Move Musings
May. 28th, 2004 12:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
willowispWe are pretty far along the way of being unpacked. There are maybe half a dozen or so boxes of miscellany which needs to be sorted (and hopefully culled, in large part), but things like books, CDs, DVDs, games (of the board sort), dishes/pots/utensils and clothes are mostly vaguely in the area where they will end up eventually. We may still change around a few drawers and such.
The casualties at first seemed fairly innocent; several cheap plastic hangers (all blue, oddly enough) and Wallace's head from a Wallace and Gromit fridge magnet. On a sadder note I broke a gorgeous glass mug we got at the Smithsonian show last year, though we're going to take the opportunity in replacing it to get another pair.
The worst of the loss was uncovered when we began working on the books, most of which had been shoved, unopened, into the outdoor closet of the apartment. We had planned from the beginning to have a house within a year and figured unpacking would be almost redundant. Not to mention there would have been no room to put them.
Unfortunately there was a leak in the closet. Many of the books damaged will be easy to replace; nearly all of my Far Side books, but they're still in print and can be found in good used condition easily; quite a few of our Calvin and Hobbes, two of our User Friendly books, and one Fox Trot compilation. Our copy of The Silmarillion was nailed, but it was a mass market paperback. In sadder news, several out of print books in my fairy-tale, folk-tale, and Brother's Grimm collection are complete losses, as is my Dictionary of Fairies, which I discovered is also out of print. The gorgeous illustrated Tolkien volume we got at Elliot Bay in Seattle and the copy of Gaiman's Angels and Visitations, which I spent quite a while tracking down and completely surprised Andy with, are also damaged.
All of these books can be replaced, some at greater cost than others. We were going to put in a claim with our renter's insurance, but upon looking up the policy we discovered that we have a $1000.00 deductible. I went and found equal replacements (eg first editions for first editions, new mass market paperbacks for the comic books, and so on), and discovered that after the deductible we would have been eligible for $32. and change, and that's only if the adjusters didn't do something nasty like "Sorry, we'll only pay for the minimum replacements, so give us a list of paperback costs".
Many of the books are still readable, and none need to be replaced immediately. Still, those of you who have renter's insurance, please check the deductibles and also make sure you're covered for standing water and/or floods. Had the books been damaged by the runoff from our undrained porch (rather than the gaping leak which opened up in the ceiling) we would not have been able to make a claim at all. I'll be nudging "Get flood insurance" to my priority list for the coming week.
The casualties at first seemed fairly innocent; several cheap plastic hangers (all blue, oddly enough) and Wallace's head from a Wallace and Gromit fridge magnet. On a sadder note I broke a gorgeous glass mug we got at the Smithsonian show last year, though we're going to take the opportunity in replacing it to get another pair.
The worst of the loss was uncovered when we began working on the books, most of which had been shoved, unopened, into the outdoor closet of the apartment. We had planned from the beginning to have a house within a year and figured unpacking would be almost redundant. Not to mention there would have been no room to put them.
Unfortunately there was a leak in the closet. Many of the books damaged will be easy to replace; nearly all of my Far Side books, but they're still in print and can be found in good used condition easily; quite a few of our Calvin and Hobbes, two of our User Friendly books, and one Fox Trot compilation. Our copy of The Silmarillion was nailed, but it was a mass market paperback. In sadder news, several out of print books in my fairy-tale, folk-tale, and Brother's Grimm collection are complete losses, as is my Dictionary of Fairies, which I discovered is also out of print. The gorgeous illustrated Tolkien volume we got at Elliot Bay in Seattle and the copy of Gaiman's Angels and Visitations, which I spent quite a while tracking down and completely surprised Andy with, are also damaged.
All of these books can be replaced, some at greater cost than others. We were going to put in a claim with our renter's insurance, but upon looking up the policy we discovered that we have a $1000.00 deductible. I went and found equal replacements (eg first editions for first editions, new mass market paperbacks for the comic books, and so on), and discovered that after the deductible we would have been eligible for $32. and change, and that's only if the adjusters didn't do something nasty like "Sorry, we'll only pay for the minimum replacements, so give us a list of paperback costs".
Many of the books are still readable, and none need to be replaced immediately. Still, those of you who have renter's insurance, please check the deductibles and also make sure you're covered for standing water and/or floods. Had the books been damaged by the runoff from our undrained porch (rather than the gaping leak which opened up in the ceiling) we would not have been able to make a claim at all. I'll be nudging "Get flood insurance" to my priority list for the coming week.
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no subject
Date: 2004-05-28 08:06 pm (UTC)When movers moved us to Abq, they lost a single box. That box contained hubby's Sandman collection, which was precious and replaceable. It also contained a number of prized books inherited from his father, annotated in his father's own hand. Those can never be replaced at any price. It still saddens me. Hubby took it out on the movers, and did get about 3x the settlement intially offered, but that's hardly a comfort.
no subject
Date: 2004-05-28 08:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-05-28 09:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-05-29 02:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-05-28 08:20 pm (UTC)Ann Arbor has some incredibly kick-ass used book stores through which the most amazing things trickle; perhaps putting up a list, when you have a time, of what you're looking for, and then all of us out here can go a sniffing and a snooping?
no subject
Date: 2004-05-28 08:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-05-28 08:24 pm (UTC)I love how you need flood insurance in the middle of the desert. We're practically the least likely place ever to get flooded. I mean, the Rio Grande? Come on!
no subject
Date: 2004-05-28 11:23 pm (UTC)Checking/knowing your deductible is always good, but depending on your income level, it costs so much more every month to have a lower deductible that for most people it's not worth it. The rule of thumb is generally to look at the amount of loss you are willing and can afford to absorb through savings or budget flexibility and then choose your deductible based on that. If you'd had lower deductible renters insurance for all of the time you were renting, it almost certainly (statistically) would have added up to more than $1000 in additional premiums.
no subject
Date: 2004-05-29 04:22 am (UTC)Fortunately Andy and I were looking at deductibles very carefully when we shopped around for homeowner's insurance, so at least there will be no nasty surprises on that front. Hopefully we'll never have to find out, since all of our books are now safely inside where we will notice a leak rather more quickly.
no subject
Date: 2004-05-29 04:06 am (UTC)