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Posted
May 30 2008, 09:45 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Recently a tenant moved out of the apartment building I manage. During the final walk-through I saw that she'd left behind a wall-mounted spice rack, a shelf-and-cabinet unit in the bathroom and a wheeled kitchen cart. She told me her fiancé had all the household items they needed. If no one wanted those things, they could just be thrown away.
I love my new kitchen cart.
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Posted
May 07 2008, 10:56 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
Water bills getting you down? "Katurah82" favors a multipronged approach to keeping usage in check. She takes three "navy showers" a week, i.e., water turned off while she lathers up. The rest of the time she heats a few gallons of water on the stove and pours it into the bathtub. "I use way less water."
Katurah82 learned to wash dishes in a gallon of hot water while camping. Why not do them that way at home? Oh, and about that water: Most heaters are set way too high, she says, so turn yours down. (A setting of 120 degrees should work fine, and could save you $20 to $50 in utility bills according to this article.)
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Posted
May 07 2008, 10:38 AM
by
Karen Datko
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What's the point in everyone in the neighborhood paying for way more broadband than they can use?
Poster East Coaster Now in CO says he's begun piggybacking on his neighbors' wireless signals.
"Once in a while I can't get a signal, but 98% of the time I want to get online I can. That saves me about $30 a month."
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Posted
Apr 30 2008, 09:15 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
If your electric bill were going to rise by 447%, what would you do? Probably what they're doing up in Juneau, Alaska, which just lost its source of cheap hydroelectric power.
Residents bought out the town's stock of compact fluorescents and clothespins. They're cooking on backyard grills and eating by candlelight. Stores shut off neon signs and unplugged vending machines. Families are limiting television and computer use. Not only are people falling all over themselves to conserve electricity, at least one man tripped over his dog in a dimly lit room. Luckily neither he nor the pooch were seriously injured.
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Posted
Feb 01 2008, 02:47 PM
by
Karen Datko
What happens to people after they lose their homes to foreclosure or a short sale? DebtKid lived in his office for two months until he saved enough cash to rent a place. He showered at a nearby gym every morning before returning to the office for the workday. His employees never suspected. His post, part of a group effort by several personal-finance bloggers on the topic of homeownership, provides several options for no-cost housing until you can get back on your feet -- and tips for finding a rental despite your damaged credit score.
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Posted
Nov 30 2007, 08:55 AM
by
Donna Freedman
Rating:
A tenant knocked last Saturday to tell me she'd broken off her key in the door. If this ever happens to you, try doing what I did: Insert a spare key until it touches the broken piece, then turn very gently.
After a few tries, the lock opened. Since I couldn't pry out the broken piece, I installed a replacement deadbolt. Just another day in the life of Super Resident Manager, saving the building owners an expensive weekend locksmith call.
My point? This was not a tough fix. Lock replacement is one of many repairs that can be done by the most amateur of handyfolks.
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Posted
Oct 22 2007, 07:02 AM
by
Karen Datko
Last week we noted a blogger's musings about the upside of living in a small house: less space to maintain, furnish and heat, for starters. How about having no house at all, or a home that's a hole in the ground? Boston Gal's Open Wallet was inspired to research the cheapest of accommodations by a brief conversation she'd had about the concept of "going Thoreau." She read about guys who lived underground , another who lived in a commercial building's attic equipped with cable and flat-screen TVs, and a group of artists who built a secret room, complete with video games, in a mall parking garage. "Maybe living for free is not so crazy after all, if 'going Thoreau' means I can still have luxuries like a PlayStation," Boston Gal writes.
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