| Nikita | Posted: 18 December 2011 - 12:08 PM |
I know everything needs a "home" but what if you can't afford to go out and get anything that looks nice to put things in? My apartment manager hates cardboard boxes and keeps saying that they create cockroaches which is ridiculous. I don't have any (haven't seen any at all) and I have a few of those cheap white shelves but I realize they don't look the best. I know I have too much stuff but the worst place in my home is my computer desk. it is common to have a cluttered desk if you are doing things on the computer and online a lot isn't it? I have an old computer case with the USB jacks at the back so I have to have extension cords and have them dangle in the front where I plug things into. She hates cords and I am afraid I will be evicted because she has already threatened me with that twice this month (Dec 2011)! She is never proud of the steps I make to improve and nothing seems good enough. It makes me feel like not even trying. I know I would not be doing this at all but the fear of being evicted .. I have to do something. As it is I want to just move because I hate her intrusiveness but even to move it always bothers everyone who helps me about how much stuff I have to move. I want it to not be hell for everyone. Do you have any ideas for what to do with the cords in my computer room / bedroom? Also because the outlets are BEHIND the computer and I can't reach them I have one power bar in the back (because a computer case and monitor and printer and scanner need more than just 2 sockets in one outlet which is default in the wall) and then I have another extension cords attached to that one that comes out infront of the computer and is visible when she walks in my room to do annual inspections. I also have another power bar in this room just a little closer to my bed for the radio and my lamp and my alarm clock and phone and answering machine. My apartment manager won't understand the need for all this so I have to be creative on how to make things not visible. Any tips? Also a lot of my shelves don't have doors (like typical shelves they are open concept) so it looks messier than it really is. Any tips for this? I can't afford ones with doors.. | |
Replies (1)
| releasing | Posted: 21 December 2011 - 11:18 AM |
Nikita, It is always difficult to assess a situation just from what is written on the internet, but what you describe may very well be unsafe, and the apartment manager may have good grounds for asking for changes. Apologies in advance if I sound tough, but you have to be realistic to protect yourself. First, corrugated cardboard is a favorite bedding of cockroaches. And by the time you see a cockroach, it is estimated that there are at least one hundred in the walls out of sight. Are your boxed uncorrugated? Or could you switch to uncorrugated? There is a lot of relatively inexpensive shelving/storage available. And it is fairly easy to put together stuff from throwaways that look half decent. And depending on the age of the electrical system in your building, sticking too many items into one socket, especially in a standard extension cord, surrounded by lots of paper, is a fire hazard. It would be good to invest in a power strip that has some surge protection. This would bring the outlets within easier reach, so you could plug and unplug more easily. | |