents found the skeleton key to their front door in the basement - Then they had to start locking up when they went out of town!

Love red and pink but I honestly can say I don't see a redeeming element in any of these rooms. I'm a party pooper but I think they're ghastly.

The good book shelf is brilliant. It's so clean, simple and has space to store large books on their side! I'm so tired of my large and/or rare and old books getting warped by standing on end without proper support. Thanks for covering all the bases!

I was a house cleaner for years Boston and even 20 years ago $30 was not a fee I would consider. I would think that now you should expect $60 . I have a few pieces of advice: Hire an independent not a service - they don't pay their cleaners enough and with no benefits it is practically slave labor. Find an independent through local bulletin boards or craigslist or post a job listing at the schools. Ask around - chances are you just don't know your friends have house cleaners. Don't get hung up on "hourly wage". It costs what it costs and you pay what it costs if it takes two hours or three - if you think it's worth it then pay it, if you don't then don't. Lastly remember that these people are people, not automatons; they are fallible and sometimes make mistakes or miss something and you should never ask them to clean something you wouldn't clean yourself. good luck.

BTW, in the Boston neighborhoods where single stream recycling has been tested for the past two years recycling has been increased 50-100% with very sporadic "contamination" (garbage in the wrong bin)