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Each year, millions of people make New Year’s resolutions that fall short. That’s why we hope our Belden-Stratford community members in Chicago, Illinois, find these strategies helpful.
Start Your New Year’s With a KISS
One of the common pitfalls of making a resolution you are unable to successfully fulfill is making it too complicated. Consider the adage Keep It Simple, Silly by selecting something manageable. The idea that you will drop 50 pounds or complete a master’s thesis in under three months can just become overwhelming. It’s not that you cannot accomplish these or other goals, it’s just they might be too big for a resolution.
Set Incremental Resolution Goals
In terms of achieving your goals this year, it’s essential to lay out reasonable objectives. A common strategy among athletes is to set monthly goals that are not difficult to attain. That might sound less challenging than you might like. But the value in making seamless monthly goals is that by the end of 2020, you can multiply them by 12. Making 12 small goals can tally up to a big win.
Enlist the Support of Friends & Loved Ones
During the 365 days that you will be carrying this resolution, it’s bound to get heavy. That often results in significant setbacks such as binge eating when striving for weight loss or twisting an ankle while training for a 5K. Whatever the goal may be, there are ways it can get derailed. People that include friends and loved ones to share their resolutions can help each other at crucial moments. Not only will your success be more likely, but so will that of your inner circle.
Take Copious Notes
Keeping track of your incremental accomplishments provides a physical record. This is important because you can look at a journal or notes on your smartphone and review the gains you have made. It also delivers motivation by highlighting that your resolution is that much closer to achievement.
Practice Self Care
Making a New Year’s resolution doesn’t mean you joined the ranks of Spartan warriors. Going hard for 52 straight weeks is bound to get boring and, perhaps, discouraging. That’s why it may be worthwhile to have some planned indulgences. Taking two steps backward after taking 10 forwards is still a net gain of eight. Enjoy life a little.
We hope our Belden-Stratford residents find these tips useful. If you or a friend would like more information about our Chicago apartments, call us today.
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Safer, Healthier Ways to Clean Your Chicago Apartment
Apartment cleaning isn't always about scheduling top-to-bottom professional makeovers. Sometimes you just need to deal with a sudden spill, dusty environment, ugly stain or a bit of baked-on food. At the same time, however, you hate the idea of using caustic, toxic or potentially damaging cleaning methods. Here are a couple of tips for keeping your apartment looking fabulous the natural, non-toxic way.
Non-Toxic Cleaners for Sparkling Surfaces
Nobody likes the thought of adding caustic or poisonous cleaning agents to countertops, carafes, cutting boards, and other objects meant to hold food. Fortunately, you can achieve your cleaning goals with a non-toxic mix of distilled white vinegar and water. Simply spray this mixture onto the surface and then wipe it away. For stubborn soap scum or calcium deposits, apply undiluted white vinegar and let it sit until the deposits come off easily. Do you want to disinfect a surface without covering it with chemicals? Add some lemon juice to your spray mixture, spray your surface, and wipe clean. Do you need to remove a spot on your carpet? Drop a teaspoon of shampoos into your vinegar-water solution. Spray the spot, let this minimal amount of solution work its magic for a couple of minutes, and then dab the carpet dry.
Dust-Busting Filters for Cleaner Air
Regular dusting and vacuuming is an important part of keeping any apartment clean and maintaining the quality of the air. This task becomes especially critical if you suffer from allergies to dust, dander, or mold. To ensure that your air vacuum cleaner, air purifier, or HVAC system is intercepting even tiny particles, invest in HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) filters. These filters use a combination of glass fibers, activated carbon, and/or electrostatic charges to remove particles as small as 0.3 microns from your air. That means less airborne dust entering your lungs — not to mention cleaner carpets, floors, upholstery, and other apartment surfaces.
If you're just plain ready for a change, no matter how spotless you keep your current apartment, then maybe it's time to step up to the Belden-Stratford. Contact us today to ask about our stylish, comfortable apartments in Chicago!
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For many Windy City lovers shopping for apartments in Chicago IL, the garbage disposal is a must-have for the kitchen. They make life easier by ensuring that your sink doesn’t get backed up, and you never need to worry about food accidentally going down the drain. Sometimes things don’t go completely down, sometimes they get backed up, and sometimes they don’t smell so sweet, though. Here’s how to keep your garbage disposal happy and your kitchen smelling fresh and clean.
Clean Your Sink
If your garbage disposal is smelling funny, sometimes all that’s needed is to make sure the area around your disposal is clean. Clean your sink regularly, paying attention to the top of the disposal entrance and outer rim. Then periodically take a toothbrush and clean the interior feeding tube with baking soda, making sure there’s no risk the disposal will turn on while doing so.
Add a Splash of Citrus
While citrus fruits and peels won’t actually clean your disposal, they will ensure that it smells fresh. Feed all your peels into the disposal. After you clean your disposal, cut an orange, lemon, or lime into quarters and feed the slices one at a time into the disposal while running hot water. Allow the disposal to keep grinding for a few seconds after the fruit has been passed through.
Clean With Salt and Ice
While older disposal models had blades that could be dulled by ice, newer models use a grinding mechanism to pulverize food. The best salt for disposal cleaning is coarse kosher salt or rock salt. Pour ice into the drain, filling it up completely. Turn the disposal on and slowly pour a half cup of salt into the drain. Turn on the hot water afterward to rinse the drain.
Vinegar and Baking Soda
For deep-cleaning and smelly odors, the fizzy chemical reaction of baking soda and vinegar can help remove the lingering residue of greasy ingredients. Pour a cup of baking soda into the disposal and then add a cup of vinegar. Let it sit for at least 15 minutes. Then pour boiling water into the drain to clear it. Tip: Do not use chlorine bleach to clean your garbage disposal.
If you’re shopping for Chicago, IL apartments, you want a well-appointed kitchen. For more information about the kitchen amenities available at the Belden Stratford community, come by today and check out our available floor plans!
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Whether you use Siri, Cortana, Alexa, or Google Assistant, you probably know the basics of using a smart assistant. But, when shopping for apartments in Chicago, IL, you may not realize all the ways you can integrate your smart assistants into everyday apartment living. Here are some ways to set up your new apartment to maximize their usefulness and improve your life.
Keep Up to Date
With your smart assistants, you don’t need to commit to reading the news every morning, or even read your own text messages and emails! You can ask your smart assistant to read the news to you, update you on the weather, or keep you updated on your messaging.
Set Important Alarms and Reminders
As long as you are near your smart assistant you can set an alarm or reminder whenever you need one. Making plans with your mom on the phone? No need to fumble awkwardly with your speakerphone — just tell your smart assistant to set a 20-minute timer for your vegan blueberry muffins. Need to set a wakeup alarm but don’t want to get out of bed? Just tell your smart assistant to wake you up at nine.
Control Your Entertainment
Your Alexa or Google Home allows you to manage your radio streaming and music playlists anywhere in your Chicago, IL apartment. You can even stream shows and rent movies directly to your TV with a voice command. No need to search for that remote!
Keep Your Apartment Safe
One of the best things about smart assistants is that they allow you to keep an eye on everything. You can connect your smart assistant to your artificial intelligence or facial recognition technology system and allow you to check-in, or send you alerts of suspicious activity no matter where you are.
Connectivity in Any Room
The main attraction of having a smart assistant is the ability to stay connected no matter what room you are in. You can play music through your whole apartment, answer your phone even while taking a bath, or set important reminders while making dinner. Many apartments have open floor plans, so you’ll only need two or three smart assistants instead of four or five.
To ensure your new Chicago apartment is fully optimized for your smart assistants, come check out the floor plans at The Belden Stratford today!
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Whether you need a spot to pay bills and organize family schedules, or you are living the laptop lifestyle and working remotely from your apartment, you may need a home workspace. Try these tips for setting up a home office that is both stylish and functional.
Create Multifunctional Spaces
Establishing a place to work does not mean you need to dedicate an entire room to an office. Take a look at your floor plan and find a room that can do double duty. Consider placing a desk in a seldom-used guestroom, in the dining area or even in a spare closet. Whatever room you choose, consider the placement of windows and electrical outlets when placing your desk.
Visually Divide The Space
While you could use a room divider to separate work from living spaces, you can also use color to establish zones. One option is the stick to a neutral color palette throughout the room and accessorizes the work and living spaces in different, yet coordinating, shades. Another option is to use temporary wallpaper in the area around the desk to establish the work zone.
Find The Right Desk
Making the most of your multifunctional space may mean thinking outside the box when it comes to your desk. Happily, there are many options with little or no footprint. Look for wall-mounted desks that fold away when not in use. If you need to keep office supplies or files, consider desk options with built-in storage that eliminate the need for additional furniture or filing cabinets.
Think Vertically
For additional storage, make use of vertical wall space. Floating shelves are stylish and provide loads of storage without visual clutter. Use coordinating baskets and bins to organize paperwork or other small items out of sight.
Get Comfortable
No one is productive when they are uncomfortable, so invest in the right chair. Ergonomic desk chairs will provide support through long work hours. For a workspace tucked into a dining area, try adding an extra cushion to one of the dining chairs. Or, for a bedroom workspace, try a cushioned armchair that does double duty at the desk and as a comfortable seat in the room.
At The Belden Stratford, there are many floor plans which are ideal for creating a home workspace. If you are looking for apartments in Chicago, IL with flexible floor plans, give us a call today.
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Having an apartment — whether it's your first rental or one where you've lived for a long time — gives you a lot of freedom. You don't have to worry about exterior or interior maintenance, and you can just enjoy everything the city has to offer. You won't get as much enjoyment out of the city if you're always in your apartment trying to keep it clean, though. That's something to think about. But should you hire someone to clean for you, or would it be better to do it yourself? That's a fair question, and one that really has to be answered on an individual basis. Here are some things to consider when making your decision.
What Would You Do With Your Time?
With all the Chicago apartments to choose from, why did you pick yours? If you haven't found an apartment yet, what are you really looking for? Whether the apartment is easy to clean might not be something you consider when you become a resident. Fortunately, most apartments aren't hard to clean. When you're trying to decide if you're going to hire a cleaner or do it yourself, think about what else you would do with the time you won't spend cleaning. If that activity is extremely important to you and you wouldn't have time for it otherwise, you might want to hire someone to clean for you.
Make Sure You Choose Quality Help
If you decide you want someone to clean your apartment for you, even on an infrequent basis, you'll want to hire people you can trust. Not all cleaners are the same, and you want people who will do the job right. That way you're really getting your money's worth and you won't spend any extra time having to re-clean something that wasn't done correctly. Your time — and your money — are very valuable. Take care of both of them, whether you decide to clean your apartment or have someone else do it.
Looking for a new apartment and keeping it clean doesn't have to be difficult. We can help you find the right location so that you can love your new space no matter who cleans it.
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Living in an apartment is all fun and games until you realize the neighbors upstairs are heavy walkers. Noise complaints in an apartment complex are difficult to deal with, mainly because there is very little that can be done to address the issue. The chances are that your neighbors upstairs aren’t involved in late-night tap-dancing contests, and it’s unlikely that your neighbors are actually blasting their TV with oversized speakers. Even the most well-insulated apartment complexes are subject to noise issues, and complaining to your property manager is not going to get you much more than a bit of empathy. However, there are ways that you can insulate your apartment to make your home less subject to the intruding noise of your neighbors.
Here are a few strategies that can help you reduce unwanted noise in your apartment:
- Pad the floors. Using throw rugs and carpeting where possible can make a huge difference in insulating some of the noise in your apartment.
- Use tapestries and drapes. Just as rugs will help to alleviate some of the noise and echoes from the flooring, using plenty of textiles on the walls will help to reduce environmental noise.
- Position furniture strategically. Lining shared walls with your couch can help to reduce the impact of noise from that shared space.
- Use white noise machines. Investing in a white noise machine or making a habit of having light music playing in the background as you go about your business can help to block out unwanted noise as well.
- Turn on the ceiling fan. Using a ceiling fan can help to reduce the amount of noise you hear from upstairs neighbors.
Dealing with unwanted noise from your neighbors is frustrating, and unfortunately, it is a common reality for so many who live in apartments. While there are certain situations in which unthoughtful neighbors will make a bit too much noise, chances are that you can significantly reduce your risk of feeling bothered by these unwanted noises by making simple changes. By being strategic with your design choices and utilizing technology in smart yet considerate ways, you can reduce the amount of noise pollution impacting your home — and perhaps even feel a little bit more friendly toward your neighbors.
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Did you get a Lazy Susan as an apartment warming present? This compact spinning kitchen organizer has been popular for generations. However, it can be used for a lot more than just organizing condiments and spices in the kitchen. A Lazy Susan may be used in just about any room in your apartment. Here are a few ideas:
Bathroom Toiletries
The bathroom is one area that can quickly get cluttered. This is especially true if you share the space with family members. Instead of having toothbrushes and other toiletries migrating around, corral them in a Lazy Susan. One with several shelves or sections lets you keep people's items separate.
Craft Supplies
If you're a crafter or have artistic kids, you know how these small, miscellaneous supplies tend to accumulate. A Lazy Susan lets you keep brushes, crayons, craft scissors, paints and more conveniently in reach. You can store on top of it whatever project you're currently working on.
Houseplants
Rest a medium-sized houseplant or a collection of smaller pots atop the Lazy Susan. You can store fertilizer, a watering bottle, etc. on the lower shelves. As a bonus, give it a quarter spin every day to make sure all parts of the plants get light from the window.
Toys
Kids want to be able to see and access their toys. Parents want to not be stumbling over plastic trucks and stepping on Legos. Compromise by storing smaller toys in a Lazy Susan. This is also a great way to put up 'families' of stuffed animals or toy accessories like doll clothes.
Jewelry and Accessories
A lot of busy professionals want to add style with bangles or cool sunglasses, but they never seem to get around to it. Locking accessories away in a closet often means 'out of sight, out of mind.' With a Lazy Susan, your small items will be in view but not in the way.
Comfortable Living in the Windy City
At the Belden-Stratford, you'll find Chicago apartments that are spacious and offer a wide range of amenities. We have a number of floor plans to suit busy singles and growing families alike. Contact us today to see what's available and start the application process.
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Tourist traffic and airport layovers may not sound like a relaxing way to spend your vacation. If that’s the case, we hope our Belden-Stratford residents in Chicago, Illinois, enjoy these staycation suggestions.
Unplug Your Life
Time away from the hustle, bustle, and stress of work is bound to follow you if bosses and coworkers believe you can be contacted. There are colleagues who take the job home and want to share. There’s the boss who never takes a vacation and doesn’t respect personal time boundaries. And, of course, the disgruntled coworker who wants to text and email about daily gripes. The fact of the matter is that we are all electronically accessible unless we fully disengage our electronic devices. Yes, that means everything. You may discover peace and tranquility on your staycation.
Binge Watch a Series
The whole binge-watching phenomenon can be a terrific way to spend uninterrupted downtime alone or with friends. Consider ordering snacks, finger food, and beverages of your choice and settle in for a popular or off-beat series. These are some suggestions.
- Game of Thrones
- Grey’s Anatomy
- Friends
- Final Destination movie franchise
- Star Wars franchise (in chronological order)
- The Blacklist
- James Bond movie franchise
- Madmen
- Doctor Who
- Monty Python’s Flying Circus (TV or movies)
The point is to embrace total mindless entertainment and recharge your batteries.
Check Out the Local Free Scene
It may seem odd, but plenty of people are not entirely in tune with the great free things in their local area. Guide pamphlets and social media posts sometimes feel like nuisance advertising. But it may surprise you just how much fun and relaxation you can get nearby without spending a dollar.
Consider checking out free art gallery nights, museums, parks, sightseeing, and outdoor concerts. There’s an entire network of people who further the fellowship of living and enjoying the local community. Take a moment and simply Google “free stuff near me” and see what turns up for your staycation.
Plan a Personal Pampering Day
Spending a leisurely staycation ought to be topped off with some time devoted to pampering yourself. Consider booking a spa day, three-hour massage or some personal indulgence. Whatever pampers your boat, book it. You deserve a dream staycation after all.
We hope our Belden-Stratford community members find these staycation tips helpful. If you or a friend would like more information about our Chicago apartments, call us today.
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One of the best things about having your own place is being able to entertain guests when the mood strikes. If you are thinking about having friends and family over this summer, you may be looking for some ideas for the event. We believe residents of The Belden Stratford apartments in Chicago, IL will get a kick out of the following summer party ideas.
Throw a Decade-Themed Event
Give your guests a reason to get dressed up in their favorite throwback costume by having a party aimed at a specific decade. Here are some ideas on the type of party you could throw.
Decade-Themed Ideas
- A 20s party with jazz playing
- A 50s party complete with poodle skirts and leather jackets
- A 70s party featuring bell bottoms and lots of crazy prints
- A 90s theme complete with grunge clothing and those fun ski hats
Choose any period that gives your guests the chance to be creative. Make it more authentic by serving foods that also suit the era.
Put Charity at the Center
You can have a good time while still giving back to the local community. Find a local charity in need and ask your guests to bring items to donate. That could be anything from old clothing to items like deodorant that charities have a hard time getting themselves.
It is an excellent way to keep others in mind while enjoying the company of your favorite people. That doesn’t mean you should cut back on having some good tunes playing to get everyone dancing! Cap things off by announcing a final tally of everything collected and thanking your guests for their generosity.
Have a Mid-Summer Christmas Party
Sometimes Christmas can seem too far away with the sun shining so brightly. Who says you must wait until December to start enjoying eggnog and gingerbread? Put up some Christmas decorations and ask people over to enjoy your mid-summer Christmas festivities.
Have Santa hats at the ready along with plenty of candy canes to give out. Take things up a notch by having a White Elephant event, where guests can spread around (or get rid of!) Christmas gifts or other items from years past. Adding a little mistletoe at strategic points can also make things fun!
Let us know how the party went or contact us for any other needs you have by calling The Belden Stratford at (866) 452-6177.
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