I bought two baby gates today off a mother of three in Etobicoke who listed them on Craigslist, and I told her I didn’t have any babies. I was going to say I needed them to keep out random, wandering bandit babies who rifle through my rubbish bin (oh wait, those are raccoons), but she might not have sold them to me in that case.

Xena the Warrior Princess and The Old Bean haven’t peed at the bottom of the stairs since I was in Norway, but I’m not taking any chances. The carpet might not survive any more of a pee onslaught.

Until now, I’ve been blocking the stairs with a combination of drying racks and empty bags, but it looks cluttered and precarious and I actually need those racks to dry clothes. So this is my solution! Hope it works.