Aimsly's Profile

Now that I live with my boyfriend (apartment), I am very confident that we'll be sleeping in separate bedrooms a lot when we buy a house. Also, it's a no-brainer for his & hers bathrooms; he's just too hairy and he can't keep the bathroom clean!

I really struggle to let go of items based on sentimental value.

For example: I have two scarves that I haven't worn in 8 years - but I keep them because they were the first things my grandmother ever knit, and she made them for me. In fact, 99% of my winter accessories have some sentimental attachment - but I don't use or even LIKE most of them now!

How do you get over the guilt of parting with something someone made you or bought for you, which has strong sentimental value even if the item is not functional or personally pleasing?

I find we're really restricted in our apartment building. They've adopted a new property management company that has been making a lot of small changes and implemented a "you can't do anything" policy. They switched out our toilet and shower head with low-flow models (which was fine, I guess), but they've replaced all of the light fixtures with ugly, boring pieces. Now they're painting our balconies and there have been talks of replacing kitchen appliances, but we have no control.

The parquet floors? Buy a rug or deal with it. The wood panelling on all of the cupboards? Too bad. The awful bathroom tiles? Live with it. The non-adjustable thermostat/radiators and grey walls and everything else we've come to hate? Can't change anything.

My bedroom TV unit (a credenza) has a built-in drawer like this :)

People seem really touchy about #8...
What's the issue? Presumably, your hands aren't covered in fecal matter upon entering the room with your device. So, you use it while you're doing your thing, then rest it somewhere (sink/floor), flush, wash hands, take electronic device with you when you leave.

Seriously, bathrooms can be so boring when you're in there a while. My bf takes upwards of 30 minutes on the can, regularly.

Our kitchen is small and skinny...there's maybe a 7 foot stretch from the entryway to the doorway, and the room's maybe about as wide as my arm span - there's hardly room enough to think in there! The left hand wall is taken up by the oven/stove, tiny counter space/drawers and then the fridge with cupboards above everything. The right side is all cupboards on top, and a long cabinet and sink against the whole wall underneath. It's really a one-person kitchen :(

I hardly think anyone is "addicted" to using disposable grocery bags.

Mostly, it's a matter of convenience. I can't recall how many times I've thought, "Oh crap, I forgot the bags at home after taking them inside last week!" I don't shop often, and I'm not the owner or primary driver of our car, so the thought never occurs to me to take them back to the car.

Plus, I always end up reusing my bags as small apartment garbage bags. Is it very "green"? Not really. I use my reusables when I remember them, and don't stress over disposables.

I only buy CFLs - begrudgingly, though. I was on the green bandwagon, supporting CFLs until I started to use them in main rooms. They're dimmer, and totally less warm. My bedroom felt like a hospital waiting room.

Our property manager just replaced all of the light fixtures, and switched out every bulb in the place with incandescent bulbs, so for now I get to use those until they die. I only buy CFLs for myself, but I'll be damned if I switch them out willingly before the incandescent bulbs die.

Hospital room. Ew.

I was never "formally taught" how to do laundry; some things just seemed normal to me... Read the labels, wash with like colours, hang-dry clothes you're afraid of shrinking in the drier (or in general if you have a clothes line), etc.

Some things I've learned through trial and error: invest in a bra bag of some sort, if you want your whites to stay white don't toss is anything with the slightest smidge of colour, and always empty your pockets!

I just slip my Kobo E-reader into my Moleskine notebook; no cutting or glue required. Just slip in, and wrap the band around.