New Attitude at my place... maybe

Our apartment uses a lot of water. Mainly because someone who will not be named likes to take at least 2 showers a day. Not only that, but he uses a new towel every time. That, combined with the water-hogging toilet, our water bill could stand to use some help. (I would also blame my cat, who, I swear, drinks at least a gallon of water every two days, but I have no proof since he not only drinks the dog's water, but also the fish's water (mmmm... fish soup))



After reading this post from Young House Love, I decided that it's time to do something about some of the water usage. I bought one of these babies. We'll see how much water we save.



Did you know that Lowe's didn't have this on their website nor does Wal-mart sell it in-store? I think it's a conspiracy ;).



Maybe I should also look into getting a low-flow shower head.



About a year ago, I fixed the front door. I replaced the gaskets (and still had a huge gap between teh frame and the door) and added the foam-tape stuff to fill in the gaps. This helps keep the cold-air inside during the summer and the warm air inside during the winter.



Another improvement we made was turning on the air-conditioner later in the night than last year. Instead of turning it on before 10 p.m., we wait until 11:30. We are already seeing a difference in the electric bill by waiting a little later to cool the house. This past winter, we did run the heater a little more because we both caught something. Normally, we don't even run the heater.



I tried using the energy-efficient light bulbs, but I did not really see a difference in using them, other than more money taken from my pocketbook. To me, it also seems like they don't last as long as regular bulbs.

My husband will be so proud of me....

Day 1 of Cleaning out the apartment has commenced. I can't really explain it in words, but I have before and after pictures! (I even threw away my old graduation hat from high school.)


Chris helped me, but sort of lost his usefullness when he started telling me to keep stuff. I told him "You aren't helping, i'm trying to get rid of stuff". He was so nice that he even offered to throw everything away for me. I didn't want him to get overeager, so I seperated my junk into throw away and give away. The picture of the lumber and trash is just he beginning. Toward the end of the night, you could barely walk to the bedroom. I forgot to take a picture. I was caught up in the moment.




Now, the pictures!








I still have some cleaning to go, but ran out of time and steam. The next project? The kitchen shelf.

My husband must be telling on me

I'm about to partake of a project that is of epic proportions.... cleaning out my apartment. While reading this article, I realized that Chris must be telling on me because I can be caught saying some of this stuff, especially "I might need it one day".



After my husband called me a hoarder ( in a joking way), I decided that I need to clean out my closets. (well, my husband saying that and the fact that i've gone from storing stuff in teh closet to actually throwing it on top of stuff that is crammed in boxes, on top of boxes, in my closet. Plus, the fact that I am unable to freely turn around in my 6'x8' closet.



One thing I want to do is to return extra unused lumber to Lowe's. Can you even do that? Secondly, I have to bring myself to get rid of the board games that I haven't played in years. I had even forgotten about them when I had them stored at my parents' house. I recently got them back because my parents had to move and gave me my "stuff" back.



I also have two old baby toys that were mine when I was a baby (including a stuffed dog-affectionately known as Barf). I also have a ton of stuffed animals. I like stuffed animals. I always have. Some of them were made by my great-grandmother. Some of them were given to me by friends, and some of them I just like. I don't know how I can get rid of them. There is also a huge beanie-baby collection. How can I get rid of them? They may be worth money in years.



Another group of things that I can't get rid of are my musical instruments. I have a keyboard that I bought in high school. I also have a guitar that I purchased then too. I have played the keyboard in the last year or so, but I haven't used the guitar since my Junior year of college. I also have a violin that I inherited from my grandfather (can't get rid of that).



I know I have a graduation hat from high school, plus pointless certificates and plaques from high school. I need to get rid of them, but I can't. I also have autographed pictures from 10 coaches in the SEC. Many of them aren't even coaches anymore and have moved on. They may be worth some money, but who knows.



Remember the world before digital cameras? I still have developed film rolls from trips that I went on. I also still have the photos. Do I really need to keep my advantix film rolls?



I'm not even touching my Christmas decorations. I try to use all of my stuff every year. My house looks like Christmas threw up in it, but Christmas is my favorite holiday. --no compromise ;)



Clothes: Oh boy. This is a big one. I promise myself that I will wear that small skirt, when I lose weight. I haven't worn it since 2007. I also have a few pairs of pants that I am promising myself that I will need them when I loose 2 dress sizes. That's not happening anytime soon. I also have a letterman jacket from high school. It doesn't fit anymore. Am I going to wear it around when I do fit in it? I say I'm going to keep it and let my kid wear it to some "spirit day" in school.

This may be a "nicole only" thing, but I can't bring myself to give up my flower pots. I recently built a huge planter to plant stuff at my apartment and do not see me needing pots anytime soon, but I can't get rid of them. It's not like they are the expensive pots, the most expensive one costed $12.

I won't even get into all of the kitchen stuff. I say that I need to keep it for when I move into a house. That won't be for at least another 3 years. By then, I'm sure there will be more sophisticated kitchen technology.

Now that I have cleaned out my apartment in my head, maybe I can actually do it tonight.