Freezing Cold Precautions Around your Apartment
Posted on February 11, 2009
Filed Under Apartment Living | 11 Comments
Maybe you are just now experiencing winter this year or maybe you are in an area that’s been hit several times by the freezes, ice overs and wintery mixes. There are a number of things that you can keep in mind to help make your apartment life a lot easier during these times of cold.
Drip, Drip, Drip- First off, protect those pipes! If you are expecting an overnight freeze, it is very important to leave one of your sinks dripping to prevent the pipes from freezing, busting, and your apartment building having a terrible leak.
Plants are People Too- Okay, so plants aren’t really people of course, but they are effected by freezes just as we are and can in fact be killed by being stuck out in the freezing cold. So, if you have plants on your porch, you’ll want to bring them inside if possible. If you can’t bring them inside, cover them with some bed sheets, to try and help sheild them from the blistering cold.
Pets- Bring any and all pets inside. Just because they have fur, means nothing in the face of a wintery mix.
Heaters- Crank up the heaters to be safe. With a central heating unit you should be in good shape, but to prevent your electric bill from sky rocketing, be sure to turn off the heater when your apartment is not being occupied. Try not using space heaters if possible, but if you do, always remember to use them safely!
Layers and Blankets- Break out the ugly old ski jacket or the millions of blankets. Whatever you need to do to maintain your comfort, do it! Trust me, staying warm is well worth the embarrasment of a silly old jacket, or the work of getting your old heavy blankets out of storage.
Parking Lot Care- If the roads freeze over and you absolutely must drive on the iced roads, use extreme caution everywhere…especially in the parking lot of your apartments. Let your car heat up a little before you begin driving and be careful if you are sliding around in the parking lot.
Many of us love the winter, but we ALL need to take the right precautions and most importantly, be cautious of the dangers and prepared to overcome them.
Watch the video related to apartment living tips
a chance to visit it. Well, on June 1, finally, I was on my way to explore Prague, one of Europe’s most popular tourist destinations. I took the train from Vienna, enjoyed a great conversation with a young Czech lady from Brno who is now living in Berlin, and finally around 3 pm I made it into the Holesovice Railway Station in Prague. Later that afternoon and evening I took a personal tour of the Old Town area with local expert Jitka Simkova and her colleague Karel. We started on St. …
Help answer the question about apartment living tips
Tips for moving into a third floor apartment?My boyfriend and I are currently renting a house but are soon moving into a third floor apartment. neither of us have ever lived in an apartment and are not quite sure what to expect. we also have a lot of furniture and not very much moving help. any tips on how to make moving and apartment living easier? Thanks!! :]
hiring moving help would be ideal but we're on a VERY tight budget :[
About Author
As a Managing Partner of Apartment Home Living, Jeff wants to help you find the right apartment by getting to know you. At AHL Apartmentites have a platform to share their own stories, get great info & tips on apartment living, read Jeff’s entertaining blogs/stories, and have a ton of fun sharing their love of apartment living with others. Don’t forget to go and set up your own MyPlace page to really get the full Apartmentite experience!
Comments
11 Responses to “Freezing Cold Precautions Around your Apartment”
Leave a Reply
LOL
Loved this video! 5/5
Dear travelandtransitions
Can you rate my new video on 1,000 subscribers and comment on it! Thanks!
Please do this to help each other!
Also, you are saving the world (That’s nice) by doing this!
Make sure you read your leasing agreement thoroughly and understand that when you move out—they can charge outrageous fees for cleaning. Also, (if you haven't already signed a contract) make certain you want to live with your roommate! Even if you are best of friends—-living with someone changes everything! Just keep your bills in order and pay them on time and you shouldn't have any problems! Also, watch out for noise complaints! I hope you got an upper level apartment because the lower and middle levels are the noisiest!
WD-40, duct tape, a good pair of scissors, paper clips, a magnifying glass, a pair of sensible shoes and a sturdy file cabinet. Seriously.
Using the navy shower technique can keep you from freezing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAr1hdExL-w
A similar technique should work on your pets. Washcloths are good to spread the suds and clean yourself without having to subject yourself to a cold stream of water.
If the water temperature coming from the tap is below the room temperature, you can draw water into a washtub and leave it overnight so it's not as cold to use in the morning when you wash up.
If you have a gym or Y membership or are a student, you can take showers at one of those places. Just pack a change of clothes.
With respect to hygiene, the temperature of the water will not affect how clean you get. Using soap, water of any temperature, and friction is what gets you clean:
https://www.healthforums.com/library/1,1258,article~11399,00.html
expect a mess, flatulence, scratching of the testicles, burping, walking around half naked, beer, aftershave smell, and be sure to look before you sit when going to the bathroom
Ramen noodles. You can get a 10 pack for like $1.50. Also buy a big bottle of liquid dish washing soap, such as dawn. It works good for cleaning dishes, floors, and other flat surfaces. Hell I even use it when I take a shower. Make sure to turn off lights and keep your blinds closed during the day to keep the rooms cool. I use a lot of plastic forks and paper plates to avoid having to wash dishes (which costs money). I usually schedule all my business for the afternoon so I can sleep late and not have to eat breakfast.
You already know about Ramen do not forget peanutbutter and jelly and mac and cheese too! Cutdown on all expenses such as CABLE – rid the cable bill and limit yourselves to a few rental movies or even NEtflix is a great deal. If you need internet go down to your local library it is FREE or even at your College too. Get rid of LONG DISTANCE and cut your cell phone bill usage and keep track of your minutes! If you have cars then cut on the gas and carpool with eachother or other friends and everyone takes turn driving or pitches in gasoline. You can also leave the car at home due to rising gasoline prices and take the bus or ride a bike (to the store, to classes). Both you and the BF should sit down ASAP and write a list of things you buy every month, your normal bills, your expenses and start crossing off the list and cutting down from what you do not really need. Stay away from take out and fast food. It is surprising how FAST it all adds up. Good luck and hang in there! Plan out a budget and STICK TO IT.
Make sure you can pay your rent, by whatever means. The single most important thing about being on your own is earning your right to be independent. How you go about doing that is as varied as personalities are. This is the key to making it on your own. "By whatever means necessary" (Not including criminal acts of course!)
There are many easy things that you can do to help live a more sustainable lifestyle. For instance:
1) Simple little things around the house such as: installing dimmer switches and programmable thermostats; purchasing energy star appliances; and installing CFL/LED light fixtures are all easy and simple things that you can do to help save the heating and electric bills. You could ask the owner if it is possible to haveenergy efficient doors and windows installed (break it down to him/her on how much energy can really be saved if it is done).
2) The bathroom and kitchen are actually the two rooms that consume the most water. Install aerators on the faucets in both rooms, and use low-flow shower heads in your shower (older shower heads use 3-6 gallons of water per minute whereas newer low-flow models use less than 2 gallons of water per minute!). Again, discuss with the owner about replacing your toilet with low-flush toilets which can save you over 14 litres of water per flush (older toilets use 20 litres of water per flush whereas newer ones use 6 litres of water per flush). Or if this is not possible, you could place a sand-filled water bottle in your tank of your toilet (a small 500 mL water bottle is fine) where this can save you 2-4 litres of water per each flush.
3) Plants: they help to filter and clean your indoor air naturally. Just place house plants throughout your home (while they do eventually die, they are very pretty to have as decoration, help to add a nice smell to the home (reduces your use of chemical odourizers such as Febreeze and Air Wick). They remove chemicals from the air and reduce airborne contaminants. Use peace lily, English ivy, Boston Fern and Philodendron.
4) BYOB (bring your own bag!). In the United States alone, over 100 billion plastic bags are used each year, however only 1 percent of these bags actually get recycled. Bringing an eco-friendly tote on your next shopping spree is one of the easiest earth-friendly changes you can make. Purchase and use stainless steel water bottles. When you decide to get rid of your old unwanted stuff, dont throw it out in the trash but instead donate it to the local thrift shop or salvation army (unfortunate families would be very thankful of your generosity, plus surprisingly many people now are shopping at thrift stores to live an eco-friendly lifestyle). Donating used books, CDs and DVDs to the library is also another great idea.
5) A cool new trend that has emerged is planting your own garden in your windowsill or balcony if you have one. One cool way that I have started planting tomatoes is in an upside down plastic 2L bottle. Check out my website for more information on how to do this, and for more ecotips!
Good luck with greening up your apartment!
My mom lives in a 2 bedroom apartment and she uses one for a bedroom and one for her "storage" room. She has lots of cardboard boxes wrapped in contact paper and stacked up on their sides and uses them for cubbie holes. She only keeps stuff sitting out like lamps, ashtrays,little flower arrangments,and stuff like that,so it doesnt look cluttered. She keeps all her stuff in her "storage room". She also only uses half her cabinet space in her kitchen for what few dishes she needs. a few plates, some silverware and about 4 glasses. That keeps down on dishwashing and she uses her cabinets and drawers for other things. Oh she uses alot of stackable bins in her bathroom too. hope I helped.