Keep Your Holiday Travels Green This Year

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The Holidays are the perfect time to make the trek home to see family members, friends and loved ones that you haven’t seen in awhile. But, for many of us, this can involve quite a bit of travel. Though conventional modes of transportation are not always earth-friendly, with a little bit of planning, your holiday travel plans can be earth conscious.

Being kind to the earth doesn't have to stop you from getting to your loved ones this year. This article from apartmenttherapy.com offers a few tips to keep your holiday travel a little greener this year. Keep reading to learn more.

Pack light: avoid checked luggage, back pain and added expense at the baggage counter. If flying for the holiday, you'll probably be bringing gifts. With only one bag, you have a couple of green options to appease those expecting gifts: purchase tiny gifts or purchase them locally once you get there. Additionally, the reduced weight will lower fuel consumption in whatever vehicle it happens to be you're traveling in. Onebag.com offers useful suggestions on how to pack lightly.

Turn off everything: When you leave your home, unplug your TV, computer, and anything that might require a phantom load so your home isn't expending unnecessary energy. Also, lower your thermostat but do keep it above 60 to prevent your pipes from freezing. Additionally, it could be wise to turn off your main water line "just in case." Mine has sprung a leak twice this year so this is something that I'm sure to do next time I travel.

Carpool if possible: it seems like college students have this down. Because many college students lack cars, they seek out friends from nearby hometowns, load up and travel together. If only we could be so accommodating as we grow older. See if other family members or friends might be traveling nearby and could offer a ride.

Take public transportation: even if it's only to the airport. Sure, it'd be great if we could all take the train to grandma's, but even cutting down on one taxi by carpooling or taking a bus to the airport can reduce emissions.

Bring your own snacks: Avoid overpriced meals that aren't produced in environmentally-conscious ways by bringing your own food on your trip. You make the choices at your local grocery store on what you want to eat and it's better for everyone.

Video conference: if you do decide to stay home, you can still connect with friends and family via Skype or other online video calling applications. You phone in for business meetings, so why not do the same for family and friends?

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How To Cook The Perfect Turkey

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Thanksgiving is just around the corner and that means families all over will be preparing and sharing a turkey dinner. Many families have a traditional routine that they use to cook and serve their bird, but if you’re hosting the event for the first time, it may be cause for some extra stress.

If you’re not sure the best method to cook and serve a turkey look no further. This article from thekitchn.com walks you through how to prepare the perfect Thanksgiving dinner. Keep reading to put your mind at ease before the big day.

This method will work with any turkey: big or small, brined or not, free-range or otherwise. Cooking times will vary, but the basic technique will be the same. For reference, the turkey in the photos was a pre-brined 16-pound turkey from Williams-Sonoma.

Thawing the Turkey

Be sure to let your turkey completely thaw before cooking. If it was frozen through when you bought it, the turkey will thaw within a few days in the fridge, approximately 24 hours for every five pounds of turkey. For quicker thawing, place the turkey in a cold water bath and change the water every 30 minutes until it's thawed.

Brining a Turkey

One thing we're not talking about here is brining the turkey. This method has become popular over the last few years and involves immersing the turkey in a salt water solution for a day or so before cooking. The end result of this process is moist, perfectly seasoned turkey meat. We've had great results with brining and heartily endorse it. For a full explanation, check out this post:

• Quick Tip: How to Brine Meat

Ready? Let's cook some turkey.

How to Roast a Turkey
What You Need

Ingredients

• 1 turkey, any size
  
• 2 cups broth or water
  
• Melted unsalted butter (optional, for basting)

Equipment

• Roasting pan (or alternative)
  
• Roasting rack (or something to lift the turkey off the pan)
  
• Turkey baster or spoon

Instructions

1. Prepare the Turkey for Roasting - About an hour before roasting, take the turkey out of the fridge. Remove any packaging and the bag of giblets (check in the body cavity and in the neck cavity). Set the turkey breast-side up on the roasting rack and let it sit. This takes the chill off the meat, which helps the meat cook faster and more evenly, and it dries out the skin, which promotes browning and crisping.

2. Heat the Oven to 450°F - Position an oven rack in the bottom third of your oven. If you brined your turkey, as we did, no need to do anything now. If your turkey is straight out of the package, rub it with some salt and pepper before putting it in the oven. We recommend leaving your turkey un-stuffed and un-trussed, both because it's easier and because the turkey will cook more evenly.

Optional Extras - Rub your turkey with butter or oil for a richer flavor and browner skin, rub minced herbs or ground spices into (or beneath) the skin for more flavor, place a few halved lemons or garlic cloves inside the cavity of the turkey.

3. Roast the Turkey - Pour two cups of broth or water into the roasting pan. Place the turkey in the oven and turn down the heat to 350°F. We're going for a breast-side up approach here. Some recipes advocate starting the turkey breast-side down to shield the breast meat, but the idea of flipping a hot, sputtering turkey is not our idea of a good time. Instead, we like to shield the breast meat with foil toward the end of cooking if it starts getting too browned.

4. Cooking Time - The rule of thumb for cooking a turkey is 13 minutes per pound. So our 16-pound turkey should have taken about 3 1/2 hours to cook. However, some factors like brining the bird, cooking with an empty (un-stuffed) cavity, and leaving the legs un-trussed will contribute to much faster cooking. Plan on the 13-minute-per-pound rule, but start checking the temperature of your turkey about halfway through the scheduled cooking time to gauge how fast it's cooking.

5. Baste the Turkey - Every 45 minutes, remove the turkey from the oven, close the oven door (don't let that heat out!), and baste the turkey all over. To baste, tilt the pan and use a turkey baster or spoon to scoop up the liquids and drizzle them on top of the turkey. Basting with pan juices cools the surface of the turkey and slows down cooking, which in turn keeps the breast meat cooking at close to the same rate as the legs and thighs.

Optional Extra - In the last 45 minutes or so of cooking, baste the turkey with melted butter or oil. This helps crisp up the skin and turn it a beautiful deep golden brown.

5. Check the Temperature - To make sure that turkey is fully cooked through and through, we like to check its temperature in three places: the breast, the outer thigh, and the inside thigh (see photos above). In every case, the meat should be at least 165°F. If any place is under that temperature, put the turkey back in the oven for another 20 minutes. Shield the breast meat with foil if needed to keep it from overcooking.

6. Rest the Turkey - Grab one side of the roasting rack with an oven mitt and tilt the turkey so liquids inside the cavity run out into the pan. (These juices are used to make the gravy.)

Then, lift the whole turkey (still on the rack) and transfer it to a cutting board. Tent the turkey with aluminum foil and let it rest for at least 30 minutes. This gives time for the meat to firm up and the juices to be re-absorbed into the muscle tissue, making the turkey easier to slice and taste juicier.

7. Carve the Turkey - Carve the turkey the same way you would carve a chicken(click that link to see a video of the entire process of carving a chicken): Remove the wings first, then the thighs, then the breast meat. Once you have the meat off, you can separate the thighs into thighs and drumsticks and carve the breast meat into individual slices.

That's all there is to it! Roasting a turkey is really just like roasting a large chicken. The same methods and ideas apply. Even if you don't get fancy with spices or special basting liquids, your turkey will still turn out browned, moist, and flavorful.

One final note! Once you've sat down at the table, don't forget about the turkey back on the counter. The leftover meat needs to be refrigerated within two hours of cooking, after which the risk of something nasty taking up residence starts to increase exponentially. Be safe, kids!

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Tired Of The Turkey?

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Every year, people across the United States prepare to cook and share a Thanksgiving meal with family and friends. The traditional meal usually involves turkey, mashed potatoes stuffing and other great dishes, but wouldn’t it be nice for a change? Preparing a different, more eclectic meal for Thanksgiving this year may be a pleasant surprise for many families that feel the old Thanksgiving routine has gotten a bit stale.

Gathering friends together and giving thanks doesn’t have to just be about the turkey. This article from apartmentguide.com suggests some really great ways to reinvent your Thanksgiving feast this year. Keep reading for a few ideas to give your guests a Thanksgiving that they will never forget!

Set a diverse buffet

One of the main reasons people stray from traditional Thanksgiving traditions is to satisfy the dietary needs of a everyone at the table. If your guest list includes vegetarians, vegans or gluten-free friends – or foodies! — you can still create a delicious dinner that suits all of their tastes. The key is to provide options.

Seafood is a great alternative to turkey, and some vegetarians are open to eating fish. Prepare a tasty Thanksgiving salmon with cranberry sauce or autumn spice scallops. For a truly vegetarian Thanksgiving, shoot for scrumptious veggie entreeslike butternut squash baked risotto or a mushroom tart. Preparing pumpkin pie can be bewildering when you are crafting a gluten-free Thanksgiving dinner menu, but there’s always gluten-free pumpkin cheesecake with a gingersnap crust to save the day!

Don’t let special diets intimidate you. Have fun experimenting with your dinner menu and create a new tradition that’s both healthy and yummy.

Plan a faraway feast

As Thanksgiving is an American holiday that celebrates our first settlers, an obvious way to mix things up this year is to give your Thanksgiving dinner menu an international twist. A Greek lamb roast, Italian turkey sausage lasagna or Indian shrimp vindaloo is guaranteed to spice up the flavor of your feast.

Take your Thanksgiving dinner on the road with a visit to a local restaurant. International restaurants are often open on Thanksgiving Day, so keep your kitchen clean and drive your family to the neighborhood Chinese, Indian or Korean spot. Plus, eating out means you don’t have to cook Thanksgiving in a small kitchen!

Or you can go big with your holiday vacation plans and travel farther afield for a real non-traditional Thanksgiving out of the country. Viking River Cruises offers spectacular European holiday excursions that feature fabulous meals and seasonal market shopping.

Give thanks without the focus on food

Some of us dread Thanksgiving because we are watching our weight or trying to stay healthy. Grandma’s decadent turkey dinner is simply too tempting! Removing the food focus from Thanksgiving is a great alternative. After all, there are fun ways to savor the spirit of the holiday without destroying your diet.

If the temptation truly is too great, you might skip the family meal, but offer to host a post-dinner game night at your house. That way you can still see your loved ones and share what you are grateful for over a game of Scrabble instead of stuffing. Other healthy options include planning an afternoon walk in the park or meeting everyone for an evening movie.

Think outside of the box of stuffing this year and plan a non-traditional Thanksgiving meal that will make this holiday unexpected and memorable.

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Fall Back Into Winter

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It’s official- fall is finally here. The days are getting shorter, the air is getting crisper and now that Halloween is over, it won’t be long until we start hearing Christmas carols wafting through the air. This weekend, we take another step down the road toward winter with Daylight Savings Time. Along with setting our clocks back an hour, there are a few important winter preparation tasks we need to remember before it gets to be too late.

This article from apartmentguide.com walks us through some seasonal prepration items we don’t want to forget as we settle into fall. Keep reading for a quick refresher on how to prepare for winter.

1. Set the clocks back an hour.

Obviously, this is the most important thing you have to do, or else you’ll be an hour early for everything. However, you don’t have to worry about it if you live in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, or most of Arizona – these places don’t observe Daylight Saving Time.

Fun fact: Indiana used to be divided on the DST issue – half the state would observe it, the other half would not. But since 2006, the entire state has changed the clocks twice a year, just like most of the country.

2. Replace the batteries in your smoke alarm and carbon monoxide detector.

When you change the clocks, the National Fire Protection Association recommends you also take precautions to guard your safety in case of a fire or carbon monoxide leak. These devices can save your life, so you want to make sure your batteries are functioning properly.

3. Make a few energy-efficiency improvements.

The end of Daylight Saving Time means winter isn’t far away, so take on a few DIY projects to keep your apartment cozy during the cold months without running up your energy bills. After all, Daylight Saving Time was invented to save energy!

• Cover your windows with insulating curtains that keep cold drafts out.
• Wrap your water heater in an insulated jacket so water stays warmer with less energy.
• Replace the weather stripping under your exterior doors and windows.

4. Make an emergency kit for your apartment.

Snowstorms and other inclement weather in the wintertime can lead to power outages, and sometimes they last a while. Make sure you have everything you’ll need if you’re stuck inside with no power: Blankets, bottled water, flashlights, extra batteries, candles, and a good book.

5. Take care of yourself!

Even though it’s just one hour, a time shift can confuse your body. Those who are susceptible to erratic sleep patterns should be extra careful to give themselves enough time to rest.

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Keeping Your Moving Day Green

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It’s no surprise that everything that we do has some sort of effect on the environment. So it should also be no surprise that every choice that we make concerning our move from one apartment to the next can also have an impact. From the cleaners we choose to use in our old and new apartments to what we do with our boxes after you’ve finally finished moving in, every decision we make during a move is an important one.

Being earth-friendly during your move doesn’t have to be difficult, though. This blog from apartmentguide.com offers some great ideas to keep your move an enviornmentally friendly as possible. Keep reading to learn more ways that you can get set up in a new home, while keep your carbon footprint as small as possible.

The good news about a DIY green move is that making environmentally-conscious choices doesn’t have to make a big dent in your wallet. In fact, following some of these suggestions may even save you money.

• Boxes. Cardboard box waste is one of the least environmentally-conscious parts of moving. To make your move greener, look for used boxes or rentable, reusable crates. You can rent plastic or wooden crates from companies likeRentaGreenBox.com or RentaCrate.com. These crates are available in several sizes, just like boxes, but come with the added benefit of being sturdier, easy to grip and, of course, less wasteful.
  
• Recycling. If you’re not going to rent boxes or source used ones, you can up the green factor by recycling your moving boxes, rather than throwing them away when you’re done. You may also consider the other ways you can recycle during a DIY move: forgoing bubble wrap for recyclable newspaper, old towels or sheets. Consider donating any unwanted items to charity before you move.
  
• Cleaning. You can choose environmentally-conscious cleaning methods when you do your move-out and move-in cleaning. Look for green cleaning brands likeDr. Bronner’s and Seventh Generation in stores. Or opt to make homemade green cleaning solutions with simple, inexpensive ingredients like baking soda, vinegar and lemon.
  
• Decluttering. It may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s true: the less stuff you move, the greener your move will be. To honor earth-friendly moving, perform a thorough round of decluttering before you pack up. The less stuff you have to move, the fewer boxes you’ll need and the less fuel you’ll use to cart stuff to your new home.

Professional green movers

Earth-friendly professional movers employ many of these same practices. They may also recycle boxes for their customers or use plastic crates, rely on bio fuel vehicles, use packing blankets made from recycled materials and employ other sustainable business practices. Read about California-based Go Green Moving, as an example.

Even if you don’t have a specifically green mover in your area, you can always ask a professional mover to employ as many green moving practices as they can. You’ll be supporting the demand for earth-friendly moving practices, while reducing the impact of your move on the environment.

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The Moving Purge

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There’s nothing like moving to make you realize just how many possessions you have. Though packing up and relocating is a great time to go through your home and reevaluate if you really need that coconut monkey that your great-aunt brought you back from Hawaii, many movers have a tough time parting with their trinkets.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed when facing the idea of trying to separate your possessions, but there’s no need to get stressed. Apartmentguide.com has some great ideas concerning the best way to evaluate what you really need, and want, to keep with you during your move. Keep reading for a quick guide to get you started on your moving purge.

Stuff: it’s how you identify with home

There’s a rather complex psychological reason why we go through life collecting possessions and then arranging them carefully in our homes. As Julie Beck describes inThe Atlantic, the objects we collect and display are powerful symbols of who we are and where we’ve been in our lives.

That collection of seashells you cherish? They’re not just decor; they’re memories from the wonderful family vacation you took to the Oregon Coast. The miniature Empire State Building that’s sitting on your mantle? It’s a reminder of the early years of your professional life that you spent trying to “make it” in New York City.

According to Beck, Western culture values moving around a lot. We perceive from a young age that we’re always supposed to be striving to move to a newer, better and bigger home. And as a result, we may not form a deep attachment to our actual homes, but we do become attached to the objects we carry with us as we “trade up.”

What do we do when all of this baggage makes moving seem daunting? Understanding our personal attachments with possessions may well be the key.

Move with respect for your memories

Given that the objects we possess mean so much to us, it’s not hard to see why the process of packing up and moving can be psychologically difficult for so many people.

Only you can determine the time you’ll need to prepare yourself for the transition. These tips, however, might help you break down the moving process into segments so it doesn’t seem quite so hard. Every journey — even moving — begins with a first step.

1. Start now. The minute you know you’re moving, do something to kick off your move — anything as long as you take that one first step. Whether it’s calling around to get moving quotes or decluttering your apartment, you’ve got to make yourself start the process sooner, rather than later, so you don’t leave everything for the last minute. This will also aid the emotional process of moving.
   
2. Gently “edit” yourself. A move gives you the chance to determine which of your things are truly most meaningful. Don’t move the stuff you don’t need! Give yourself plenty of time to toss broken and old items, and donate usable items to charity before you move. You’ll feel good that you’ve cleared the clutter and helped others in the process.
   
3. Get the right moving supplies. You’ll feel prepared if you’ve got all the tools you need to pack your valuables for safe passage. Before you start, make sure you have everything you need: boxes, tape, labels, bubble wrap and any special protective materials for electronics, antiques and breakables.

When you choose to live in a place, you both alter that place with your presence and are altered, as well. The special things you bring with you when you move help keep your past home living experiences alive.

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Don't Let Your Pumpkin Turn Into Squash

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Halloween is almost here and that means it’s time to begin decorating! Whether you celebrate the holiday by hosting a party with friends or have decided to simply hand out candy to trick-or-treaters this year, there is no simpler way to make your apartment look festive than by carving a pumpkin. Unfortunately though, regardless of the design you choose, and where you decide to place your pumpkin, eventually the shape of your artwork will begin to deteriorate.

Though a decomposing pumpkin is an inevitability, there are a multitude of ways to keep your carved pumpkins from looking too scary too quickly. This article from botanicalinterests.com offers some great ideas to keep your jack-o-lanterns looking fresh after they’ve been sitting out for a few days. Keep reading to find out what they have to say:

Carved pumpkins look their best one to two days after carving, and rarely look good after seven days. So if you want your carved pumpkins to stay fresh until Halloween night, don't carve them until at least October 24th.

Before carving, wash your hands well with warm soap and water or a disinfecting hand sanitizer, and make sure your carving tools are clean to avoid transferring bacteria to the pumpkin. You may also want to wipe the outside of the pumpkin down with bleach before making the first cut.

Once carved, you can keep your pumpkin perky for up to a week by wiping the inside and cut areas with bleach, spraying with a household cleaning spray that includes bleach, or spraying with one of the pumpkin sprays available in craft or party stores. Then give those areas a thin coating of petroleum jelly.

Carved pumpkins decline the fastest in warm weather. Keep them out of direct sunlight and move them into a garage, cool basement, or a refrigerator when temperatures exceed 70°F. If your climate is humid or it is rainy, you should dry off and refrigerate your carved pumpkins at night. Freezing temperatures also speed decay, so move them to a protected location when temperatures outside are below freezing.

If a pumpkin starts to shrivel or gets a little mold prematurely, you can soak it for a couple of hours in a bucket of water to revive it, and add 2 teaspoons of bleach for every gallon of water, for disinfecting purposes.

If you are lighting up a pumpkin for more than one night, use a battery-operated candle or small flashlight inside instead of a candle. This will prevent soot and heat damage that could shorten the pumpkin's lifespan.

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The Best Movies To Have On At Your Next Party

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When entertaining a large group at your house, it always a good idea to have a common activity for everyone to do. Rather than reach for the board games to try to engage your guests, often it’s nice to have a suggested activity that they can choose to participate in, or to leave in lieu of conversations with other guests. Playing a movie is the perfect way to ensure that all of your guests are entertained without forcing anyone into an awkward situation

It can be difficult to pick a movie that everyone at your gathering will enjoy. Because everyone has different tastes and favorite genres of film that they’re interested in, they may not all like the same movies. This article from apartmenttherapy.com offers a few great suggestions that everyone at your party is sure to enjoy. Keep reading to find out what they had to say:

The Wall (1982)

Synopsis: A troubled rock star descends into madness in the midst of his physical and social isolation from everyone.

Why it's great: The soundtrack, obviously. Based on Pink Floyd's 1979 album of the same name, the film features very little dialogue and is mainly driven by the music.

Airplane! (1980)

Synopsis: An airplane crew takes ill. Surely the only person capable of landing the plane is an ex-pilot afraid to fly. But don't call him Shirley.

Why it's great: A hilarious classic and everyone knows it. As a parody of more serious disaster films, Airplane! moves quickly through slapstick comedy and absurd one-liners that even first-time watchers have heard.

Fight Club (1999)

Synopsis: An insomniac office worker looking for a way to change his life crosses paths with a devil-may-care soap maker and they form an underground fight club that evolves into something much, much more.

Why it's great: It's visually stunning, and thoughtfully so. The narrator's scenes without Tyler Durden are bland, while scenes with Tyler are almost unpleasantly vivid.

A Hard Day's Night (1964)

Synopsis: A 'typical' day in the life of the Beatles, including many of their famous songs.

Why it's great: The Beatles. Need I say more? Filmed at the height of Beatlemania, this black-and-white film combines cheeky British humor with The Beatles' music to create a "comic Fantasia."

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966)

Synopsis: A bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.

Why it's great: The classic western of all westerns. This Italian Spaghetti Western features sweeping western landscapes, Civil War battle scenes, and one of film's most famous scores.

Moulin Rouge (2001)

Synopsis: A poet falls for a beautiful courtesan whom a jealous duke covets in this stylish musical, with music drawn from familiar 20th century sources.

Why it's great: The cover songs. The best of modern pop music is drawn back and restyled for a 19th century Parisian nightclub.

Animal House (1978)

Synopsis: Time: 1962. Place: college. Dean Vernon Wormer is determined to expel the entire Delta Tau Chi fraternity, but those troublemakers have other plans for him.

Why it's great: The laughs and party atmosphere. Spun off from National Lampoon magazine, it's one of the best comedies ever made and easy for anyone to follow.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

Synopsis: A high school wise guy is determined to have a day off from school, despite of what the principal thinks of that.

Why it's great: The sights. It's like taking a tour of Chicago—viewing Seurat at The Art Institute of Chicago, scoping out the observation deck of the Sears Tower, catching a ball at Wrigley Field—all from your living room.

Blade Runner (1982)

Synopsis: Deckard, a blade runner, has to track down and terminate 4 replicants who hijacked a ship in space and have returned to Earth seeking their maker.

Why it's great: The dystopian science fiction scenes, even though the film is set in not-so-far-away 2019 in Los Angeles.

Across the Universe (2007)

Synopsis: The music of the Beatles and the Vietnam War form the backdrop for the romance between an upper-class American girl and a poor Liverpudlian artist.

Why it's great: It's kind of like a really great, 2-hour-long music video. Covers of The Beatles' best songs are set against stunning imagery.

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Rearrange Your Furniture To Live Greener

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Cooler weather during the winter months can have an adverse effect on your energy bill. Before you reach to crank up the thermostat there are a various techniques you employ to keep yourself warmer during the winter without relying on your heater.

By being conscious of the drafty areas of your house and where your heaters are located, you can strategize your way into a lower heating bill this fall and winter. This article from apartmentguide.com will walk you through some of the more unusual steps you can take to lower your energy bill and decrease your enviornmental footprint. Keep reading to learn more:

Do the Electric Slide

No, we’re not talking about the world-famous dance move. We’re talking about the energy you can save by keeping the heat generated by electric appliances inside your home. Much of the heat that is produced by computers, televisions, stereos and lamps can be lost to the outside if these appliances are placed next to a window or an exterior wall. So make the best use of that extra heat by hanging your LCD TV on an interior wall away from a window and make sure to move your computer, stereo and lamps away from exterior walls to conserve energy.

Last Draft

You may think it’s a good idea to place chairs, sofas and loveseats next to windows and doors to take advantage of the view, but this plan can backfire during the winter, as guests sitting next to a window will likely feel a cold draft. This means that you may turn the thermostat up higher than necessary to overcompensate for those cold spots, when the rest of the apartment is heated to a comfortable temperature. So arrange seating away from windows and doors during the winter to stay warmer while avoiding turning the thermostat up.

Clear Up Ducts and Vents

Be mindful of where you place a couch, bed, chair or other large furniture and make sure it’s not over a heating vent. The furniture will absorb some of the heat while slowing the flow of heat to the room or blocking it completely, making the heater work harder to compensate for the lost heat, a mistake you’ll pay for on your power bill. Even a misplaced rug can cause the heater to run sluggishly. The same applies for return air ducts, which are often located high up on a wall. Make sure not to cover up the return air duct with a bookcase or a painting.

Shut Up

While the health and well-being benefits of natural light and solar heat can’t be disputed, it’s actually better to keep blinds drawn and curtains shut on cold, dreary winter days. Doing so will help keep some of the heat inside your apartment, meaning you’ll have to run the heater less.

Double Duty Décor

You’d be surprised which household items have insulation value, however minimal. Hanging a large quilt or tapestry on your wall can help save energy, especially if it is on an exterior wall. Tall bookcases filled with books or magazines, if placed against an outside wall, can keep heat inside your home while preventing the cold from creeping in. Even large picture frames can slow the transmission of heat through exterior walls, so beef up your décor sense during the winter and you’ll see dramatic energy savings.

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How To De-Clutter Your Closet For Fall (Or Anytime)

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Throughout the year our closets find ways to fill up. We find new clothes and shoes that we have to have, we have older pieces that we can’t seem to let go and we use our closets as a catch-all for things we can’t seem to fit anywhere else. After awhile all these items pile up and create a mess that it’s impossible to sift through.

No matter how full your closet has gotten over the last few months, cleaning it out doesn’t have to be a nightmare. This article from storagefront.com walks us through some simple tips to clean out the items you don’t want and to keep everything else organized. Keep reading to learn some of these simple tricks:

Before you do anything: set aside seasonal pieces

A few years ago, I committed to purge my closet of half of my clothes. It was May. Naturally, it was much easier for me to part with coats, boots, sweaters, and scarves than with typical summer wear. I was immensely proud of myself – for about four months.

There are certain articles of clothing and pairs of shoes that are definitely seasonal, even if you enjoy the occasional light cardigan in the summer. Before you can consider selling, donating, or gifting your unwanted apparel, set aside anything that weather wouldn’t want you wearing for the next several months.

Where can you put seasonal items when you don’t have a basement or garage? One option is to box them up and set them somewhere in the closet, all while making sure your method is tidy. Another possibility is to store them in a climate-controlled storage unit. A 5x5 space is often compared to a walk-in closet, and you can easily search for nearby, affordable units. Whatever you decide to do, keep the clothes safely tucked away for a few months until you can revisit them with better judgment.

Recruit a buddy
How many times have you decided to get organized, only to find yourself suddenly labeling everything as having sentimental value? After you’ve safely stored your out-of-season clothes, bring a friend over while you clean out your closet.

Even if you and your friend don’t wear the exact same size, chances are that she could fit into plenty of your tops and maybe even some shoes. Whip up your friend’s favorite lunch, pop in a movie, and make an afternoon of your project.

The trick here is to get your friend on board with your goals. Let her know how many things you’re looking to get rid of or what standard you’ll be using to decide each item’s fate. She can help you out by keeping you accountable to your goals. What’s in it for her? She gets to keep anything she likes from your “sell/donate/gift” piles.

Use the “six month” box
Peter Walsh of Extreme Clutter suggests a nifty hanger trick to help you realize which of your clothes do nothing more than collect dust. My “six month” box follows a similar premise, but provides an immediate pay-off of a more spacious closet. Consider which one you like better – or come up with an experiment of your own!

This box (or, more ideally, plastic storage bin) is different from your out-of-season box. It’s the designated spot for clothes that you’re on the fence about. While your friend helps you decide which clothes you don’t want to keep, you’ll run into pieces that you just don’t want to part with. You may be telling yourself that you’ll fit back into that skinny pair of jeans someday, or that you’ll love that top once you sew the button back on. Whatever your hesitation may be, set the item aside in your six month box.

What follows is simple. Say that you’re getting ready one day and you can’t find that floral ¾-sleeve top that you’re suddenly in the mood to wear. Go grab it from your six month box. After you’ve worn it and washed it, put the top back in your closet as normal. Follow this process for six months; if something comes out of the box, it can stay out of the box. At the end of six months, you’ll see which clothes you didn’t think about, chose not to wear, or simply forgot about when out of sight.

In my experience, I’ve never felt remorse for anything left in that box after several months. Periodically I’ll grab something from it, see something else I like, but never come back to actually wear it. When I come back to that box after six months, I’m always more than ready and willing to part with what’s in it.

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Making Your Furniture Work In A New Space

(Image Courtesy of Christopher Barson)

Moving from home to home can be a challenge. Boxing up all your possessions and moving them from one place of residence to another is a hassle-no one wants to pack up everything just to unpack it all again somewhere else. And moving your furniture can create obstacles all its own. As if being big, bulky and hard to move weren't enough, it can be a headache trying to make your furniture work in a new room. Often times, many frustrated movers choose to scrap many pieces of their old furniture and start from the beginning. Though this option may be appealing, it can be a costly decision to make.

It is important to remember when moving that every space is different and just because your old furniture worked in your former residence, doesn't mean that it will work in your new one. There’s no need to worry, though, this article from apartmenttherapy.com offers some practical solutions to solve your furniture woes. Read on for a few tips to make your old couch fit in your new space.

1. Alter It.

Furniture that looks and feels wrong in a space can often be made to look and feel right, or at least a lot closer to it. Painting and re-upholstery are just the tip of the iceberg here; consider carpentry and creative solutions to change the actual size, structure and use of your pieces.

A too-small dining table can have a new, lower base added and become a grand coffee table. The top of an old table can be put on new legs or vice versa. Bookcases can have doors added or doors removed, or be placed on their side to become sideboards. Even upholstered items can be changed; consider removing the back of a too-structured sofa to create a chaise, or removing the arms of a chair so that it will fit in a smaller space.

2. Mix It Up.

Often we see our furniture in room sets, simply because that's how we've always used it. The sofa belongs in the living room, that armoire in the bedroom, those chairs in the hallway. Removing your blinders and mixing it up can go a long way to making your things look at home, but in a fresh way.

So maybe your chest of drawers doesn't fit in the new bedroom — could it work in the dining room to store plates and accessories? How about the old TV cabinet — maybe it could be a linen closet in the upstairs hall. Use some still-beautiful-but-superfluous dining chairs as bedside tables in the spare bedroom, or mount the old full-length mirror horizontally in the front hall.

3. Upgrade the Important Stuff.

Sure, you might be attached to your old furniture, but those sore-thumb pieces are always going to bother you, especially if they're big, conspicuous items. Sometimes it's best to say goodbye to a few key pieces and replace as necessary.

If you upgrade where it counts — say, a new sofa or dining table, some lighting — you'll probably find that other items bother you less, and might even start to look at home next to their new neighbors. The key is to overhaul slowly, one piece at a time; that way you won't go overboard and can monitor the evolution of your new home.

Do you move often? Have you struggled with the old-into-new issue? How have you made old furniture work in a new way?

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7 Gadgets That Belong In Your Kitchen

(Image courtesy of renters.apartments.com)

Love it or hate it, cooking is an instrumental part of daily life around the home and in an apartment. Whether making dinner for yourself or preparing lunch for a get-together, your kitchen utensils can make or break your cooking abilities and your dining options.

A lot of us keep our kitchen utensils to a bare minimum: pots and pans, some glasses and plates, a decent set of silverware, and some butcher knives. Sometimes, though, just having the bare minimum number of utensils and gadgets can limit your cooking options. So, if you're looking to update your kitchen's gadgets and tools, this blog post is for you! Keep reading to check out renters.apartments.com's article about the best gadgets and tools to have in your kitchen:

Zesters/Graters

A good zester and grater is essential for anyone who wants to make their favorite from scratch recipes, or top things off with some freshly grated cheese. Recipes that call for lemon or lime zest usually ask for a few teaspoons or tablespoons at the most, and finding “zest” in a grocery store can be difficult and overpriced. Shredded cheese is easy enough to find, but you might not want all your cheese shredded or you may want a bit of freshly grated parmesan on top of your favorite Italian dish or salad. Graters can also grate chocolate that makes a perfect topper from your homemade pie, specialty drink, or even an ice cream sundae.

Garlic Press

Fresh garlic shows up in almost as many recipes as regular salt. It’s delicious and good for you, but it can be hard to handle. If you have a garlic press, it’s much easier. Trying to mice garlic with a knife can be cumbersome, and you can wind up with larger chunks of garlic in your recipes. With a garlic press you tuck your garlic clove inside and press. Out comes minced garlic you can scoop into your recipe and the rinse the garlic press clean.

Salad Spinner

With a busy life, having a good salad with your meal can seem like a chore. This leads many people to buy prebagged salads and pay about twice as much or more than putting their ingredients in a salad spinner in order to get the same or better salads.

Manual Chopper

You might have a larger electric food processor, but when you just want to chop a few nuts or even crush crackers taking out a big appliance can be cumbersome. Using a knife and cutting board often won’t give you the finely chopped texture you may want. With a manual chopper your food is contained in a small bowl while you chop.

Apple Corer

Apples are one of the most celebrated health foods, but it can be messy to eat them with the core in tact. You can also wind up missing some of your delicious apple. If you have kids, you have to worry about seeds and the choking hazard they bring. Cutting up an apple with a knife can lead to waste. An apple corer makes things simpler. Simply press the corer over the middle of the apple an get those perfect slices everyone loves.

Can Opener
More and more canned food have pop tops, but they are not yet universal. It’s a good thing there are a wide variety of can openers. The latest designs are easy to grip and some are designed to lift the whole can top off, rather than cutting into the can and leaving sharp edges. Many people are particular about their can opener, so be sure to hold a few different kinds in your hand and see which feels right to you.

Potato Masher
A potato masher may not seem fancy enough to be included among the best kitchen gadgets, but it is a very handy tool. To many people “mashed” potatoes are really whipped potatoes and once you give up the potato texture something is lost. With a potato masher, you get a mostly smooth texture while getting the occasional little piece of potatoes for the homemade feel. Potato mashers can also efficiently mash other soft foods, such as ripe bananas for banana bread, hard boiled eggs for egg salad, or avocados for fresh guacamole.

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How To Use Pinterest & Instagram To Decorate Your Apartment

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Love Instagram and Pinterest? Why not do more than use these sites to share and post pictures? You can incorporate your love for these great sites into your apartment decor!


Whether you want to use pictures that you really love or use the ones that you've taken and touched up yourself, Instagram and Pinterest are great resources to use when you begin decorating an apartment. Instagram in particular is a great way to use your own self-taken pictures in your apartment, since your photos are saved automatically into your phone's camera roll.


So, how can you get started as you set out to decorate or redecorate using these two websites? Keep reading to see apartmentguide.com's tips on the matter!

Set up your own photo shoot
When you set up your own special photo shoot, you can digitally capture the apartment decor you desire. Pick an afternoon to roam around your favorite local spots and let your city inspire your decorating project. Plan a photo session to capture subjects that fit into a personal theme of your choice. Find your favorite things, such as dogs, flowers, bicycles, historical sites, coffee, craft beer or whatever you fancy. If you don’t capture it all the first time around, book some more time. The more images you have to choose from, the better your decorating project.

Find and filter
Heavy-duty Instagrammers may already have an arsenal of awesome photos on their roll. Now your challenge is to categorize images that suit your personal decorating style. Pull together groups of snaps from a specific occasion or trip. Create broad categories like “best friends,” funny family photos or cool close-ups.

Once you’ve made your selections, it’s time to get crazy with Instagram’s awesome filters. These will make your photo display look like it was shot by a pro. There are a lot of filters to choose from, and new ones are being added every day. Play around and see which filter styles you like most. 1970s Polaroid? Solar flare? Sunset lighting? And you don’t have to pick just one: your art projects can each sport a different style.

You can also look for inspiration from other Instagram artists on lifestyle sharing sites like Pinterest.

Go wall out
So far, go good. You’ve got your most gorgeous images arranged into artful themes. Now, how do you print them? You can go DIY and pick up some fancy paper from the office supply store and print at home or get them professionally printed by uploading your images to an online printing company.

Persnickety Prints does a great job with small prints that are perfect for framing or hanging with clothespins from a line. Printstagram gives you even more options like organizing a whole raft of images to create a poster. CanvasPop is another neat print vendor that will print your images on an actual canvas. It’s like having a personal art gallery in your own home.

When you go this route, why not host an art opening to show off your decorating project to your pals?

Coaster-to-coaster decorating
Once you are out of wall space, spread your Instragram art around on other surfaces via these nifty coasters. Coastermatic prints your photos on round stone coasters, while Coastergram whips up a square version with cork backing. Heck, you don’t have to limit your personalized decor to your own apartment; you can give these as gifts and share your Instagram images with your friends face-to-face.

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Apartment Tip: Freshen Up With Houseplants

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Sometimes our apartment begins to feel stuffier than usual. It can't be helped, especially during the summer, when temperatures fluctuate and we can't always comfortably open all of our windows for some fresh air. So what's an apartment dweller looking to add a little freshness to their home to do?

Simple: get a couple houseplants! Houseplants, both in homes and in apartments, are a great way to freshen and purify your air while also sprucing up the look of your living area. It's a win-win, especially during the summer, when the extra hours of daylight help plants flourish.

Already we can hear you wondering and asking questions like, what kind of plant should you get? How much care will a plant need? Where will be the best place to put one? Well, it's time to start answering those questions! Check out this article from apartmentguide.com to learn more about the good a houseplant could do in your apartment and get some tips on selecting the plant you get:

What’s in the air?
Many people develop mysterious illnesses and allergies from the place they least expect: Their homes! That’s because we can be surrounded by toxins such as xylene,a pollutant found in paints and glues; benzene, found in paints, glues, detergents, furniture wax, and tobacco smoke; formaldehyde, contained in processed wood products, foam insulation, some synthetic fabrics, cosmetics and shampoos; and perchloroethylene, or PERC, used by the majority of dry cleaners. These toxins usually enter our systems when we breathe them in as products off-gassing — what happens when material “breathes out” a level of pollution.

How do potted plants improve air quality?
NASA studies have shown that plants have the ability to balance indoor humidity, absorb excess carbon dioxide and pollutants through the tiny openings in their leaves, and release oxygen. They’re like living, breathing air purifiers, and they can be had for little money. What’s more, how many air purifiers can you think of that actually improve the look of any space they’re in?

6 houseplants that clean air

Now that you know how good plants can be for you and the air in your apartment, you’re probably eager to get started. Here are just a few of many plants that are known to improve the healthful atmosphere in your home:

Peace lily: The peace lily is a heavy-hitter on all lists of healthful houseplants and is known to reduce benzene and formaldehyde. Easy to care for, the peace lily is an all-around powerful air-purifier and pollution-buster and looks pretty, too.

Marginata: This plant’s lovely red-edged leaves add color to your apartment while removing benzene and formaldehyde from the air, as well as filtering out other toxins. It’s also easy to care for.

Orchids: Considered a high-maintenance plant by the uninitiated, orchids are really quite hardy. They are effective at removing xylene from the air and releasing oxygen at night, making them a good bedroom plant. Orchids perform heavy-duty air cleaning while making your apartment look good.

Gerber daisies:These bright and cheerful flowers aresuper effective at removing trichloroethylene, another dry cleaning solution, and benzene from the air. Just give these plants lots of light and consider growing them in a laundry room or your bedroom, where they can do some of their best work.

Spider plant: This long-time favorite houseplant grows fast, with long, grassy leaves. It’s very effective at removing gases and toxins like xylene and formaldehyde from the air. Consider keeping it near the fireplace or in the kitchen to deal with carbon monoxide that can collect in these areas.

Ferns: Once standard-issue in ’70s restaurants, ferns are actually complex plants that have been around since prehistoric times. Their large feathery leaves are what work so well to clean the air of pollutants like toulene and xylene, which both are found in many paints, nail polishes and glues.

In the pursuit of healthier indoor air quality for your apartment, house plants should be your first line of defense. Bring some home today to beautify and detoxify your home.

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What Will Apartment Life Look Like In The Future?

 

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Do you ever wonder how the apartment world may or may not change as we move into the future? This topic is definitely on the brains of many developers and leaders. Earlier this year at the No Place Like Home Conference in Anaheim, Calif., more than 230 leaders in urban development discussed what the future might hold for apartments and multi-unit housing.

An excerpt from an apartmentguide.com article reaveals insight into what at least one expert predicts the future may hold for apartments:

Joel Kotkin, author of The Next Hundred Million: America in 2050, believes that “the suburb of the future may well resemble more of a self-sufficient village than a prototypical suburb of the 1950s.”

So what would a self-sufficient apartment village look like?

Are suburbs the cities of the future?

A suburb will “increasingly not be limited to being a ‘bedroom’ community, since many will work at home or commute to employment in another suburb,” Kotkin added. “Its population will be far more diverse, by age and ethnicity, than its historic predecessor.”

In a keynote address during the PCBC homebuilding trade show, urbanist Richard Florida said “we have to get over this nonsensical verbiage of cities or suburbs; it’s cities and suburbs.” He also reminded his audience that “what people prefer is all the same: a safe, secure, crime-free environment; lots of economic opportunity; openness to all people; and quality of place.”

This all seems to boil down to the premise that future housing options will be more inclusive, all-encompassing, compact and efficient. The new apartment village will be more self-sufficient and able to fit the needs of many types of apartment dwellers.

Click here to read more of the article and learn about what the future might hold for apartment parking options, green living and more.

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Vinyl’s Back! Here’s How To Play It In Your Apartment

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Vinyl’s back, baby! For some, iPod’s have taken a backseat as in favor of “retro” analog sound. The New York Time’s reports that vinyl is defnitely making a comeback after thirty or so years of neglect. Some artists are even releasing their new music on records in addition to selling MP3 files on iTunes - how cool is that?

This means that you’ll never no longer be laughed at or given weird looks if you play vinyl records in your apartment. Of course, there’s a few things you’ll have to do to get those records playing, as well as a few quick things to do out of courtesy to your neighbors. If you’re looking into bringing some vinyl into your apartment, then here’s what you need to do, according to apartmentguide.com:

1. Get a turntable.

Like most electronics, you can find both high-tech and low-tech versions of turntables. Companies like Rega and Pro-Ject make top-notch analog turntables to suit the analog sound aficionado. If you just want to spin some records on a budget, you might try an old-school Crosley portable record player.

2. Hook up an amp and speakers.

Once you’re ready to spin your turntable, you’ll need an amplifier and a couple of speakers so you can hear those sweet sounds in stereo. Magnepan is known for its upscale, flat speakers, but feel free to try any speaker with your new turntable. Companies like Polk and Bose offer solid speaker set-ups. Your local electronics store or music shop is also a great place to look for appropriate amplifiers to power the sound and really turn up the volume.

3. Find your favorite vinyl albums.

Now for the really fun part: shopping for vinyl!

In many cities, you can find cool record stores that stock albums old and new, like these specialty shops in Atlanta, Georgia. Vinyl fans love to socialize, so record swap meets and listening clubs are great resources for locating the albums you love. You can also find loads of vinyl online from sites like MusicStack,SoundStageDirect and of course, eBay. If you’ve loved a certain CD for years, why not try out the analog sound experience of the same on vinyl? (And don’t forget to raid the vinyl collections your parents put together. You’ll find cool stuff in there!)

4. Add accessories.

Headphones are a must when you listen to vinyl in an apartment and don’t want to disturb neighbors or roommates. Koss headphones are a classic choice; many experts believe Sennheiser makes the best headphones in the world. You might also pick up some extra needles for your turntable and 45 rpm spindle adapters to play classic singles.

5. Invite your friends over.

What’s the last thing you need to do to rock out to retro analog in your apartment? Invite some friends over! Host a “turntable warming” party and ask everyone to bring a vinyl album to play or contribute to your collection. Then show them how cool it is to spin some tunes, oh, like they did back in the day.

Do you have a record collection? Let us know in the comments!

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How To Beat The Heat: An Infographic

Sometimes, staying cool on a hot day is the only thing standing between you a nice, relaxing day in your apartment. On the worst of days, heat levels could even rise dangerously high and potentially cause heat-related illnesses ranging from heat cramps to heat exhaustion and heat stroke.

Fortunately, we’ve developed lots of ways to keep cool, from turning on the AC to avoiding wearing certain fabrics and colors in our clothes. The next time it gets a little too warm for your liking, use one of the 15 tips on this great infographic to beat the heat!

Click the image to view a larger version.

 Image courtesy of pocketchange.become.com

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Which Pet Will Fit Into Your Apartment Lifestyle?

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If you own a pet, you know they’re more than an adorable critter that sometimes goes viral in online memes and videos. There’s a reason that cliché about pets being our best friends exists. But if you’re an apartment dweller, and you’re thinking about getting a pet, choosing the right pet for your living space can be a challenge.

Fortunately, guides like the one in an apartments.com blog post can help you navigate your options, consider your living space and lifestyle, and ultimately decide which pet will provide you with companionship without causing problems in your apartment. Keep reading to see what apartments.com had to say on the matter:

Dogs

As many as one in three households own a dog, but these furry friends often need plenty of space to run, and their barking is disturbing to other renters. If you’re a dog person, consider a pug. They’re quiet and don’t need much exercise.

Cats

Felines are small and quiet with no cage requirements. As long as you have room for a litter box, cats make good apartment pets.

Fish

Watching fish swim for just a few minutes can reduce stress, according to pets.webmd.com. That’s as good a reason as any to have fish for pets! Plus, you only need a small aquarium.

Birds

Feathered pets sing and chatter all day. They love attention, but they can be too noisy for some neighbors. They also may require bulky cages that take up precious space in your apartment.

Hamsters, Guinea Pigs & Rats

While these friendly rodents may get a bad reputation, small and quiet, a hamster requires little space. They are nocturnal, though, so they only make good apartment pets if your hamster’s nighttime noises won’t wake you or the neighbors.

Guinea pigs love human attention, and they thrive in pairs. You’ll need at least a four square foot cage to house your guinea pigs pets.

Social animals, rats live best in pairs too. They need a cage that’s at least two square foot, according to the ASPCA, and you’ll need plenty of free time to play with your rats.

Snakes

Most property managers won’t approve poisonous snakes, but non-poisonous snakes make for quiet companions. You will need a locking cage that’s large enough for an adult snake to stretch out to two-thirds of its length. That means a six-foot long adult snake will need a four-foot long cage.

Hermit Crabs

Compact, hermit crabs need only a small aquarium filled with spare shells, water dishes and climbing toys. You can’t cuddle a hermit crab, but it doesn’t require much interaction or space.

Look at Your Lease

You might have your heart set on pet ownership, but check your lease before you bring a pet home. It will outline the type, number and size of pets you can have, and it will list any annual pet ownership fees.

You will want to follow the lease, even if that means you can’t adopt a pet pig or a golden retriever. You can always get your pet fix as a volunteer at a local animal shelter or as a pet sitter for coworkers and friends.

If your lease does allow pets, decide which pet is right for you. Then have fun with your new furry friend!



Article Credit: Apartments.com

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There’s More To Redmond Than Microsoft: 5 Cool Local Facts

Redmond, WA. is most well known for one thing: Microsoft. Headquartered in Redmond since 1986, Redmond has become a metonym for Microsoft. Put simply, you can’t have one without the other.

But Microsoft isn’t the only thing Redmond has going for it. Did you know:

1. Redmond is also known as "the bicycle capital of the Northwest.” It even features an annual bike race on city streets and is home to the state's only area designed specifically for biking.

2. When the first settlers arrived, the rivers and streams had so many salmon that the first settlement in the area was initially named Salmonberg.

3. Microsoft isn’t the only company with headquarters in the area. Other companies with headquarters in Redmond include Nintendo of America, Concur Technologies, Visible.net, Wild Tangent, Solstice and Data I/O.

Image courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org

4. Redmond has a total of 23 developed public park that combined amount to just about thousand acres of beautiful green open space and forest trails.

5. Notable people who were born or who have lived in Redmond include James Doohan (famous for playing Scotty in the television series Star Trek), Jeff Cirillo (former third baseman for several Major League Baseball teams), and Shannon O'Donnell (former NBC 11/Bay Area now KOMO 4 weather anchor who later became well known weather anchor for NBC's Early Today).

Did we miss any awesome Redmond fun facts? Let us know in the comments!

Source: Wikipedia

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10 Important Moving Day Details

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Move-in day! Those three little words hold a lot of power. Move-in day is always an exciting, busy, and chaotic time. How can you ensure that everything that needs to happen happens?

Not to worry: use these tips from apartmentguide.com to ensure that all the little move-in day details are worked out and addressed:

Ideally, you should wake up on your moving day with boxes already packed and labeled, movers organized and business matters (like your lease, first month’s rent and new utility hook-ups) already taken care of. You should also have a “priority box” packed and labeled with the things you will need right away at your new digs.

1. Add any last-minute items you have to your Priority Box, including medications, toiletries, cell phone charger and cleaning supplies. Prepare a cooler of food and refreshments for everyone. If it’s going to be a hot day, pack extra drinks!

2. Look after all your living charges, whether that means your kids, plants, cat or dog, or your pet guppy. Make sure that any sitters, playdates, meals or special transport you’ve arranged go smoothly so you can focus on the move knowing that those in your care are safe and content.

3. Next, take care of your old apartment. Deal with any last-minute cleaning needed to prepare for your landlord’s walk-through inspection, disconnect and prepare appliances you plan to take, and leave the place free of trash.

4. Remember that you shouldn’t lose any security deposit money for normal wear and tear, but if your old apartment has been damaged, a landlord may deduct repair costs. You and your landlord should resolve these issues clearly during the walk-through. Remember to lock up, turn over your keys and leave a forwarding address.

5. After you pick up your truck or your movers arrive, be sure the truck is parked legally and that there’s plenty of space between the truck ramp and nearby cars. Ensure that movers, whether professional or just friends, know which boxes and items are fragile so extra care can be taken. The truck should be snugly packed so items don’t shift in transport.

6. Before moving in, perform a walk-through with your new landlord. Make sure electricity and other utilities are working. Clarify which stairs or elevators are available for the move and any other ground rules you’re expected to follow while moving in.

7. Coordinate your crew. Be sure everyone helping out has maps and necessary cell phone numbers, and that you know where to get the key and park the truck before you arrive.

8. Whether you rented a truck or hired movers, check for any damage to the truck or contents that occurred en route and make note of these.

9. Have your movers place boxes and furniture directly into the correct rooms. This will save time and effort over the next week or two as you unpack. Be sure the priority box is front and center, where you have easy access.

10. Don’t sweat it after this. Share a tasty takeout meal with your friends, or pay and thank your professional movers. Then, get an early night. The fun of moving in has just begun, and you’ll need to wake up refreshed tomorrow!

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Do you write thank you cards?

Image courtesy of apartmenttherapy.com

Sometimes its easy to forget that people once sent all of their communications via snail mail. With e-mail and texting keeping people in constant contact, the thank you letter or card may very well be a dying art form.

This article on apartmenttherapy.com highlights how one person, who was taught from a young age to always send thank you notes, realized they might be in the letter writing minority:

When I was a child, my parents constantly reminded me to write thank you notes for every gift I received. It seemed like such a pain, but now that I'm an adult it has turned into a tradition. If I don't send one I feel incredibly guilty. But it wasn't until a friend recently complimented me on my thank you notes that I realized I might be in the thank-you-note-writing minority. Could this be a dying tradition?

It has always been my understanding that if a gift has been given it should be acknowledged in writing. The only exception, in my opinion, is if they gift was given (and thanked for) in person — even still, a thank you will never hurt.

Unfortunately, in recent years I've noticed a lack of thank you cards being sent by my loved ones. Is it because mail is so rarely sent these days? With family and friends increasingly spread across the country and gifts sent through the mail, aren't thank yous more important than ever? How else are gift givers to know their gift even arrived?

Because we're focused on weddings this month, here's a gentle reminder to all couples out there to thank your guests. Even if they sent a gift but couldn't attend, or conversely if they did attend but couldn't give a gift — they're celebrating your special day and that deserves an acknowledgement.

So, we want to know: do you send thank you cards or letters? Texts or calls? Or do you send nothing at all?

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I Was Addicted To My Smartphone, Are You?

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We admit it: often when we wake up, the first thing we do is check our e-mail. Or our texts. Or Facebook. Or Twitter.

It’s hard to stop even as we eat our breakfast and come into work. Sure, it’s easy to say that work is why we’re checking them, but we know deep down it’s not true.

Digital notifications and communications absolutely rule our lives - so at what point does the need to stay connected become an unhealthy addiction? This article shares some signs that your digital life is a digital addiction, including:

● My phone started loading slower from having too many apps running and continual notifications popping up.

● When asked to print a photo for my son’s preschool class, I couldn’t find a single picture of him I hadn’t taken on my phone (and could easily print). You can read the full story of what happened here.

● When I almost left home without my wallet (and driver’s license!) because I knew I could rely on my phone for all my payments and transactions.

● When quality time with my husband started to mean sitting side by side on our devices.

● When I attended a wedding where everyone spent so much sharing the festivities online that it was hard to hold a face-to-face conversation.

If any of those things sound like you at all, head over to the article to read more and find out what you can do to curve your addiction - and please share it if you know anyone who fits the description in it as well!

Original article: I Was Addicted To My Smartphone, Are You?

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Need A Roommate? Here’s What You Need To Consider:

Looking to split the cost of an apartment with a roommate? Before making a quick decision about who you’re going to live with, take a minute and make sure you’re approaching the search for a roommate the right way.

Believe it or not, the process of picking a good roommate can be - and should be - just as involved and important as finding the right place to live. While it’s easy to think that picking your apartment itself will be the most important part of moving into a new place, consider this: your roommate can literally make or break your living experience. While you can do little things to improve an apartment once you have it and make it your own, you won’t ever be able to change the person you live with. If you don’t take the time to seriously consider who you want to live with, you may find yourself stuck with someone you can’t stand.

So what’s a renter to do? The good news is that finding a roommate is a lot like finding a good apartment: you just need to know what you can and can’t live with. If you’re willing to be honest about what you need in a roommate and you take the time to screen potential cohabitors properly, your future apartment will feel all the more welcoming and homely to you.

For additional reading and tips on what you should be thinking about and doing when searching for and screening a potential roommate, we recommend both this article on realestate.msn.com and this guide on Livestrong.com - and to make things even easier, we’re also including this fantastic infographic about finding a roommate!

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