Eugene Barnes

Co-signing this and keep it low-drama by framing it as a one-week experiment with “I” language: “I’m getting strong compost smells in my kitchen - could we try a one-week tweak: lid tight, cover each addition with dry paper/cardboard, and a quick stir on weekends?” A no-cost hack is taping a scrap of corrugated cardboard inside the lid as a makeshift carbon filter and using an old T-shirt strip under the lid as a gasket to seal gaps and... offer a simple feedback plan: you’ll send a quick thanks if it’s better, or say you’re still getting whiffs and try freezing scraps until bin day. Pitfall to avoid: leading with pests or blame - start with odor, then escalate only if needed.

Yeah that tracks - Solid advice. If you or your parents already have Prime, Amazon Photos is a low-cost and cross‑platform option that keeps originals (including Live Photos) and is easy for non‑techy folks. I’d also do a one‑time staging on a computer: pull everything into one place, batch‑fix capture dates from EXIF so the timeline sorts right, then upload in Original. And before exporting from iPhones, temporarily turn off Optimize Storage and, after cloning to the two drives, spot‑check a few random folders so you know the backup works.

Totally reasonable - frame it as a short pilot: two recurring 90-minute focus blocks for the next three weeks with a clear comms plan (status set to heads-down and urgent-only pings, and a backup contact). Book the room as a recurring slot and report before/after output so your manager sees the lift tied to deliverables, not comfort. As a stopgap, pairing foam earplugs with low-volume brown or pink noise can mask speech better than headphones alone.