apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Has anyone installed these swing rods from West Elm? And if so, are they easy to install? Is the hardware very shiny? Thanks!
http://www.westelm.com/online/store/ProductDisplay?partNumber=WE-PRODr386&cmsrc=rel&storeId=17001&langId=-1&catalogId=17002&viewSetCode=E

If anyone has a cleaning person (apartment in Queens) that they'd recommend, please email me at iloveupstate (at) gmail.com

Thanks!!!

For anyone still wondering where you can recycle plastic shopping bags in NYC:

Whole Foods offers recycling in all its locations. Alternatively, you could reuse your old bag and get ten cents back per bag. (In April, in honor of Earth Day, you'll 15 cents per bag.)

D'Agostino's customer service rep said some locations offer recycling, while other don't.

Gristedes and Trader Joe's both said they do not offer bag recycling drop-off.

Ingrid-

I haven't used the West Elm kind, but have purchased (and returned) as similar kind (Umbra). I think they are just simply screwed into the wall.

Thanks, Lori2! The Umbra ones come in black, which is nice. Can I ask why you returned them?

I don't know that I would ever say "Happy Good Friday."

Aw, Doug, next you'll be telling us not to put home-baked crescent-shaped cookies in the lunchroom to help our Muslim friends celebrate Ramadan!

Wende, you just had to remind me that I forgot to Tivo "The Office" last night, didn't you?

Happy Diwali, everybody!

Tried the last thread but didn't get a response. I'm looking for a skinny under the counter fridge. 17" wide at most. Anyone?

I'm looking for a place to recycle old batteries. I have an old phone battery sitting on my desk that I'm sick of looking at and yet I just can't toss it in the garbage. Where do I take dead/old batteries in Manhattan?

DenimDemon, is 17 inches the absolute maximum? I know of a few refrigerators that are under 19 inches wide:

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Refrigerators&pid=04694372000&vertical=APPL&subcat=Compact Refrigerators&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=4150723&type=product&productCategoryId=cat05005&id=1051384351637

Anne, Green Disk is a company that recycles just about everything electronic: rechargeable batteries, floppy disks, tapes, CDs (and their cases). You pack up to 20 pounds of materials and ship it to them along with $6.95 and they recycle it all. http://www.greendisk.com/gdsite/pack-ITservices.aspx

Anne-pretty sure you can take that kind of battery to Radio Shack for recycling

Doug - you're pretty late for Diwali. It's celebrated in October/November timeframe.

Happy Good Friday. :->

Ingrid-

I returned them because I was going to have to fully extend the rod for the size that I needed, and when I did that, The rod didn't want to stay parallel to the floor, but angled down slightly which bothered me. But I do really like those types of rods. The other thing to keep in mind is if you really are going to open and close them: when open, you either need enough wall space next to the windows, or enough space in the room for them to be at right angles to the window and not hit anything else.

No idea about New York, but in Toronto, Bahen building in U of T has trashcans for battery recycling.

Tried taking photographs for the Smallest Coolest contest today, and totally failed. After recalling last year participants, I'm intimidated! :-)

Can I just say the "past comments" section on people's profiles is great fodder for laughs... because the comments are SO out of context. Case in point:

"I love mine, have used them since childhood. Plus they're lovely to look at. Tessa, after I'm done shredding the ginger on the nubs I use the bit that's left in my hand..."

Too funny.

Yes, the fridge can only be 17" wide max. 19" ones are easy to find.

Hi guys!
My partner and I are moving from Germany back to NYC (YAY YAY YAY) and we have accumulated a nice little collection of furniture that we are planning on taking back with us. Has anyone shipped furniture from Europe to NYC... of even better, has anyone moved from Europe to NYC?
How much should we budget?
Any tips or suggestions?

Thanks for the help!

DenimDemon, I found I few 15-inch refrigerators. At least one of them has a trim kit to fit 18-inch openings (could possibly be adapted for your 17-inch space if that matters). All of them are expensive for their size, but if it is the only option maybe it is worthwhile.

http://www.morehome.com/index.cfm?page=display:product&productID=30WC-G&manufacturer=Marvel&finish=Black&source=froogle

http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/RFE33A1C.html

http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/1115R.html

http://www.ajmadison.com/cgi-bin/ajmadison/2115R.html

One other thought for DenimDemon: if a really small refrigerator (1.7 cubic feet) would suffice, some "dorm refrigerators" are as narrow as 17 inches, although most are slightly wider. They are much less expensive, usually less than $150.