Springtime is drawing near, and that means it’s time to shake off the winter blues and start readying your home for warmer weather. With that in mind, below are a few things you can do now to prep your interior for spring, before it’s officially time for the big spring clean.
Prevent Pests – To make sure that you don’t spend all spring swatting away flies and other pests, check all your window and door screens. If you notice any small holes or tears, now is the time to alert maintenance before the warm weather hits.
Invite Air Flow In – If a warm day comes your way, take a moment to open some of the windows to allow fresh air to circulate through your home. After being closed up all winter, it’s nice to let some clear outdoor in to your space. Also, now is a great time to ensure that your AC works before the heat and humidity arrive.
Clean Out The Food – After the holidays, we’re often left with lots of food items that we wouldn’t normally eat or purchase, and they tend to linger in our fridge, freezer, and pantry. If you have some uneaten cookies in your cupboard, frozen ham in your freezer, or a container of cranberry sauce in your fridge, toss them! It’s a great first-step in moving toward a cleaner, healthier spring
Several 1st Lake Properties communities are about to debut a fresh new look. Some exciting renovations have been underway to creatively expand the interior space at many New Orleans area apartment rentals and to give the exteriors a facelift.
Current and prospective residents will be delighted to find extra space converted into sunrooms, offering plenty of natural light and nice outdoor views. These improvements have been made to the Cypress Creek and Willow Creek apartments in River Ridge, the Lakes of Chateau Estates South apartments in Kenner as well as the Camelot Court and Windmill Creek North Metairie apartment rentals. Also included in the Windmill Creek renovations are washers and dryers in each apartment for added convenience.
Residents of these apartments will be able to use this new space for a number of purposes, whether it’s for a guest room, office space or reading room. The new additions don’t stop there. In addition to these extra sunrooms, each building has been resided and repainted with new colors, with even more beautiful outdoor landscaping.
Now residents will have even more to enjoy at home at the rustic and peaceful New Orleans area apartments both very conveniently located in great neighborhoods close to New Orleans.
Do you feel like you could use a little extra storage in the kitchen? Well, you’re not alone. Most people run into this problem at one time or another, and there’s a simple solution. And, it doesn’t require adding extra storage, instead it’s all about maximizing the space you currently have available! Below, we’ve addressed a few key areas that often need addressing, and offer some tips about how to keep your kitchen cabinets organized.
Corner & Deep Cabinets – These cabinets often become a catch all. Before you tackle your storage issue, the first thing to do is clean out the cabinet completely. Look through everything that you had in the cabinet, and if you haven’t used an items in the last 2 years donate it, or put it in long term storage. For corner cabinets, a 2-tiered lazy-Susan is often a great (inexpensive) investment, as it enables you to easily access the deep recesses of the cabinet so that you can maximize your storage space.
Under The Sink – This is another area that always tends to be messy. It’s full of cleaning supplies, kitchen necessities, and obstacles like pipes. Again, the first step is to clean it out, survey what you have, and consolidate duplicate items. Also, if you have large bulk items stored under the sink, considering storing just what you need for the time being, and putting the excess in another spot in your home. To maximize your under-sink space, look into getting a floating shelving unit that fits around the pipes so that you have two layers of storage available. You can also look into getting a shelving system for the inside of the cabinet doors for extra spots to put things.
Plan It Out – This may seem obvious, but make sure you put things in places that make sense. Store your glasses in the cabinet closest to your refrigerator or sink, keep pots and pans near stove, and store your baking trays near the oven. If you group like things together, you’ll cut down on clutter, and also have an easier time finding what you need!
We live in a reformed world where thinking globally and with the environment in mind is important for making the planet a better place to live right now and in the future. Whether or not you are concerned with energy efficiency or you just want to lower your electric bill, there are some simple practices and tools that can accomplish both at once.
If your apartment has central air, ask your property manager about installing a programmable thermostat if there isn’t already one. One of the biggest power suckers that is also one of the easiest to fix is plugged in power outlets. There are eco-friendly power strips that can be purchased to eliminate excessive use of power outlets and decrease the amount of energy expended. You’ll just need to remember to unplug the power strip cord from the wall outlet for it to be effective. See, we told you turning your apartment into an eco-friendly home was easy.
Speaking of easy, there are several other easy ways to cut down on power use. One way is to check your water heater settings and make sure it’s not set too high. If you’re having to turn down the heat significantly, it probably is and it can be lowered to a comfortable temperature while using less energy. Other ways are to regularly replace your air conditioner’s filter so the air conditioner doesn’t have to exert more energy than normal to do its job and use energy efficient light bulbs.
Every little bit helps, and if you follow these simple steps, you’ll be doing the earth and your bank account a favor.
Check out the many energy efficient apartments that 1st Lake Properties has to offer!
Many of the 1st Lake Properties apartments in the New Orleans area have been busy over the past few months with philanthropic efforts and giving back to the communities they love. Residents have done their part to be good samaritans, benefiting others as well as themselves.
Managers and residents of the Citrus Creek apartments for rent in River Ridge held a “Warm a Life” clothing drive during the entire month of January. “Our expectations were overwhelmingly exceeded by the amount of donations received,” said Property Manager Christine Ward. Citrus Creek East collected large boxes of items, mostly gently worn coats, shoes, shirts, socks, pants, pillows and blankets. All of the donations will be delivered to the New Orleans Mission. All residents that donated were entered into a drawing to win a free oil change from Auto Empire. Citrus Creek West also contributed to the donations.
In December and January, residents at the Kenner apartments of Lakes of Chateau Estates North and South donated new and gently used coats for the Coats for Kids Foundation.
Both Citrus Creek and the Sugar Mill West apartments in Kenner participated in blood drives in December with substantial turnouts, providing many donations to the Blood Center. Sugar Mill West is holding their next blood drive on February 23 and residents who donate will be rewarded with a free ticket to the Home & Garden show on the same weekend.
As you can see, 1st Lake Properties fosters communities that lend a hand to the less fortunate. If you’d like to be part of this good company, check out the many New Orleans area apartment rentals we have available.
1st Lake Properties | P. O. Box 73709 | Metairie, LA 70033 | info@1stlake.com
