Welcome home!
I hope you’ll have a lovely stay here. Here is everything I can think of to make 45 Ferndale Street a great place to spend a little time.
Please let me know if there is anything missing!
Cindy
The House
Wi-fi
The network ID for the wi-fi is Glass_Slipper. Password is on the fridge.
Phone, email, mail
If you need to find me, I’m usually on my mobile somewhere: Cindy Tonkin 0412 135 426 [email protected]
The mailing address here is 45 Ferndale Street Newtown, NSW 2042.
There’s a key to the mailbox in the blue tin just by the front door. There’s only one, so please put it back. Please feel free to check the box yourself if you have mail sent here and are expecting something. I rarely get mail, so i check it sporadically.
Keys
You can’t get out of the front door without a key.
I suggest you leave your key on the side table near the front door. It is easier and safer if there is an urgent need to leave the house! It also gives others a clue that you’re at home.
Don’t leave your key in the lock of the door. If your key is in the lock it can stop others getting in at all.
Please tell me if something isn’t working or runs out
This house was built in 1893. Things break or fall apart all the time. If you notice something broken in your room, or anywhere in the house really, please let me know so I can get it fixed! The sooner the better.
I provide the major staples (toilet paper, paper towel, dishwasher, cleaning stuff). I don’t always use these things myself. If you use something and it’s running low just text me or leave me a note to let me know please! The only household items you provide is your own clothes washing powder and your shampoos etc for the shower.
Bedroom things
Your ceiling fan will keep things cool. Don’t run it while you’re not in the room, it doesn’t do anything but circulate air, and it doesn’t keep the room cool in itself. The remote will change how bright the light is, the speed and direction of the ceiling fan. Ask me to show you. I tend to use the master switch on the wall to turn it on and off, it will remember the settings you give it.
If you want to remove the art or the mirror from the walls, please just give them to me.
I have a hanging system on each wall, and I have more hooks if you need them. Please only use pins on the pinboards. Do not make any holes in the walls, wardrobe or floor without talking to me first. Please no blu-tac on the walls. If you would like another pin board just let me know.
If you need bedclothes I have spare, so let me know.
If you’re taking calls or watching TV or YouTube, please use a headset, even in your room. I will do you the same courtesy.
Bathroom things
The full bathroom with shower is downstairs at the back of the house.
The bathroom light is inside the shelf just outside the bathroom door. You’ll need to thread your hand through the top left-hand shelf to get to it. It has 4 switches. I have added a lump to the bottom left hand one, because it’s the fluorescent light over the basin. I have also written “Light” on it in sharpie.
The other important switch is the exhaust fan. Top right. Marked “Fan”. You’ll know it’s the right one because the exhaust fan hums. Please put on the exhaust fan whenever you shower, or if you’re using the clothes dryer. Obviously switch it off when you leave the bathroom or when the dryer is done. If you don’t do this the adjoining room gets all foggy and mouldy and water drips from the bathroom ceiling.
Please leave the bathroom window closed, otherwise Kevin goes for a wander and won’t come back without a lot of hassle. During the day you can let him out the back door. After dark you can let him out the front door only, because he’s a ‘fraidy cat and will come in as soon as there’s a loud noise. Don’t let him out if I am away for a few days, he won’t always come in when you call, and you don’t need that stress.
Caution: Kevin has an evil twin. Iago. Also black. Cries like he’s in pain. Swipes viciously, doesn’t back down when you shoo him. I have in the past accidentally picked him up to bring him in. I have the scars to prove it. So beware.
The bathroom is very narrow. Your hooks are the ones closest to the shower. You can then reach it from inside the shower.
Move the shower curtain slowly to avoid getting water all over the floor. If by chance you do flood the floor it will mean the glue under the lino tiles gets mooshy for days, so please mop up any spills as soon as you’re aware of them. Trap for young players – sometimes the shower curtain covers the drain, causing a flood.
The widest part of the bathroom is in fact the shower, so dry yourself there.
Your shelves in the bathroom
There’s a black basket hanging on the wall of the shower for your stuff.
You can also keep things in the bathroom on the mustard yellow trolley if you need to. I’ve freed up two shelves on there.
Keep the bathroom sink clean
If you’re shaving in the sink please wipe it down with a microfibre cloth afterwards so there’s not stray whiskers everywhere. You’ll find spare microfibre cloths in the bathroom on the shelf under the dryer. Put the dirty cloths in the bottom basket of the big laundry cupboard. I wash them every now and then.
Also please leave both toilet seats down. Here’s why.
The upstairs loo
There is an upstairs loo, but it has no exhaust fan. So please do your smellier business downstairs. To be really clear, that means NO POOING upstairs, especially at night. Also please leave both toilet seats down. Here’s why
Kitchen Things
The principle of the kitchen is that after you’ve finished I shouldn’t be able to find any remnants of your dinner on the counter, stove or sink. Please wipe down the counter, stovetop and sink after you’re done. Please avoid putting food or milk down the drain – here’s why. Scrape food into the green bin. Put old milk on the garden.
We’ll work out how fridge is set up, depending on your volume of shopping etc. Talk to me if you need more space in the fridge or freezer. I’ve left you an empty shelf.
I’ve left you a shelf in the tall cupboard next to the sink. Please leave food in there. Make sure it’s sealed, so we don’t get cockroaches or moths. If you can avoid leaving things on the counter, that would be grand. Again, if you need more space talk to me.
Plastics
You’ll find larger plastics in the bottom drawer and smaller plastics in the tub in the middle bottom cupboard.
Coffee and tea, sugar, spices, paper towel
There’s both herbal and “normal” tea in the cupboard above the microwave. Help yourself. If you prefer a particular kind of tea, please replenish it when it runs out. You’ll find sugar in there too.
Spices, oils, salt and such are in the left hand cupboard above the stove. If anything runs out please let me know.
Find paper towel in the right hand cupboard above the stove. Avoid paper towels. They are not recyclable (put them in the landfill/red bin, not the green bin). If you can use a microfibre cloth instead then please do. Put the dirty ones in the laundry cupboard, bottom shelf, unless they are super stinky – then put them on the verandah, or in a bucket of water.
Closest coffee places
Closest coffee place is on Alice Street (2-minutes walk), Enmore Road (4-minutes) or a million places on King Street or Enmore Road which may be a few more minutes away.
Oven – turn both knobs
To turn the oven on turn both the left-hand knob (to oven) and the right-hand knob (for temperature). Normal oven on the left hand dial is the 5th option clockwise. The right-hand knob sets the temperature.
In the cupboard above the stovetop you’ll find an explanation of the pictograms on the dials.
If you cook something that drips, like cheese, or overflows, like cake, please use a drip tray, or clean the oven (yep, a drip tray is less effort). You’ll find baking trays etc in the middle cupboard under the microwave.
Toaster, sandwich press, pie maker, grater, air fryer, rice cooker
In the top right hand cupboard you’ll find the toaster, sandwich press, a heart shaped waffle iron, an air fryer and a rice cooker. Use whatever.
In the cupboard to the right of the drawers you’ll find a pie maker (which makes excellent quiches).
In the cupboard under the clock you’ll find a blender, some large pots, cake tins and an electric grater. If you use the green pot it’s cast iron, so you need to wash it promptly and then rub oil in before returning it to the cupboard. The pasta pot is not so sensitive. Feel free to use them.
Put them back where you found them. If lost, please ask.
Cooking guidelines
I am very particular about my kitchen. I don’t cook much, but I like the kitchen to stay clean. If you cook anything, please follow these guidelines:
- Put your cups and plates etc in the dishwasher. There’s no need to rinse them, but scrape out any solid food into the green bin.
- Leave the cook top clean – wipe it down with a microfibre cloth which you’ll find on the sink or fresh ones in the tall cupboard to the left of the sink. There are spray bottles of grease-removing products under the sink if you need them
- Wipe down the counters too: please don’t leave crumbs, condensation or food scraps behind: the principle is I shouldn’t know you’ve been in the kitchen at all
- Don’t wash food, oil, milk or coffee down the sink (here’s why). Scrape solid food from your plates into the green bin before putting them in the dishwasher. No need to rinse. Take any solid food out of the plug hole and put it in the green bin on the counter
- There are two bins on the counter, labelled. The food bin goes into the green bin, the small white bucket is landfill. (Landfill goes in the red bin outside). Recycling is in a bin under the sink (that goes in the yellow bin outside).
- Use the exhaust fan above the stovetop if you’re making smoke or steam, or the smoke alarm will go off! Pull out the range hood and the exhaust fan will come on. If it doesn’t, there’s a switch under the range hood. There’s a light there too.
- If you cook fresh meat, please make sure to take the container and/or scrap meat out to the bins outside as soon as possible, especially in summer. The meat remnants will go off and stink out the house if not.
- Stack the dishwasher with any plates, cups, knives etc. Avoid rinsing things in the sink, just put them in the dishwasher. Just scrape off the food into the green bin.
- As far as possible stack the dishwasher so that the plates are parallel to each other, so we can fit more in! Please watch a YouTube video on how stack a dishwasher, it drives me wild when things are placed willy nilly.
- Please eat at the table, not in your room. If you leave crumbs, please wipe them up too. Wipe down the dining table occasionally. I have placemats, if they aren’t on the table they live under the stairs.
- In the interests of using off-peak electricity, please only run the dishwasher before 3pm or after 9pm.
- Again, to lower our electricity use the microwave is off at the power board. Turn it on. The microwave will want you to set the clock. Just push cancel, then you can put in the minutes you need.
Dishwasher
Look for the magnet on the front of the dishwasher drawer to know which drawer is in use.
Please put your dirty dishes into the dishwasher. Don’t rinse them. Just scrape off any solid food into the green bin. (Choice recommends it).
If you fill a drawer and you want to turn it on, the dishwasher pods are in a small plastic box in the drainer on top of the sink. Put a pod in an empty cubicle in the cutlery holder. Then push play and it will clean. Trap for young players: the play button turns on the last drawer you closed, so make sure it’s the dirty one!
Lids which can protrude into the bottom of the dishwasher can stop the rotor from turning, and everything is clean, so please make sure you put them on the side of the dishwasher.
There’s a magnet on the dirty dish drawer. Move it when you put one of the dishwashers on.
To save on peak power, please only use the dishwasher before 3pm or after 9pm (the power is cheaper then and less in demand).
Feel free to unstack any clean dishwasher drawer if you find one. Wipe up any drips on the floor afterwards.
Recyclables under the sink, bin on counter
The bin under the sink is for recyclables: paper, plastic, glass. Empty it into the yellow bin out front. I generally put the cans and bottles which have return and earn deposits on them aside in the clear box by the bins outside. I do this to simplify life for the people who walk along our street to raid the recycling bins every week. If you’d rather be the person who returns and earns, talk to me, we can make that happen.
The bins on the counter are for everything else. They are labelled for which bin they go into. Green for food scraps. It goes into the green bin outside. The white bin is landfill, empty it into the red bin outside.
Garbage collection is Thursday afternoon. Match whatever bins the neighbours put out. The red bins are emptied every second Thursday afternoon. The green bins are weekly. The yellow bins are on alternate Fridays. I never know which week it is, I just put them all out and bring them all in on Friday after they’ve been emptied.
Bring them in if you see them out on a Friday evening and they are empty – there’s a mini-gate to bring them inside the fence.
Laundry things
The laundry is in the bathroom.
I like to save electricity by turning off the washing machine and dryer at the powerpoint when not in use. Because of the power set up you can’t run the washer and dryer together or the fuse blows anyway. If you accidentally do this, the power board is just next to the front door – get the step stool from the kitchen and flick the switch. Make sure to turn off one of the appliances before doing it, or it just trips again.
For the washing machine just put powder or liquid in the left side of the left-hand drawer. I have labelled the drawer. You need to provide your own powder (or liquid).
The washing machine defaults to a mixed cycle which takes around 75 minutes: just turn the dial to see all the other options.
Hang your washing on the line in the back yard for that fresh smell. If you go to the back of the yard it’s a good height for short people. You will find pegs for the washing line on top of the washing machine. Bring in the pegs afterwards to discourage spiders and ants. Please be considerate of other people who may also need to wash that same day, and group your washing together.
If you use the dryer, please make sure you clear out the lint filter before and after. Use the exhaust fan in the bathroom when you run the dryer, and if you can, use the dryer after 9pm or before 3pm.
Ironing
The iron is in a cube in the cupboard under the stairs. The ironing board is against the wall near there. Be careful with the hot iron if Kevin is around.
Cleaning up stuff
I don’t have a vacuum cleaner. If you have small things to pick up, then the dust buster lives above the washing machine. Brooms hang by the courtyard door in the studio. Dustpans and brooms under the sink. Spray bottles of nifti and windex etc under the sink hanging off a rod.
Microfibre cloths for the kitchen are blue. Find them in cupboard to the left of the sink on the bottom shelf.
Microfibre cloths for other purposes (any colour but blue) are under the dryer.
There are hand towels and tea towels in the bathroom and kitchen. Find clean ones in the middle drawer of the tall bathroom cupboard. If hand towels, tea towels or microfibre cloths get dirty please put them in the bottom drawer of the tall bathroom cupboard. I will wash them.
Lounge and dining room things
Please feel free to hang out in the lounge room. I’d prefer you to eat at the dining table (not your room). Please clean up your crumbs if you make any!
If you’re taking calls or watching youtube, please use a headset.
Heating and cooling in the lounge room
In winter the heater is just next to my desk. If it’s not on and you’d like it to be press power. If it’s on and it’s too hot, just push power to turn it off.
The ceiling fans in the lounge and dining room (and upstairs hallway) have a remote, you turn on the remote at the light switch. Run them clockwise in winter and anti-clockwise in summer. Ask me for instructions.
Leave the lights on at the remote control in the lounge, dining and hallway, switch lights on and off at the wall.
It does not make any room cooler to run a fan when no one is in it, so please turn it off if you leave the room (or the house).
Piano
My piano music lives under the stairs if you would like to play. There is a plug so you can plug in your headphones. Please use headphones after 9pm so the neighbours are happy. The piano is a little old, so some of the notes don’t actually work.
Cleaner comes Thursday
The cleaner comes every second Thursday. I’ll let you know when.
They have their own keys; generally they arrive around 8:00 in the morning. It’s a high-energy team. I find it’s best to go out for coffee or sit on the front verandah or the back step till they are gone (they are done in about an hour).
Apparently they knock even if I say “Don’t clean in that room”, so be prepared.
They vacuum and mop around anything on the floor. So pick things up if you’d like the floor to be clean. They do not wash up, so make sure you stack anything in the dishwasher.
And when you are ready to leave, here’s the drill
All good things end. You’ve given me 2 weeks deposit, which means I expect 2 weeks’ notice when you plan to move out. Talk to me about it. When you move out, the Exit Checklist outlines things you’ll want to sort out.
