So About that Spare Bedroom...

Your roommate moves out early. You just wanted a little bit extra space. Your kid goes away to college or moves out. There are lots of reasons why you might have a spare bedroom in your apartment. But regardless of the reason, having a spare bedroom is a great opportunity!

Have a hobby or passion you'd like to dedicate a room to? Do you work from home? Have a pet you'd like to pamper? A spare bedroom is essentially a spare multi-purpose room, and you'd be remiss not to put some work into it. ApartmentGuide.com's blog had some great ideas for repurposing that spare bedroom, including:

Get Crafty

If you love to spend your down time getting creative, an extra bedroom is the perfect place to put your hobby to good use. A sewing machine table, a drafting table for drawing or scrapbooking, or a canvas for your latest painting could be the centerpiece of your spare room. And with all that space, you’ll have plenty of room for art supply storage.

Create a Workspace

If you work from home, it’s nice to have a dedicated workspace that you can leave at the end of each day. A spare bedroom is the perfect place for a home office or, if you’re a student, a studying nook. Even if you’re hunting for a job, having a special space that’s organized just the way you like it, with all your necessities within easy reach, will make the process go a lot more smoothly.

Give Your Pets Their Own Playroom

If you’ve got a dog that loves his toys, or a cat that just wants to be left alone, your spare bedroom is a good place to create a pet paradise. If you’re the type to buy your pet a lot of toys to chew on or pillows to lie on, this is a good way to get that stuff out of your living space and tucked away for when guests come over.

Get Fit

If you like to work out in the privacy of your own home, it can be hard to do it in your living room – maybe your coffee table always needs to be moved out of the way, or you’re always dodging furniture. Using a spare bedroom as your workout room will give you all the space you need to get in shape, without having to worry about knocking into stuff.

Click here to read the full article on ApartmentGuide.com!

Bothell Food Trucks Can Keep on Trucking!

One of the best parts of living in Bothell is its proximity to the amenities of Seattle. But of course, there are some things you really do need to travel into the city for--Mariners or Seahawks games, nightlife, food trucks...

Actually, we can now scratch that one. Earlier this week, the Bothell City Council voted to allow food trucks in Bothell. And although food trucks have been on premises at UW Bothell, Cascadia Community College, and North Creek Business Park, now the city will formally license them. According to The Woodinville Weekly, this will offer locals more options, particularly for people with food allergies.

“I am allergic to gluten and dairy, so my food options were limited, before the food trucks, [to} trail mix, gluten-free brownies and bananas — sometimes. If I stayed at the school for a long time, I just wouldn’t have any food, and I’d go hungry,” he said. “...But when the food trucks arrived, they provided a lot more variety in our food, and this variety came up with options that were available for people with allergies. So it would be very nice if you could keep the food trucks on campus so we could keep on eating and not be hungry.”
The City Council was vocal in its support of food trucks, particularly the fact that they no longer have to be licensed under a primitive section of the code that regulates "peddlers." Now, they will develop specific regulations for food trucks.

“I think that food trucks are actually a great trend in cuisine. They’re something that’s moving across America,” Councilmember Mark Lamb said. “...They bring great options to our city that we wouldn’t otherwise have, and they provide a great variety of cuisine that enhances the quality of life in the city of Bothell. So I don’t think we should be afraid. I don’t think we should try to clamp down on these things; I think we ought to encourage them.”

Click here to read the full article in The Woodinville Weekly!

How to Settle Decor Disagreements

Having a roommate is a great way to save money on daily apartment expenses and to keep you company while at home. But having a roommate can also be a source of stress at times and communication is vitally important in settling disputes or disagreements.

One of the most exciting parts of moving into an apartment is making it your own, and decorating is a big part of that. But what happens when you and your new roomie disagree on how to decorate? ApartmentGuides.com's blog had some great tips we wanted to share:

Flip a Coin

When it comes to common areas like the living room, kitchen, dining room or a shared bathroom, let an old school solution settle the disagreement. Flip a coin. It’s fair and completely unbiased.

Shop Together

This way you can settle disagreements before any money is spent. Not only will it help you to get a better feel of your roommate’s likes and dislikes, it’ll also stop hideous purchases from being made.

Talk About It!

Don’t go moving that sofa to the other side of the living room without first checking with your roomie. You don’t necessarily need to ask for permission, but soliciting their opinion is a common courtesy. How would you feel if you walked into your apartment and the entire living room was suddenly rearranged? Not cool.

Just Give Up

Why bother fighting over a room that you know you won’t be spending time in? The dining room is generally a very formal space for enjoying meals. If you have zero interest in hanging out there much, let your bedfellow spruce it up.

Click here to read the full article on ApartmentGuides.com!

Moisture Ants and You (and Your Apartment)

With the wetlands so close to our humble abode in Bothell, moisture ants can be a real nuisance. They're about the size of a normal ant, dark brown or yellow in color, with a characteristic "notch" on its back.

Although they're tiny, they can cause quite a bit of damage if they're not dealt with. Fortunately, PestNet.com has a great review of precautions and steps to take to get rid of those pesky moisture ants. Here are some of them:

Clean up shop: Moisture ants will forage indoors for food, especially if they are nesting in or near homes. Especially attracted to sweet things, they will find a spill or left out food faster than you can say “Ant!” Keep food in the kitchen in airtight containers and clean up all spills immediately. Dispose of food-contaminated rubbish in an outdoor trash receptacle.

Outside: Moisture ants love moisture! Go figure. Keep wet and loose soil, mulch, grass, and other debris away from your floor and windows. Immediately identify and report any rotting or moist wood to Bailey Farm Management. Seal off any cracks or openings through which the ant may enter with caulking, urethane foam, or lumber.

Sweet poisoned baits are a bit of a paradox, but are perhaps the best way to locate the nest of a moisture ant. Place baits around areas you think may be near nesting sites. This will trap many ants, but until the nest is located widespread eradication isn’t likely.

Liquid Insecticides should most often be applied by professional pest control companies, and is not necessarily a “green” solution but many natural or organic solutions can be purchased at garden stores. If you know positively where the nest is, try drenching it in insecticides. You should only use chemicals labeled for Moisture ants, though, or you could cause a rebound in population.

Click here to read the full article on PestNet.com.

Pets for Adoption at Everett Animal Shelter

Bailey Farm prides itself on being a pet-friendly community, and there are certainly no shortages of opportunities to find the perfect pet in our area. Between our friends at Paddywack in Mill Creek and all the great animal shelters in the region, if you're looking for a dog, cat, or other critter, you're in luck.

The Everett Animal Shelter is one of them, and they house thousands of stray or unwanted pets every year. Although some are adopted immediately, others may wait weeks or even months before finding a home. The shelter has dogs, cats, rabbits, and birds--and all animals are vaccinated, spayed, neutered and microchipped before they are adopted.

Here are some of the pets currently up for adoption, courtesy of HeraldNet:

AVAILABLE: No one’s quite like Gaston, a Manchester Terrier and Beagle mix. He has boundless energy and is usually ​a perfect gentleman. Cats beware! (Jon Annis / Everett Animal Shelter)

AVAILABLE: As young cats go, Cedric is wonderfully mellow. His previous owners thought he was the sweetest boy, and he gets along well with other cats. (Jon Annis / Everett Animal Shelter)

AVAILABLE: Athena is a large gal looking for a spacious home. She’s a Great Pyrenees and Kuvasz mix. She’s also young and will chase smaller critters or livestock. She loves to go on walks and be brushed. (Jon Annis / Everett Animal Shelter)

Click here to see all the animals currently available at the Everett Animal Shelter! For more information, call 425-257-6000.