convinced

If I have to try to convince myself I will like to live in a place, then it’s probably not the right place.

The reason I bring that up is that there’s a place I kinda like, but it’s missing one of my wish list items. It’s a bit of a deal-breaker. There are a few more aspects that the rental unit lacks, but this one thing is something that would drive me crazy to live without. Some of the circumstances and features make it the perfect place. And there are a couple things it has that I’m probably not going to find anywhere else.

Here, look at it…

…charming woodwork, gorgeous hardwood floors, a clawfoot tub, a giant deck, a dishwasher (not pictured), and it’s the top floor of a duplex! So perfect, right? But, it’s missing one of my must-haves. So, I’m a little torn, despite the missing feature.

It’s hard, since I do like this apartment, but I need to let go of the possibility of this place. And I guess this situation helps me in the rest of my search because I know that I have to find a place that has what this one did not.

my wish list

I always have a wish list.

For an apartment that is.

My dream apartment would be either a vintage building with lots of character and charm or a modern (or vintage) loft/warehouse type structure. I certainly don’t expect to find a place with all of my wish list preferences, but I sure would like to find a place with as many as possible and call it home for a while.

The current wish list includes the following:
~1 bedroom + den/office/study (or 2 bedroom)
~top floor
~dishwasher
~laundry (in unit or free)
~garage parking
~outdoor space (deck/balcony)
~secure building
~heat/water/trash paid
~unique features (which means things like: interesting layout, built-ins, brick walls, clawfoot tub, cool/big/unique/numerous windows, wood floors, cement floors, great views, etc.)
~quiet neighborhood/neighbors/building
~large closets (more than one closet in unit)
~extra storage

What do you think? Is there anything I missed? Do you have a wish list for your apartment search?

I find that these kind of lists are essential, but you have to keep a flexible mindset when it comes to wish lists…it’s highly unlikely that you will find 100% of the things on your list in one place…unless you have a limitless budget and aren’t tied to a specific location in the world.

SIDE NOTE:
it’s been snowing on wordpress the last couple days
…little snowflakes/specks are meandering across my monitor.

dish mountain

think about your dishwashing habits (and cooking/baking) when you consider an apartment with or without a dishwasher.

If you don’t ever cook, the lack of a dishwasher may not be a big deal. But, if you love cooking, baking, or entertaining guests you may want to add a dishwasher to your non-negotiable apartment amenities (wish list). Or, if you’re like me and just find it hard to make the time to tackle dish mountain.

Or if you really enjoy washing dishes by hand it shouldn’t matter. A college roommate of mine would talk to her parents at a scheduled time every weekend and she washed the dishes while she was on the phone which was super convenient for me! I did wash dishes that year, but she probably washed a whole lot more than me.

My Grandpa is one of those who prefers washing dishes by hand (it’s what he’s been used to his whole life). He has a mini dishwasher in his apartment and he uses it, but only for storing plastic bags used for the trash bin and plastic storage containers. I wish I could take his dishwasher and put it in my apartment.

I go through waves of clean and not-so-clean in my apartment. The most problematic area to keep up on is the dirty dish pile, which sometimes turns into a mountain.

My current dish mountain:

This is a huge reason that in my next apartment hunt a dishwasher is a non-negotiable on the wish list. Life will be much less of a chore in the kitchen. And my counters, and the dish fairies (AKA my parents), will be thankful.

You’d think it would be easy to keep up on the dishes with no roommate, but I’m usually eating breakfast and lunch when I have no extra time before rushing out the door. Then, after dinner in the evening, I don’t like to wash the dishes immediately after eating. For some reason it seems to cut off the enjoyment of a good meal. That or else I finish eating in the middle of a show that I want to finish watching so I plan on doing them later. And then I forget, or get sucked into another show!

A couple years ago I checked out a library book that had a section on dishwashing (I can’t remember the title, but it was an eco/green type book). What I read there made me even less likely to handwash my dishes after every meal when there’s only a handful of dirty dishes. Sanitization is the main reason for washing dishes and apparently if you’re washing by hand the best way to sanitize the dishes is to let them soak in really hot water for somewhere between 30 and 45 seconds. Which is a bit of a deterrent, to me, when there’s only a handful of dishes after each meal and I don’t want to take the time to fill up the sink to let the dishes soak before washing them. Plus, it seems a bit wasteful on the water usage end of things.

So, I suppose I should go take care of that mountain on my counter.