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If you plan to have people over this holiday season, you want to make sure that your home is clean and ready for guests. To do that, you need to make sure that you clean up all gathering areas and make sure that your guests are not coming into a cluttered space. These tips can help you prepare for the upcoming holiday season and make your guests feel right at home.
Tips for Cleaning Before the Holidays
Clean the Bathrooms
One thing that is inevitable if you have people over is that your guests will need to use the restroom. You want to make sure that the bathrooms are clean and have everything that someone would need. Make sure you have plenty of toilet paper available as well as soap and lotion. Remove any clutter from the space and sanitize everything so you know that the bathrooms are clean and tidy.
Clean Gathering Areas
Wherever you are going to have your guests gather, you need to make sure that there is not only plenty of space for them to come together but also that it is clean. You want to remove any clutter from the area while taking the time to vacuum, mop, and sweep. While you are doing this, you also want to clean the counters in the kitchen and make sure you have plenty of clean space to really ensure you can cook what is needed and that people can be in there if they want to be and if you have space.
Prepare Guest Bedrooms
If you are planning to have guests stay with you for the holidays, it is necessary to prepare your guest bedrooms. This includes making sure the bed is guest-ready with clean linens, vacuuming, and tidying up any clutter.
The holidays are a great time for people to spend time together. Ensure friends and loved ones have a wonderful time at your home by offering a clean space for them to enjoy. If you are looking for a new place to call home and host the holidays, be sure to check out our Flagstaff apartments!
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]]>The post 7 Things You Can Do Right Now to Make Your Apartment Look Neater appeared first on Highland Village Apartments Blog.
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Have company coming over? Planning on inviting a date in? Just realized your parents are due for a visit?
Or maybe you just want your apartment look better for your own sake.
No matter the reason, cleaning up your apartment in a jiffy is easier than you may think. Just do these things right now and your space will look instantly cleaner and neater:
1. Start with a garbage bag.
You’ve got to have your supplies first. Start with a huge garbage bag.
If your place is really a mess, you might want to wear gloves for this too. Now, go around your entire apartment and instantly throw away everything that’s garbage.
2. Tackle the dishes.
Chances are, your sink is full of dirty dishes. Tackle these next.
3. Put away dirty clothes.
Chances are also good that your floor and various surfaces have dirty clothes on them. Clean these up simply by putting them in the hamper.
4. Straighten.
This one’s pretty straightforward. Walk around your apartment and straighten things like chairs, curtains, pillows and other furniture.
5. Dust, then vacuum.
Next, dust all free services, then vacuum. When cleaning, you always need to work from top to bottom.
6. Make your bed.
Making your bed is an instant refresh and will immediately make your space look neater.
7. Really short on time? Grab a box.
Lastly, if time is truly of the essence and you have just minutes to get your house in order, grab a large cardboard box or plastic bin and throw in everything that you can’t find a place for. Unfortunately, this will have to be dealt with later.
Of course, you can’t have a neat looking apartment if the actual foundation and rooms of your building aren’t up to snuff. Still looking for a place in Flagstaff, Arizona? Give us a call to see which of our Flagstaff apartments are still available!
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Did you know how useful aluminum foil could be in helping with your daily chores? We think that residents of our Flagstaff apartments would really benefit from these tips. Try fitting these aluminum foil hacks into your household routine.
Clean Off Rust
Use aluminum foil to clean rusted metal furniture you may have outside on your balcony or patio. Just follow the steps below.
Steps To Clean Rust
- Tear off a piece the size of printer paper
- Ball it up so that there are still some air pockets left inside
- Make sure it’s big enough for the area you wish to clean
- Rub it over the rusted areas
Sharpen Your Scissors
Don’t continue struggling with dull scissors. Fold a piece of aluminum foil over to form several layers. Cut through it with the scissors a few times. It works as well as a sharpening stone.
Scrub Your Glassware and Pans
Out of steel wool? Ball up a piece of aluminum foil to use as a substitute. It’s great for removing stuck on food from your glass cookware. You can also use this hack on the racks in your oven or any of your metal cooking pans.
Iron Your Clothes In Half The Time
Want an easier way to get a nice iron press on both sides of your clothes? Just slide a piece of aluminum foil under any pieces you’re ironing. The aluminum reflects back the heat, so both sides of your garment gets taken care of with one pass.
Keep Paint Off Your Fixtures
Need to do some painting in your apartment? Wrap aluminum foil around things like your doorknobs, drawer handles, or other fixtures you want to protect. It’s easy to remove once you’re done.
The staff at Highland Village Apartments in Flagstaff work hard to keep their residents happy. Call us at (844) 819-1677 to experience this hospitality for yourself.
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There are only three things certain in life: death, taxes, and clutter. Clutter is kind of like rabbits … it never ceases to amaze how quickly it reproduces! Just because clutter is a fact of life doesn’t mean you can’t manage it. Here are some key do’s and don’ts of managing your clutter … and keeping your clutter from managing you!
DON’T try to declutter your entire apartment in one day. It takes time, and it takes consistency.
DO break up your decluttering sessions into smaller pieces. Work on one room at a time. You can even break the room down into smaller sections: the closet, the dresser, the bed, etc.
DON’T be clingy. Yes, you used to love that sweater/album/book/coffee maker, but if you haven’t used it in the past year … it’s time to let it go.
DO donate! Instead of just throwing away the things you no longer need, head on over to the local thrift shop and make your “trash” someone else’s treasure.
DON’T go overboard. We love those colorful decorative storage bins as much as anybody, but try to avoid heading to the store and investing in a ton of new storage items before you even know what you’ll be storing. That said …
DO make use of cabinets, bins, and boxes. You might have a hard time keeping all your magazines in order, but sticking them into a bin makes them look tidy instantly! The same goes for crafting supplies and knick-knacks that might not exactly have a “place” of their own.
DON’T stress yourself out. Trying to declutter your apartment can be stressful, especially if you get overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of STUFF surrounding you!
DO make it fun! Give yourself 15 minutes to clean one spot in your apartment. Have a reward planned if you get it done. Put on some upbeat music and do a little dance as you declutter. Cleaning may be a chore, but that doesn’t mean it also has to be a bore!
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It’s summer, and that means it’s time for fun. But it also means it’s time to declutter your apartment, and let’s face it … nobody likes cleaning. If you’re like us, keeping your space neat may present a bit of a challenge. Fortunately, we’ve picked up some helpful tips for folks like us who really, really, spectacularly, hate having to clean!
1. Make It A Challenge. Set a timer, and tell yourself you HAVE to get that corner of the room cleaned before time runs out. Or, imagine that there’s someone on the other side of your bedroom wall also cleaning their room, and it’s your challenge to beat them. You’ll be amazed at how much you can accomplish in a limited amount of time. Try typing your time limit into Google (i.e. “10 minute timer”) to pull up an automatic timer that will sound when time runs out! Or, create a 10-30 minute playlist and challenge yourself to finish cleaning before the end of the final song.
2. Make It A Party. Speaking of music, there’s no rule that says you can’t dance your way through cleaning! Create a cleaning playlist full of songs that inspire you or make you happy, and start cleaning! The Seven Dwarves whistle while they work, so you can totally wobble while you wash. Just keep your dance moves a little tamer during tasks like dusting!
3. Make It Multiply. No, we don’t mean add more cleaning tasks to your checklist! We’re talking about making cleaning less of a chore by cleaning while you do something else you enjoy. It’s easy to enjoy a glass of wine while you wash the dishes. Chat on the phone with your best friend while you fold your laundry. Watch a movie while you dust and sweep. Put knick-knacks away during commercial breaks. Listen to a book on tape. Study for that upcoming exam. Knock the boredom out of cleaning!
4. Make It Worthwhile. Nothing makes cleaning more pleasant than knowing you get a prize at the end of your labors! Set a cleaning goal, and make sure it includes a reward for seeing it through. Whether it’s a luxurious bath, an extra dessert, a shopping trip, or even money (yes, you CAN pay yourself), keep your eyes on the prize while you clean to make it feel more like a treat than a tribulation!
5. Make It Disappear. While we’re not exactly talking about shoving things into drawers, don’t forget to take advantage of cabinet and drawer space for knick-knacks and other items that might not have a place. At the same time … if you can’t think of the right place for something, it might be that it doesn’t belong in your apartment at all. That goes for everything from décor to that extra pair of boots. Remember, the less you have, the less you have to clean! We know it’s hard to whittle down on stuff—even the mention of throwing out shoes made us wince—but you’ll be glad you did when it takes you 10 minutes to clean instead of 20 hours!
(Pro Tip: Want an easy way to declutter before you clean? Buy yourself a large storage box and just dump everything in there! Don’t worry about being neat and tidy … just get it in the box. This makes it so much easier to get the basics taken care of… We’re talking about making the bed, sweeping the floors, dusting, doing the dishes, etc. Once those things are taken care of, and everything looks nice and tidy, start going through the box; put things back where they belong, and leave things with no place in the box to donate or toss later!)
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