How to not get scammed moving into a place you’ve never seen before
I’m an engineering student, and as such have moved quite a bit between co-ops, internships, and school. Because my moves happen three times a year and my moves are typically over 400 miles, I have never actually moved into an apartment that I’ve seen beforehand — and I’ve lived in seven different apartments/shared houses. I’ll admit, I went through some pretty crappy living arrangements because of this, but I have gradually learned how to make this experience better.
Here are some things I’ve learned to do when moving in blind…
Dark Side of the dish soap
This idea — dish soap in a decorative bottle with a bar pourer — was apparently Martha Stewart’s very first “good thing” — and it really Speak(s) to Me. I saved this awesome Pink Floyd wine bottle and used it to replace the ugly plastic bottle of soap on our counter. The result is a real Eclipse of the former bottle.
Use bracelets to hack any behavior you wish to change
A while back, I asked y’all to help me come up with ways to try and trick myself into drinking more water. Homie Rin commented with a pretty genius hack for getting herself to drink more water. But, the beauty of this hack is that it can be used to influence ANY kind of behavior your want to encourage!
We turned a bedroom into a crib for a formerly co-sleeping baby
We co-slept until my daughter was eight months old. It was an amazing experience for me, but she started teething at eight months. As the primary breadwinner of the family, and also the lightest sleeper, my husband felt it would be best to transition her to her own room, so that I could get at least a little sleep before embarking on what is typically a 13 hour day. But I hated putting her in a tiny crib (to be fair, she is big for her size)… so we decided to turn her room into a crib.
Wrap, pin, and win: an edgy zipper headband
This tutorial from mega-talented DIY blogger Stacie over at Stars for Streetlights is the epitome of easy-peasy DIY with big impact. Two ingredients + one step = edgy and awesome wedding hair accessory.
Making an unfinished attic space feel livable
I’m about to move into a new home. I’ll be renting a bedroom and the unfinished attic from friends of mine. I’d love to sleep in the attic, with all that space and all the windows. What are some good ideas on how to make an unfinished part of a house into something livable?
Turn socks into snakes to keep the cold out
You’ve got those fuzzy socks that don’t fit quite right, an old pillow and some popcorn kernels. You’ve also got a bit of a draft escaping at your doorway. What would MacGyver do? Whip up a door snake!
We don’t believe in walls: living in a bubble
believe in walls, and it seems that Pierre Stephan Dumas doesn’t, either. He designed these bubble rooms for for Attrap’Reves in France. They’re at once fantastical, like dew drops in an enchanted forest, and futuristic, like terraforming colonies with airlocks.