Dumpster Diving Tips for Apartment Dwellers

Apartment complexes are in a constant state of flux.  People move and people move out.  Sometimes when they move out, those former neighbors leave cool stuff by the dumpster or trash compactor.  If you've ever been tempted to dumpster dive, you've probably seen some interesting items.  For example, I've found perfectly good televisions and shelving units.

But, before you take up dumpster diving, there are a few things you should know:

Dumpster Diving - By {* ferris!' (Flickr) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

#1. Never climb into a trash compactor.  Some are set to automatically compact trash on an intermittant basis.  This can be deadly.  No one--including you Indian guest workers--should ever climb into a compactor.  I wouldn't climb in a dumpster either since it might contain rats and all sorts of germs and bacteria.

#2.  Never take upholstered furniture unless you personally know the donor.  I found a perfect chair once.  Brought it home and found that cats had peed in it.  Sometimes, it is totally worth it to buy a new piece of furniture with a background you know than risk bringing a dumpster find into your home.

#3.  Never take food items from near a dumpster.  Some newcomers to America leave excess uncooked food items at the dumpster for other residents to take.  That's a really bad idea.  The dumpster area is a breeding ground for bacteria and is also frequented by vermin such as rats, mice, raccoons, and Possums.

Young Raccoons in a Dumpster - By PookieFugglestein (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

#4.  Never take electronics after rain.  The circuitry could be compromised by water, short out, or even start a fire.  You never want to put your fellow residents at risk.

Nine Ways to Stop Crime

Common Sense and Cell Phone Can Protect Your Neighborhood 

Some common sense tips that can help protect your neighborhood from crime without getting you into trouble.

The Trayvon Martin shooting and subsequent trial focused attention on the role of a neighborhood watch and the fight against crime. While arming yourself and following a suspicious person may be overzealous and get you far more involved in a situation than you ever imagined, there are a lot of things you can do to help stop crime in your community.

1. Stay alert. To avoid being vulnerable, you have to stay alert and aware of the situation around you. A $400 mugger magnet that diminishes your situational awareness is a bad idea. Pull the earbuds out of your ears and put your smartphone or MP3 player away. Now, look around.

2. Notice unusual people and behavior. As a private citizen, you are lowed to profile people for your own personal safety. If you are in a public park and you see a lone male backed into a far off parking space, he is likely to be there for one of two things: a drug deal or illicit sexual activity. If you see someone who looks like someone you saw on COPS, New Jack City, The Shield, or Deliverance, you should keep your distance and keep an eye on them.

3. Notice things that seem out of place. Be alert for suspicious packages, vehicles, or workers that look out of place. When I used mass transit, I was impressed that a bus driver noticed an abandoned briefcase at the bus depot and started asking where the owner was. Fortunately, other riders quickly identified the owner as an office worker who had simply left it behind momentarily while getting a pass from the information kiosk.

4. Report illegal activity. The "Don't snitch movement" is the product of criminals and their community of accessories and suppoters. If you aren't a criminal, you shouldn't express solidarity with those who are. If you want to live in a nice neighborhood that isn't full of thugs, you need to report every illegal activity you see. The police can handle it from there. There is no need to try and be a hero.

5. Don't encourage panhandlers. When an able-bodied person tells you a sob story and asks you for money on the street, they may well be pulling a scam. In our community, one enterprising gentleman has been pretending to be on a cellphone and have car trouble for two years.

6. Watch out for neighbors and their property. If you live in an area for awhile, you"ll learn where people live, their routines, and what cars they drive. You should recognize when a stranger is ransacking a neighbor's home or car.

7. Keep an eye on work trucks and moving vans. Commercial work vans come in a variety of colors with the most popular ones being peophile white and burglar blue. When they aren't emblazoned with a commercial livery, you should take notice and be alert. In most cases, there is nothing to report, but if your neighbors are on vacation and you see a commercial van, you may want to watch and see if metal thieves are taking your neighbors air conditioning unit.

8. Ask for extra police patrols for holidays. If you are going on vacation, or you've seen a lot of suspicious activity, or there has been a rash of burglaries, or your neighborhood seems especially empty during a holiday season, there is no harm in calling the police non-emergency number and asking for increased police patrols in your area.

9. Participate in neighborhood watch programs. If your local police department puts on a neighborhood watch meeting, go and participate. It's a great opportunity to learn what criminals are up to in your area and get tips on how to avoid being a target for criminals. You don't have to patrol your neighborhood; you just have to report what you see.

It is time to stop tolerating crime and criminals. All it takes is a commitment to keep your eyes open and dial the police non-emergency or emergency number as appropriate.

Choosing an Apartment: Avoid Rinky Dink Toilets

If you are contemplating a move and you tour an apartment with a rinky dink toilet, run away.  Your toilet won't be able to handle any volume of waste and a guy won't be able to handle all of his bathroom business while seated.  If the toilet gets clogged, you'll have a devil of a time unclogging it without making a mess.  Don't even ask me how I know.

A Small Toilet - By Deror avi (Own work) [Attribution, CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

When it comes to selecting a new apartment home, don't choose an apartment with antiquated plumbing.

Moving Tips: Don't Trust The Movers

Moving is a pain in the ass.  But, it's a fact of apartment living.  Sometimes your job changes.  Sometimes you get fireign neighbors cooking pungent foods in their bathtubs.  Sometimes you get insurmountable bug problems or an apartment building that is falling into disrepair.  Every time you move, you learn something.  When we learn something, we gain a valuable moving tip to share with you.  The last time we moved, our major lesson was -- don't trust the movers!

You don't learn this lesson until you move and slowly realize that you are missing something.  For example, we now realize that we are missing a box that contained my CD player.  It was an Insignia Multi-CD changer.  It was not incredibly expensive, but Best Buy doesn't sell them any more and other brands are much more expensive!

We are an uncomfortable 90% sure that the movers took it.  They saw me taping up a box near our home audio rack and probably thought they could snag something worthwhile.  But, they could easily deny an accusation or say that a bypasser must have snagged it off the truck.  Plus, it's been months since we moved.  Now this is just a painful moving lesson.

Next time we move, we are going to make sure that we number each and every box.  We'll make an inventory sheet and check off each box as it comes into the house.  We'll keep an eye on the truck and peek inside from time to time.  We'll be friendly, but we'll be vigilant.  We'll watch more closely. It's not going to happen again.

Changing Apartments: Find Two Places to Move

Moving is a big deal.  It takes time, energy, and resources to move.  When a move gets derailed, it can really leave you in a jam.  That's why it makes sense to have backup plans.

For one of our moves, we found out that our unit wasn't ready when we went to sign the lease.  Fortunately, we were able to cancel our move at the last minute and renew our lease at our old complex.  It might have been better to go into storage or have a second apartment complex in mind.

In the future, if we move, I would like to have a list of storage places, another apartment complex in mind, and even another moving company on speed dial.  I'd also like to have a few extra days on the lease at the old place just in case there is a delay.

Product Review: Master Lock Dual Function Door Security Bar

A Cheap and Effective Way to Barricade Your Home, Apartment, Dormitory, or Hotel Room Door

If you want to keep the bad guys out and sleep securely, check out the MasterLock Dual Function Door Security Bar.

Many Americans are looking for effective ways to be more secure in their homes. The Master Lock Dual Function Door Security Bar is a simple, but effective, way to temporarily barricade your door and keep home invaders out. The Security Bar performs two essential security functions:

1) It can be wedged between the floor and your door handle so that your door cannot be opened.
2) It can be placed in the tracks of a sliding glass door in order to prevent the door from being opened.

Door security bars like this one from Master Lock are also called Charley Bars. Of course, the principles behind a charley bar are as old as physics. The force applied horizontally to the door is simply being redirected into the floor. However, the Master Lock Dual Function Door Security Bar has a few added features that make it more effective. First, the bar has a padded rubber foot on a swiveling ball joint to ensure that the bar maintains good solid contact with your floor. Second, it is made of rugged 20-gauge steel and is adjustable from 30 to 44 1/2 inches. Third, the security bar has a removable non-marring yoke to protect the finish of your door and help keep the bar securely around the door knob during a break in attempt.

I have tested this security bar as a Charley bar in an apartment with linoleum floors and in a hotel room with carpeted floors. In both cases, the Master Lock Dual Function Door Security Bar performed well. In both cases, I installed the bar on an unlocked door and could not open the door and confirmed that the bar did not slide out of place. In a hotel setting, a maintenance man who was unaware of a last minute room change attempted to enter my room and was unable to open the door despite having a master key. If someone was able to pick or bump my front door lock, they would be stopped or significantly delayed by a properly installed Charley bar.

When using the Master lock Dual Function Door Security Bar, it is important to follow the directions so that the bar is properly aligned with the door and is at the proper angle. If the bar is made too long and is at the wrong angle, it can slide out of place. However, I found it very easy to read the instructions and install the bar on a nightly basis. While the Master lock Dual Function Door Security Bar can be collapsed for transport, the bar can be extended to and left at the proper length for daily use. This Charley Bar fit well in a large suitcase and would be perfect for extra hotel or dorm room security.

With the yoke removed, the Master lock Dual Function Door Security Bar can be laid in the tracks of a sliding glass door. While I did not have an opportunity to test this function, I believe the bar would function effectively in this capacity. However, it would be more cost effective to use the wooden dowel or broomstick cut to the proper length and use that to jam a sliding glass door. However, the Master Lock Dual Function Door Security Bar might be handy when a family travels to a rented vacation home and is unsure of the dimensions of any sliding glass door.

I can only see a few drawbacks to the Master lock Dual Function Door Security Bar. If you are incapacitated due to a medical emergency or fire and require rescue, it might delay firefighters or rescue workers for a short time. A short length of steel bar will not stop a fireman's axe. A determined home invader might still be able to breach your door by kicking and battering the door until the hinges or door frame gives way. However, in case of an actual home invasion attempt, I believe that the Masterlock Dual Function Door Security Bar can buy valuable time for a potential victim to arm him or herself and call the police, or make an escape.

Overall, I had a good experience with the MasterLock Dual Function Door Security Bar and would recommend it to anyone seeking a more secure home, apartment, or hotel room.

New Years Resolutions For Apartment Life

With the New Year right around the corner, it's time to take stock and make resolutions for the coming year.  Even those of us living in apartments can make New Years resolutions.  Here are my New Years resolutions as an apartment dweller.

1.  Use the gym.  I already pay for it.


2.  Use the pool.  I think I saw the groundskeeper clean it....once.
3.  Get unpacked.  It's been a couple of months.  The boxes in the corner have to go.
4.  Run a vacuum every week.  It's unlikely that they ever clean the ducts here.

5.  Wipe down the kitchen counters every night.  Otherwise, we might have to pay a pet deposit for insect visitors.

6.  Save up for a house.  It's past time to get one.
7.  Don't punch the surround sound gamer who lives upstairs.
8.  Lighten the load before our next move.  Why pay people to haul crap.
9.  Figure out who has been dinging our door down in the parking lot.  Paybacks are hell or at least little paint chips.
10.  Legally change my name to "Current Resident."  I will control all the mail.

Have a great New Year!