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As cities swell and seasonal celebrations fill apartments with gift wrap, takeout boxes and leftover feasts, an unglamorous but inevitable consequence follows: holiday trash. Nowhere is that surge more visible than in dense, high-rise neighborhoods like Belltown, where dozens of households share a handful of chutes, compactors and alleyway dumpsters. What starts as a few…

On Capitol Hill, where brick rowhouses, Victorian porches and narrow alleys form an intimate urban fabric, winter arrives with a particular set of challenges. Those same historic details that give these homes their character — original wood-sash windows, tall narrow doors, decorative eaves and thin plaster walls — also create predictable pathways for cold air,…

The holiday season brings a lively energy to West Seattle’s condominium lobbies: bright decorations, visitors arriving with suitcases and presents, delivery drivers depositing an influx of packages, and neighbors greeting each other on their way to seasonal gatherings. That same surge in foot traffic and items moving through shared spaces also increases the risk of…

Laurelhurst residents know how quickly a quiet house can become unsettling when signs of rodents appear: a faint scratching above your ceiling, chewed insulation, or droppings in a seldom-used closet. Attics are especially attractive to mice and rats because they offer warmth, shelter and protected nesting spots. Once rodents get into the attic, they multiply,…

Rainier Beach homeowners are familiar with December’s steady Pacific Northwest rains — what many don’t expect is a sudden uptick in tiny invaders forming neat lines along baseboards, window sills and kitchen counters. “December ant trails” is a seasonal phenomenon in which foraging ants show up indoors following pheromone-marked routes to moisture and food. In…

Seattle’s reputation for polite distance — popularly called the “Seattle Freeze” — is a social phenomenon many newcomers note as an unusual, cool reserve in everyday interactions. It isn’t a single cause but a pattern: brief, courteous exchanges that stop short of deeper friendliness, few spontaneous invitations, and a cultural preference for privacy and predictability….

There is something almost sacred about a Queen Anne kitchen at holiday time: sunlight slanting through leaded glass, the warm grain of built-in cupboards and corner cabinets rubbed smooth by decades of hands, tins of family recipes stacked in neat rows, and the air thick with the promise of spice and sugar. These historic spaces—characterized…

On the Magnolia waterfront, the wind is more than a backdrop to morning jogs and ferry horns — it is a pervasive ecological force that reshapes microclimates, coastal vegetation, human-built structures, and the behaviors of the animals that live there. Regular sea breezes, seasonal storms and wind funnels created by piers and rows of waterfront…

Phinney Ridge homeowners know the rhythm of Seattle’s long, cool winters: steady rain, dropping temperatures, and the annual problem of wildlife and rodents seeking warm, dry shelter. Older craftsman bungalows and mid-century houses that define the neighborhood often have gaps, poorly insulated attics, and unsealed rim joists that become easy entry points for mice, rats,…

On a cold afternoon in Wallingford, craft rooms come alive with glitter, velvet ribbon, skeins of yarn and boxes of treasured seasonal trimmings. For makers and hobbyists those hidden bins are a source of comfort and creativity — and, as many have learned the hard way, an irresistible buffet for certain types of moths. As…