apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Can anybody give me a referral for a good and dependable mover for those Craigslist finds?

check out movers on citimove.com I just used A M Movers. Excellent experience.

I know this is a long shot, but I might as well ask... a couple of months ago a link on this website led me to a specific print I have since remembered and coveted. I wish I bookmarked it, but I didn't. It was Little Red Riding Hood fighting the wolf with an axe, and winning; the composition was circular, with Red on top and the wolf on the bottom. Does anyone remember this random piece of art? Probably not...

An environmental group is worrying about glycol in common household cleansers. The interesting part, though, is that Simple Green is among the products they're targeting as potentially harmful.

I am moving into my first real (i.e. bought) apartment and am considering getting an alarm system. Does anyone have one to recommend?

Hi! I am desperately looking for an attractive, affordable locking file cabinet for my home-office-slash-studio-apartment. Most of my furniture is dark finish West Elm/Pier1 stuff, so something in that price range with a similar look would be ideal. It is really important that it locks. Thank you so much for any suggestions or nudges in the right direction!

Trumystique -

I use Ziggy at Ziggy Vanz. He's fast and reasonable, and a heck of a nice guy, to boot.

Last number I had for him (from about 8 months ago, when he helped me pickup a AT classified find): 347.581.6552.

I am really waiting for the sh_t to hit the fan on stuff like febreze and airfreshners and what all that stuff does to us. I just don't understand why people don't connect the dots on breathing stuff and getting sick, so the cleaners don't surprise me.

NYJulie:
You don't say how large you want the filing cabinet to be...
Ikea has this small cabinet that locks
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/30116966
available in a dark brown.

Milord--

I'd start with ADT or Brinks. You probably already know, but there are two phases: Installing the system, and monthly monitoring. The big players offer other (non burglary) services, like fire and CO2 monitoring, but of course, that ups the monthly fee.

And something you have already considered/addressed, but make sure you have renters' insurance.

Thanks, polkadot. Something like that is perfect, actually.

Speaking of IKEA, any recommendations for painting IKEA shelves? Can I just directly paint onto the shelves? (I'm getting geared up for my first IKEA trip for my new apartment next week!)

Anokha,
Priming is best (unless you are staining the unfinished wood shelving). You can even paint the veneer shelving if you use a primer specifically designed for painting over formica--like zinsser bins. We painted our dingy ikea laminate cabinets with terrific results--just follow the directions and give extra time for drying in between coats of paint!

Anokha, I had the ikea wall shelves that slide into the metal braket in the wall, the type that cover the braket, so you see only the shelf and I painted over them directly without priming. It worked well bcs what I had was a white shelf that was painted, not formica and not veneered.... If you get the later kind, you definetely must prime.