“A lot of people actually prefer it this way,” he assures me. “It’s cleaner.”
I find it hard to believe that there are people who prefer not to have a toilet in their apartment. For the record, this is the only bathroom in the apartment. And the toilet isn’t broken. It simply isn’t there. It never has been. The listing, which mentions that the apartment is near an Equinox and a Starbucks, neglects to mention this.
“So what happens when, um, one needs to use the bathroom?” I ask.
He leads me to a single toilet stall in the hallway and tells me it’s shared by the apartments on the floor. No sink, just a toilet.
This is an old building, and a communal bathroom was common at the time it was built, more than a century ago. I like old things, and appreciate seeing this living history; at the same time, I’m not sure I want to be this intimate with history.
I had no problem sharing a bath toilet shower with 8 other people when I was young and pinching pennies. I became an expert on bathrobes and slippers and developed some extra politesse, all still valuable to me.
I had a hot water tap and sink in my room’s kitchenette, and when in a hurry sometimes would take a sponge bath rather than wait for “slooow Walt” to finish his toilette. One of the ladies on the floor finally succeeded in terrorizing Walt into hurrying along during busy times of day by simply non-stop banging on the bath door and yelling when he was inside. He learned. People can learn.
You want low cost housing? Cut the plumbing intensively and give up on kitchens designed for 20th century housewives. A small sink with water (cold is enough) and plugs allowing for electric teakettle, microwave and or toaster over, magnetic induction hot plate, and presto. I could easily live that way happily, sharing a central bathroom facility. Emphasize security and privacy (walls that block sound need not be thick and expensive, just intelligent).
Cut the plumbing intensively and give up on kitchens designed for 20th century housewives. A small sink with water (cold is enough) and plugs allowing for electric teakettle, microwave and or toaster over, magnetic induction hot plate, and presto. I could easily live that way happily, sharing a central bathroom facility.
Can you eat a healthy diet under those conditions? Is there counter space? At the very least, I hope that there’s a refrigerator and freezer.
When I travel and have to sleep in a hotel, my diet can NEVER be as good as my diet at home, where I have a stove and oven. While I’ve learned to stop at the grocery store and buy some fruits and vegetables, the variety I consume isn’t as good.
Now that the pandemic prompted me to avoid all junk foods and restaurant foods, my winter diet is healthier than my summer diet. That’s because my winter diet has a wider variety of foods. During air conditioning season, I prefer to avoid using the oven and stove, because that adds heat and humidity. This reduces the variety in my diet. (I also have a smaller appetite in summer.)
I did forget and left out a small refrigerator freezer, which can be very useful, but not essential. I did not have one in my little apartment, and did fine because there was a good small greengrocer on the block between my trolley stop and the apartment.
To support my occassional wanderlust lifestyle I have worked as a professional hard core short order and chow hall cook. I completely agree with you on how essential good food is and how difficult it can be to obtain. Making apartments expensive does not solve that problem.
You want low cost housing? Cut the plumbing intensively and give up on kitchens designed for 20th century housewives. A small sink with water (cold is enough) and plugs allowing for electric teakettle, microwave and or toaster over, magnetic induction hot plate, and presto.
As a kid I lived in a 17’ long camper van with my parents and Bro for a year. Our toilet was a portable toilet with a reservoir, used sparingly and dumped when we went to campgrounds to get showers. We mostly free camped. Small sink, where we did sponge baths, in a small kitchen where we cooked on a two burner stove. Very small fridge, particularly with two teens on board. Most days we shopped as we did our sight seeing. It’s remarkable how little you actually need to live well.
We seem to have forgotten needs are more important than wants.
A small sink with water (cold is enough) and plugs allowing for electric teakettle, microwave and or toaster over, magnetic induction hot plate, and presto. I could easily live that way happily, sharing a central bathroom facility. … Can you eat a healthy diet under those conditions? Is there counter space? At the very least, I hope that there’s a refrigerator and freezer.
Absolutely. Our son has a small fridge/freezer which never has much in it and could be even smaller, a sink, about 4’ of counter space as well as a 7’ long buffet that he got from Goodwill where he has a toaster oven, electric skillet and an induction hotplate. Microwave is on top of the fridge. He cooks up a batch of brown rice that is reheated for several meals, and often does stir fry. A Costco chicken is only $5 and gets deboned for multiple meals in the week. He doesn’t eat much in way of packaged foods and eats a healthy, unrefined carb diet.
During air conditioning season, I prefer to avoid using the oven and stove, because that adds heat and humidity.
We bought a great toaster oven during Black Friday specials: https://www.ninjakitchen.com/exclusive-offer/DT251WBKT/ninja… (currently about $100 less on Amazon.) We almost never use the standard oven anymore. This takes about 90 seconds to preheat, vs close to 20 minutes for our conventional oven. Can even cook a 14lb turkey in it, so they say anyway. It’s amazing what they have done for kitchen appliances that only need a countertop and a conventional plug.
he has a toaster oven, electric skillet and an induction hotplate. Microwave is on top of the fridge. He cooks up a batch of brown rice that is reheated for several meals, and often does stir fry. A Costco chicken is only $5 and gets deboned for multiple meals in the week. He doesn’t eat much in way of packaged foods and eats a healthy, unrefined carb diet.
That exactly describes DS1’s housing (and diet) a few years back when he stored his car in our barn and went off to grad school at the University of Chicago. It was a converted low-end hotel from what looked like the 1920s. It did have a (tiny) bathroom, but if you wanted anything bigger than a bar refrigerator or a 1200 watt microwave it meant a trip down the the converted commercial kitchen on the first floor. Likewise if you wanted to walk more than four steps in the same direction.
He was nearing thirty at the time and was I think eleven years from his freshman undergraduate dorm, so it was a big change compared to the nice Portland apartment he’d had while working. It’s hard to cut back on a lifestyle, and I was proud of him for electing to do that.
if you wanted anything bigger than a bar refrigerator or a 1200 watt microwave it meant a trip down the the converted commercial kitchen on the first floor.
A key feature of low cost housing, and one that works wonderfully, and not just for a powerful kitchen needed occassionally, but also for a socializing/party room instead of an almost never used private living room etc.
Can even cook a 14lb turkey in it, so they say anyway. … I can do that on my gas grill. Also use its side burner to make a side dish. It keeps all the heat out of the kitchen during the summer.
I do have a turkey roaster that plugs into the deck outlet, and this is where I do 25 lb turkeys in the summer, followed by turkey stock. Turkey isn’t just for winter…
How long does it take you to roast a turkey on your grill? I remember my folks doing that with chickens, but with how good and cheaply priced Costco’s chickens are, I just don’t roast my own anymore. Come to think of it, the rotisserie appliance would be better used at the cabin, where there is no Costco nearby.
IP,
with an overly stocked kitchen…anyone need a pasta maker?
How long does it take you to roast a turkey on your grill?
In the same time as my oven. I use a digital thermometer to measure the temperature and adjust the gas to where I can maintain the same temperature as what I would set on my oven.
In the same time as my oven. I use a digital thermometer to measure the temperature and adjust the gas to where I can maintain the same temperature as what I would set on my oven.
Sounds completely delicious. Bet that skin is awesome on the turkey. If it’s a warmer Christmas Day down there, I could also well imagine having a bottle of something in your hand to drink while “tending” the bird.
IP,
seeing the limitations of her set it and forget it roaster
Sounds completely delicious. Bet that skin is awesome on the turkey. If it’s a warmer Christmas Day down there, I could also well imagine having a bottle of something in your hand to drink while “tending” the bird.
Next turkey will be cooked differently. I got a Traeger pellet grill for Christmas. It is set it and forget it. Just keep the pellet hopper loaded. I’m looking forward to it. Already made a chicken in it and it’s been the best I’ve eaten in years.
Next turkey will be cooked differently. I got a Traeger pellet grill for Christmas. It is set it and forget it. Just keep the pellet hopper loaded. I’m looking forward to it. Already made a chicken in it and it’s been the best I’ve eaten in years.