There are several things you can do to maximize your apartment living experience. The following “apartment hacks” help you make cleaning, furnishing, and enjoying your new place a lot easier. If you’re overwhelmed with your new place’s expenses and responsibilities, you can remember these tips and make your new apartment experience much more enjoyable.
Find Out What You Can Upgrade
You want to take steps to make your apartment feel as much like home as possible. Find out which parts of your apartment you can upgrade: for instance, changing a shower head or adding blackout curtains. Doing what you can to maximize your living situation will help you feel at home.
Make Cooking Easy
There are a vast number of efficient cooking tools readily available to aspiring home chefs. Appliances like crock pots, Foreman grills, NutriBullets, rice cookers, and more are relatively small and affordable. They can be a great addition to any kitchen and don’t require much space or elaborate installations.
Newspaper Instead of Paper Towels
One of the most surprising apartment hacks is to clean your windows with newspaper instead of paper towels. Newspapers actually leave your windows more streak-free than towels do!
Invest in Energy-Efficient Light Bulbs
A few small and easy apartment hacks include removing unnecessary light bulbs or investing in energy-efficient bulbs. If you have lights installed that are too strong, you can remove a few to lower the light intensity and your electrical usage. Replacing the light bulbs with energy-efficient versions can also significantly decrease your electricity bill, freeing up more money for you to spend on the fun parts of apartment living.
Think Outside the Box for Furniture
When shopping for new apartment furniture, you don’t have to settle for buying new, full-price furniture. This can often be quite expensive and strain your finances, especially if you buy many items at once. If you don’t want to try a site like Craigslist, you can check out garage sales, swap meets, Habitat for Humanity stores, and general thrift stores. You can set aside a morning or afternoon for browsing. If you take your time to browse these stores, you can find a few treasures for incredible prices.
Establish a Cleaning Schedule
It’s always challenging to keep your new apartment clean and tidy. No one wants to spend an entire day cleaning their apartment, but you may have to if you let mess build up. To avoid a big cleaning day, you can get on a schedule, so your mess doesn’t get out of control. Maybe you dedicate one chore every Saturday or Sunday morning and rotate it weekly. Consider your habits and what will work best for you.
Be Nice to Your Neighbors and Property Manager
This seems like the easiest of apartment hacks, but it is crucial to remember. It’s a great idea to maintain a friendly and respectful relationship with your neighbors and property manager. You never know what may come up, so you want to be on peoples’ good side.
Let Us Be Your Apartment Home!
Whether you need your very first apartment home or are relocating to the area, Apartments of Harborside Village would love to be your dream apartment home. Are you looking for beautiful waterfront apartments in Joppa, Maryland? Let us show you one of our spacious and affordable apartments at the Apartments of Harborside Village. To learn more about our apartment options, visit us online, give us a call at 410-679-1130, or email us. For a peek into what it’s like to live in our community, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube.