apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I viewed my apt the same day the previous tenant moved out. The management company took care of the food and other things left, but I had them keep the awesome curved Ikea mirror mounted on a narrow wall. I guess that was a more pleasant discovery!

I had a similar problem with my house too; except the previous tenant was the owner. He and his family moved out in a rush and the place was a *mess*. Lots of random stuff left in drawers.

Moving into apartments however, has been the opposite experience. The apartments have always been clean and empty.

Sigh, it's a pity I don't enjoy sharing walls with my neighbors. I guess us house renters are out of luck when it comes to that kind of stuff - since normally they are managed by an individual owner. Sort of blows.

When we did a remodel in our home and found lots of old stuff: children's toys in the ducts, 1960's and '70's magazine behind the kneewalls in the upper floor, a child-sized gun rack with engraved name in the basement, a surprisingly well-preserved apple core in an interior wall. Most of this is gone now, save the vintage magazines, but it added a little interest to the reno.

My best friend was just complaining that the house she just bought had the greediest previous owners. She say's they couldn't even leave toilet paper, they took the last roll upon leaving for the final time.

I thought that was funny!

Atleast every place I have moved in, there was toilet paper for the first night.

My dad used to buy cow bones from the butcher to give to our lab, who would bury them once he had picked them clean. Could that be what you found?

the previous tenant of my new place left a pool table. in the kitchen. it was the weirdest thing ever.

nonetheless, let's just say we didn't end up keeping it.

Since I couldn't move across 12 states with it, I left a good deal of top shelf liquor in the last apartment I had rented. I thought the super would appreciate it, knowing he did drink, but instead he charged us a $150 cleaning fee.

Whoof, when we redid the attic insulation (NOT an easily accessible spot) I found cans of paint, rolls of carpet, butcher paper, kitchen tile, old wallpaper (that I has just finished ripping out of the bathroom - NEVER wallpaper in a steamy bathroom) and a lot of fake flowers. I guess they were just hoarders, there were a lot of different colors of carpet up there!

There is a difference between leaving stuff behind, unannounced and unexpected, and notifying a landlord that there can be a box of top shelf liquor or paperbacks or cleaning supplies. Me, I've discovered too many eggs behind the stove to eagerly anticipate what might be next. I've moved into places stripped of light bulbs, so I don't expect that all previous tenants genuinely care to make their successors feel welcome.

At my last place, the previous tenant left behind things we had discussed and that I purchased from him (i.e., an area rug), and lots of bonus items: a vacuum cleaner and some pots and pans (all useful items, donated to a friend), old cleaning supplies, some very yucky food in the fridge (he knew I wasn't moving in until almost a month after he left), and lots of dirt and dead bugs. What a welcome.

weird. In france, could be in europe too for all I know, we strip everything bare before we leave. There will be nothing left unless it's been agreed so between the former and the newer tenant (kitchen cabintes come to mind). I think it's just a matter of politeness, if you don't want all the crap you are leaving behind, do you expect the new tenant will cheerfully take care of all your junk? I don't think I left my precious low-energy light bulbs in my previous apartment! And I much prefer moving in a stripped clean apartment.

The most I ever found when moving into a new place was very small children's toys. I used to love watching "If Walls Could Talk" because of the wonderful things the new owners would find, until the show started that tacky "and HOW MUCH IS IT WORTH?!" bit. Come on, let's save that bit for Roadside Antiques. So now I might watch the show, but as soon as they start the jabbering about money, I fast foward or shut it off.

I've always stripped everything when I leave, including my CFLs and yes, the toilet paper, and I wish other people would do the same. But unless the place has been remodeled between tenants there's always junk. Once someone left a really foul old mattress, and a toilet (unattached to plumbing, but alas, not clean) in the bedroom. Now I'm just happy when the junk I find can fit in a garbage can.

You first said that the person left so quickly that he left a wet towel still there before he boarded a transcontinental flight to South America.... and then you find a large bone in the backyard.... and you havent called the police.

Joey c's comment notwithstanding...

Isn't it good that someone as thoughtful as you found the old bone? It does sound an upsetting experience.

When I was little, my family dog was a Great Dane. When he passed away, my parents buried him in the backyard of the little home we were renting at the time. I feel terrible for whoever was unlucky enough to happen upon that enormous skeleton, and pray they forgive us!