Moving into an apartment can be thrilling, exhilarating, and slightly frightening particularly if you’re a first time renter. To celebrate the move, apartment warming celebrations thrown by family and friends are becoming more and more common. The following are several gift ideas that are great for people who rent apartments! Gifts for Emergencies Everyone should […]
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Are You Ready to Sign the Lease?As you’ve counted down the days until your lease expires, the time lost to looking at new apartments on Apartments.com or Trulia has made your f...posted on September 7, 2017
The Best Time To Rent A New ApartmentPeople move for many reasons: their apartment wasn’t what they expected, annual rate increases, or newfound desires to change scenery. Yet there...posted on January 18, 2018
Apartment Living with Energetic CatsCats have taken over in some apartment communities. This is no accident. As independent, and somewhat aloof creatures, cats basically take care of the...posted on October 25, 2017
Tips for Storing Financial Documents As you move from apartment to apartment, the task of storing financial documents can seem daunting at first, not only because some documents might be...posted on March 2, 2018
How to Avoid 3 Common Moving ScamsThe three most common moving scams all involve money. Before you continue to read about the common scams of moving companies, just know that all can b...posted on February 28, 2018
How to Store PaintWe all know the situation. You buy a few gallons of paint to paint a room. You proceed to paint the room. And then you have a few gallons of paint lef...posted on April 11, 2018
Three Places to Hide Your Spare KeysImprovements in technology haven’t really solved the old, eternal dilemma: where to put the spare key. Hiding it is imperative, but keeping it a...posted on December 6, 2017
Improvements in technology haven’t really solved the old, eternal dilemma: where to put the spare key. Hiding it is imperative, but keeping it accessible, and in a memorable spot, is difficult. We recommend 3 easy, accessible places to hide your key in plain sight. Car floor mat As long as you don’t lose your car […]
Cats have taken over in some apartment communities. This is no accident. As independent, and somewhat aloof creatures, cats basically take care of themselves, given enough food and water. People who like to travel find this autonomy of cats convenient. Left alone too much, however, cats tend to become rambunctious. Many have found even cats […]
As you’ve counted down the days until your lease expires, the time lost to looking at new apartments on Apartments.com or Trulia has made your friends very worried. Why don’t you put that phone down and binge watch Netflix with them? It used to be your favorite thing to do. It’s like nobody knows you […]
If you’re living independently for the first time, with a roommate or significant other, you’ll encounter a universal problem: people organize their lives differently. What seems to be clutter to one person will be organized chaos to another. This problem may appear irresolvable to some. If your roommate or significant other doesn’t think about what […]
If you’re living independently for the first time, with a roommate or significant other, you’ll encounter a universal problem: people organize their lives differently. What seems to be clutter to one person will be organized chaos to another. This problem may appear irresolvable to some. If your roommate or significant other doesn’t think about what […]
If you’re living independently for the first time, with a roommate or significant other, you’ll encounter a universal problem: people organize their lives differently. What seems to be clutter to one person will be organized chaos to another. This problem may appear irresolvable to some. If your roommate or significant other doesn’t think about what […]
Don’t let your stuff own you It’s easier said than done. Some people collect so much stuff throughout their lives, they have no idea what to do with it. So they keep it. Then have to pay for space to store it. And the problem just perpetuates itself. When you make financial decisions about where […]
If this is your first time storing books, you might think the process will be as easy as storing anything else: pack them up in boxes and throw them on a shelf. But that’s not exactly the case here. Books are delicate, sensitive to changes in their environments. Store your books with the confidence that […]
Many of us don’t need a substantial push to swap harmful cleaning chemicals for less intrusive alternatives. Who likes dry, bleach-stained calloused hands anyway? As the dangers of indoor dust are well known, it’s becoming apparent the invisible, long term effects of our daily cleaning habits, and lack thereof, can amount to terrifying heights of […]
Maybe you’ve called your apartment home for only a year, you’ve found a new place, and now you’re preparing for the move. Organizing all your stuff into moving boxes isn’t all you need to do. Remember how inhabitable your apartment was on move-in day: the scent of oak in the cabinets, the neutral, cold air […]
Not much is more frustrating than trying to use a cell phone with 1x reception. From broken sentences to incomplete words, the conversation is pretty much incomprehensible. You try everything to improve the signal. The most obvious thing to do is keep your phone charged because a full battery guarantees the best hardware performance. But […]
Student debt is one of our country’s most pressing problems. As of this year, the total amount of student loan debt has reached $1.44 trillion. Paying back the average $37,000-plus loan will be a challenge for millions of students for decades to come. And for some more than others. This means that loan borrowers will […]
Have you ever wondered who the highest paid athletes in all of sports are? Or the most valuable teams? The most influential brands? To answer these pressing questions of our time, Forbes compiled a unique index to track and rank money in sports. Forbes describes the new index: “To create the SMI, we’ve combined all […]
Now the holidays are over, and the New Year’s resolutions are kicking in, it’s time to think about sustainability. Whether you are resolved to eat healthier this year, exercise, or even learn a new instrument, you’ll have to think long and hard about how you’ll accomplish your by-the-end-of-the-year goals. The good thing is you’re not […]
“67% of millennials are likely to share personal details [at work]…while only one-third of baby boomers do the same,” found a 2014 study by LinkedIn. The work/life balance is an unspoken rule among working people. What happens at home shouldn’t be brought to work, and vice versa. This has long been the idea undergirding “professionalism.” But […]
You’ve probably heard: student debt is over $1.3 trillion. And, according to a report by CNBC, it’s “growing faster than the average salaries for recent graduates.” For a borrower aged 20-30, the average monthly student loan payment is $351. That’s quite a bit, especially when the median income for millennials remains relatively low. As reported […]
The best deals are those that involve getting the same product or service for a lower price. This is why exercising at home is best. No more gym rats. No more sweat-infused-axe-spray nausea. No more machine hogs. Think about how much less effort you’ll have to put into preparation for the gym. Let’s talk about […]
Trying to decide between renting or buying a home? Of course, buying a home gives the stability of a mortgage. And renting a house or apartment allows for tremendous flexibility of location. But there must be more, right? Is flexibility the only reason to rent? The Khan Academy has published a video on the difference, […]
Not much is more frustrating than trying to talk on the phone when your cellular reception is low. From broken sentences to incomplete words, the conversation is pretty much incomprehensible. The most obvious thing to do is keep your phone charged. A full battery guarantees the best hardware performance. But aside from finding the sweet […]
Working from home can be a huge blessing for some people: you can drink as much coffee as you want! For others, it can be a death sentence. From childcare and errands to cleaning the house and Sportscenter, some distractions you’ll find at home don’t exist at the workplace. But distractions don’t have to ruin […]
When you think about it, the average apartment unit size per family size is probably smaller than the average house size per family size. This, at the outset, gives an advantage to renters: with a smaller area, you’ll use less energy to provide heating or cooling to satisfy the same amount of people. But some […]
Not much is worse than living next to a neighbor you don’t want to socialize with. The typical neighborly gift is food. But many people have food allergies. Get off on the right foot with these gift ideas for new neighbors. Introduce to Local Places Your new neighbor may also be new to the community. […]
Mosquito bites shouldn’t ruin the summer for you. Open the windows and curtains and enjoy the weather from the inside of your home. Keep the mosquitoes away from your apartment this summer with these tips. Screens Most modern windows come with screens. But some don’t. You can purchase a low-cost screen to fit any window […]
It's time to put those summer clothes away for the season. Here are some tips to help prepare your clothes for storage. Clean You probably don't want to pack away clothes with bad odors. But don't forget your clothes might be stained too. And those stains will become permanent if you let them sit for half a year. Just be sure, wash all the clothes you plan to put in storage. Pack Everyone has boxes of some sort lying around. You'll be tempted to use them. But purchase some plastic containers to store your clothes in. These containers secure your clothes from insects and rodents. And if you have clothes from the drycleaner, don't just leave them in the drycleaner plastic. They could get water damaged. If you use a storage facility, like Infinite Self Storage, you can purchase wardrobe boxes to hang up your clothes while they're in storage. Then you won't have to worry about creases or folds. Label You might think you can just throw everything together. And that's fine, if you are just going to get everything out once spring arrives. But if you have a more variegated clothing selection, you'll want to label your items by season or, even, activity. Then you can keep your harvest season clothes in storage while it's planting season. Store Sure, it's reasonable to think plastic bins will protect your clothes from temperature changes. But they won't. In fact, they could compound the effects condensation has on your clothes. If you have an expensive wardrobe, invest in a temperature controlled storage unit to protect your clothes from condensation. If you have any more questions about storing clothes, we encourage you to contact one of our professional storage team members. At Infinite Self Storage, we have solutions to all your storage …
Now the holidays are over, and the New Year's resolutions are kicking in, it's time to think about sustainability. Whether you are resolved to eat healthier this year, exercise, or even learn a new instrument, you'll have to think long and hard about how you'll accomplish your by-the-end-of-the-year goals. The good thing is you're not alone. Gaining traction on your New Year's resolution is a matter of forming a new habit. So it's important to understand how habits work. Habits are like Cycles In an interview with NPR, Charles Duhigg discusses his book The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do In Life And Business. Everything we've made into a routine, from exercising to cooking, from brushing teeth to cleaning laundry, begins with the same “psychological pattern.” This is called a “habit loop.” It's really simple, actually: every habit begins with a cue, proceeds by routine, and ends with a reward. That's it! Let's look a little closer. A habit begins with “a cue, or trigger, that tells your brain to go into automatic mode and let a behavior unfold.” Then the routine occurs, which is the behavior itself, or the habit. Lastly, the reward is “something that your brain likes that helps it remember the ‘habit loop' in the future.” The interesting thing is habits are formed in the part of the brain that has a major influence on “emotions, memories and pattern recognition.” It's called the basal ganglia. Why is this interesting? Because it's a separate from the region of the brain responsible for decision making – the prefrontal cortex. And, as a result, when automation kicks in, when habit loops initiate, the prefrontal cortex goes into hibernation. This is readily available knowledge, at least by quick reference to experience. Think about how difficult the very …
“67% of millennials are likely to share personal details [at work]…while only one-third of baby boomers do the same,” found a 2014 study by LinkedIn. The work/life balance is an unspoken rule among working people. What happens at home shouldn't be brought to work, and vice versa. This has long been the idea undergirding “professionalism.” But millennials have challenged this distinction in a very simple but powerful way. It goes without saying: there are many reasons to keep the work/life distinction afloat. The workplace is not home. And a certain level of professionalism is required to maintain an efficient organization. This is true without qualification. But what millennials have done, writes Sarah Landrum of Forbes, is widened their investment in the workplace. Work isn't just an investment of time for them; it's also an emotional investment. And this isn't a bad thing. The attempt to roadblock the emotional aspect is not only a misunderstanding of science (the brain is interconnected in unimaginably complex ways), but a recipe for unproductive habits. How Work + Happiness = Productivity Many of you, like myself, may think making friends at work would impede upon productivity. But friendships at work aren't like friendships at home. They don't involve hanging out, but are held together and formed by self-disclosures in conversations. What does this mean? Simply put: it's talking about how you feel about what you do, about how the weather is, about your weekend, more than about what you do, Landrum points out. In Psych 101 you might have learned the simple difference between an acquaintance and a friend. Acquaintances talk about facts. They say to each other, “It's sunny out. It's a nice day. I have work to do.” But they don't go further by disclosing any information about themselves like, “It's sunny out, …
You've probably heard: student debt is over $1.3 trillion. And, according to a report by CNBC, it's “growing faster than the average salaries for recent graduates.” For a borrower aged 20-30, the average monthly student loan payment is $351. That's quite a bit, especially when the median income for millennials remains relatively low. As reported by BusinessInsider.com, “In 2013, the median annual earnings for millennial women working full-time, year-round were $30,000,” states the report, “compared with $35,000 for their male counterparts.” A $351 payment can seem steep, since it accounts for about 12% of income for males and 14% of income for women. Coupled with other expenses, from car loans to credit card debt, from housing costs to food, student loans are a heavy burden for many millennials trying to scrape by. So, if you're a millennial with a lot of debt, listen up. The following are things to consider before you buy a house. Like many others, you might find renting the better path. Stability Houses are sought for their stability. Even as markets change, a locked-in mortgage rate won't. But the stability of a mortgage requires stability in life. Before you house-hunt, begin at step one. Think seriously about how stable your job is, your relationships, and career path. Are you expecting a promotion, or a change of scenery? Do you see yourself in the same job or relationship in five years? If not, a house probably isn't your best bet. Especially if you don't plan to stay in a house long term, you should consider the payoff of picking up and relocating that an apartment provides. The assumption of many homeowners is they'll be able to sell whenever they want. That, tops, it'll take maybe a few months to close a deal. But as many learned during …
The best deals are those that involve getting the same product or service for a lower price. This is why exercising at home is best. No more gym rats. No more sweat-infused-axe-spray nausea. No more machine hogs. Think about how much less effort you'll have to put into preparation for the gym. Let's talk about getting your apartment ready for exercising. Goals Obviously, if your goals aren't similar to the outcomes desired by body builders, then you won't need as much equipment as a typical gym. You just want to do cardio? Maybe, then, all you'll need is a space for a yoga mat. Want to get really buff? The nice thing is, your apartment most likely has a fitness center that already includes some equipment. You'll only have to make space for what the fitness center doesn't have. And don't just brush off using the fitness center all at once. Research has shown it's actually easier to form habits, like going to the gym, if you begin with small goals first. Maybe your first time lifting weights shouldn't be at LA Fitness. Not only might you get discouraged, but missing a few days can turn into a few weeks and then you'll be back at square one again. If you want to build muscle, just begin with the basics: a quick ten-minute warm-up, followed by a period of strength training (pushups, pullups, squats), followed by a ten-minute cool down period. As simple as it is, beginning with this kind of routine will prepare your tendons and joints for heavier loads. And it has the added bonus of pushing you to form new habits. Organization The only other thing you'll have to think about is how to store what you need. If you're just getting a jump rope, you won't …
If you're living independently for the first time, with a roommate or significant other, you'll encounter a universal problem: people organize their lives differently. What seems to be clutter to one person will be organized chaos to another. This problem may appear irresolvable to some. If your roommate or significant other doesn't think about what counts as clutter in the same way you do, how can you change their mind? Luckily, you don't have to. Organizing a shared space isn't about changing anybody's idea of what is a mess and what isn't. Actually, it's just a matter of communication, like most other things, and respect. You live in a common space: you have common goals. Talk about them. Shared Interests If you talk about clutter only when you're annoyed about it, the way you communicate with your roommate or significant other may take the form of blame. You might say, “Why haven't you picked up your laundry?” Or, “Why is this room still not clean?” This doesn't do anyone any good. You live with someone. If you haven't explicitly decided on what kind of organization you both would like to see for each room, then you cannot appeal to an agreed upon goal. The sentence, “Why is this room still not clean?” appears to be grounded in an agreed upon norm. And that's why it's so disorienting and, sometimes, maddening, when people talk this way without establishing, beforehand, what this agreed upon goal is. Talk about your shared interests, what each of you hope to get from your home, and make compromises. But certainly do not wait until you are aggravated, annoyed, or irritable to bring up how your shared space should be organized. State how you both want to use the room and accommodate each other's visions. If your …
Don't let your stuff own you It's easier said than done. Some people collect so much stuff throughout their lives, they have no idea what to do with it. So they keep it. Then have to pay for space to store it. And the problem just perpetuates itself. When you make financial decisions about where to live, because you have a bunch of stuff that you don't use but need to bring with you, then your stuff owns you. Don't let that happen. When it's not fun, you're done Two questions to ask yourself about the things you own: Are you using it and is it fun? If the objects sitting around your home are never used, why do you keep them? Consider this: clutter in your home contributes to, or may reflect, mental clutter. It may both cause and reflect anxiety. Clear up the things you don't use, the things that no longer contribute to your life, and notice how it affects your day-to-day mentality. Free space is worth more than occupied space When all kinds of objects just occupy space and have no other use, you basically pay for the objects to sit there. It's like renting out space. And every time you want something new, you'll have to find a new place for it. This is the cycle that owning too many things all too often becomes. To get out of this rut, consider the value of free space. Free space is possibility. You can do anything with it. The past should remain in the past If you want a change in your lifestyle, consider the objects you surround yourself with. Are they just things of the past, no longer contributing anything to your lifestyle or the lifestyle you want? Are they things that remind you of …
If this is your first time storing books, you might think the process will be as easy as storing anything else: pack them up in boxes and throw them on a shelf. But that's not exactly the case here. Books are delicate, sensitive to changes in their environments. Store your books with the confidence that they won't diminish in value. Preparation Clean. You might not think dust is a big problem, but it can cause covers to fade, lose texture, and damage their surfaces after books set for too long. Inspect all your books for dust and dirt. After you clean, you may want to wrap any books with dust jackets in Mylar book covers. This thin, plastic material is actually sturdy enough to prevent most damages to book covers. Plus, in the future, if you spill something in the vicinity of your book, it won't necessarily ruin its cover. Storage The first thing you'll want to consider is the kind of storage unit you want your books in. Climate-controlled storage is best, since you will be able to not only monitor the temperature of the unit but also the humidity levels. Aside from that, you probably shouldn't store books in a unit without, at least, temperature-control, which makes the unit immune to major temperature changes (these units typically guarantee a range of temperatures for your storage: a range in Fahrenheit from about 50 degrees to 90 degrees). Next, boxes, bags, or totes? If you use boxes, don't use secondhand boxes, especially if they contained items that typically emit an odor (food, leather, etc.). These odors will settle in books after a period of exposure. Don't store in plastic bags. Not only can these produce gases after some time (which will settle in your books), but they also can trap …
Many of us don't need a substantial push to swap harmful cleaning chemicals for less intrusive alternatives. Who likes dry, bleach-stained calloused hands anyway? As the dangers of indoor dust are well known, it's becoming apparent the invisible, long term effects of our daily cleaning habits, and lack thereof, can amount to terrifying heights of harm. A recent study that “…analysed 26 peer-reviewed papers, as well as one unpublished dataset, from 1999 onwards to examine the chemical make-up of indoor dust…” found nearly 90% of dust samples contained particles linked to cancer and infertility, as reported by The Guardian. These findings were due in no part to small sample size: “The studies covered a wide range of indoor environments, from homes to schools and gymnasiums across 14 states.” With the satisfactory appearance of Clorox's clean glaze over countertops and the refreshing scent of Febreze floating like a lazy cloud from one room to the next, just when our homes seem cleanest, we may actually be most vulnerable. Altering what you buy, from harsh chemical cleaners to safer alternatives, isn't the only thing you can do to curb indoor pollution, and doesn't account for much of the problem. Your clean home houses hidden hazards. The problem of indoor pollutants may appear at first glance counterintuitive. How could vanquishing bacteria, viruses, and who-knows-what-else from dirty floors and countertops, bathrooms and kitchens, ultimately harm us? Your everyday cleaners aren't particularly handy for the real problem. The issue is that some chemicals in our couches and mattresses, our vinyl flooring and carpeting, contain flame retardants, known to cause cancer, affecting the reproductive and nervous systems, and phthalates, found in personal care products and food packaging, which “have been linked to developmental problems in babies, hormone disruption, and are also thought to affect the reproductive …
Maybe you've called your apartment home for only a year, you've found a new place, and now you're preparing for the move. Organizing all your stuff into moving boxes isn't all you need to do. Remember how inhabitable your apartment was on move-in day: the scent of oak in the cabinets, the neutral, cold air of the refrigerator, or the white, grime-free shower liner? Admittedly, the prospect of working your apartment back to pristine condition is a tiresome one. But it's necessary, and doing the job thoroughly will put you in the best position to get your deposit back. Below is a checklist provided by the American Apartment Owners Association called the “Move-Out Checklist.” Go through the checklist to organize your cleaning day. No more circling around the house frantically dusting what you've already cleaned or disinfecting what you've already polished. The checklist will get you organized from the time you start cleaning to when it's time to turn in your keys. Without the stress involved in scrambling around to fix or clean everything that comes to mind, you'll be able to enjoy your last day at your apartment. And, before you know it, you'll be in your new home. Happy cleaning! [avia_codeblock_placeholder uid="0"]
Are You Ready to Sign the Lease? As you’ve counted down the days until your lease expires, the time lost to looking at new apartments on Apartments.com or Trulia has made your f... 
The Best Time To Rent A New Apartment People move for many reasons: their apartment wasn’t what they expected, annual rate increases, or newfound desires to change scenery. Yet there... 
Apartment Living with Energetic Cats Cats have taken over in some apartment communities. This is no accident. As independent, and somewhat aloof creatures, cats basically take care of the... 
Tips for Storing Financial Documents As you move from apartment to apartment, the task of storing financial documents can seem daunting at first, not only because some documents might be... 
How to Avoid 3 Common Moving Scams The three most common moving scams all involve money. Before you continue to read about the common scams of moving companies, just know that all can b... 
How to Store Paint We all know the situation. You buy a few gallons of paint to paint a room. You proceed to paint the room. And then you have a few gallons of paint lef... 
Three Places to Hide Your Spare Keys Improvements in technology haven’t really solved the old, eternal dilemma: where to put the spare key. Hiding it is imperative, but keeping it a... 
