I go first:
Our mailbox looks like this (green). It's beautiful and I love it, but I can't for the life of me figure out what to do with outgoing mail, so I just bring it to work with me when I have any to send. What should I do? How do I leave mail for the postman to pick up? Where do I leave it? There's no flag -- how will he know it's there?

[This message has been edited by pollyhyper (edited 05-04-2004).]

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Originally posted by heather:
I had a similar mailbox at my old apartment and I just had the mail sticking out of the slot - the mailman always picked it up.

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So is this what you're supposed to do then? I had thought about it but it made me nervous that A) it would get stolen, or B) it would get wet, as the mailbox is not under any cover from the elements.

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Originally posted by heather:
I think if there's mail in the box the mailman will check it - afterall, the mailboxes in apartment buildings don't have flags since they are just rows of locked boxes and the mailmen always take stuff from them.

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Originally posted by Lulue:
You guys are pretty lucky! The Austr@lia Post mail men don't offer such a pick up service, we just have to take our mail to the designated mailboxes or post offices!

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My parents just leave theirs sticking out (they live on a quiet street), but I take mine to work or the post office b/c I'm on a busy street and I'm new there so I don't know if I can trust it. I think you need decide how your area to make that decision.

OK, so my question:

Mail: I always left mail in the box with just a lip peeking out, but I had a vestibule in which there were only 4 mailboxes, and I wasn't worried about it. Now we have a rusted out roadside box with NO DOOR (I've asked to have it replaced several times, but hey, we're moving in NINE DAYS!) so I take it to work (we have an outbox) or find a postbox on the road.

Now mine! As everyone on the internet and in the greater Bang0r area knows, I'm moving! In nine days! I have become a listmaker, and one that I am working on is "stuff we need right away because we are not renting anymore" and so far, I have "Lawn mower, garden hose, and trash cans for curbside pickup."

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Originally posted by LJBrad7:
I have a big front porch. It's made of wood and is painted light brown with white railings and has no side walls, but does have a roof. I have a very small front yard so I am close to the street. It isn't really a main street, but it's a cut thru to a main road (so we get buses, cars, trucks). This kicks up a lot of dirt and I find that our porch quickly looks dirty. How do I clean it? I know sweeping, but it doesn't seem to be enough. Do I just mop it? Is there anything less labor intensive (being that we have furniture sets on the porch that would have to be moved)? Is there anything preventitive I can do? Thanks!

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Greschya: I'm still thinking on it, but:
- rake
- toolbox w/hammer, nails, screws, anchors, screwdrivers of different sizes, tape measure, masking tape, duct tape, electrical tape, sharpie marker, picture hooks, etc.
- Edger (in addition to mower)
- Hedge clippers (if applicable)
- Extension cords
- 1 broom & dustpan for each floor of the house
- Additional trash cans (for all your new rooms)

...more to come, I'm sure...

- garden gloves
- rubber gloves
- hard-bristled outdoor (concrete) broom
- STUDFINDER (b'c they're fun and you have a good excuse!)
- spackle
- bucket

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Originally posted by bekkaboo:
I have a cleaning question -- I asked it in the hard water thread too but didn't get a direct answer. I get nasty whiteness all over everything that my water touches...my glasses, my faucets, my COFFEEMAKER is disgustingly full of it in every little crevice, despite me cleaning it about 10x more often than recommended. I used CLR on the faucets/shower head, and I use coffeepot cleaner on the coffeemaker, but none of this seems to help much. Also, inside the toilet and at one end of the bathtub I get brownish stains that reappear almost as soon as I scrub them off. Make it stop!!! Make it stop!!!

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Originally posted by Lulue:
LJBrad7 in response to your porch question, not an immediate solution but one for the long term plan - could you plant some screening bushes below your porch to act as a barrier to the dust and dirt?

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Originally posted by Beep:
Have you thought about investing in a water softener? That would cut down on all that nasty scale. Ugh, hard water sucks.

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I live in an apt. in a house....that's something the landlord would have to do, right? A whole-house thing?

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Originally posted by xoe:
hmm whats the best way to achieve optimum space..in a small place!

[This message has been edited by xoe (edited 05-05-2004).]

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I shall ponder this question this weekend and revisit in on Monday. I have plenty of ideas but I am too scatterbrained right now to do much with them.

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Originally posted by xoe:
hmm whats the best way to achieve optimum space..in a small place!

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Coming off of four years living in a dorm, I've come to be somewhat of an expert in small-space living (even no-kitchen cooking!). The best tips I found were to use the under the bed space, whether its to loft the bed and create desk space or such underneath or just simply to get the bed high enough off the floor for ample storage. Also, make your furniture do double-duty. Use a trunk for a coffee table so you can fit things inside, storage cubes as ottomans, stuff like that. And for asthetics, go with fewer bigger pieces of furniture. It actually has the effect of making the space seem larger.

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Originally posted by Lulue:
You could sew a few more magnets into the hem of the shower curtain, right across the bottom, not just at the corners.

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Originally posted by giamaria:
Yeah, I hate that too. Soo annoying, esp. since I have a shower curtain on each side since it's a free-standing tub.

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Originally posted by pollyhyper:
This used to happen to me when I had a clawfoot tub w/curtains all the way around. The curtains would try to strangle and molest me.

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