Apartment Blog

With limited space in an apartment, a home office may seem impossible; but, with proper planning and organization it can still be a functional work space. A big issue with having limited space for your home office is it is likely to be shared with something else, e.g., your living room to watch TV, your bedroom, etc. Therefore, you need to make sure the structure, arrangement and organization of your work space will fulfill two purposes: a practical home office without being an eye-sore!

The first thing to consider would be your desk set-up. The amount of room you can allocate to your work space determines the type of desk you’ll need. If there is enough wall space in your apartment, a regular work curio, like that pictured, will suit you. However if you have just a spare corner, a corner unit would be best.

The next thing to think about would be arrangement. With a tight space it’s important to maximize the area you have. One way to do that is to utilize all your wall space. Since your desk surface will likely be small, the best way to house your supplies, books, cd’s, etc., would be on shelves. The picture to the left is a perfect example of how ‘moving up’ on the wall will reduce the width your office takes up, while not sacrificing any necessary storage. If you are able to purchase a desk that has shelves built into it, like the picture shows, great; but if not, standard wall shelves will work just fine. If you have extra surface space after your computer, printer, keyboard and mouse, I wrecommend using plastic stackable Tupperware’s for small office items like pens, paper clips, staples, etc. Such items can be found at your local Wal-Mart, Target, Kmart-type places.

Organization also plays an important role in making your home office less of an eye-sore. For all intents and purposes, let’s assume your home office is sharing a space with something else in your apartment. If you have clutter all around your work space, then obviously it will be harder for you to utilize the area, while also making it unattractive. So the best way to eliminate clutter would be to rid the area of loose paper. One way to do this would be to go through your mail and having a system for filing bills or “need to keep” items. After using your work space make sure to keep pens, paper clips, sticky notes, and other office supplies in their designated area so its looks orderly. Just a few minutes after each time you use your desk will go a long way in making your workstation functional and attractive for your apartment.

With the vast amount of storms across the nation, it’s not a bad idea to be prepared for a power outage in your apartment. Instead of running around your apartment in the dark trying to figure out what to do, have a plan set in place.

You should always keep a kit stored with supplies for a power outage. The kit should include a flashlight with working batteries, a battery operated radio, battery powered or wind up clock, water, small first aid kit and the telephone numbers of the maintenance staff, leasing office and Power Company.

Once you’ve located your flashlight, you need to unplug and turn off all lights and electrical appliances (excluding the refrigerator, freezer & one lamp). Doing this will allow you to tell when power has been restored to your apartment.

Another idea for you to do is check your circuit breaker or fuse box. It is usually a gray metal box on an interior wall of your apartment. Open the door of the panel and see if the circuit breaker is tripped or a fuse is blown. To reset a tripped breaker, move the switch all the way to “OFF,” then all the way back to “ON.” If you have any questions regarding your apartment’s electrical set up, check with the leasing office or maintenance staff.

One thing you should NOT do during the power outage is open the refrigerator or freezer. According to what I’ve heard, your food can stay cold for at least two hours if the doors to the fridge and freezer haven’t been opened. Regardless, be careful when eating food that was in the refrigerator or freezer without power for longer than two hours.

Having a plan set in place will make you much more prepared the next time your apartment loses power. That way next time will be a little less hectic!

Do you have any suggestions for what to do in a power outage?

Don’t know about you, but I ALWAYS have to have my apartment ’straightened’ up before I leave for work. Nothing is worse than coming home from a long day at work and seeing the apartment a mess. So I usually try and do a few simple things in the morning that literally take 5 minutes, that way when I come home it’ll be clean for me. Here are my secrets:

1. Always make the bed in the morning. I know that you’re tired when you first wake up, but take two seconds to smooth down the sheets and blanket and adjust the pillows. If a room has a messy bed, the room appears messy and unorganized. But if the bed is straightened and the pillows are upright, then the room looks clean and in order.

2. The next stop is the bathroom. If you’re like me, you’ll get your hair brush, toothpaste and toothbrush out to use and then hop in the shower. But, before you leave the bathroom, make sure you put away those items you just put on the counter. Although it may seem like a waste of time, having a clean counter in a bathroom makes the bathroom look less messy.

3. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? So after you prepare your breakfast, make sure you pick up after yourself. To have your kitchen looking clutter free, put the dishes away (either by cleaning them or hiding them in the dishwasher). Keeping your sink free & clear of dishes will help your kitchen appear neat and tidy.

4. Put any clothes or shoes that are lying on the floor in a certain spot. Whether your clothes need to be hung up in the closet or put in the laundry hamper or shoes go on a shoe rack. If you start to make a habit of putting your clothes up when you take them off, you’ll save precious time by not having to clean it up later!

5. And finally, make sure that any lose papers (i.e. newspapers, bills, etc.) are straightened up and put in a specific area (preferably one that you already have organized so you can find those items again later). This will help clear up the floors, coffee and dining room tables.

While it may seem like doing all this in the morning takes longer than 5 minutes, doing it daily will eliminate some of the clutter that has started pilling up. Day by day, the pile will dwindle down and it will take you less than five minutes. Next time you come home from work, you’ll walk into a nice, clean house-leaving you time to relax!