Honestly, the time cost kills any savings for me.

Totally feel you on this. My parents have a smart oven that just stopped connecting one day, and now they can't use half the features they paid for. It's so frustrating to see a perfectly good appliance become useless because of some software issue. I'm starting to think basic and reliable is the way smarter choice these days.

The bare bulb thing is real, but honestly the worst I saw was a kitchen with a single plate and fork in the sink. Like they staged a meal for one and then left. It wasn't minimalist, it was just sad. I feel like some landlords take the pictures themselves at night with a phone flash. That harsh light makes every empty corner look like a crime scene.

Your sister might be onto something. I used to do the same thing until I realized I was just looking for problems that weren't there. Now I try to just use the thing and form my own opinion. The one-star reviews are usually from people who got a lemon or didn't read the manual.

Honestly, it's wild how much we just assume we know how to use stuff. I did the same thing with a wood stain for my deck, followed the old can's ratio for years. The new formula needed way less thinner, and I only caught it because the color looked totally off. Makes you wonder what else we're all doing wrong without realizing, right?