Two days from now we will have signed all our paperwork, and will hopefully get the keys later that day or the next day. Our appointment is 9 am Monday, so if all goes well we could move in over Thanksgiving.
We're not going to, but we could. There's still the little matter of needing a water heater before we move in, and toilets.
We're looking at these dual-flush low-flow toilets. A friend of ours recommended it. Apparently he installed one in his new house, and he says it passes the flush test with flying colors.
I like the fact they're dual-flush toilets. If you're not familiar with dual flush toilets it's a cool bit of technology helping us use less water (and, hello! Southern California has droughts all the freaking time). Basically it saves water in two ways: first, using the low-flow toilet technology it uses a combination of the traditional gravity-fed flush plus a motor to help the flush be more powerful with less water. Secondly, a dual-flush has two settings: a half-flush for when you just go number one, and a full flush for when you go number two.
But ultimately I'm leaving the purchasing of the water heater and the toilets to my dad and husband splorp! I'll offer input on the washer and dryer, but we'll probably go with a basic high efficiency top-loader washer and a gas dryer.
The front-loading washers just aren't for me. I think it's cool that they use less water and are more gentle on your clothes than a traditional washer's agitator, but I don't like the rubber "ring" gasket that seals the doors. They smell horrible, and the washers are prone to growing mold or algae or something around the rings, which in turn increases the smells. Ick.
We had a front-loader washer in our last apartment, and it was always smelling musty. I finally discovered I had to leave the washer door open so it could air out when not in use. That certainly is an easy solution, but in our new house the washer and dryer will be in the garage. I'm not leaving the washer and dryer open, what with all the dust and leaves that come in under garage doors. Plus, we're planning on parking in the garage. There will be car exhaust and junk in the air.
Well, if they boys are handling the appliances, I'm in charge of getting drapes for our bedroom. This is actually a very important thing, because our bedroom doesn't have a simple window, it has a sliding door that takes up one whole wall. There actually isn't a window at all, just the door.
So the curtains have to be black-out curtains, because otherwise we're going to have a lot of light in the bedroom. They have to be "insulating" type of curtains, because the door is the old single pane style, which will let in a lot of cold or heat, depending on the weather. Mostly heat (remember? Southern California). And the door faces the setting sun, so it will be really, really hot in the bedroom unless the insulating curtains work to cut the heat.
We have air conditioning and all, but let's be eco-friendly about this and just buy some curtains that have multiple uses and cut our heating/cooling bills.
The problem with buying curtains is that I've never done it before now. I went out to a couple of stores today, and learned that the hanging pole and brackets can pretty much be bought as a set. And I learned that the longer poles have more than the two end brackets (they have 3 or 4 brackets total), which is a load off my mind because I kept picturing he curtains sagging in the middle, what with the pole having to stretch 94" to cover the sliding door.
Also? I can't find curtains that I like.
We're not going to, but we could. There's still the little matter of needing a water heater before we move in, and toilets.
We're looking at these dual-flush low-flow toilets. A friend of ours recommended it. Apparently he installed one in his new house, and he says it passes the flush test with flying colors.
I like the fact they're dual-flush toilets. If you're not familiar with dual flush toilets it's a cool bit of technology helping us use less water (and, hello! Southern California has droughts all the freaking time). Basically it saves water in two ways: first, using the low-flow toilet technology it uses a combination of the traditional gravity-fed flush plus a motor to help the flush be more powerful with less water. Secondly, a dual-flush has two settings: a half-flush for when you just go number one, and a full flush for when you go number two.
But ultimately I'm leaving the purchasing of the water heater and the toilets to my dad and husband splorp! I'll offer input on the washer and dryer, but we'll probably go with a basic high efficiency top-loader washer and a gas dryer.
The front-loading washers just aren't for me. I think it's cool that they use less water and are more gentle on your clothes than a traditional washer's agitator, but I don't like the rubber "ring" gasket that seals the doors. They smell horrible, and the washers are prone to growing mold or algae or something around the rings, which in turn increases the smells. Ick.
We had a front-loader washer in our last apartment, and it was always smelling musty. I finally discovered I had to leave the washer door open so it could air out when not in use. That certainly is an easy solution, but in our new house the washer and dryer will be in the garage. I'm not leaving the washer and dryer open, what with all the dust and leaves that come in under garage doors. Plus, we're planning on parking in the garage. There will be car exhaust and junk in the air.
Well, if they boys are handling the appliances, I'm in charge of getting drapes for our bedroom. This is actually a very important thing, because our bedroom doesn't have a simple window, it has a sliding door that takes up one whole wall. There actually isn't a window at all, just the door.
So the curtains have to be black-out curtains, because otherwise we're going to have a lot of light in the bedroom. They have to be "insulating" type of curtains, because the door is the old single pane style, which will let in a lot of cold or heat, depending on the weather. Mostly heat (remember? Southern California). And the door faces the setting sun, so it will be really, really hot in the bedroom unless the insulating curtains work to cut the heat.
We have air conditioning and all, but let's be eco-friendly about this and just buy some curtains that have multiple uses and cut our heating/cooling bills.
The problem with buying curtains is that I've never done it before now. I went out to a couple of stores today, and learned that the hanging pole and brackets can pretty much be bought as a set. And I learned that the longer poles have more than the two end brackets (they have 3 or 4 brackets total), which is a load off my mind because I kept picturing he curtains sagging in the middle, what with the pole having to stretch 94" to cover the sliding door.
Also? I can't find curtains that I like.
2 comments:
Hi there Lara,
That is great news! SOOO Excited for you! Your posts are actually very informative. Maybe "two" informative. Anyway, I wanted to say CONGRATS! And don't forget to take a picture or two of the house for the "BEFORE" pics. It will be cool to show people later.
Maybe you can find some great deals with furnishings on "BLACK" Friday. After all, the name should be a good sign for finding great deals. It's your day! Have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Curtains are pretty easy to make. They're just big rectangles. If you can sew a straight line, you can make draperies.
There's tape you can buy to sew flat across the top, then put in multiple prong metal things that form pleats,like:
http://www.denverfabrics.com/pages/static/decorator/window-drapery.htm
I haven't used this particular product, but I did this with living room drapes years ago.
Post a Comment