Apartment Blog

In one of the forums I participate in, I came across a question regarding renters insurance and whether it’s worth the extra cost. There were many answers supporting each side of the question. Some commented that it wasn’t worth the extra expense because, really, how often do you get burglarized, flooded or have your apartment catch on fire. Others noted that the benefits of having it outweighed the expense-even if you don’t ever have to use it. So let me interject some of my opinions….

I personally feel safer having renters insurance. The peace of mind alone is worth the annual cost of $140. With that being said, I’m about 80% sure I’m never going to need it. However, hearing the stories on the news about fires that have engulfed an entire apartment building reassures me that I made the right choice. Whether I actually use it or not, I know that I am covered and that gives me peace of mind. Also, as one forum participant commented “it’s not just the insurance on your stuff, but also covering you for liability”. This is important! If someone gets injured in your home, having renters insurance will protect you!

So what is your opinion? I’ve stated mine and clearly I am advocating that everyone should have renters insurance. So if you happen to be in the market for renters insurance, check out our website!

ForRent.com would like to bestow a wish on all our friends with the following Irish Blessing this Saint Patrick’s Day!

Always remember to forget
The things that made you sad.
But never forget to remember
The things that made you glad.

Always remember to forget
The friends that proved untrue.
But never forget to remember
Those that have stuck by you.

May your neighbors respect you,
Trouble neglect you,
The angels protect you,
And heaven accept you.

May you always have work for your hands to do.
May your pockets hold always a coin or two.
May the sun shine bright on your windowpane.
May the rainbow be certain to follow each rain.
May the hand of a friend always be near you.
And may God fill your heart with gladness to cheer you.

May the Irish hills caress you.
May her lakes and rivers bless you.
May the luck of the Irish enfold you.
May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you.

Source: corsinet.com & ireland-information.com

Manning has won it again! Eli Manning has emerged from the shadow of father Archie and big brother Peyton to become the Super Bowl XLII Champion and MVP winner. In an upset this Sunday, the Giants defeated the Patriots 17-14 to put an unexpected end to New England’s undefeated season. It was said to be “The greatest victory in the history of this franchise without a question” according to Giants owner John Mara.

For Rent Media Solutions would certainly like to hear Eli’s ‘rules for success’. But one thing is for sure, we must take a queue from Eli, and the Giants team, about perseverance, determination and heart. Being picked as the underdog by 12 points, they stepped up to play their game against the all favored Patriots. Their hard work and determination to not go down without a fight made them quite the opponent for the undefeated team. And of course, the immense amount of heart and dedication that was shown when they made history!

Congrats Giants!

Source: The Link, a Publication of The Virginian-Pilot, February 4^th, 2008

You want to host a Super Bowl party with all your friends and/or family, but have to watch what you spend? Food/drinks is obviously going to be a larger expensive, rightfully so, but how can you have a bit of décor to your themed party when you’re on a budget? Well, here’s a few tips to keep in mind:

1. Make Your Own Football! This is a really cute and neat idea. Just take some paper plates, cut them into shapes of footballs and decorate them (i.e. color them brown w/white threads or in the colors of the football teams playing that day). You could even hole punch them and string them up around the room like a banner!?!

2. Bake A Football Cake! Since you’re already going to be providing food (or maybe have a pot luck) make sure there is a football decorated cake. You can use food coloring for the icing and little sticks (or going really economical-matches) for the goal posts. It’s sure to be a crowd pleaser, decoration centerpiece and a yummy surprise!

3. Styrofoam Bricks! These are really cute ideas for people to throw on the ground when the referee makes a bad call or their team gets scored on. Guaranteed to get some use!! Just go to your local arts and craft store and pick up a bunch of blocks. Get some spray paint (preferably the reddish/brown color of bricks) and paint away! Stack them up in the middle of your room, they’re bound to be discovered!

4. Balloons Galore! Balloons are a cheap and easy way to decorate your house for this party. Get a few bunches (probably not more than a dozen, which can cost you about $6 dollars) and strategically place them where the majority of your guests will be. They will make a big impact for not a lot of $$!

5. Paper Chains! Going back to your childhood days when you use to make decoration out of paper strips, staple them together in circles and build from there. It made a cute little chain that you could decorate the classroom with. Why not mimic that for your party? Sounds goofy, but for two packages of different colored paper (very inexpensive), you can cut them into five strips each and get a pretty decent size streamer around your room! Be creative and do one of the teams colors around the food and the other team’s colors around the T.V.

6. Use Your Computer! Have you found all sorts of neat graphics online that you’d like to use? If you have a color printer, why not use it! Print out some of these images and cut them out. Tape them on various surfaces around your apartment. It actually turns out quite nice (and really good for your budget)! Place them on the bathroom mirrors, the kitchen cabinets or on the fridge. It’s just a little bit of decorations everywhere without a lot of extra money coming out of your wallet!

7. Use The Dollar Store! I swear by this place to everyone! Seriously it’s amazing. Go here for your other items that you have to buy (i.e. paper plates, napkins, cups, utensils, table cloth, etc.). It’ll really save you money in the end and still be sufficient enough for your party! Other stores that are economical that might be in your area are: Dollar Tree, 39 cent store, Party City, etc.

Do you have anymore cheap ideas for decorations? Let us know! The more ideas you share, the more money in everyone’s pockets this Super Bowl Sunday (especially for any of you who have wagered on the game and might loose!!)

Many critics of this holiday would have you believe that this holiday was invented by the greeting card companies. That commercialism is how this holiday formed. But that just isn’t so. Yes, in present time Valentine’s Day is a highly commercialized holiday, ranking as the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, behind Christmas. But does anyone really know the history behind Valentine’s Day? Well, here’s a little synopsis to ease your cynical mind:

Valentine’s Day is celebrated on February 14^th (duh!). It is the day in which lovers express their love for one another traditionally by the giving of candy, flowers and other gifts. It is named after two early Christian martyrs named Valentine; Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni.

The day itself wasn’t actually linked as a romantic holiday until Geoffrey Chaucer in the middle ages.  Chaucer wrote a poem in honor of the first anniversary of the engagement of King Richard II of England to Anne of Bohemia.  The poem goes like this:

For this was on seynt Volantynys day

Whan euery bryd comyth there to chese

[choose] his make [mate].

And thus Valentine’s Day became associated with the desire to find one’s mate (i.e. the Lovers holiday). One can only imagine customs that made it what it is today; finding one’s mate, proving ones love, showing ones love, gifts for your love, etc. So while the greeting card and jewelry businesses thrive around February, the actual day has history & meaning.

Can you tell if this tree is real or fake?

With Thanksgiving behind us, the hunt is on for the ideal Christmas tree! Along with this honored tradition is a decision to make: real or fake? In today’s society, your decision on which tree to purchase can speak loads about you as a person.

So how does one choose? Below are some facts about each to help you decide.

With a real tree you get a warm fuzzy feeling when you bundle up and go searching for the perfect one. You also guarantee the smell of pine in your home for the entire holiday season. And of course, an environmental bonus- a real tree is biodegradable. Bet you also didn’t know that more than 100,000 Americans are employed by the live Christmas tree businesses, so you’d also be supporting local economies (not overseas workers) by purchasing a real tree.

However, with an artificial tree you get to reuse the tree for many years to come, which is kind of like recycling. The endless supply of pine needles on your floor will no longer be there and you won’t have to worry about pesticides that are used on real trees! They are easy to set up and easy to store. Plus, you can always buy candles that smell like pine trees to get the full effect!

So seeing the benefits of each, which one would you choose? I can say that last year was the first year I made a purchase of an artificial tree; all the previous years I had a real tree. And it looks like I’m not the only one. Artificial trees are steadily gaining market share. About sixty percent of U.S. tree-displaying homes are putting up artificial trees! Taking a quick poll of co-workers, half have real Christmas trees and the other half have fake.

Another cool thing I read about is that San Francisco’s Department of the Environment started a neat program. For $90, the city will bring a live, 7 to 9 foot potted tree to your home for you to decorate. After Christmas, the city will retrieve it and plant it in one of San Francisco’s tree-starved neighborhoods. The downside; the city doesn’t offer pines! But despite that minor flaw, the program proved to be successful, as it sold out of its stock of 100 in just four short days!

What are your opinions? Has anything you read here changed your views?

I just love decorating for the holiday season. But if you’re like me, you don’t have a lot to spend on Christmas décor-given that most of your budget is dedicated to gift purchases and food. So here are a few quick and easy (plus cheap) tips to get your apartment festive for the holidays without spending lot of money.

1. Decorate your apartment with bows. You can put them on chairs at your dining room table, door knobs for the bathroom/bedrooms, wreaths, baskets, etc.

2. Create your own wreath. Last year I made my front door wreath and it only cost me $20. Most of the ones that I saw were at least $25 to $50!! I bought a medium sized artificial wreath, a pack of bows, red berries and holiday ribbon. I arranged them in a way that I liked and bam, I’ve got a wreath that’ll last me a few years!

3. Let there be light. Candles are a perfect way to add warmth to the chilly weather; you should definitely get some that smell like the holiday season! Remember to never leave a burning candle unattended and be sure to extinguish candles when you leave a room. If you have pets and small children and do not wish to have real candles then consider using battery-operated flameless candles.

4. Table décor is a must! Whether you have plates, bowls, cups with a festive motif or use a table cloth, be sure to decorate your table as it is the center of your feasts this month! For inexpensive centerpieces you can use candles, a bowl of fruit (preferably with the holiday colors, i.e. apples), nature (twigs, pinecones, leaves, etc.), fake snow and many other creative ideas.

5. Use ornaments in other places than your tree. Another idea I did last year for a Christmas party was use left over ornaments. I used them everywhere. I strung up various shapes and sizes of ornaments on ribbon and dangled them on my staircase. Another great idea is to place colorful ornaments in a hurricane lamp, ceramic bowl, and festive basket or on a large serving platter (This makes a great centerpiece).

6. Make edible centerpieces. Fill glass jars or hurricane lamps full of Christmas candy (like the green and red mints). Tie a ribbon around the top and place them anywhere in the apartment. Another candy idea that works well around the apartment is candy canes. You can put them on your tree, dinning room table centerpiece, in cocktails and more! Letting each guest pick a candy cane out of the centerpiece is a great way to say thank you at the end of a holiday party!

7. Recycle your Christmas Cards. Use Christmas cards that people have sent you (this year and in years past). Place them on bookshelves or on the T.V. stand. I have also strung them up (by binding them to ribbon) on a spare wall (I did it over my breakfast nook). You could also string them along the staircase banister. In addition to that, you can use recycled cards to make name placement holders and coasters.

Many of these ideas I did last year and plan to do again this year. Do you have anymore cheap and easy ideas to decorate your home this holiday season?

ForRent.com would like to acknowledge all the celebrations that happen during the holiday season. Today at sun down starts Hanukkah!

Hanukkah is an eight-day Jewish holiday beginning on the 25^th day of Kislev, which may fall anytime from late November to late December. This festival celebrates the re-kindling of the Temple Menorah and is observed in Jewish homes by illuminating candles on each night of the holiday.

The number eight has special significance in Jewish theology. Seven is known as the number of days of creation. Eight, being one step after seven, would represent infinity. The number eight for Hanukkah symbolizes when the Maccabees returned to Jerusalem to rebuild their temple after it was destroyed. As they rebuilt the temple they searched for pure oil to relight the ner tamid, the “light that always burned.” They found only one jar of oil, enough to burn for one day. They used this oil to light the ner tamid, but rather than burning for just one day the ner tamid stayed lit for 8 days, enough time to obtain more oil.

On the twenty-fifth day of the Hebrew month of Kislev in 164 to 175 B.C.E., the temple was rededicated to God. The Jews celebrated for 8 days and Judah declared that an 8 day holiday called Hanukkah, or “dedication,” would be celebrated each year beginning on this day. This is considered the holiday’s miracle.

Hanukkah is celebrated by a series of rituals that take place every day during the eight day holiday. Among these rituals are additional daily prayer services and blessings after meals. The primary custom is to light a candle each night for eight nights, with the number of candles lit increase with each passing night. An extra light called shamash, meaning guard or servant is also lit each night. The significance of the Hanukkah lights is not for the ‘lighting of the house within’ but rather the ‘illumination of the house without’ so that passers-by should see it and be reminded of the holiday’s miracle.

The candles should be lit for at least a half an hour after it gets dark, although some backgrounds differ. On Friday night, however, the candles must burn longer, as they also acknowledge the start of Shabbat, which is the weekly day of rest in Judaism. There are typically three blessings that are recited during Hanukkah. On the first night, Jews recite all three blessings, on the following nights only the first two are recited.

The first blessing roughly translates to “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to kindle the Hanukkah lights.” The second blessing “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who performed wondrous deeds for our ancestors, in those days, at this moment.” And the third blessing, only to be recited on the first night, “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who has kept us in life, sustained us, and brought us to this moment.”

After the lighting of the candles a prayer is recited, which translates into: “We light these lights for the miracles and the wonders, for the redemption and the battles that you made for our forefathers, in those days at this season, through your holy priests. During all eight days of Hanukkah these lights are sacred and we are not permitted to make them serve except for to look at them in order to express thanks and praise to Your great Name and for your miracles, Your wonders and Your salvations.” In North America, it is a common practice to exchange gifts or give children presents at this time.

Source: Wikipedia

For most people the holidays are a stressful time. Grueling traffic, long lines and overspending on gifts just doesn’t put many in the holiday spirit! So to help you avoid (or manage) the stress better, here are five tips:

1. Be organized and know your spending limit. Create a check list to help you avoid any oversights or impulse buys. And remember what it felt like paying off last years bills, so don’t go overboard again this year! Expensive gifts won’t guarantee a happy holiday. Most people would be just as grateful for a moderately priced gift chosen with care (or even a handmade one made with love).

2. Eat healthy and Exercise! Even though it’s the holidays, don’t keep the mindset of ‘it’s okay to eat this, it’s the holidays!’ Gaining an extra 10 lbs isn’t going to make anyone feel better. You can still hold onto your healthy eating habits throughout the holiday season and remember to put exercise into your holiday traditions! Get out with a family member and go for a walk. Keep in mind that exercise is always a great stress reliever!

3. Keep your sanity with family! The holidays are a great opportunity to spend time with your relatives, but sometimes they can cause you additional stress. Not only are you entertaining a group of people, but if tension builds with your family it’ll make for an even more eventful holiday! So if you feel the atmosphere heating up, remove yourself from the situation until it clears. Also, be sure to include everyone in the plans so no one is left out and feelings aren’t hurt.

4. Give yourself plenty of time when traveling. Thanksgiving and Christmas are the busiest traveling days of the year, both on the road and in the air. So realize that everyone else is trying to be with their family on the holiday, and be courteous of others. Tis the season to be Jolly!

5. Be flexible. Try to keep an open mind this holiday season. No one’s Christmas has ever gone perfectly. Spills and squabbles are a part of the season, so don’t hold an unrealistic standard. Ask other people what they want to do and be willing to accommodate them. Take it all in and relax….have fun, it’s the holidays!

I hope these tips for dealing with holiday stress are helpful. I know I’m going to take them into account. Good Luck!

For Rent Media Solutions wants to wish everyone a Happy (and safe) Thanksgiving! Gobble, Gobble. So here’s a fun Thanksgiving Day Quiz and Fun Facts.

Thanksgiving Day Trivia:

How much do you know about Thanksgiving history? See if you can answer these questions below and check out some fun facts about turkey day too! (The answers to the quiz are at the bottom of the page)

1. In what year did the Pilgrims come to North America?

2. What was the name of the ship the Pilgrims sailed on?

3. What ocean did the Pilgrims sail across to reach North America?

4. Where did the Pilgrims ship land when they reached North America?

5. When was Thanksgiving day named as a ‘real’ holiday?

Fun Facts:

- Americans feast on 535 million pounds of turkey at Thanksgiving!
- Turkeys can drown if they look up when it is raining.
-The average person consumes 4,500 calories on Thanksgiving Day! (Now that’s a lot of turkey!)
- A wild turkey has excellent vision and hearing. Their field of vision is about 270 degrees. This is the main reason they continue to elude some hunters.
- A spooked turkey can run at speeds up to 20 miles per hour! They can also burst into flight approaching speeds between 50-55 mph in a matter of seconds. Domesticated turkeys, however, cannot fly.
-Did you also know that Benjamin Franklin wanted the national bird to be a turkey? (It was between a Turkey or an Eagle-aren’t you glad the Eagle won!)

Answers:
1. December 1620
2. The Mayflower
3. The Atlantic Ocean
4. Plymouth-Plymouth Rock
5. George Washington proclaimed a National Day of Thanksgiving in 1789, but President Lincoln made it official by proclaiming the last Thursday in November as a national day of “Thanksgiving”.