We are a shoe-free house. Paris streets are grubby enough as it is, so we try to avoid bringing the grime inside.

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Front door

The front door can be a bit stiff in winter. You may have to tug the handle a bit to allow the key to make the last turn. The key takes two full revolutions to lock the door completely. Never leave the key in the keyhole on the inside. If you happen to go outside and close the door, you will not be able to use the other key to get in. If you are worried about forgetting the key inside, leave it on the step in front of the door. That way, when you open the door you will hear the key drop, and hopefully that will be enough to make you remember to pick it up.

Door bell

The door bell is behind the door in the lounge room. As such, you can't hear it when you're outside the front door. The intercom phone to open the front door to visitors is also here. Take it off the hook and use it like a phone. On the base of the handset is a button on the upper right hand side. Press this to trigger the release mechanism on the downstairs door. If you're not sure, or not expecting anyone, don't open the door, just leave it be. Sometimes, people with nothing better to do press the buttons for laughs (although this is quite rare).

Electricity

The mains switch and meter is in the little cupboard outside the front door.

The first electricity box is in the entry in the little cupboard on the left hand side of the door. This box controls the front area of the house.

Some candles and matches are stored here.

The second fuse box is above the refrigerator in the kitchen. In the past ten years we have blown the stove fuse twice. On the off chance that this happens to you, there is a stock of fuses in a carboard box on the refrigerator. The oven fuse is the fourth, counting from the right. None of the other circuits have ever caused any trouble.

Gas

The hot water boiler in the bathroom and the kitchen stove both run on natural gas.

The gas meter in the bathroom. The gas flow is shut off by giving the tap a ninety degree turn. No need to do anything. There is another tap under the kitchen sink.

Water

The kitchen and bathroom water are on separate plumbing. The water in the bathroom is cut off by turning off the tap in the cupboard above the toilet. For the kitchen, the tap is under the sink.

The tap water is perfectly drinkable. It is not, however, particularly soft. We have a Brita water filter that you can fill up at the tap and once the water has drained through the filter you can use it immediately. It is recommended to fill it up so that the bottom of the filter section is submerged.

If there is no water in the kitchen, it is because workers have cut the water off on the ground floor at number 28. With a bit of luck you can knock on the door (on the other side of the travel agency) and get things sorted out. (This is very unlikely to occur).

Hot water

The bathroom boiler is reliable and has never given us trouble.

The controls are under the flap at the bottom of the boiler. There are two dials, one for the water temperature, and the second for the radiator temperature. The pilot light on the left indicates when the boiler is on.

The kitchen hot water is supplied by a small tank underneath the sink. It has a capacity of thirty litres or so. The power switch is located in the cupboard on the wall in front of it.

Lighting

The lounge is lit by two halogen lamps. The first one usually unplugged, the power strip is at the base of the ladder. The second lamp has a foot switch by the end of the sofa. The wall switch isn't connected to anything. It will buzz angrily at you if you press it, but there's no harm done. This is part of the previous owner's handiwork that we have yet to undo.

There is a selection of spare lightbulbs in the cupboard next to the window in the office. Some of the lights use bayonet mounts, others use threaded mounts.

Windows

The window in the entry and in the kitchen are special. They are closed when the handle is at six o'clock. When it is placed at three o'clock, the window opens normally. When the handle is turned all the way to twelve o'clock, the window opens from the top. Give the handle a bit of a tug and the window will open about 10 cm at the top, allowing fresh air to come in.

All the windows can be opened, and then the latch of the handle can slot into the other window, locking the windows in place ajar. During hot weather, bringing down all the outside blinds will allow the house to stay cool. Make sure the blind in the end room is let down behind the nails and hand rail. This is to stop it from being blown away in the event of high winds.

The cooler in the lounge room can be loaded up with a tray of ice (lift the top flap), or with water (the small bin on the left-hand side under the top flap). There is a water lever down at the bottom right hand side of the unit. There are three speed settings, and a timer, so that you can turn it on at night and it will shut down afterwards.

Washing machine

The machine is pretty simple. Detergent goes in the the tray at the top left, and then close the door and press Play.

Washing is hung out over the bath, the clothesline can be pulled up and down. There is also a smaller foldout clothesline under the boiler. In the laundry basket by the front door you will find a couple of small mesh bags, which you can use for stockings, socks and other delicate clothes (or things that might catch or stick to other clothes, such as Velcro).

Linen

Sheets and towels are stored in the bathroom. Children's linen is stored in cupboards in their rooms.

For guests sleeping over, there is the possibility of a fold-out bed in the lounge room couch. There is also a mattress in the end room under the bed.

Cleaning

The vacuum cleaner is stored in the cupboard outside the bathroom.

Kitchen

There is an exhaust fan above the stove. It's broken.

The kitchen drawer under the window is for storing cutlery. Underneath it are serving bowls and cooking equipement.

To the right, under the bread bin is a double hinged cupboard where we store fry pans, saucepans, plastic containers, salad bowls and so forth.

Above it is another cupboard for storing breakfast bowls and wine glasses, tea cups and mugs and the coffee maker (plunger).

The next cupboard has basic food supplies. The drawer is a general kitchen drawer for various cooking implements. The right hand side of the drawer is where the tea-towels are stored.

The last cupboard contains various spices, oils and other sauces. You'll just have to use your sense of smell! Feel free to use anything and everything here. Spices lose flavour quickly, so the sooner they're consumed, the sooner we can buy fresh stock.

The dining table has a couple of extensions. Find the latch underneath and release it, and slide the two wings apart.

Stove

The stove and oven were replaced in 2009, following a catastrophic failure two weeks before an exchange. The stove is easy, turn on the gas and push down to ignite. The oven is a little more complicated, an instruction book will be left on the kitchen bench.

Microwave

The clock on the microwave keeps lousy time. Don't rely on it. To operate, press the bottom middle button, the display shows 100 (as in percent power). This can be adjusted with the dial, to 80 or 50. Press the bottom middle button again, the display shows 0 (as in number of seconds to cook). Dial up the appropriate amount of cooking time (bearing in mind that it's not particularly powerful). Press the bottom left button to kick off. It also has a number of other features like mixed microwave/heat, but we've never investigated how that works.

Dishwasher

The dishwasher is pretty simple: detergent tablets are under the sink. Drop one tablet, film and all (dissolves in water) into the holder in the door and close the flap. Right hand switch is on/off, program start is on the right. Hold it down for five seconds to cancel the program.

We use either 1 (which takes close on three hours) or 4 which takes less time. We've never bothered with the other programs.

Don't put the good kitchen knives (i.e., with wooden handles) in the dishwasher, nor the white ceramic blade knife. We wash the fry pans by hand as well.

Coffee maker

We have a plunger coffee makers of various sizes. Use the coffee grinder to grind beans, and use the black spoon to measure coffee:
Small: three spoonfuls
Medium: six spoonfuls
Large: eleven spoonfuls

Pour in hot (not boiling) water. Stir with a wooden chopstick to mix. Place the plunger on top of the jar. Allow to stand for five minutes. Afterwards, press the plunger down very gently, and then serve.

There is a big kettle on the bench to boil water. Please use filtered water, as it cuts down on limescale formation.

Rubbish

The rubbish bin is stored underneath the sink. Plastic liner bags are stored on the shelf in the cupboard behind the bin.

There is also a compost bin that takes the pale green bags. Compost can be dropped off outside the Franprix on Rue de Bretagne. (Tie a knot in the back and throw it in as-is). You should put it in another plastic bag to carry there in case the bag leaks.

We store recycling material in the basket under the microwave. This includes: plastic drink bottles, tetra-paks, tins, clean plastic. Newspaper and cardboard, foil. Update: more things are now accepted for recycling, we'll leave a leaflet out somewhere.

When the bag is full, it goes in the bin with the yellow lid downstairs. Shake the contents out into the bin (this helps the sorting process at the recycling plant), and throw the bag in the green bin afterwards. This bin is emptied three times a week.

All other rubbish goes into the green bin. If in doubt, throw it in the green bin. This bin is emptied three times a week (on different days).

Bottles and glass (neither lightbulbs nor porcelain) go in a seperate plastic bag that we hang on the bar next to the fridge, and are deposited in the green circular bin down the alley of rue Reamur towards rue de Bretagne (see green dot on map).

Plants

The plants outside are watered by an automatic system. The controls are under the kitchen sink. If something unexpected happens, it can be stopped by removing the control panel (it can be pulled away). For additional safety, the tap can be turned off. The indoor plants will need watering every couple of days, depending on the weather. Sometimes the feeders need a bit of tuning: if the soil looks too dry, they can be twisted open to increase the drip rate, or the opposite, if things look flooded. (You can launch the watering manually by pressing a button on the timer mechanism under the sink).

The plants outside the front door are ours as well, so please keep an eye on them. They get thirsty quickly in summer. One fill of the green watering can is enough to do the lot. There are a couple of indoor plants here and there that need to be watered from time to time.

TV, DVD, Music

You'll need to turn the power switch on, next to the ladder.

The black "Freebox" decoder plays DVDs and Blurays. The TV on/off switch on the remote control doesn't work. Turn the screen on by pressing the bottom button on the right hand edge of the screen.

There is an audio jack that you can use to plug in a computer to play music (AUX on the amplifier).

Postal service

We don't receive much paper mail any more, but junk mail will still be delivered, so if you could keep an eye on the letter box and empty it out every couple of days that would be great. Leave it all in the office.

Grocery shopping

There are supermarkets of various sizes in all directions, more or less. Nothing to set them apart, they're all much the same. Most of them will do home deliveries, for either a fee or above a certain amount of money spent (or both).

The bakery downstairs across the road is rather uninteresting, as is the second bakery outside the Arts et Métiers metro entrance although their "baguette royale" is ok, but doesn't keep very well. The closest is rue Volta towards rue Vertbois. Or in Rue Rambuteau down near the Pompidou Centre, you can find Meunier on the north side, and Le Gai Choc on the south (river) side.

Rue de Bretagne

This street is a closer to the house, but the prices are a bit higher than Montorgueil. Walk out the house and down to the rue Reamur and head east (towards Bastille). Keep on going past the intersection and along side the park and district town hall. All the shops of interest are on the right hand side of the street. The first fruit and veg shop is excellent. The produce is of good quality and keeps well.

Just past that shop is a side alley that leads to the covered market "Le Marché des Enfants Rouges". Lots of tourists. The first fruit and veg stall is cheap, although it doesn't tend to keep as well. The fishmonger is very, very good, as is the cheese stall. The Japanese stall is fantastic, as is the moroccan.

Getting back onto the rue de Bretagne and heading away from the house is a cheese shop: caters to tourists and not as good. Next block is our butcher shop.

Rue Montorgueil

A bit of a walk from the house, but the prices are better. Walk up rue Reaumur towards Opera (west). Cross over rue Saint Martin and boulevard Sebastopol. Just past the boulevard, rue Reaumur widens a bit and there is a side alley parallel with the street. Walk up to the end, and you reach rue Montorgueil/rue des Petites Écuries (no cars allowed). The first bakery on the left has so-so bread. Better bakeries are found lower down the street.

All the good shops are on the left as you walk down the street. First up is a cheese shop, and down near the end is a fish shop and a large fruit and veg shop. Just after the fruit and veg shop is a small butcher shop that has the best cuts and reasonable prices. There is an organic produce shop "Naturalia" on the right hand side of the street, after crossing over rue Etienne Marcel.

Rue Rambuteau, if you're coming up from Notre Dame/Hotel de Ville or the Pompidou Centre, has a number of shops that are of good quality apart from the bakeries. (Fishmonger, fruit and veg, butcher and so on).

Leaving

Take the small padlock key on the desk (if we forgot to leave it out, it's in the little cupboard/mirror in the entry - it has an orange/yellow plastic tag), and use this to unlock the trap door to the attic (to the left of the front door).

Return this key the desk, leaving the attic open. Take all your luggage out of the apartment and then close and lock the front door. Put the front door key under the cardboard on the floor of the attic, close the attic door and fasten the padlock.

Once you have fastened the padlock, you are officially locked out! So do a triple check beforehand, making sure you have left nothing on the dining room table, in the fridge, your toothbrushes, coats in the cupboard, umbrellas etc. We will of course inform you if you leave something behind and will mail it back to you if it's valuable.

When we come home, we will use our own key to open the front door, take the padlock key, open the attic and recover the front door key you left there.

updated: 2024-07-06