needs organization so that a mess doesn't end up on the floor causing an argument? Here is your problem, if I may be so bold. "on the floor causing an argument" is the problem. "organizing" is not going to fix it. PUTTING IT BACK IN THE BOX will. This is a common misdirection--you're not alone in getting all distracted by the sorting and labeling, and neglecting the more fundamental (and therefore less seductive) TRUE solution. The point is, it is making you insane when he leaves this stuff all over the floor. And if he's not willing to put his OWN MESS away when he's done, then he's not behaving politely. I'll go along w/ the idea that he won't think of it at first on his own, and that it's OK to remind him. But if you say, "honey, don't forget to pick up those wires in the other room before you go to bed," and he WON'T do it, then he is out of line, and THAT is where your problem is. of course, how you fix that, in YOUR marriage, *I* don't know. I might have some ideas for how to fix in *my* marriage (and I'll be sure to pass them on to DH, because *he* is the one who needs them, in my house). But the dynamics of a marriage are hard for outsiders to understand. *I* want to come and clonk him on the head, LOL, but he ain't my DH. I don't know if your drawing an analogy to how he treats his coworkers would give him an "aha" moment, or if you made a strong statement of emotion, or if you refused to let him into bed to go to sleep until he picked up his mess (as if he were a teenager), or if you threw his stuff into the backyard in a temper tantrum, or if you quietly threw them into the garbage, or if you embarrassed him in front of his friends, or if you bribed him w/ chocolate or smooches. (In a perfect world, you wouldn't have to do any of these things, but hey, nobody's perfect--and I'll take chocolate, LOL!) I know that it is more of a communication and respect dilemna but it is a dilemna just the same. I'm just trying to get to a point where this cycle won't keep happening over and over again. I'm sorry to say that I believe it WILL keep happening over and over again--because no amount of organizing the INSIDE of the box will make him pick them up from OUTSIDE the box. The current solution is not HARD to put away, right? Pick them up, drop them in, put on lid. Right? Even if it's too annoying to restack the boxes in the closet, he could at least corral them into the bin, right? Any color coding is going to be MORE work. And it sounds like (if you're honest, I bet you'll find you have to admit this) that he'll drag them all out all over the floor no matter HOW they're labeled inside. But until you get to the heart of the matter--which is that he won't pick his own stuff up even if you remind him--you won't solve this. I can see why it would seem that it's worth still trying to *organize* them. You've tried some things lately--did any piece of them work? Did he put them back in the plastic bags--or did he (hope, hope!) not take them OUT of the plastic bags if they weren't what he wanted? It sounds like PREVENTING him from getting into the wires is almost the only thing that will work, short of giving up on him on this issue. If you can fix it so that he doesn't have to get them ALL out to find what he wants, that might help--maybe. You tried that--did it work? Unless he's the sort of guy who won't even LOOK at a label until all the stuff is on the floor (those people exist--I've seen them in action) II suppose that's worth one more try--to compartmentalize so granularly, and package and LABEL so he doesn't remove anything except what he needs. And maybe drawers will make it easier to put stuff away, and solve the "he wants the tub on the bottom" problem. but I'm not that optimistic about these as a permanent solution. If I were in your shoes, maybe I'd give up on him. I'd just get one huge oversize tub, and then when he makes a big mess, and decide that since *I* was the only one who would deal with it, I could scoop it all up and throw it in with the LEAST amount of effort on my part. And he can deal w/the lost time sorting out what he needs. Maybe it's time to figure out a storage solution that meets YOUR needs, and the heck w/ his. You need--what? -A clear floor w/ no wires everywhere. --so something easy to put things BACK into for YOU -No "running out to buy something we have already." --so *some* level of compartmentalization so he'll at least be tempted to look to see if you've already got the wires; and all of it in ONE place. --and, some sort of coding or sorthing method that lets YOU toss stuff into the right compartment; will YOU be able to do that w/ the tape-color-coding method? you can put the red-tape wires in the red-tape drawer? In which case, that might work. But, the point is, maybe this organization needs to work for what YOU need, which is in the putting away, NOT the getting out. (except of course you don't want him deciding to buy new instead of looking through the old) Which would be an improvement over now, bcs I see you were the one who got them out right away, anyway. Good luck--I feel for you on this, and I worry about you a little over it. I hope I don't seem too harsh, but I just fear that you'll spend so much more energy trying to invent organizing methods, that you'll divert more time to it than you'd spend just scooping them up and stuffing them in a box.

I understand how people can be about holding tight to their original idea and looking for approval more than input. I assure you that is not the case in my circumstance. I am not fully educated in the electrical code. Therefore, I need good advice. I have spent time researching and reading up so that I don't ask stupid questions as much as possible. I want to wire everything exactly to code and even update where necessary to meet the requirements. I also want to understand the basic principles or reasoning behind some of the rules. This is why I asked about the OTR microwave versus a counter top microwave. I just wanted to understand. Excuse me for jumping to conclusions when I read "because I said so, that's why." Perhaps I did not make my question clear enough and for that I apologize. As far as the instant hot, I am not trying to argue as I don't have the experience and knowledge to do so. I am only trying to understand and share what I have found that lead me to my original conclusions. The biggest problem for me is that this is an older home with nearly every item in the kitchen wired to the same circuit and shared with other items. I am trying to sort out all this mess and "fix" all the problems I can find in the house with regards to electrical during this kitchen remodel. It is very time consuming and difficult. I only have so many spots on my panel and accessing the panel to change or modify it is extremely difficult and tricky. My situation is not ideal. Short of tearing down all the walls and running all new wire to a new panel, I may not be able to fix everything. As you can imagine this can be frustrating. We are already into the remodel, having purchased the appliances. However, paying to have all the electrical done is out of the budget at this time. I just don't know what the code dictates as far as forcing you to update old wires and circuits that have been in the home for years and years simply because you want to add an instant hot, OTR microwave and new appliances. I think though that this forum has been incredibly helpful and I will pursue getting double breakers and wiring everything on separate circuits as advised here.

You can't just twist the wires together and wrap the connections in electrical tape. At minimum, you need to use wirenuts or some other applicable device to hold the connection together. The new cable I have already purchased is twisted cloth covered cable - it's vintage inspired, therefore there is no ground wire You bought the wrong cable. Return it and get something with a ground wire too.

I need to buy a range for a new home in a warehouse with cinderblock walls and a concrete floor. I've read that some ranges allow a sideways gas connection into the range that can run through the nearby cabinets instead of through the floor or wall – that's what I need. I've looked at installation instructions for a few range models I'm interested in, but they don't mention this as a possibility. Any suggestions about particular models, or how to find out which models might work for me?