Whether you’ve lived in your apartment for several months or several years, there will likely come a time when you’ll be tired of your surroundings. It happens to everyone at some point.
Moving is always an option, but it can be expensive and time consuming to find and relocate to a great new place. Fortunately, there are some simple things that you can do right now to make your current place better.
Ready to learn how? Here are seven apartment resolutions for the year to come that will make you want to stay right where you are.
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Get Organized (And Keep It That Way)
A neat, organized apartment can put you in a whole new mindset. The smaller your place is, the more important this becomes, as it’s easy to allow clutter to accumulate and take over your space.
Make this the year that you officially get organized. Go room by room and sort through every item you own. Create piles of things to keep, things to toss, and things to donate. Assess the items you intend to keep and invest in some new storage solutions so that every item has a designated place.
If you plan to keep more than you have room for, weed it down some more. A cluttered home creates a cluttered mind, so having a well-organized space can actually be beneficial to your mental health.
And if you’re lucky enough to work from home, getting organized and staying organized is an absolute must. Decluttering and organizing can actually increase your productivity levels!
Keep It Clean
Keeping a clean home is important — that is, unless you enjoy breathing in dirt, dust, and allergens. This has always been the case, but the COVID-19 pandemic has made this even more apparent than before.
Do a deep clean of your home from top to bottom. Wipe down every surface with disinfectant wipes. Clean your windows. Sweep and vacuum under and around every single piece of furniture.
Once it’s squeaky clean, keep up with it! Set aside an hour per day or a few hours on the weekend to clean every room.
A clean home always looks better than a dirty one, and it can also help improve your health and wellness.
Stock Up on Essentials
This year, make it a point to stock up on some essentials so you never run out of the things you need.
Toilet paper, paper towels, cleaning products, rice, soup, water, pet food …
Stock your pantry and cabinets with items you will always need so that you’re prepared for emergencies.
There’s no need to hoard major quantities of anything, and if you live in a small apartment with limited storage, that might not even be possible. But if you get in the habit of replenishing essentials when you’re starting to run low, you’ll never be fully out of what you need.
Create a Space That’s Just for Relaxing
Your home should be a place where you can relax and unwind at the end of the day, and you should have a specific place in your home to do so.
Create a space where you can read, meditate, or enjoy your morning coffee. Have a designated area that you only use in your downtime.
If you live alone, you can carve out a relaxation nook in any area of your apartment. If you live with roommates, consider adding an accent chair by the window in your bedroom. Something that simple can make a huge difference!
Make Your Bed Every Morning
If there’s one daily habit that you should adopt right now, it’s making your bed.
Make your bed every single morning when you get up. Your bedroom will instantly look neater and cleaner, and at nighttime, when it’s time to crawl in to sleep, it will be much more inviting.
It only takes a few minutes to make the bed, and that simple task can make a huge difference in how you feel about your space.
Wash Dishes After Every Meal
It’s no fun to cook in a kitchen with a sink or a counter full of dirty dishes. If you have a dishwasher in your apartment, load dirty dishes in after every single meal. Run it when it’s full and empty it immediately so that you never have to let dirty dishes pile up on the counter or sit in the sink.
If you don’t have a dishwasher, fill up that sink basin with soapy water and start hand washing. Whether you have to wash one plate or ten pots and pans, do it immediately after you’re finished cooking and eating.
Why is this important?
Because the longer those dishes sit, the harder they will be to clean.
The more meals you cook at home, the more important this becomes!
Keep Up With Your Mail
Do you let your mail pile up for days on end? It’s a bad habit to have, but it’s an easy one to break.
Switch your rent, car insurance, utilities, and other monthly bills to autopay or paperless billing as a way to reduce your mail intake.
There’s little you can do to eliminate junk mail, so tackle it head-on and go through it every day. Shred personal items and toss or recycle any junk mail, flyers, menus, or mailers that you don’t need.
The trick to keeping mail under control is never to let it stack up in the first place. At the very least, add a small bin or storage box by the entryway to hold your daily mail and empty it out at least once a week.
Conclusion
Most people think of resolutions as promises you make for New Year’s (and give up on by February). But resolutions can be made at any time of year, and now is the perfect time to make some that you can actually stick to through this year, next year, and beyond:
- Declutter and get organized
- Keep it clean
- Stock up on essentials
- Create a personal space for relaxing
- Make your bed every morning
- Wash dirty dishes after every meal
- Don’t let junk mail pile up
Making even a few of these habits part of your daily routine can seriously change the way your apartment looks and feels. And the better the space around you feels, the better you’ll feel in it.
Author Bio:
Adam Marshall is a freelance writer who specializes in all things apartment organization, real estate, and college advice. He currently works with The Lofts at Brentwood to help them with their online marketing.
