While cleaning and repainting my old apartment today, I came to terms with the fact that I am not getting my security deposit back. Here are just a few of my favorite reasons:
1. The iron burn in the middle of my living room carpet.
About a year ago I plugged in my iron without noticing that it was face down on my living room carpet. The smell of burning fibers alerted me to the situation before it could become more dangerous/embarrassing.
2. The chunk missing out of my stovetop.
I kept my tool box in the cabinet over my stove. This seemed like a good place for it considering how rarely I get the chance to do construction work these days. Well, it seemed like a good idea until I opened the cabinet and my hammer fell out. It landed in the middle of my stove, breaking off a sizable chunk between the burners.
3. The trail of coffee stains around the entire place.
I spill coffee.... a lot. It's a problem, and I am seeking help for it. The issue here isn't caffeine, it's that I like hanging out on the floor. No specific place on the floor, just about anywhere will do. This means I took the opportunity to spill coffee on damn near every inch of carpeted surface.
4. The X marks the spot stains on my dining room floor.
I have been using my dining room as a photo studio for almost 3 years now. When I first set up my lighting system, I (or someone else who I am letting off the hook) used pink duct tape to mark large Xs under where my umbrella lights should go. When this duct tape was later removed, 2 gluey treasure map Xs were left on the carpet. These have blackened nicely with age.
5. The graffiti on my freezer door.
I have used my refrigerator as a white board in every place I have ever lived. It works, and just needs a little extra elbow grease to erase because of the texture. However, until this apartment I have never left something written on my fridge in dry-erase marker for more than a few weeks. It turns out that if you write your cable company's name and phone number on there, and leave it for upwards of a year... well, it is not coming off. Even the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser laughed at that one.
Let's not call it a security deposit. Let's just call it a gift.
XO Robyn
*all images via weheartit
