Keeping Street Noise Outside the Apartment

"Blocks of Flats on Poleg Beachfront" by Jonathan Pincas is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

You’re laying in bed, ready to get a good night’s sleep and then it happens...that annoying couple from across the street is having another fight. We’ve all been there, whether it’s “that couple,” car doors slamming, sirens or traffic, noise from the street has either awakened us or kept us from falling asleep at one time or another. It’s not something you can really control, but there are ways to prevent it from coming into your apartment, as Apartment Therapy explains.

Use your exterior walls

Nothing absorbs noise like a fat wall of books. Consider moving your bookshelves to line your outside walls so the books will help absorb some of the street noise. Fabric is another good insulator, so a solution that moves your closets, clothing racks, or linen storage to the outer walls can help as well.

Get thick curtains

Heavy curtains can also help dampen sound. The thicker and heavier the curtains, the more effective they'll be. You can even buy special noise-absorbing curtains designed to help cancel out annoying sounds. While I would love to drape my entire apartment in velvet someday, for now I'm using IKEA's Werna blackout curtains. They're very thick and heavy, don't cost a fortune, and as a bonus they also block all the light that would otherwise be seeping in. If the noise makes you batty, you might even want to consider hanging two sets of curtains.

White noise

"Midtown New York traffic under the Gimbels Bridge"
 by joiseyshowaa is licensed CC BY 2.0.

I find that a fan or a white noise machine helps a lot.

Reinforce the windows

A lot of noise seeps in through windows. While you're probably not going to be able to convince your landlord to replace your standard rental apartment windows with better ones that keep out more noise, there are some DIY options you can consider. Covering the windows entirely would probably turn your apartment into a dark little box, but cutting some sheets of acoustic foam to fit the windows will give you an option you can put in place at night and then take down whenever you want your windows back.

Earplugs

I like to save the squishy little foam earplugs that airplanes give out on international flights. They're comfortable enough to fall asleep in and keep out almost any noise.

Trust time to fix it

In the end, time will probably take care of most of the problem for you. I grew up in a major city, so sirens and car horns don't even register as noise for me. When my husband first moved to a city, he couldn't sleep for weeks because of all the noise. He was convinced he would never sleep again. But after a short time he got used to it, and now he can sleep through anything. He even slept through the World Cup game last night, and that was so loud I thought the windows were going to fall out. Give it some time and you may find you don't need any noise-canceling solutions at all.

Do you have other noise-free apartment living solutions? Share them with us!

Tailgate Tips

"Grilled Apple Sausage" by H. Michael Karshis is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Fall is in the air, which means one thing...football season is back! Are you ready? There’s no better way to spend pre-game time than tailgating. Follow these tips, courtesy of Apartment Therapy, to ensure that you are properly prepared for the perfect tailgate.  

1. Research the tailgating site: Even before you get to the packing and prepping of food, make sure you know where you can park, what the facilities are like, and what the rules are. Are open flames allowed so that you can grill? Is there running water, bathroom facilities, or rules about alcohol? What time can get there, and how late can you stay?

Think about the weather and the time of day when planning — will it be hot or rainy and a tent would be useful? And make sure you give yourself plenty of time to get there and set up.

2. Pack in, pack out: Unless a tailgate site explicitly says so, assume that everything you bring in comes home with you, including trash. Make sure you have plenty of heavy-duty trash bags, figure out how you'll handle recycling and packaging leftover food, and think about how you'll pack and bring home a dirty grill.

3. Multiple coolers are a must: Two coolers are the minimum — one for food and one for drinks. If you have a third for the raw food that needs to be cooked, even better! Make sure foods are wrapped tightly to prevent leaking and cross-contamination, and pack the things you'll need immediately at the top.

Label your drink coolers and tie a bottle opener to the handle so it's convenient and never gets lost. Make sure you have enough ice for drinks and to keep everything cold until you get home.

4. Grill prep: Make sure your grill is clean and that you have the necessary grill tools, enough fuel to last through all the grilling, and a portable fire extinguisher just in case.

5. Food choices: Have ready-to-go finger foods and snacks that you can put out immediately to keep people happy while the grill gets fired up. Keep more substantial food items simple and easy-to-serve. Bonus points if you don't even need plates to eat them off of, like kabobs and quesadillas! If you plan on tailgating after the game too, pack some different snacks and foods to grill then so that you have some variety.

6. Food prep: Do as much as you can at home, including marinating, cutting up vegetables, threading things onto skewers, or forming burger patties. Mix up big batches of drinks or cocktails so all you have to do is pour.

7. Equipment: Pack a few folding or portable chairs and tables. A tablecloth looks nice and makes for easier cleanup, and a few big stackable plastic bins can serve as trash and recycling bins. Don't forget a cutting board, sharp knife, and serving platters. Foil can help scrape down a dirty grill, keep food warm, or wrap up leftovers.

8. Water, water, water: Freeze some water bottles to both keep the coolers cold and so you'll have something icy to drink if it's a hot day. Bring along a big water container with a dispenser for handwashing too.

What are your tailgating must-haves? Share them with us below!

Proper Place Settings

Pay attention, ladies and gentlemen, because this is some good knowledge to store away! Whether you're hosting a dinner party or are simply setting the table for dinner, it makes a good impression to set a proper table. After all, nobody will notice if you order take-out food to pass off as your own cooking, as long as you put it on the good dinnerware! Here's the breakdown, according to Apartment Therapy:

A Casual Setting

This is the everyday table setting and follows just a few rules that are built on for the fancier settings:

Photo courtesy Maxwell Ryan.

Plate - Right in the middle :)

Fork - To the left at 9:00

Knife & Spoon - To the right at 3:00 with the knife on the inside facing in (so the blade is safely towards the plate)

Glass - On the upper right at 1:00

Napkin - Underneath your forks, though you can technically play with your napkin and place it on plate or outside forks.

A Fancy Setting

Built off of the above, this roadmap allows for all the other utensils needed at a fancy meal and follows the guide that you start on the outside and move inwards towards the plate during the course of the meal.

Photo courtesy Maxwell Ryan.

Plates - In the middle with the smallest stacked on top, so that you have Charger under Entree Plate under Appetizer Plate. In this fashion each plate can be cleared and leave you with a new, clean one below. Bread plate goes to the top left at 10:00 with knife fork ON it.

Flatware - Forks go on the left at 9:00 with the smallest on the outside (dinner, salad and then fish fork). Knife goes on the right with spoons at 3:00 with the smallest spoons on the outside (soup and then fruit spoon)

Any flatware used for dessert goes at the top at 12:00 (dessert spoon and fork)

Glasses - Red or wine (or both) glasses are placed at the upper right at 1:00 with water and/or champagne above that to the left. I typically have only a water and wine glass, but you can provide lots of options here for your guests if you wish and then remove what they don't use.

Napkin - I always like to have the napkin under the forks to the left, but it is proper to have the napkin actually on the dinner plate. Either way, just don't stuff the napkin in the wine glass and try to make it look like a swan.

Plan a Labor Day Bike Picnic

"Ross Eurosport and a Batavus" by Jason McDowell is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Labor Day may be the unofficial end of summer, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t make the most of the day off! Your apartment is located close to a lot of fantastic trails and outdoor areas, so why not plan your traditional Labor Day picnic in a scenic spot, and enjoy the exercise and weather on the way there? The Kitchn offers these useful tips for an enjoyable afternoon bike picnic:

Picnic Food Tips

1. Pick sturdy foods. The key to a good bike picnic is bringing packable foods that can survive a bumpy journey. For example, fragile lemon tarts aren't quite as bike-friendly as a dense chocolate cake.

2. Go with variety. As with any outdoor eating menu, I think smaller is better, and having an assortment of small dishes makes the food easier to pack as well as more entertaining to eat.

3. Think versatility. An assortment of good cheese and a loaf of bread will always go far. Throw in some fresh basil and an avocado and you've got yourself the fixings for a lovely picnic sandwich. I also love bring along easy-to-pack things like olive tapenade, as it works well as a spread or as a dip for vegetables.

4. Protect fragile purchases. For picnics that are based off of market foods - think a bunch of fresh fruit and vegetables - just be sure to take a few reusable containers with you to the market. That way, your purchases are easily transportable and won't get crushed and bruised during your journey.

Don't Forget Drinks

You can't have a good picnic without something fun to drink now can you? Beer and wine are easy, just make sure you have an opener with you. If you're in the mood for cocktails, the easiest is to prepare a mixer at home, which you can bring along in a bottle and finish making your drinks on site.

For colder weather rides and meals, invest in a good thermos. That way, you can fill it with whatever you like: coffee, hot chocolate, or maybe even apple cider with a little bourbon?

Essential Bike Picnic Tools

The first essential thing to remember about a picnic à vélo is that you want to be packing things that are unbreakable. That means investing in good utensils and dishes that are lightweight and reusable but won't get crushed when you pack them.

My personal cycle picnic pack includes:

• Swiss Army knife
• reusable cups
• reusable silverware
• something to eat out of
• tea towel for use as a small tablecloth
• lightweight wooden cheeseboard, perfect for serving and cutting on
• if room allows, a blanket or sheet is always a worthwhile item to bring along

Bicycle picnics are the perfect blend of exercise, fresh air, relaxation, and simple but good food. These tips will make planning and packing for your next picnic ride a snap!

Create a Zen Bedroom

"Bedroom Curtains" by Emily May is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Your bedroom should be a place where you feel relaxed and ready to rest, and your decor will influence your pre-bedtime mindset. Remember as a kid when your mom told you not to study in bed? That was because you would either fall asleep, or not be able to sleep other nights when you didn’t have to study. The same goes for adulthood--your bedroom should be a work-free zone! Here are some other tips from Apartment Therapy on bringing calm to your bedroom.

1. Be natural. Check the tags on your sheets, blankets, pillow covers. Are they of natural fibers? If not, seek out some good, basic sets of natural fiber bedding. Take it a step further with the mattress and your pillows, though this can get pricey. Also consider the materials of your furnishings and rugs. Are there a lot of synthetics like plastic and polystyrene furnishing your bedroom or natural materials like wood and wool?

2. Unplug. Banish electronics from the bedroom. Seriously. That means phones, computers, television. Nothing sucks the lovely out of a bedroom faster than electronic devices. If it plugs in, take it out (except the reading lamps, of course). You'll get better sleep and your room will be a calm respite from digital life.

3. Keep it clean… Furnish and decorate sparely. And clean often. If things are kept simple as far as furnishings and decor, it should be a rather quick job to clean the bedroom. Wash linens at least once weekly and be sure to dust between the head of the bed and the wall.

4. …and serene. Are natural woods and cool colors relaxing to you? Then use them in the decor of your bedroom. Prefer deep, dark black or brown? Incorporate that. Whatever puts you at ease, use it in the decor of your bedroom.

5. Get personal. This is the room for displaying cherished personal possessions. Have an heirloom wedding pic of your ancestors? That could also be well-suited here. If you have personal items you've collected but don't feel comfortable displaying front and center in the living room, make your bedroom the place for these things. The bedroom's a private area of the home and it will make you happy to see things in it that are meaningful to you but perhaps not to everyone.

What do you use to create your bedroom zen? Share your tips with us!

Let It Go and Get Organized

"Organized" by Uwe Hermann is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

It’s no one’s goal to live in a dirty, cluttered apartment. In a smaller space, belongings tend to pile up faster and take up room more quickly. So what is it that keeps us from just keeping things organized in the first place? Apartment Therapy outlines these common obstacles to staying organized.

1. You don't immediately toss unimportant stuff

Put a recycling bin next to your mail box and a shredder next to your door. The moment you get your mail, toss what you don't need, shred personal info-marked things you don't need and then immediately file what you need to file. Don't put things in a basket to look at later. If you want to look at it later — just put it where it's supposed to be anyway, and go look at it later there.

2. You emotionally hold on to stuff you know you don't need

This is always a tough one, since objects can have memories attached to them. But we're not talking about that stuff. We're talking about the hiking boots you've never worn once that you keep hanging on to because you might climb Everest one day. We're talking about the "perfectly good" things you bought for a good reason but have never used once.When it comes to keeping organized, having more stuff than you need to organize is just silly. Less stuff, less things that will need organizing.

3. You've convinced yourself you don't have enough room, and so have given up hope

Hey we get it. Having a tiny home is tough on staying organized, especially when you lack obvious storage. But don't give up and give in. Kick that defeatist attitude to the curb! Pay attention to the first two tips in this post for sure. But then also make sure you're maximizing the storage you do have. Got three inches under your bed? Use them! Have only one hanging rod in your closet? Come on — fit more in there! Don't have any shelves above your doors or up high? You've got to be kidding me. If you don't have room for the things you legitimately need, make room. But don't make extra storage for future stuff, as you'll definitely find something to fill it up with.

4. You haven't given yourself the right tools

The trick here is really giving yourself the right organizing tools that work for you. Spend a week or more really looking at your home and where the clutter collects. Are you someone who tosses clothes around your room when trying on outfits and never re-hangs them up? Either switch to drawers or plan your outfits ahead of time and place an over-the-door hanger in the room just for that purpose. Are you a chronic junk drawer creator? Fill it with dividers so you're forced to stick to a system. You don't have to get fancy and drop a ton of money at the Container Store, but do invest in the tools you'll need if they'll help you.

5. Your filing system is too complicated and so you never stick with it for long

That's really awesome that you spent that weekend alphabetizing and labeling and whatever else-ing until your home was the absolute pinnacle of organization — for like a day. But if something is too complicated — or too hard to get to — you won't stick with it. And sometimes being too specific with labels can work against you — when you come across something that doesn't perfectly fit into a label you end up not putting it away and a pile gets started.And piles multiply faster than tribbles.

6. You're not asking for help when you need it or setting boundaries

There's no shame in asking for organizing help from a friend if you need it. But you also need to learn to ask for help with the people you live with — work with them on showing them the organizational methods you've put into place and tell them it's important they follow them, too.

What are some tips you have on keeping your apartment organized? Share them with us!

Light Up Your Apartment

Photos courtesy Kazuho Oku (top) and Liz Lawley (bottom).

Often times when decorating, we get so caught up in the furniture and other accessories, that we forget about incorporating a key element in arranging a room--lighting. Lighting sets the mood and tone of a room. It creates the atmosphere of a room and dictates the type of room it should be. For example, the lighting in a home office should be bright and functional; whereas the lighting in a bedroom should be soft and cozy. Apartment Therapy explains how to determine the type of lighting you should have in your living room.

The first step when lighting any room is to ask yourself: what happens here? Different activities require different types and levels of light. A well-lit living room will have three different types of lighting: general, task and accent. These are used at different times of day and for different purposes, and key to a functional lighting scheme it to know how and when to mix and use them.

General

Not all homes have a ceiling fitting in the living room, and if you have lots of natural light during the day, you might not need overhead light at all. But if you have the fitting, a central pendant or chandelier helps to zone the space and create a focus. Similarly, potlights or angled spotlights will create an even layer of overhead lighting. In the absence of any overhead lights, a large, arced floor lamp will do the trick.

If you watch TV in the living room, choose the surrounding lights carefully to avoid television glare. It can be distracting to have a bright overhead light above or in front of a TV set, so ensure ceiling lights are dimmable, or use offset wall sconces or floor lamps instead.

Task

Specific task lighting, such as reading lamps, are important if you read frequently, have low levels of natural light, and especially if you ever work in your living room. A floor lamp spaced between two armchairs can also count as task lighting, as conversation is a task, too (at least in living room terms).

Accent

Low-level table lamps and floor lamps help to create a cozy atmosphere in the living room, especially at night. Evenly space these throughout the room, usually toward the walls, to create an even, warm glow that bounces inwards. Think creatively about this type of lighting: groups of candles even fairy lights count.

How do you get creative with the lighting in your apartment? Share your photos with us!

Terms of Use: These photos are licensed under a Creative Commons Attributions 2.0 Generic License. They are attributed to Kazuho Oku (top) and Liz Lawley (bottom).