Renter's insurance - questions/advice?

In My Humble Opinion
141

Sounds like you are settling in beautifully. I’m very happy, and that’s the important thing. Hehe.

Among the kitchen wares I suggest you buy is an oven thermometer. They’re cheap. You can get them on Amazon, like everything else. I’ve never in my life met a stove where the temperature on the dial matched to the temperature inside the oven. I also have a thermometer that sits inside my refrigerator. That will show you where you want to set the refrigerators own temperature dial, both to make sure it’s cold enough in there, but also to make sure it’s not so cold that your eggs freeze. These are cheap little things that support your quality of life.

Noctis is going to enjoy experiencing each box as you unload it. No doubt you will get plenty of help from him there. And it’s good that you have a specific place to throw your cardboard boxes after you break them down. We do here also. When I get a new Amazon box I usually leave the empty one on the living room floor for a few days until the cats have a chance to get in it, check it out, tip it over a few times, get into territory wars over it, and then when it’s no fun anymore, I take it down to the cardboard recycling bin.

142

Furniture got delivered today. The couch, table, chairs, and bookcase were easy to set up and only took a few hours.

The dresser, on the other hand, was another story. It was slow going, but after about two hours I had the frame assembled and went to put the back on… and realized I’d installed the base backwards. No problem, I though, just turn it back on its side so I can remove the… and then the entire thing collapsed all at once, stripping the screw holes as it went, bending several components, and smashing my toe. After several hours of experimentation with wood glue and electrical tape, I have determined that I can’t put Humpty together again and it’s a total loss. I’ll call customer support in the morning to see if I can return or exchange it or if I’m just out $300.

Fortunately, that old dresser at my old place is still unclaimed, so my old roommate told me I can still have it. I just need to find someone with a pickup truck who can help me move it.

143

Well, rats. I hope IKEA shows you some mercy.

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Was it the Kullen ?

145

Gullaberg.

I talked to customer service online today. They’re gonna send a truck next week to collect the parts and I should get at least a partial refund. I also arranged to pay someone $50 to help me haul the dresser from my old place over here next week. Once that’s done I’ll be all set.

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Noctis seems to have the inside handled. :cat: :broom: :laughing:

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UPDATE: Ikea came yesterday to pick up the remnants of the failed dresser - and surprisingly gave me a full refund! I put part of that towards ordering a coffee table, a desk chair to replace the one that didn’t survive the move, and some kitchenware and shelving for the bathroom (no medicine cabinet, so I need somewhere to put my essentials instead of just leaving them strewn across the counter). Today, I moved the dresser from my old place over here with the help of a stranger I recruited off Craigslist for $50. (I was a little wary about it, but I found a cool lefty transwoman who just moved from Texas and drives a pickup truck who was super friendly and willing to help.) With that in place, I was able to get my clothes out of my boxes and suitcases and I am now officially Finished Unpacking.

Noctis is thrilled about the arrival of the dresser - having something else that smells like home must be reassuring to him. He’s adjusting well and doesn’t seem to spend all day hiding when he’s home alone anymore.

I haven’t done much decorating yet aside from sticking some of my autographed wrestling/band posters on the fridge with magnets and setting up some mementos on the kitchenette shelf and the AC and the top of my bookcase. (Not pictured are the pinup girls on the side facing my bed.) I’m getting some double-sided adhesive strips so I can hang the rest without damaging the walls and I’ll look into some other wall hangings to help give the impression that an adult lives here instead of just an overgrown teenager. I also got a doormat to give the neighbors a taste of my personality.

I should get the coffee table and chair next week and then I’ll be fully furnished and ready to invite my mom over for a little housewarming.

148

Looks fabulous! So glad you got a full refund from IKEA-- I wasn’t expecting that.

Congrats on accomplishing the move.
:trophy:

Love the “welcome” mat. :wink:

149

That looks great! Congrats.

150

UPDATE: With the arrival of the coffee table and desk chair today, I am now officially Fully Furnished.

I need to move the dresser and computer desk a little further back from the couch so I can better take advantage of the space between the kitchenette and the door, but first I need a power strip with a longer cord.

The coffee table assembly finally gave me an opportunity to use the awl - it came with a plastic spacer for pressing against the legs, so you could make a mark in the right place to screw in the bits that hold the lower shelf in place. I’m glad I bought a drill - trying to bore holes into the legs by hand would have been a pain in the ass. I’m surprised they didn’t just put boreholes in the legs to begin with, but it wouldn’t have worked with the way this table is assembled, which requires you to screw double-ended screws into the underside of the table top, then screw the legs onto the other end of that screw by hand, so it’d be practically impossible to finish with the borehole pointing in the right direction. Should’ve gone with the same assembly scheme as the coffee table where a screw goes through the leg into a diagonal fixture in each corner. Curse you Swedes and your Byzantine manners of furniture assembly.

I’ve had a few opportunities to cook on the stove now. It’s not too bad. It seems like I have to turn the heat up higher than I was used to doing on the coil-top at my old place, and it takes a little longer for things to heat up, but the heat is even and my pots and pans lie flat on the cooktop instead of being angled because of the peculiarities of the coils. The oven itself works well and is true to the temperature setting.

I need to take some pictures of the back patio area, which I finally got around to exploring today. There are picnic tables and fire pits and a gazebo, and two big four-burner propane grills, propane provided, for tenant use. I’ve never cooked on one of those before. I’m gonna need to find an excuse to try.

Thus far, Noctis has been the biggest obstacle to keeping the place tidy. He kicks litter on the floor and gets hair on things and knocks stuff over, because he is a cat and he obeys neither the laws of man or God. Fortunately it’s easy enough to pick up the things he knocked over, wipe down surfaces, and then run the Roomba to collect the debris. I have to keep the bathroom door closed because he keeps trying to fight the other cat who lives in the mirror. I think I’ve managed to teach him to stay off the stove. He’s fond of napping on my couch.

The laundry room is running me $11 to wash and dry two loads once a week. Boo hiss. You’d think that with as ritzy as this place is they wouldn’t feel the need to charge the tenants to do laundry. The machines work well, at least, and you pay through an app, so at least I don’t need to haul quarters around.

I got the water/sewer/garbage bill today, which it turns out is billed separate from the rent after all. It came out to $4.09 for water, $4.16 for garbage, and $33.80 for sewer. Not too bad, I suppose.

I’m holding a housewarming party on the 20th. Just my mom and my sister and I. I’ll be serving melon spears with balsamic glaze, cheese fondue, shrimp scampi with fettucine, garlic bread, and flourless chocolate torte. I’m excited to show the place off. That’ll probably be the last update to this thread.

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ADDENDUM: Noctis sleeping on the couch.

152

Good looking cat! I like black cats; I’ve owned two.

153

Everything looks great! So glad you’re getting settled in. A cat that matches the furniture, good thinking!

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I’ve found most of my cats prefer to sit on things the same color as their coat. Although, the black and white one doesn’t have a lot of camouflaged options, and favors a brown cardboard box.

Congrats. That all sounds very nice. And thanks for all the photos.

155

Seems pretty reasonable, actually, breaking down to $2.75 per machine use. My mom was paying nearly that for the coinop machines in her building fifteen years ago.

(Isn’t two laundry loads per week rather a lot for one person? None of my business of course, but since you’re volunteering the info. Personally I average about one laundry load every two weeks, counting clothing and house linens, and I hang dry the clothes. Of course, I don’t have a Noctis getting up in all my business to wreak havoc on a drying rack, and I have enough underwear socks etc. that I can wait to wash till I’ve got a full machine load.)

156

I’m also a single person in an apartment and I do two loads every week; one white, one colors and I pay $3.50 per cycle. So $2.75 per cycle isn’t bad.

157

It might be a lot if you wash everything together - but up until a year or two ago , my husband didn’t have more than a two week supply of underwear and socks and that’s only because we started taking longer vacations - before that, he had maybe ten days worth so one load of that every week. And he doesn’t have as much clothing as I do - I could probably go a month without washing any of my own clothes (including underwear and socks) but I’d still have to do at least one a week of his.

158

This is why i own a lot of underwear. I do two loads of laundry every two to three weeks. (My husband does his laundry separately.)

159

Good point, a lot of people are routinely washing non-full loads. And I suspect that would happen even more in a “free”-laundry setup where users have unlimited access to laundry machines at no separate charge.

So keeping a per-load charge is probably best for (a) disincentivizing resource waste and (b) not tying up the machines so frequently (and wearing them out less rapidly).

Why We Overwash Our Clothes

160

Well, I wash my clothes one week, and my bedding and towels the following week.