Simple Tricks to Soundproof Your Pad

Living in an apartment or condo can be downright loud.  The density of apartment living offers a bustling vibrancy, but it can also bring a lot of unwanted noise.   Whether it’s a neighbor down the hall who watches movies at deafening levels, or the wailing of sirens outside, or the chattering of voices from the hallway or the sidewalk below, noise is part and parcel of denser living.  However, there are ways you can prevent the noise from getting in, and keep the noise you make, from getting out.

Keep the Noise Out

By adding some additional blockage to your doors and windows you can greatly reduce the amount of ambient noise that drifts into your unit.  Door sweeps—rubber seals that easily fasten on to the bottom of doors—are an excellent way to prevent the conversations and echoing footsteps of a busy hallway from flowing into your apartment.  Door sweeps provide the added bonus of keeping drafts and roaming insects out as well.  Another way to keep out the noise is by adding thick curtains in front of windows, sliding doors, and front doors.  Thick curtains muffle sound, but they also keep your apartment nice and warm in the colder months, and provide a stylish and dramatic flare to your living space.

Muffle the Noise Within

Noise can be greatly increased by the acoustics of your apartment, as well.  This is especially the case in newer buildings where open concept apartments with high ceilings really allow noise to bounce off the ceiling, floor, and walls.  You can significantly diminish this echoing by adding rugs and carpets to your apartment.  The effectiveness of rugs can be improved further by inserting rug pads underneath them.  Not only do the pads keep your rugs from sliding all over the place, their thickness muffles sound as well.  Another option is to hang rugs or carpets on your walls.  Some rugs are too beautiful to simply go underfoot, and by showcasing their design on the wall you greatly decrease the echoing of internal apartment noise.  Also, consider placing a wall length bookcase against any walls that are thin and noise-porous.  Nothing stifles unwanted sound like books, and you get some much needed storage space as well.

Go Pro

If you are less interested in the DIY approach there are also numerous noise-canceling products available to buy.  Items like complete window inserts, sound-proof panels for walls and ceilings, and acoustic window/door blankets and sealing kits are all solid solutions to cutting down the noise in your apartment.  If you do plan on going with a more installation-heavy approach, be sure you check with the property owner first. 

By taking a few small steps to stop the flow of outside noise, and to soften and neutralize the noise inside your unit, you can have all the benefits of urban density without all of the racket.

Keeping Pests out of your Apartment

Whether its ants, spiders, moths, mice, squirrels, or raccoons, chances are you will end up sharing your living space with some unwelcome pests at some point in your life.  Pests are unpleasant to say the least, but worse still, they can be destructive, unsanitary, and even carry the risk of disease.  It might not be possible to live entirely pest-free, especially for those of us who are renting in older buildings or in basements, but by following a few straightforward rules, you can lower the chances of pests setting up shop in your abode.

Mind the Gaps

The best way to keep pests out of your apartment is to guarantee they have no means of entering your home.  This means ensuring that any and all cracks, gaps, space or holes (in the siding, in the window or door frame, or around pipes, electrical outlets, or air conditioner units) are completely sealed off. 

Some of these might be quick fixes, like adding steel wool or a stain-free removable caulking around small gaps or cracks, but if you locate more sizable holes be sure to contact and consult with the property owner to see how best to proceed.

Keep it Clean

Pests are attracted to food, so if you keep your apartment tidy and litter free you eliminate their food source, and send them packing.  You can accomplish this inside your unit, by properly rinsing your recycling materials, and by making sure that your recycling, garbage and compost bins are clean and well-sealed at all times.  This is also true of your food.  By storing dry goods, like rice, beans, grains, sugars, and flours, in glass or plastic sealable containers, and by ensuring that vinegar and oil bottles are wiped clean, you can keep your food free from pests, and leave the pests with nothing to eat.

An Orderly Outdoors

Keeping things clean and tidy outside can also force pests to look elsewhere.  Do whatever you can to keep your recycling, garbage, and compost bins tightly sealed.  Larger pests, like squirrels and raccoons, are incredibly resourceful so if you cannot keep your bins out of their reach, or if you cannot seal the lids, ensure that there is no way for pests to climb upon the bins or push them over.  If a pest views your building as a reliable food source it will continue to return, so cut them off at the source by keeping your bins unavailable, and by keeping your deck, balcony, or patio clear of any and all garbage and debris.

Pests are a fact of life, but by preventing their access to your space, and by keeping tidy, you can limit their damage, and encourage them to move along.

Tips for Home Deliveries to your Apartment

With the rise of online shopping, more and more of us are getting the things we need delivered directly to our homes.  Big companies have long pushed their clients to order direct, but other goods and services providers, such as grocery and produce boxes, wine and beer boxes, and ready-to-prepare meal or dinner subscription boxes, are increasingly common these days.  For those of us who live in houses or buildings without secure delivery spots, the rise in home deliveries poses a major problem. How can we ensure our packages arrive safely?

Make Alternate Delivery Plans  

One option is to think outside the home delivery box.  Rather than having packages delivered to your unsecured front steps, consider having them delivered someplace else.  You can easily arrange to pick up your package, either from a nearby post office or through a shipping company’s retail location.  A more permanent version of this solution is to get a post office box.  A PO box ensures your package remains safe, secure, and climate controlled until you are able to come and collect it.  Another option is to have packages delivered directly to your place of work, just be sure to clear this arrangement with your superiors first. 

Secure Your Delivery

If it is easier for you to have packages delivered directly to your door, there are ways you can better secure your deliveries.  Shipping companies offer more and more options for their users these days to help ensure secure delivery.  You can often view your package’s location, reroute or change your delivery destination, or change the desired delivery time, all in real time and all to better coordinate safe delivery.  Also, you can arrange to have the shipping company send you a message as soon as the package has arrived, which allows you to minimize the amount of time the package sits at your door unattended.  If these kinds of tech-savvy solutions do not appeal to you, there are other ways to help secure your delivery.  If you are fortunate enough to have a backyard or deck, request your package to be discretely placed at your backdoor, or in some other, non-visible spot. 

Storage Lock Box

Perhaps the securest solution to apartment deliveries is to get one of the many new delivery or parcel lock boxes that are now on the market.  These portable strong boxes come in a wide array of colours, styles, and sizes, and they ensure your delivery stays safe and dry until you return home. If you do intend to get a lock box and you plan to place it in a shared space, such as a front porch, be sure to clear it with the property owner and your fellow tenants first.

Online shopping can offer some great prices and a greater level of convenience.  By taking a few precautions, you can reap the rewards of home delivery without running the risks of losing your packages.

Creating the Ultimate Apartment Study Space

With fall in the air and the school year now in full swing, students young and old are cracking the books.  Whether you happen to be a full-time student living on her own for the first time, or a working condo-dweller taking a night course to gain a career advantage, you will need to carve out a space in your living area for studying.  A solid, designated study area gives you the spatial and mental organization you need to stay on top of your studies.  Here are some tips to help you create the ultimate home study space.

Create an Area

The first step to making a great study space is creating a distinct and separate area.  Separating your study space from your everyday living is crucial: it will improve your thinking and your level of engagement as you study, and it will help you to better remember what you have studied later on.  In selecting your area, choose a part of your apartment with natural light (if possible) that gives you enough space to think comfortably.  Once you have a place, make it your own by adding plant life, photographs or pictures that keep you grounded and motivated, and a good lamp to ensure adequate lighting.  The goal is clarity and simplicity, so be selective, and decorate minimally.  Remember your study space should be a single-function area, and used for studying alone, so pick an area removed from the hustle and bustle of your apartment.

Create Order

When you are studying organization is key.  You want your study area to be completely devoid of clutter and distraction.  So, have your supplies neatly organized and easily accessible—with pens, pencils, rulers, and calculators stowed in an orderly manner.  This organization should extend to your courses as well.  Sort and store each course by coloured folder, which you can store and retrieve from an inbox.  With your work and supplies neatly arranged, you can post either a calendar or corkboard above your study area, so as to clearly list any assignments, test dates, or deadlines.

Create Clarity

With a properly organized, distinct and separate study area, you give yourself the clarity and focus you need to study effectively.  Once you are studying, be sure to remove and turn off any and all distractions including phones, wifi, and loud or disruptive music.  If you have a hard time getting focused, then start slow: set a timer for 15 minutes to allow you to commit yourself to focused, undistracted study time.  Once you master 15 minute sessions, make the times longer.  Remember, studying is challenging, so make your study area an oasis of clarity within your busy life and busy apartment.

New Years Resolutions for Renters

Although largely symbolic, the start of a new year offers you the chance to do things better.  While people usually look to themselves for self-improvement, it might be more productive to think about how things could be better managed in your apartment.  New Year’s Resolutions are difficult to maintain, but if you keep your apartment resolutions simple, realistic, and useful, then upholding them should be easy.

Out with the Old

Nothing allows you to free up, and change up, your apartment like purging the ghosts of yesteryear.  The New Year gives you a great opportunity to finally offload the things you have been holding on to.  A great rule of thumb is if you have not used an object in the past year, then pass it on, and make space for something else!  Haul those old clothes, coats, shoes, books, DVDs, and small pieces of furniture off to the thrift store, and make some room for yourself.  Also, New Year is a great time to finally commit to getting rid of the trickier items that have languished under your kitchen sink or in your closet for the past year.  Old paint cans, hardware, dead batteries, or old tech and wires can all be gotten rid of by simply looking up municipal guidelines on their safe disposal.

A Fresh Start

The New Year also allows you to finally tackle the little projects that have weighed you down throughout the year.  Now is your time to finally go through your digital pictures, select five or ten of them, and print and hang them on your wall.  Or, maybe this is your chance to go out and grab some frames for the posters or prints you have stacked under your bed, and have been dying to put up.  Additionally, the New Year lets you commit to some new systems to help you better streamline and manage your life.  Now is the time to take a look at your kitchen and rearrange cupboards, shelves, cooking implements, and ingredients to better sync with how you prepare food.  Or, maybe this is the time that you finally tackle your home entertainment system to de-clutter wires, or to purchase that one small device that makes your streaming or listening that much more strait-forward.

Be a Better Tenant

Finally, the New Year gives you a chance to start doing the things you wished you did in your house or building to improve your living space.  Whether it is introducing yourself, at long last, to your neighbours, or picking up flyers on the floor of your mailroom to throw in the recycling, the New Year is a great opportunity to start building a better community.  Remember, change starts with you, and sometimes the easiest way to make a change is by rearranging how you live.

How to Reduce Your Energy Bills

If the mounting concerns surrounding global warming have yet to force you to re-examine your environmental footprint, chances are the increasingly high costs of home energy will.  Utilities bills are no joke.  They can often constitute close to 20% of overall household expenditures.  Monitoring your energy output, and finding ways to cut back, then, can save you a noticeable amount of money.  In a nutshell, it pays to be green.  Here are some tips to help you reduce your energy bills.  

Heating / Air Conditioning

Simply keeping your apartment or condo at a comfortable temperature can be costly, if you are not careful.  In the summer, to avoid high air conditioning expenses, make sure to keep your blinds and curtains closed, and to keep your light and appliance use to a minimum.  Blocking out the sun does wonders to keep your apartment cool.  Also, BBQ or cook outside as much as possible, instead of unnecessarily heating up your entire apartment by turning on the oven.

In the winter, make sure you let the sun in as much as possible, to warm your apartment up.  Also, if you can, install a programmable thermostat.  These allow you to really lower the heat at times when it is not required—like when you are at work, or sleeping at night—and they provide greater control over heating various rooms.  Remember, cranking the thermostat when you are cold does not warm your apartment any faster, and usually ends up overheating your home, which you then have to cool down by opening windows and wasting energy.  With thermostats, slow and steady wins the race.

In both seasons make sure you keep your doors and windows closed—heating or cooling the outdoors is a losing and costly proposition.

Small Measures = Big Savings

There are also several small measures you can take to help lower energy costs.  Simply minimizing the amount of water you run, ensuring all lights, heat, or air is off in rooms you are not using, and air drying both your clothes and your dishes go a long way towards saving you money.  Cooking in larger batches also helps you save energy.  By taking a weekend afternoon to prepare some soups, stews, or roasts, you use the stove and oven less frequently.  This allows you to reheat with a microwave, as the week unfolds, which uses 50% less energy than the oven.  Last, remember to save those more high-energy tasks, like laundry, running the dishwasher, or taking baths, for the “off peak” hours, which are generally on the evenings and weekends.  Doing these more high-energy tasks at off-peak times lets you take advantage of a more economical rate.