apartment move almost complete

[garmonbozia]

Yesterday, I turned in the keys to the previous place and now we're gradually bringing order to the once chaotic stacks of boxes.  This duplex is about 35 years old, so I'm getting used to older building fixtures and smells.  Had a number of mechanical problems and other minor annoyances to deal with, not the least of which was a pipe that busted when I tried to set up the washer/dryer.  I spent the next five minutes calling emergency maintenance and running around the outside of the building looking for the water shut-off, then spent the next two nights sleeping to the sound of three loud carpet dryers.  Glad they're not blaming me.  (One of the maintenance guys didn't properly prepare the washer/dryer connection, by leaving on the cut-off end of the previous resident's washer hose.  The flimsy, rotting PVC pipe busted when I tried to remove that with heavy pliers.)  Since it's a duplex apartment in a large neighborhood of duplexes, at least it bears resemblence to a real house instead of a hole in the wall.  (e.g. It has a back yard, and the view from the front windows looks like houses instead of apartments, if you ignore the fact that there are two in every building.)

[Callaway]

It sounds nice to have a yard and no upstairs neighbors, but it's too bad you started with a plumbing problem.

[Parts]

Good luck with your new place.  Ever have any maintenance questions and can't get a hold of anyone ask here it's what I do

[P7PSP]

It's good to get a move over with. Last time I moved I threw away a large box of books and other stuff that had remained unused in my living room for the entire 6 years I lived there.

[Callaway]

It's good to get a move over with. Last time I moved I threw away a large box of books and other stuff that had remained unused in my living room for the entire 6 years I lived there.

I probably need to get rid of some unused stuff, too.

I have a hard time letting go of things, though.

[garmonbozia]

I don't like clutter, so I've been working on getting rid of stuff.

I've put a few things back in the car, for the next time I'm near a Salvation Army store.  For example, there's the two-gallon air compressor and some accessories.  Didn't do as good at dusting as I thought it would, I don't own any air tools, and the inside of the tank is full of rust.  I've gone back to "canned air", years after buying that thing.  If I get rid of it, somebody else can buy it and make better use of it.  There's also a computer monitor and an old computer.  Once I've got the data I want off that old computer and reformatted it, it goes.  There are also some large tote boxes filled with various old electronic items.  I plan to go through them and give everything a serious evaluation of actual usefulness, and get rid of what I'm not going to use.

The mechanical problems, though not as bad as that busted pipe, continue to create inconvenience.  I've managed to quit knocking down the shower-curtain rod, which would crash to the floor at the slightest tug of the curtain.  The dishwasher isn't taking in water when run, so we're hand-washing dishes.  Most of the electrical outlets have a loose grip on plugs.  I don't like that at all.  I'll soon be handing a list of items to maintenance, for those things we don't decide to deal with ourselves.

[SleepyDragon]

It's always a work in progress, isn't it, keeping a roof over your head? Sounds like you're on top of the situation. God help me if we had to move anytime soon. Our place is packed to the rafters with useless crap stuff that might come in useful at some point.

[Callaway]

It's always a work in progress, isn't it, keeping a roof over your head? Sounds like you're on top of the situation. God help me if we had to move anytime soon. Our place is packed to the rafters with useless crap stuff that might come in useful at some point.

 

Me too.

[garmonbozia]

We got a place with an extra bedroom, for us to use as a study.  I have my desk on one side of the room and my girlfriend has hers on the other.  The quicker I go through the boxes of electronic parts and shift the unwanted ones out to the car, the quicker I can free up some work space for my interests (scanning old photographs, computer programming, and some electronics stuff).

What I like about this place is that its structure is all concrete, the floors are concrete and the exterior walls are cinder block, with false brick on the outside and panelling and drywall on the inside.  Compared to newer buildings, this place is built like a damn fortress.  The kitchen and bathroom are all tile, as is the floor in the hall.  (I never liked carpet.)  It has a gas water heater.  I've never used gas before, but that sonofabitch definitely heats the water up quick.  What I don't like are things like single-pane windows that rattle when a door is closed, the way you can hear the paint stick when you open and close a door, the lack of weatherstripping on the front door, and the aforementioned mechanical problems.  If I was buying a place like this instead of renting, I'd modernize the windows, electrical, etc., and keep the ruggedness of concrete and tile.

We plan to give the back yard some attention when we get a chance.  There, we plan to plant a garden and occasionally let the cats out to eat grass and chase bugs.  It's fenced, but we're concerned about how quick cats can get over the fence.

The main thing is just going through the remaining boxes and either finding everything a place or getting rid of it.

[Callaway]

Weatherstripping the front door would be cheap and easy.

In one of the places I rented, I made a wooden frame that exactly fit the windowsill of the large living room window and I covered it with plastic and used it for a cold barrier in the winter because it was so cold that ice formed on the window.

[jman]

Moving is exciting but it still sucks. I remember what a pain in the ass it was when I moved out of my parents. The move ended up costing me a lot of money, time, and energy.

[richard]

moving does suck, mostley i hate moving shit, and routines changing but for the most part routines can be used in a move. goodluck in your move

[garmonbozia]

It's been just over a week and it's almost looking like a home now.  All that vegetation described in my "urban gardening" thread is in the ground now, not in pots.  (Except for the grapefruit seed that sprouted.  I moved it from a Dixie cup to a gallon pot, to let it get somewhat bigger and stronger before putting it in the ground.)  I'm hoping to see all those pepper plants grow and produce now.  I planted the maple in a reasonably swampy spot in the back yard, and it looks like it belongs there.  Among things that still remain are our framed posters and artwork that still need to go on the walls.  Also, I need to hang up the big piece of black felt on which I keep all my old sci-fi convention badges.  That'll probably go over my desk.  After unpacking, there's a huge stack of plastic tote boxes that's in the way.  Haven't quite figured out what to do with those, yet.  Sanity slowly returns...

[SleepyDragon]

  for your relocation efforts.