Sometimes apartment living isn’t fun. Your place may seem overpriced, thin walled, or maybe even super small. But apartment living doesn’t have to suck.
In fact, you can make your apartment feel more like home with a few tricks and save money too. Here are a few tips to make apartment living easier.
Befriend Your Landlord
It’s a smart move to be friendly with your landlord. Not only will this make apartment living easier, but if you ever have a huge emergency, your landlord is likely to put you as a priority. It’s not right for landlords to treat their tenants in a certain way, but it happens.
You don’t have to invite your landlord over for dinner every night, but being polite and letting them know you appreciate them goes a long way. Also, always pay your bills on time and try to be the best tenant you can be. A happy landlord is an easy going landlord.
Know Your Rights
Even if you’re friendly with your landlord, it is still important to know your rights as a renter. For one, make sure you read your rental contract multiple times before signing and ask questions if you have them. You should never sign something that you aren’t sure about.
Knowing your rights makes apartment living easier because you won’t have to worry about your possessions and space. For example, unless it says so in your contract, no one should be able to enter your apartment without your permission. This helps you feel more comfortable knowing that your landlord or maintenance man can’t enter without your say.
Your apartment may not be a permanent living solution, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make it like home. And no home should ever make you feel unsafe.
Get an Alarm System
You may feel safer knowing your rights, but you should also invest in an alarm system! It doesn’t even have to be anything fancy. There are a ton of alarm systems that make loud noises and scare off intruders without you having to pay a monthly monitoring fee.
Now, you’ll never have to worry about leaving your apartment and belongings without being secure.
Add Simple Upgrades
Just because you live in an apartment, doesn’t mean you can’t upgrade it to your liking! Add a few shelves for storage, repaint (if allowed), and add a new shower head with all the fixings.
Changing a few things to fit your lifestyle will make apartment living easier, and will keep you from feeling deprived from simple luxuries.
Make Apartment Living Easier with Energy Fixtures
No one likes high energy bills. You may get stuck with an older apartment that has energy draining appliances and light fixtures, but you can easily fix that! For lights, you can always replace the old bulbs with LED bulbs. This may cost a little bit up front, but it will save you money in the long run and make apartment living easier.
If you have an old AC or furnace, try investing in a small heater or fans. These could help keep you cool or warm, and will also help you keep bills lower throughout the year.
Use Your Space Wisely
Using your space wisely comes in handy no matter the size of your apartment! If you plan to shop online, online furniture stores provide dimensions for all their furniture so you can determine the size that works for your space. You don’t want to walk around bumping into furniture or not be able to entertain due to clutter.
You can always add extra storage, buy a slightly smaller sofa, and even skip that extra dresser if you have a bigger closet.
Make it Homey
Make it HomeyIt can get lonely living in an apartment by yourself or away from family. If you are feeling a little homesick, make apartment living easier by making it feel like home! This could mean adding a few sentimental items, decorating your room like your room at home, or just adding pieces that remind you of your daily routines.
If you want to make bigger changes to your apartment (like installing a TV mount), make sure you have the permission to do so. While Netflix and cuddling seem like fun, it won’t be if you lose your security deposit for holes in the wall.
Create Rules (If You Have Roommates)
If you are going to be or live with roommates, have a set of rules that all need to follow! This will make apartment living easier because everyone will be held to the same standard. Nothing is worse than watching your food go missing or having an unwelcomed guest sleeping in your bed (it happens). Simple rules in a contract that everyone signs will help put everyone at ease.
Solve the Washer/Dryer Dilemma
Having to drag all of your clothes to a laundromat isn’t fun. Neither is using machines that are old, dingy, and most likely filthy. If you don’t have a washer/dryer in your apartment, buying portable ones will make apartment living easier!
There are so many different options to choose from, including automatic or manual options, all the way to a combo portable washer and dryer. Whatever you choose, make sure it works best for you!
While apartment living may not be for everyone, that doesn’t mean it has to suck. These tips will make apartment living easier and make it feel a little more like home.
