How To Remodel a Rental-Tips for upgrades that won't negate your deposit:

I have been thinking about this abstractly for a while, without any concrete medium to organize my thoughts. But suddenly, I find I have a blog, and lo, the ideas can congeal. When viewed in an organized and realized state, let us see whether they are anywhere near as genius (or even interesting) as they seemed as mere flickers in my head. Probably not...

Not only will these ideas not (should not-I am not your lawyer or your landlord) negate your deposit, they also do not represent a significant investment that you would have to leave behind.

1-Light switches, dimmers, wall plates. Changing these can make a really astonishing difference. Adding a dimmer can change the feel of a room, and most rentals have the crappiest fixtures possible. We put in brushed metal plates and dimmers, and it was like buying a new house! Um...well, it was cool.

2-Doorknobs. A lot of our experience of a dwelling is tactile, and shoddy doorknobs will impart a cheap feel to your sense of your home. Changing that experience goes a long way. See how good it feels to go from that loose, rattling knob to a snug click when closing the door to your bedroom. Also in this category would be oiling hinges, and planing doors to fit their frames.

3-Doors. If you have unnecessary doors separating rooms that need no privacy, remove the door. Especially useful in a double doorway, where the landlord has (inevitably) installed some crap shutter-style door. Which has since been glommed with paint.

4-Toilet seat. Back to the tactile experience. Get a slow-close seat, they're awesome. Changing toilet seats is easy, and landlords usually stick you with crappy ones. Keep the old one though, you may want to take yours with you when it is time to move on.

5-Window coverings. Pulling down the shitty blinds that most rentals have, and replacing them with curtains/shades/whatever is one of the biggest steps to change the feel of a room. It is also an opportunity to add significant swaths of color if you can't paint.

6-Paint. The old standby. Many landlords are uncomfortable with letting tenants paint, but if yours lets you, this is easily the biggest step. And painting is easy. Just do it right. Tape up everything, put tarps on the floor, get a shitload of rollers and brushes (and paint! Trying to match paint after the fact is near impossible), and a good stepladder. Then go nuts. What could go wrong? Well, you may find out, but I wouldn't want to spoil it...

So there you go. This could go on for a while, and in fact it might. If I am motivated to add to this list, I will re-post as needed. I know, dear readers, that will be hungry for more. (And yes, I know that not one single human being has read this blog besides me, but maybe someday my mom will.)