Are You Making These Hosting Mistakes?

"Holiday Cookies" by Whitney is licensed under CC BY 2.0

‘Tis the season for holiday gatherings! If you’re inviting friends and loved ones over to your apartment this season, or have in the past, you understand that hosting is hard work and can be stressful! While your friends and family don’t expect every single detail to go perfectly, there are some main areas you can focus on to make sure your guests have an enjoyable experience! These are mistakes you’ll want to avoid at your holiday party, courtesy of Apartment Therapy.

1. Expecting guests to help themselves to food and drink.

Don't expect that your guests will know to help themselves to the beer in the fridge, or that they'll be able to find those cookies tucked away in the back of the kitchen. Guests may not be comfortable enough in your house to go hunting around, so make sure everything is in plain sight.

2. Not thinking about flow.

When you're arranging furniture and thinking about where to locate food and drinks, consider how people will move through the house. Generally everyone is going to walk in the door and then go straight for the food and drink, so make sure there's a clear path to the goodies. Think about places where bottlenecks will form and try to eliminate them by creatively moving furniture — if, for example, you have a small kitchen, putting out food in a different room will keep everyone from winding up uncomfortably jammed into a tiny space.

3. Thinking you have to provide seating for everyone.

Unless you're hosting a dinner party, your guests will probably spend most of the party on their feet, chatting. Usually people will only sit down at the very end of the party, when most guests have already left, so provide one or two conversational groupings of chairs, but don't feel like you have to have a seat for every single person. You don't want to wind up with a whole roomful of people, awkwardly standing around a bunch of unused chairs.

4. Serving food and drink that take a ton of prep on the day of.

If you have your heart set on on serving handcrafted cocktails at your party, hire a bartender (or enlist a friend to do the honors) — otherwise you'll spend your whole party mixing and shaking, secretly resenting your guests for having such a good time. Pitcher drinks will make your guests just as happy, and allow you to enjoy yourself too. The same goes for food that requires elaborate preparation — opt for something simpler, or even better, supplement with some appetizers from the frozen food section. With some creative plating, your guests will never know the difference.

5. Not having a plan for music.

You don't have to hire a band or come up with the World's Most Creative Playlist — but you do need something playing when guests arrive. Music provides a little background noise to make people comfortable during those awkward introduction stages, and it also helps set the tone for the entertainment to come.

6. Forgetting to check the thermostat.

A bunch of people all together in a little room = lots and lots of body heat. If you're having a large gathering, you'll probably want to do something — turn of the heater, open up windows, maybe even turn on the A/C for a little while — to cool down the room before people arrive, so you don't wind up with a sweltering apartment two hours later when it's too late to do anything about it.

7. Leaving your guests to introduce themselves.

Especially if you've invited friends who don't know anyone else at the party, don't just welcome them and put a cocktail in their hand and then leave them on their own. Make sure to introduce them to one or two other folks at the party so they're not floating around on their own.

8. Trying to do everything on your own.

Hosting a party is more than a one-person job. No matter how much you prepare ahead of time, you'll probably find yourself scrambling to get things ready at the last minute. If you enlist help — a spouse, a family member, a close friend — you'll be able to spend the first few minutes of your party greeting your guests, and not running around in the kitchen while they awkwardly stand about. (And chances are your friends will be happy to help.)

9. Forgetting to relax and enjoy yourself.

Which party would you rather go to — an event with perfect decorations, food, and drink, with a stressed-out, frazzled host, or a less closeup-worthy event where the hostess is relaxed and having a good time with her guests? Your guests feel the same way. You're the host, and your mood will set the tone for the rest of the party — so relax, have a drink, and let the little things work themselves out.

5 Things to Take Care of Before Your Holiday Travels

"Stuttgart Airport at dusk" by Andrei Dimofte is licensed under CC BY 2.0

The time is almost here for those long-awaited days off and heading out of town for the holidays! Of course you’ll remember to pack and wrap all of the presents, but there are some things to take care of before you leave that are probably at the bottom of your list, if they’re even on there at all. Don’t forget to take care of these quick tasks, courtesy of Apartment Therapy, before you leave town!

1. Clean out stinky spots

The trash cans (not just the kitchen one — think about cans in your bathrooms, office or bedrooms), dishwasher, fridge and coffee maker can all be nightmares to come home to if they've been left full of stuff to rot and get stinky while you're away. Empty them all out before you go, but also give them a quick swipe to clean them.

2. Security check

Doors, windows, garage door — are they all closed and locked? Are blinds and curtains closed? Are you leaving a car at your place? Make sure you don't have any valuables in sight. Leave a light on or check your light timer. Can you go a step farther and lock gates to your home and other entrances, too? Make a quick sketch of your floor plan and all the things that need locking, and make check marks as you walk around the house. You can keep that sheet with you as you get on the road in case you get any of those "did I lock that?" feelings.

3. Save energy and protect from damage

Unplug all your electronics. Check the heating system and your water heater — are they turned down low to save energy? Even consider shutting off the water lines to your washing machines to avoid leaks or accidents while you're away. Make sure all your appliances are turned off like the stove, oven, coffee maker and others.

4. Water plants

Give all your green lovelies a nice long drink before you go, and move them to the optimal spot in your home — where the best light is and a spot where they won't get cold drafts (if that's something they wouldn't like).

5. Make sure your neighbors have the info they need

If your neighbors are watching your home for you while you're away, make sure they have keys to everything, phone numbers (and alternative numbers) to reach you if there's ever a problem. If they're watering plants, make sure they know how much and when to do it. Let them know if you'll need the garbage cans brought in or to the curb. Typing up a quick FAQ sheet to leave for them is often helpful.

Hiring a Moving Company

"Moving in" by Patrick Stahl is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

There’s a lot to think about if you’re planning a move -- from packing, to apartment searching, to creating a budget. In a long-distance move, a huge part of that budget is hiring a moving company. Here are some tips from Apartment Guide to keep in mind when researching a moving company to both find reputable movers and to save money.

Don’t Get Scammed

Learning how to save money on moving isn’t without its lumps. If you hire a company based on low pricing, and they turn out to be scam artists, you could lose money and your property. While staying within your budget is always important, take the following steps to hire reliable professional movers and avoid scammers:

• Make sure the company is licensed and insured.
• If a mover is quoting you a price that is too good to be true, it probably is.
• Have the mover do an in-home estimate to get a feel for their professionalism and to get a better idea of what they will charge. Most professional won’t guarantee an accurate quote without one.
• Ask for referrals from friends and family, and look for online reviews. You’re less likely to be scammed by a business that has provided satisfactory service to others.

Compare Companies

Now that you have a list of professional movers that won’t scam you, it’s time to take a look at their quotes. The price variations probably have a lot to do with the extra services they offer. Ask for an itemized quote and take note of services you don’t think you’ll need. See if any companies are willing to lower their prices if you drop any extras.

Downsize

Some companies charge a flat moving fee, while others charge by the time and materials it will take to move your possessions. You may be able get a better deal on moving services if you can reduce the amount of items that need to be moved. Donate things that you don’t absolutely need to charity or move smaller items such as clothing, bedding and dishes with you in your personal vehicle.

Be Aware of Extra Costs

Movers often charge more for moving large or specialty items. It may make sense to have a couple of friends come over to move your jet ski instead of paying extra for the movers to do it for you.

Movers may also charge extra for packing and moving appliances. If your new apartment already has appliances, and you will just be putting your old ones in storage, it may be a good idea to sell your extra appliances before the move. This will prevent your from paying extra moving costs and give you more cash to use on your relocation.

Pack it Yourself

Avoid a packing fee by doing all the packing yourself, which can drastically reduce your moving company’s fee. Packing yourself also ensures peace of mind in knowing everything has been packed safely.

Negotiate

Remember, it never hurts to negotiate. Movers know they are competing with other companies to get your business, so they may be willing to lower their quote to match or beat their competition. This is a good tactic if you like a moving company more than its competitors, but its fees aren’t as affordable.

Book It Early

Some movers will charge last-minute booking fees, so you can save money by scheduling well ahead of your moving day. Call your moving company to see when the best time to book would be. Some movers may also lower their quoted prices if you’re flexible on what days and times they can move your items.

It’s also important to make sure that your items can be moved into your apartment right away when the movers arrive. If a company has to wait, you may be charged for the trouble. Double-check with your landlord about when you can move in to avoid any hold ups on moving day.

Cold & Flu Season Kitchen Essentials

"Tea for two" by Naama ym is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

Whether we want to think about it or not, cold and flu season is right around the corner. When you’re not feeling your best, the last thing you want to do is leave the house. So while you’re healthy, make sure you stock up on these sick day essentials, courtesy of The Kitchn, so that you’re back to health as quickly as possible!

The Drink Essentials

Herbal Tea: Make sure your stash is well-stocked, as herbal tea is probably the #1 go-to drink for most of us when we get sick. Black and green teas are nice too, but don't soothe the throat quite as well.

Honey: Tea by itself is fine, but tea with honey is extra soothing...

Lemons: ... and even more so if you add a squeeze of lemon. In fact, why not just go ahead and make this ginger honey and lemon tonic? The shot of whiskey in the recipe is optional, but highly recommended. (Trust me.)

Ginger and/or High-Quality Ginger Ale: You'll want fresh ginger for the tonic above, or to make any one of these stomach-soothing teas. You may also want to pick up a bottle or two of high-quality ginger ale — the kind made with real ginger, not just ginger flavoring and sugar — when you're feeling like a little light carbonation would be helpful.

Orange juice or oranges: Give yourself an extra shot of vitamin C with a glass of orange juice, even better if it's freshly-squeezed. (But hey, you're sick! Do whatever is easiest.)

The Food Essentials

Chicken soup: It's not all in your head; there's scientific proof that chicken soup really does help soothe cold symptoms, so buy a few cans for your pantry, or make and freeze a big homemade batch. Looking for the perfect soup recipe? Try one of these → 5 Soups to Soothe a Cold and From Chicken Noodle to Egg Drop: 10 Soothing Broth-Based Soups.

Applesauce: An essential part of the BRAT diet, applesauce is low in fiber but has lots of calories, so it's easy on a delicate stomach.

Bread for toast: Keep a loaf of sliced bread in your freezer, and you'll be so glad you have some bread around when you can't keep anything else down.

Quick-prep frozen meals: If your stomach isn't the problem and you're just wallowing in a head cold, quick-prep frozen meals (like these Trader Joe's recommendations) mean you can get some food in your system fast. You can also reheat one of these excellent freezer meals.

Your favorite comfort foods: This is different for everyone. What makes you feel good when you're sick? Maybe it's something from childhood, like mashed potatoes or a bowl of ramen noodles. Whatever it is, pick it (or the ingredients to make it) up the next time you go to the grocery store.

Do you have any secret cold and flu fighters?

Organize Your Apartment Search

"agenda" by JessicaMasulli is licensed under CC BY 2.0

The process of finding a new apartment reminds us a lot of how it felt as a high school junior looking at colleges. There are deadlines to keep straight, tours to schedule, applications to fill out and more. As an adult searching for an apartment, we have a lot more commitments than we did as a high school student. So how do we keep everything neat and organized? Follow these ideas from Apartment Guide, so that your perfect apartment doesn’t slip through the cracks!

Take Lots of Notes

Did the one bedroom on First Avenue have laundry in the unit, or was that the studio downtown? If you see numerous rentals during your apartment search, the details about one apartment start to become muddled with the amenities of the next.

Take copious notes while you tour apartments so you can keep the rental properties straight in your mind. Label the top of each set of notes with the address of the apartment and the name of the complex, when applicable. You might feel like you’re back in school, but taking notes now can spare yourself a lot of confusion later.

Create a Detailed Online Calendar

Rather than relying on a system of Post-It notes that could be destroyed by a strong breeze or overzealous housekeeper, put your faith in an online tracking system. Let your Google Calendar (or similar) be your best friend during an apartment search.

Make a calendar event for each open house, private rental viewing and rental application deadline. Also create a calendar alert for when each unit is becoming available. Update the calendar with the notes you take at a rental viewing so you can track the highlights or downsides of each apartment in one place. If you’re online calendar has an app, download it to that you can update it at any time to ensure that everything is up to date.

Have a Filing System

Even though most of your apartment search appointments can be stored in an online calendar, you may still walk away with some paperwork after a viewing. Rental applications, credit check forms and apartment complex brochures all need to be kept in one place.

Create a filing system using a filing cabinet or folders placed in a designated drawer. Put all paperwork for each property into a separate file. Always remember to organize your paperwork as soon as you get home from viewing an apartment that is going on your short list.

Take Pictures

Creating a mental picture of a rental is great, but even with detailed notes you may forget how big the closet really was in a particular apartment. Ask the property manager if you can take a few snapshots with your camera.

Even just a few shots of the living space and bedroom will help jog your memory when you try to remember important details about the layout. Label all pictures appropriately as soon as possible so you remember which apartment listing they belong to.

Start Eliminating Apartments Early

Keeping a long list of possible apartment rentals will only complicate matters, so it’s best to start eliminating apartments early on in your search process. Rather than maintaining a list of every unit you see, set aside or throw away the rental applications or photos of units that you already know you’re not interested in.

Work toward creating and maintaining a short list of possible new homes. As you add a new apartment to this list, make yourself eliminate one to prevent the list from getting out of hand. Remembering the details of just a few units allows you to remain organized and not become overwhelmed with information.

Searching for a new home involves a lot of planning and plenty of paperwork. To ensure that you don’t miss out on a great property due to a lost application or a missed deadline, learning how to stay organized is absolutely vital. The best units in your city will have you competing with other renters, and staying organized is your secret weapon for getting the best apartment on the block.

10 Thanksgiving Best Practices

"Thanksgiving dinner" by japharl is licensed under CC BY 2.0

Thanksgiving is a day for food, family and fun - not stress. Whether you’re hosting Thanksgiving for the first time or the tenth time, sometimes you need a few reminders to put the day into perspective, instead of running around the kitchen frantically. Keep these pointers from Apartment Therapy in mind as  you plan your Thanksgiving dinner.

1. Modest is Perfect

Thanksgiving is the most modest of holidays (and one of the few shared by all) and doesn't want to be decorator fancy. It wants to be about gratefulness for plentiful food at harvest time and survival after a long year in the New World. With this in mind, focus on the food and keep your decor seasonal, simple and harvest based. This is not about glitter and bling, people!

2. Leaves, Branches & Berries

Every table I've ever decorated has been done with what I've found outside on the day. The raw and authentic shapes and colors in leaves, branches and berries (and flowers, sometimes, when down south) are stunning and simple reminders of this special time of year.

3. Eat Early - When The Sun's Still Up

I am a big fan of skipping lunch on Thanksgiving day and having an early supper. It shifts the momentum of the day, makes it a much more relaxed meal and allows the food to settle long before bedtime. As a rule of thumb, I recommend sitting down before sunset (4:30pm is sunset this year), so invite folks for 3pm and sit down before 4pm, and you're golden. For those that like to take a walk after the meal, start 30-60 min earlier!

4. Sit Close & Have a Long Table

For most dinner parties I worry about having too many people around a table or being too tight in my home. Not so Thanksgiving. Invite the people you love, take in strays and don't worry that everyone is sitting shoulder to shoulder. If you can get everyone at a long table and get them close to one another it will be intimate, cozy and great.

5. Move Between Courses

With a long meal like this you really have the luxury of taking your time and creating natural breaks between courses. This stimulates conversation and digestion. Start with drinks on the sofa, then sit at the table and then retire to the kitchen or living room again for or before dessert. Go for a walk before dessert even and let the kids run around. Don't rush it!

6. Passing: Many Sides, Little Dishes

Thanksgiving is a meal of side dishes and there's a huge advantage to this. If you serve family style, have people bring their favorite dishes and then get some crazy passing going around your table you will have MORE fun. The complication and multiplicity of this type of collaborative meal is what Thanksgiving is all about, and the passing of dishes engenders new levels of communication and social bonding.

7. Enjoy Dark Colors

Personally, I'm a big fan of diving into the deep colors of Autumn when decorating the table or the room and think that only Thanksgiving - of all holidays - gives full license for this. Dark colors are warm and cozy, so add to your leaves, branches and berries with dark napkins, tablecloths, flowers, candles, plates or dishes.

8. Read Something Aloud

Beyond giving a toast and because this is not a religious holiday, a birthday or an specific historical person involved, I love to center the meal around reading one thing aloud. Of course you can say grace, but reading something aloud that puts the meal in context and brings up the images associated with the real historical time in which it grew out of is a nice way of bringing everyone together. There are many poems about Thanksgiving, and if you want a really nicely written history, this one from The Writer's Almanac is one of my favorites:

"Today is Thanksgiving Day. In the fall of 1621, the Plymouth colonists had barely survived the previous winter and had lost about half their population. The Wampanoag people and their chief, Massasoit, were friendly toward the Pilgrims and helped teach them how to live on different land with new food sources. A man known as Squanto, a Patuxet living with the Wampanoag tribe, knew English because he had been a slave in England. He taught the settlers how to plant corn, beans, and squash and how to catch eel and shellfish. The Pilgrims built seven houses, a meeting place, and storehouses full of food, so they invited the Wampanoag Indians to feast with them. Harvest festivals were nothing new; both the English and the Wampanoag had similar traditions in their culture.

At the first Thanksgiving, they didn't eat mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, and they probably didn't even eat turkey. The only two foods that are actually named in the primary accounts are wild fowl and venison. The meal was mostly meat and seafood, but probably included squash, cabbage, corn, and onions, and spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and pepper.

Unlike our modern Thanksgiving, this event wasn't just one day. Many of the Wampanoag had to walk two days to get to the Plymouth settlement. There were about 50 English people and 90 Wampanoag, and since there wasn't enough room in the seven houses for the guests, they went ahead and built themselves temporary shelters. In between eating, they played games and sports, danced, and sang.
Thanksgiving has been celebrated as a national holiday on different dates, but on October 3, 1863, in the wake of victory at Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln decided to issue a Thanksgiving Proclamation declaring the fourth Thursday in November national Thanksgiving Day. In 1941, Congress made it official."

9. Make Something

In keeping with the modest tone and family centered feeling of the holiday, making something for the table or the guests is a great idea. Anything is good, and you can simply carve out gourds to place votive candles in them or make place cards. Here is a list of a whole bunch of good DIY's. I also love the little one I found in the picture above: carve out some apples and serve a good strong drink or mulled cider in them!

10. Kid's Table

If you're doing Thanksgiving with kids, give them their own table. I know that I said to seat everyone together, but I think young and old alike always appreciate their own space to have the meal at their own pace. I also think that children appreciate being a little independent at Thanksgiving and helping one another instead of having their parents wait on them. A Kid's table is an opportunity to have some fun and even have your kids help you set it up. When they run off to play, you won't have to collapse your seating at the main table to get closer to one another.

25 Winter Survival Tactics

"Approaching Park Avenue" by Josh Madison is licensed under CC BY 2.0

It’s only November and winter hasn’t officially begun, yet the term “polar vortex” has already made an appearance in the weather forecast. If you are a member of the crowd that does not particularly care for the cold and snow, then this list is for you. These hacks from Apartment Therapy will make the winter more bearable and get you to work a lot faster in the morning!

1. Cover your windshield wipers with old socks before storms. Ice won’t build up and make it hard to use them. Similarly, cover rearview mirrors with plastic bags.

2. Park your car facing east to take full advantage of the sun.

3. Make your own windshield washer fluid from 1 quart alcohol, 1/2 cup water, and 1/2 teaspoon regular dish detergent.

4. After taking off wet shoes and boots, stuff them with newspaper to absorb moisture quickly.

5. To take advantage of passive solar, open up curtains during the day to let the sunshine and heat in.

6. Prevent drafts by installing foam cutouts behind outlet covers on the walls.

7. Make your own hand warmers with resealable plastic bags and ice-melt pellets.

8. Cover your windows with bubble wrap for added insulation.

9. Reverse your ceiling fan to keep warm air at floor level versus in your stairwell or ceilings.

10. Pre-warm your bed with either a hot water bottle or electric blanket. Stick your pjs in there to get them all toasty before you get changed for bed.

11. Wrap foam pipe insulation around the bottom of exterior doors to prevent drafts.

12. Fill a shallow plastic tray with rocks to store your boots when you come in from the snow.

13. Spray pipe exterior and joints with WD-40 during the winter to help prevent them from bursting.

14. Use tin foil behind your radiator or heating vents to reflect heat back into the house.

15. Use a disposable razor to get rid of your sweater pills.

16. Make DIY boot toppers out of old sweaters.

17. Make homemade sidewalk and driveway de-icers.

18. Rig some thermal curtains to temporarily install over your windows.

19. Make your own fire starters.

20. Skewer a dryer sheet with the bristles of your hairbrush, and leave it on to get rid of static while you brush your hair.

21. Spray your shovel with nonstick cooking spray, or WD-40, before you use it so snow doesn't stick to it.

22. Attach mitten clips to your cuffs (and loop around your insole) to keep your pants down while wearing boots.

23. Save money by closing the heater vents in rooms you aren’t using.

24. When faced with a frozen lock, use heat rub intended for sore muscles. Hand sanitizer (with 60% alcohol) or a key heated by a lighter, is also rumored to do the trick.

25. Keep moisture in the area with a teakettle or saucepan of water boiling on the range or wood stove. Add mulling spices for a nice scent in addition to the more humid air.

What tips do you have to make the winter seem a little less harsh?