ALJ new apartment building from 24th Ave E. ; photo by ALJ
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ALJ new apartment building from the alley (mine is the dark red one)
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Moving my residence
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Seattle, in early February 2019, is freezing cold worse than it has been for years. One for the records, definitely. Moreover, I am ill with a "common cold." Therefore, since I cannot work outside, I sit inside now to write and illustrate for you an account of my transition. Since mid-November until last week, I moved from my prior residence in a 1912 wood house with large garden, to a brand new modern apartment in a building 800 feet northeast of the old place. I did it in a unique way.
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ALJ new apartment 800 feet northeast of the old house
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| Over the decades, when helping friends move from one residence to another, we'd invariably box up possessions, load trucks, vans or trailers, then convey the items from the old place to the new one. Sometimes it was done in one day with one giant load. Usually, it was several smaller loads over a few days. In my case, I obtained the key to my new unit November 15th, began walking things over then, and did not finish until January 31st. So the complete move took two and a half months --intentionally. |
To minimize moving stress, I had 3 goals:
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| 1 stay in my familiar neighborhood (Montlake) |
| 2 move gradually rather than all at once |
3 move without deadline pressure
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Moreover, I benefited from 5 fortunate factors:
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| 1 move in winter when my gardening clients need me least |
| 2 move without money pressure |
| 3 move assisted by 7 friends and neighbors (still others offered to help) |
| 4 moved when it was a renters market, so apartments were plentiful and deals easy to get |
5 took many things from the old home, so few had to be bought for the new home
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The entire process was done deliberately. Since I am a simple man who dislikes abrupt, major change, I more-or-less recreated my familiar kitchen, bedroom, office, living room and bathroom. The essential change is that I reduced from a big house of 2,230 square feet and 3 stories, on a lot of 8,124 square feet (largest on its block) . . . to a cozy apartment of about 625 square feet, as follows:
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| storage is 10.5 sq. ft. |
| bathroom is 50 sq. ft. |
| office is 66.5 sq. ft. |
| kitchen is 148 sq. ft. |
| bedroom is 165 sq. ft. |
living room is 185 sq. ft.
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| A client of mine noted that her living room is larger than my entire apartment. I could've but didn't respond that she has much more than she needs and must hire costly help to maintain it all. The apartment building stands 3 stories over its subterranean parking garage, and sits on an irregular lot 12,295 square feet. There are 28 units. Mine is on the second floor, and faces east, which was my choice. I desired to be able to use stairs for exercise, and east side units have less traffic noise than west side ones. They will also not heat up as much in the summer as will the south and west facing units. I dislike heat. |
My particular unit has certain unique features: No tenant is beneath mine. South of my unit is a stairwell. Above my office is the laundry room. North of me is another apartment, with a quiet tenant and dog. East of my living room window is a shared outside courtyard with 5 chairs, a Weber grill, a fake fireplace, and plantings. My window view is of Montlake houses, trees and Washington Park Arboretum 2 blocks away. The tallest tree I see is 157 feet, a Sequoiadendron with a 1948 accession number. At the old home, I viewed a Sequoia 184 feet tall.
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courtyard from my window ; photo by ALJ
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To reduce trauma and maintain habits, I comforted myself with indulgences such as taking familiar items, both practical and sentimental, and arranging them in customary fashion. For example, my living room table and its two half-sofas were taken, complete with 7 cute little pillows. My office and library was recreated almost exactly except some books simply would not fit. Only 936 books fit on my apartment office shelving --I gave away hundreds of others. To store other things, such as clothing, I brought 6 dressers, cabinets and file cabinets.
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office ; photo by ALJ
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Using much wood and existing capentry tools and skills, I built 10 custom shelves. Those were in addition to 20 shelves already made that were carried over. One shelf holds 11 of my 13 pairs of shoes, and also has 23 brass hooks to hang shirts.
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bedroom ; photo by ALJ
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A special structure in the northeast part of the living room is especially clever. Using 100% recycled items from the old house, it has an indoor plant-growing base, over which are 38 sq. feet of shelf area to hold so many tools that it looks like a miniature hardware store. Having a general idea of what I desired, my friend Jonathan Schwartz designed, constructed and installed it precisely. Then I tweaked it to add 6 more feet to its 32 sq. feet. Under, and near it, are 48 potted plants. There is a heat mat on the floor to warm the pots, and eight T5 fluorescent plant-growing lights 4 feet long. The upshot is that I can grow any indoor plant desired as long as it is kept less than about 3 feet tall.
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hardware area ; photo by ALJ
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The kitchen is stocked with the appliances I use, the pots, pans, tools, and the server ware. The few appliances are: a bread-making machine; a toaster; a flour mill; a 15,000 BTU butane stove and cast-iron wok; a rice-cooker; a can opener, and a food dehydrator. My pantry space is reduced, but since I do not use the microwave oven, it is storage space. The refrigerator and freezer offer so much space that even some things not needing cold can be stored inside. My kitchen island has space enough that I bought four sturdy wood bar stools off Craigslist, so can have friends over to visit. All told, the living room and adjacent kitchen island seat 10 people. That is as many as I care to deal with at once, anyway. I own 9 beer pint glasses, 39 wine glasses, and 2 teacups. No coffee cups --I do not drink the stuff.
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kitchen ; photo by ALJ
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kitchen ; photo by ALJ
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Few new things were bought for the apartment: an oval wool carpet for my living room. Another wool carpet to hang inside my front door both to be lovely and sound-muffling. A shower curtain and rings. The four secondhand bar stools. A bathroom medicine cabinet. GelPro elite kitchen mats. Paper-towel hanger. Refrigerator magnetic hooks. Wine glasses and holders. Door-hanging hooks to support coats, jackets, packs, hats, and the like. Picture hangers. A router. A wine rack --I downsized from 36 to 23 bottle capacity.
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living room looking to south ; photo by ALJ
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living room looking to north ; photo by ALJ
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music area ; photo by ALJ
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wine area ; photo by ALJ
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On the walls hang diverse agreeable artwork, a blend of my choices and pieces inherited from my parents. Here is a complete list:
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| 20 Sharon Jewell Christmas cards, every one a small, detailed gem. |
| 2 matching Japanese antique Samurai prints. |
| 2 large matching Chinese floral and bird prints. Plants include peony, peach blosom, plum blossom. |
| 2 Patricia Spencer collage prints, riots of color. |
| 2 James Sutherland original acrylic paintings on plaster (a tree and a ladybug), and 1 postcard. |
| 1 large Margaret Keane "Big Eyes" print showing a girl and Siamese cat. |
| 1 Daniel Leen petroglyph rubbing of a mountain goat. |
| 1 Arizona cactus oil painting done by my dad before I was born. |
| 1 long narrow Japanese print of a woman playing a biwa. |
| 1 tiny Indian print showing a man and woman in love. |
1 Japanese cat print. Photo shown. Will someone please inform me about it?
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cat print ; photo by ALJ
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| 1 antique hand-colored botanical print of a Black Mulberry tree. My favorite fruit. |
| 1 Egyptian papyrus painting of Horus and Nefertiti. |
| 1 1932 Arbor Day postage stamp mounted artfully. |
| 1 Douglas Fir photograph taken by my sister. |
1 big world map.
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view from toilet seat ; photo by ALJ
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bathroom ; photo by ALJ
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There is room for more still. For example, the bedroom has no art yet. In addition to the printed pieces, there is sculptural art as follows:
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| 2 felt monks that slide like socks over standing wine bottles. |
| 2 brass bells / candle holders of unknown provenance. |
| 1 antique carved wood Chinese Shou Xing, god of longevity. |
| 1 Lynn Di Nino custom-commissioned artistic bicycle hemet. |
| 1 little brass & enamel Chinese rose vase. |
1 porcelain Chinese flower vase showing a peony.
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. . . and miscellaneous decorative plant pots and candle holders.
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| Overall, I bet the apartment contains more stuff than any other in the building --except maybe my friend Dr. Dirk Hein, whose acupuncture office is packed richly also. My apartment has room on the walls for televisions, but I do not watch TV. There is still space for more possessions, because I built in anticipation of a lengthy residency here. Surely, I shall acquire more music CDs than the 367 here already, more books, art, and whatnot. |
| I love the location; moving to an appropriately-sized place; the building security; and low utility bills. At the old house, last year's heating oil bills were over $3,000, and the SPU, property taxes and insurance far higher. Each month I used to pay $52 for internet cable, and my telephone bills were $70 to $80. The apartment supplies free wi-fi (of about 93 mbps), and my (Vonage®) telephone bills for 6 months will be $10 (plus taxes & fees), then double. (An entire article could be written explaining my dislike of cellular telephony, especially "smart phones.") My apartment utility bill in January was only $65 for the water, sewer & trash. My first Seattle City Light bill, covering Nov. 15th thru Feb. 19th, was $217. |
| Things I dislike about the apartment also exist. It is not wired for copper telephone service! For telephone service, I was forced to buy a router and get a Vonage® account to use the building's ethernet "wiring" system. And I endured 46 days with no telephone service; a living nightmare. All told, to transfer my telephone number, cost $546! The building elevator works when it is in the mood to, rather than always. The water pressure is weak. The heat is slow. This morning, I had the apartment at about 60 degrees F., and programmed the thermostat to go up to 70 degrees. It took over 12 hours literally to manage that! At the old house, I made the furnace fire up, or sleep, easily and quickly. Also I had electric space heaters when desired. The whole apartment building was designed to be miserly in energy consumption. |
| For the sake of the plants, I try keeping the air humidity at close to 60%. But it can drop to 52% if I am careless. Indoor plants are best warmer during day and at least 10 degrees cooler at night. That goal is not easy in this apartment. |
| When I first took possession in mid-November, the water had an off flavor from the new plumbing. So I did not drink it. Now, no bad taste is discernable. |
| My rent is $1,940 monthly. There are other units of varying sizes, and rents. I could have leased more space in another location for less money. Staying very near my familiar home was more than a convenience to me; it was a necessity. Individuals often are most comfortable if grounded or connected to a place, a person, or a cause. I am no exception. |
Until late February I can still give away plants from my old home. Those not freeze-killed, at least. Already, dozens of people have helped me by accepting books, tools, furniture and plants that had to be parted with. Thank-you, all! This process has moved me from an excessively large, costly situation unfit for only one person, to a proper-sized dwelling. As a result, I shall save time certainly, because the old place likely required on average at least a day weekly in upkeep. Whether I shall save money, time will tell --there are many variables involved in one's cost of living. At the old house I had a housemate defray some expenses. If a roommate joins me here, the rent goes up $300, but we'd divide the rent and therefore each pay only $1,120. My priority with my new found time is is to finish writing my edible houseplants book. After that, then I'll have time for other things, including exploring new relationships.
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bicycles in the garage ; photo by ALJ
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In closing, I am relieved and content about my move. My new apartment will not feature in design or architecture magazines, and my description and photographs will not warrant a Pulitzer prize. But what I have accomplished is a plain testament of utility, sensibility, efficiency and comfort, on a modest budget. If you care to visit me, either at the empty old place (2215 E Howe St), or snug new one (2400 E Boston St #211), do call or e-mail. But if it is to be at the old place, hurry --because it goes on the market in March if not late February (The house sold, and closed on April 15th). Most of my life was spent at that home, and I leave there a remarkable living legacy of trees, shrubs and plants. My business will proceed as usual from this new apartment.
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