Category: Apartment Living
Creativity Corner Presents….DIY Twine Wine Bottle Vases!
Watch the video below to learn a quick and easy DIY project that will add a crafty touch to your home…
How to Throw a Cinco de Mayo Party
Tomorrow is the fifth of May which means it’s time to celebrate Cinco de Mayo!
Go ahead and invite your friends over to enjoy the holiday together. We’ve come up with some great tips for hosting the perfect Cinco de Mayo party right in your home.
1. Nothing says Cinco de Mayo like a delicious margarita. Fill up some pitchers in your refrigerator with margaritas so you don’t have to stop and make each drink individually as guests arrive.
2. There’s no need to sit down and have a formal dinner. Instead, cook up some simple Mexican appetizers for your guests like quesadillas, taquitos and chips and salsa (don’t forget the guacamole!)
3. In order to feel like you’re in Mexico you need to dress the part! Head to your local party store and pick up some sombreros for your guests.
4. Create a great playlist of music to play as you mingle. Just hookup your iphone to some speakers and enjoy! Don’t forget the Gypsy Kings or Santana when you’re downloading your new tunes.
5. Create some entertainment for your guests. What’s more fun than a traditional pinata? Set it up outside and let your friends take a whack at it for the chance to win some candy or prizes.
How to Prep Your Outdoor Space for Warm Weather
With warm weather finally upon us there’s nothing we love more than to spend our time outside! If you have an outdoor space to use for entertaining friends or just relaxing after a long day at work, here are some great ways to get it ready for the season.
1. Pull out those outdoor cushions from their winter hiding place and give them a quick rinse with the hose. Let them dry in the sun and tie them back on their outdoor chairs and couches.
2. Have an outdoor umbrella? Make sure it still functions properly if it wasn’t stored indoors. The winter we had certainly was damaging! Give the umbrella a quick rinse and set it up now.
3. Bring the broom outside and give your patio or balcony a good sweep. Hose it down and scrub away any stains that winter left behind.
4. Dig out your planter boxes and pots and plan out where they will go and what floral arrangements you’ll be planting this year.
5. Like to eat outside? Pick up some plastic dinnerware at the store you can use safely outside! Already have some? Unpack them and start cleaning them up so they’re ready for the first night you want to dine al fresco.
Tips for Cleaning Your Stemware
Does your stemware look dingy? Do you want to clean it properly but you’re unsure how? Keep reading to learn how to clean those fancy wine glasses without getting spots or residue!
1. Crystal stemware should always be hand-washed. Glass stemware can be washed in the dishwasher on a gentle cycle.
2. Never let red wine sit in glasses over night. Pour out the contents and fill the glass with hot water if you’re not ready to wash yet to avoid red wine stains.
3. Always hold the stemware by the base when hand-washing.
4. Use a gentle sponge and mild soap or detergent. You don’t want to use anything too abrasive that could scratch.
5. Use a lint-free towel to dry the stemware off. If you let them air dry you will risk getting spots. Make sure to dry both the inside and outside of the glass and handle with care to avoid fingerprints!
5 Time-Saving Household Cleaning Tips
Cleaning is a daunting task that seems to take up a lot of our time. We spend hours of our day scrubbing baseboards and washing floors and putting away clutter. If you want to save yourself some time use these five tips next time you roll up your sleeves for a day of cleaning house.
1. Use dryer sheets to clean baseboards. This goes for chair rail too! If you have a lot of dust and debris that’s piled up on the trim in your home, don’t bother scrubbing it down with soap and water then drying it. Instead, use a clean dryer sheet to quickly wipe up the dirt. The particles stick to the sheet and you’ll be moving on to your next task in no time. The clean smell they leave is just an added bonus.
2. Use a lemon to make your stainless sink shine. It takes a lot of time to scrub down a kitchen sink and usually we end up with streaks that make it look dirtier than when we started. We have to scrub to make the steel shine and use harsh chemicals. Instead, rub a lemon on the inside of your sink. It will clean away the gunk, make your sink shine and smell fresh.
3. Make a clutter basket. When you’re cleaning the house sometimes it seems like you’re spending the entire day putting things back into their place. Instead of picking up clutter multiple times a day, throw it all in your “clutter basket” as it piles up. At the end of the day make one trip putting away all of the items you’ve collected.
4. Clean your couch with a brush. Most vacuum cleaners come with a handy attachment that looks like a brush. Instead of constantly vacuuming your couch and pillows, remove the brush attachment and scrape for pet hair and lint. The brush will pick up everything including the unwanted stuff you don’t even see in a short amount of time.
5. Designate a day for bigger tasks. Some cleaning tasks need more attention, for example, the bathroom. Instead of doing a mediocre job of cleaning your bathroom each day, designate a day to do it. Once a week you should scrub your sink, tub and toilet really well and wash the floors and linens. Then you won’t need to spend so much time throughout the rest of the week.
5 Tips for Hosting a Super Bowl Party
Super Bowl Sunday is almost here! Before you open your door to your football-loving guests, read our tips for throwing a successful Super Bowl Party!
1. Make sure you have plenty of seating. Not only do you need seats for your guests, you need seats that have a great view of the TV. Count how many people you need to accommodate and rearrange furniture if necessary. Use giant pillows on the floor as an option so people can be close to the action!
2. Cook finger foods. Your guests are going to be sitting in your living room and paying attention to the game so there’s no point serving a five star meal! Make a bunch of appetizers or throw something in the crock pot to snack on.
3. Play your own games. Design your own version of Super Bowl squares for your guests. Ask everyone to pay $1 per square and divide up the pot at the end of each quarter. This is a great way to get guests who aren’t huge football fans in on the action.
4. Use coolers. Instead of filling your fridge full of beverages for your guests (and taking up all the room), display a large cooler in the living room. This way your guests don’t have to leave the excitement to replenish their drinks.
5. Dress the part. Ask your guests to show up wearing their favorite team’s swag! Want to take it a step further? Break out the face paint! Give the kids at the party something fun to do by painting their faces before game time.
Blizzard Preparation Checklist
A blizzard is heading our way and it’s time to start checking to make sure we are prepared at home! Before settling in for the night tonight make sure your home is prepared with the following items. Once the snow starts falling many local businesses will be closed so it’s important to prepare! Do you have all of the items on this list?
• Non-perishable food—at least a 3-day
• Flashlight
• Battery-powered radio
• Extra batteries
• First aid kit
• Medications
• Fully-charged cell phones
• Family and emergency contact information
• Extra cash
• Baby supplies (bottles, formula, baby food, diapers)
• Pet food
• Candles/matches
• Sand or rock salt
• Warm coats, gloves, hats and boots
• Firewood (if you have a fireplace)
• Warm blankets
• Snow shovel
4 Tips for Successfully De-Cluttering Your Home
We all have had issues with clutter whether it’s our kitchen drawers that get filled up with junk or our linen closets. Sometimes it can get overwhelming and we’re unsure how to fix the problem! Here are 4 tips to help you get rid of your clutter fast!
1. Choose one room at a time! Don’t expect to de-clutter your entire home in one weekend. Instead, pick one room at a time and focus on a smaller area.
2. Remove junk before you start buying. Bins and baskets are a great way to store our everyday household items. Before you go out and buy a bunch of containers for your stuff, clean the area and determine just how many you’ll need so you aren’t buying in excess.
3. Finish what you start. Sometimes when we start cleaning we can create a bigger mess than we had when we started. To avoid digging yourself into a clutter hole, finish each task before moving onto another space.
4. Give yourself a break! If you de-cluttered your office on Sunday and by Saturday it seems messy again, don’t give up. Put items away before things get out of hand again. Spending five minutes putting clutter back into it’s home each night will save you a lot of time in the long run and you won’t have to start all over.
5 Ways to Make Your Home Smell Great
Spraying air fresheners are a quick fix when it comes to giving your home a clean scent. Some of them are full of chemicals though which are bad for you to breathe! Here are five easy ways to make your home smell great for company or just for your own benefit.
1. Bake something. There’s nothing more “homey” than the scent of freshly-baked goods! If you are inviting company over, try throwing some cookies or bread in the oven.
2. Use citrus fruits. If your sink or garbage disposal starts to smell from food odors, use fruits right from your fruit basket! Chop up a lemon or orange to throw down the disposal for a natural, clean scent.
3. Use essential oils. By dabbing essential oils in places around your home you can add a subtle clean scent just about anywhere! Try adding a few drops to the inside of your toilet paper roll to make the bathroom smell fresh or put some oil on a cotton ball and slip it inside of a pillowcase.
4. Use your crock pot. Slow cookers don’t just have to be used for cooking! Add some fragrant spices or herbs like cinnamon, cloves or rosemary to water and let it simmer on low in your home for a delicious scent.
5. Display fresh flowers. Buying yourself a fresh bouquet to display in your home will not only look nice, it will smell nice too. Head to your local farmer’s market or grocery store and get a couple bouquets. You can cut them and divide them into mini vases in several rooms in your home.
Creativity Corner Presents….DIY Holiday Card Display!
Watch the video below to learn a fun and very easy way to display your holiday cards in your home!