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It’s here! A brand-new year to look forward to at your apartment in Austin, Texas. With most of the world focusing on New Year’s resolutions this month, we thought we would save you some time and provide a list of tips to improve your home life at LeMontreaux. We scoured the internet to find the best ideas for spit-shining your home and office in 2022.
Our list comes from a variety of websites that focus on living the good life in apartment settings like ours.
Here is what we found so far. And if you have any other tips, feel free to post them on our Facebook to share with family and friends.
Time to Spit-Shine
• Declutter your cabinets
• Throw out outdated food in the cupboard
• Give the fridge a good scrub
• Organize your spices alphabetically
• Sweep the corners and clean the baseboards
• Wash the dishes you did not use in 2021
• Clean off the countertops
• Give your curtains or blinds a good bath
• Give the tub, sinks, and oven a good scrub
Organize Your Space
• Plan your meals once a week
• Stash the seasonal décor (under the bed works really well!)
• Replace your batteries in clocks, smoke alarms, and other important gadgets
• Donate the clothes you have not worn in a few years
• Sort through your house goods (towels, pillows, sheets, etc.) and donate used items to your local pet shelter
Streamline Your Life
• Unsubscribe to emails you do not read
• Set up autopay to save you time
• Mark of ‘Me Time” on your calendar to do something fun, or nothing at all
• Set realistic deadlines and stick to them
• Make faster decisions
• Learn to delegate
• Find time for quality time
• Try something new every month
• Find a new hobby
• Cut back on-screen time
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Earlier this month we shared some of our top tips for spring cleaning. The article was so popular we decided to do more research to help you get your apartment in Austin clean and shiny this spring!
Coffee Filter Cleaners
One of the most affordable tools in the house is probably sitting next to your coffee cups in the cupboard. Time to pull them out and put them to a new use! Did you know they worked really well as a dust rag? Just wipe and toss and you will be on your way.
Even better, when placing food into the microwave, top it off with a coffee filter and say good-bye to spaghetti stains and other colorful sauces that used to pop all over inside!
Shoe Storage Savior
The next time you cannot find a match for your left shoe or right, go out to the local liquor store and pick-up a wine box. It is the perfect home for storing your shoes together and saving space at the same time.
Computer Cord Caddy
Just before you toss that toilet paper or paper towel tube, hold on to it! They are the ideal solution for gathering all those computer cords into one tidy bundle. This works for electrical cords as well so save those handy cylinders and repurpose them today.
Another ideal container that works well for this same purpose is pipe insulation. We got some at the hardware store and found that the ½ inch is the ideal size for seizing the mess under our desks.
Pie Plate Dustpan
For quick clean-ups of spilled dirt, sugar, flour and more, keep an aluminum pie plate handy. Cut it in half, clean up your mess, and toss it all away into the trash.
Glove Dust Magnets
Here is a great tip for dusting off the knickknacks around your apartment in Austin. Grab a pair of ‘cotton’ garden gloves, spray them with your favorite natural cleaner, and dust all those small accessories that have collected dust over the winter months. This ‘fingertip’ cleaning tip is one of our favorite ways to keep our keepsakes clean throughout the year.
Designer Drawers
When was the last time you could not find something in your bathroom drawer? Gone are the days of trying to find the lip balm or toe-nail clippers! We have found that a silverware drawer insert is the ideal solution for sorting out all sorts of stuff that deserves its own space.
If you have any more ideas that we should share with your neighbors at our pet friendly apartment community in Austin, send them our way! And in the meantime, the best of success to you in your spring cleaning endeavors!
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With spring officially around the corner, our team at Le Montreaux apartments in Austin, Tx, knows exactly what that means: It is Spring-Cleaning Season.
Luckily for most of us, all the things we need to clean our apartment without the harsh chemicals that are included in most cleaning agents, are right here in our kitchen. Here is your list of items that will help you leave your apartment at Le Montreaux spic and span!
- Vinegar
- Baking Soda
- Lemon Juice
- Salt
- Borax (or similar product)
- Plastic Spray Bottle
- Clean Soft Cloths
By following the tips on how to naturally clean your apartment in North Austin, TX, below, you will end up with some simple and affordable ways to clean your carpets, bathrooms, windows, and kitchen, without the intrusion of chemical fumes.
White Vinegar
Place mixture of ¼ part vinegar and ¾ parts water into a spray bottle. Then get to work. I have found this combination to work well to remove hard-water spots throughout by bathroom, and well into the kitchen where it works to remove the spots on my coffee pot and other glassware. It is a good one to take with you when you are washing windows or need to get gooey stickers off products that you recently purchased.
When it comes to cleaning drains, my neighbor told me about the power of White Vinegar or Cider Vinegar. It is much better for your pipes than any of the more toxic products.
It is also great for getting any lime scales or stains on your sink, shower, or tub.
One more plug for the power of vinegar. Mix a cup of vinegar with a few tablespoons of olive oil and a few drops of lemon juice – then go give your furniture a fresh and lemony dusting and polishing.
Lemon Juice
I bet you have never thought about putting lemon juice in your wash machine. Using a half cup of juice for every gallon of water will brighten those light and bright spring whites in no time. For tougher stains on your clothes, or your countertops, just spray the juice (no water) right on the stain, let it sit, then wash or wipe it down.
We have also used lemon juice to clean our toilets. Grab some baking soda and mix it with lemon juice – then use this paste to make your toilets lemony-fresh and clean.
If you are using lemons, and not the purchased lemon juice product, the juice from a fresh lemon works wonders in the fridge. Just cut it in half and leave it on the shelf for a week or so. You will know when it is time to toss it in the trash.
Baking Soda
Make a batch of this non-toxic abrasive cleaning product by mixing the baking soda with equal parts of salt.
Apply the mixture on a wet sponge or cloth and head to the bathroom to spit-shine your sinks and tubs.
This works wonders when cleaning your refrigerator. Got fresh stains on the carpet? Rub a bit on the spot, leave it for about an hour, then vacuum it out. It should remove any unwanted smell as well.
One more note about baking soda – for your teeth. Really! Add a touch to your toothpaste then brush away!
Now that’s a shine that you can appreciate for years to come!
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Earlier this month, we started to take you on a tour of our apartment at Cantera in an effort to share our ideas about organizing your apartment in El Paso, TX. As promised, this edition continues our quest to cross off our New Year’s Resolution to simplify our lives and get our home more organized in 2021!
Buy One, Donate One
This is a rule that has lived for generations in our family. And we encourage you to do the same. It’s simple: When you buy something new, donate something old. You will be amazed at how good you feel in the new dress/shirt/coat when you know you have helped someone less fortunate enjoy what you did for years.
This rule can apply to anything and everything in your pet-friendly apartment in El Paso, TX. Now that Christmas has come and gone, maybe the new towels and sheets are everything you wanted. Your local pet or homeless shelter could use those towels/sheets/bedding more than most. Time to donate! Ditto for toys, cookware, tools … you get the idea!
To keep this in motion, take those items you want to donate and put them in your car. This step makes it much easier to get them out of the house and on their way to a local thrift shop!
If you need more inspiration, find the book by Marie Kondo entitled: The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up! Within this short yet inspirational read you will learn all about finding the “joy” in your possessions.
Get Rid of the “Never or Hardly Used”
To make things easier on my sister and me, my Mom (at the age of 93) has done an amazing job of going through her “stuff” and either donating, tossing, or sharing her possessions. As hard as it may be to ‘let go’ of possessions you have had forever, it will be much easier on those you leave behind. The start of a new year seems to have a unique power within itself to make this process much easier, and more enjoyable for all involved. As this is always a tough subject, let us recommend another book: it’s called The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson.
Invest in some Lazy Susans!
Organizing shelves, particularly in the kitchen, can be overwhelming. From the spice cabinet, to the bathroom, under the sink and bed, you will be amazed at how small investments in Lazy Susans can make you feel more organized. The ability to turn a jam-packed spice shelf into a visual turntable will make the art of cooking seem so much more fun. Oh, and be sure when you put your new turn-able into a place that your spices are in alphabetical order. Really!
If it seems odd to place a Lazy Susan in your closet to spin around that fancy selection of shoes, a shoe rack is in your future.
One more note about storage gadgets: we always use the first of the year to go through our summer clothes, donate what we no longer want, and then stash them for next year in clear ‘under the bed’ storage containers. This leaves us with much more space in our closest and the feeling of being ready and organized for the next season to come.
Let your personality help you get organized!
While researching more ideas to add to our blogs, we came across a very intriguing subject: Organizing our home by our personality.
From our home to yours, we wish you all the best of success in organizing your apartment in El Paso, TX.
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Welcome to 2021! If one of your New Year’s Resolutions is to get your apartment in Austin, TX, a little more organized and welcoming, our January blogs are for you!
Starting a new year gives us every reason to toss the past behind us and focus forward on the good things in life. With so many of us spending more time at home, this may be the best resolution to put at the top of your list!
We have just walked through our apartment at Le Montreaux and used that tour to develop our own list of how we will start the process, today! On behalf of our entire team, we wish you the best of success in streamlining and organizing your apartment this month!
Happy New Year!
Welcome Home!
We all know about ‘first impressions.’ How’s yours … as friends and family walk in the door. Shoes on the floor, coats hanging off the edge of the closet door? Perhaps your plant has seen better days? To get started on your new resolution, go outside, and then walk in and take a visual inventory. If you are pleased with what you see, fabulous! You are on your way.
If not, time to tidy up the entry. And that does not mean just throw everything in the closet. It will be there when you need to repeat that habit the next time. Maybe it’s time to donate a few jackets to the local thrift shop. Perhaps you need a small bench for the variety of shoes and boots? Whatever you can do to make that closet purposeful and not a holding tank will be a super first step to getting your entry welcoming and clutter-free.
A Kitchen is for Cooking
Are your countertops cluttered with unread mail or perhaps missing bills? Has your kitchen table become a mailbox holding ground? One of the fastest habits to break that will bring the purpose of your kitchen back to work is tossing your mail or various stacks of paper where they belong -before you land in the kitchen.
We have added a new and colorful basket right by the entry of our apartment. When we come home, we stop and assess the mail at the entrance to our home. Bills go in one pile, the useful paper goods (like our favorite magazines) go to into the basket for further review, and all other unwanted materials go directly into the trash which is conveniently located under our sink in the kitchen!
Our neighbors did it differently – yet their system works. They bought several rectangle baskets, labeled them, and placed them on a shelf. Bills into one bin, cards and other personal items in another, and junk mail in the final basket for review or removal when time allows. They also finally convinced us to go to online billing and contact the publisher of unwanted magazines to remove our name from their list.
Bedrooms are for Sleeping
There’s a favorite chair in our bedroom that brings back endless memories of family time gone by. Prior to our reorganizing spree, you could not see it as it turned into a “clothing catcher” of all sorts. Today, it proudly sits awaiting our return to enjoy some quiet time with a good book. The piles of clothing now have their own designated space. They are either placed on hangers (we bought quite a few for a great value) or live in a hamper to await laundry day.
Stay tuned to our next blog later this month for more top tips on how to organize your apartment in 2021!
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One of the most frustrating aspects of apartment living can be organizing your refrigerator. Sometimes, it seems like it can never stay clean and organized for a week, let alone a few days. Sifting through your fridge when it’s time to eat only to come across expired food or empty containers is no fun. Thankfully, there are some easy ways to keep everything neat and tidy, even though it seems impossible. Here’s your complete guide to refrigerator organization.
1. Label the Doors
The doors of your refrigerator can easily be home to all kinds of jars and bottles if you’re not careful. When you reach for the hot sauce, you may end up grabbing the coffee creamer. You can solve this by labeling your doors. One can be dairy, another can be for non-spicy condiments, and another can be for salsas and hot sauces.
2. Use Baskets
Did you know there are baskets, drawers, and bins you can buy for your fridge? This is one of the easiest methods for keeping like items together. You can even go one step further and label each basket to make it even simpler. Get baskets that slide out for the utmost convenience.
3. Stack Beverages
Soda cans, beer bottles, and water bottles can take up a lot of space in your refrigerator. There are various beverage dispensers and organizers you can get to save space. Not only does stacking save space, but it also gives you easy access to your cold drinks.
4. Keep Ready-To-Eat Foods
Keep the items you use most often in the front of your fridge, preferably on the top shelf. This includes snacks, yogurt, and deli meats. If you want to try to cut down on unhealthy snacking, put healthy options like fresh fruit or veggies up front to make it easier.
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With spring just around the corner (March 20th), we wanted to help our residents at Le Montreaux Apartments get motivated to start spring cleaning. With help from MarthaStewart.com and HouseBeautiful.com we compiled a yearly ‘To-Do List’ before the weather gets hot again and everyone wants to spend time having fun in the sun! We know how much fun Austin can be!
Start by cleaning out your closets.
Ever just stuff some clothes in there to get them off the floor? Or is it overflowing with bulky sweaters and coats? Now is a good time to pack your winter clothes away and make room for a spring and summer wardrobe. Make sure to make a donation pile for the items you don’t really want, use, or need anymore. When in doubt, throw it out!
The freezer is your friend.
If you don’t like to be inside cooking in the hot summer months, use your freezer. Prep meals that freeze well and that can be reheated quickly to speed up dinner. Grilling is also a quick way to serve up dinner on hot summer nights.
Organize!
Separate your cleaning supplies into buckets for where they are for such as bathroom, kitchen, laundry, etc. If you’re feeling extra motivated, create labels for each bucket. Now is also a good time to go through medicine cabinets and throw out old and expired products. You will be better able to determine what products you might need to stock up on and which ones to skip.
Clean House.
A clean house is a happy house! Deep clean the entire house so that when you clean again it will be quick. Here are a number of items that sometimes get overlooked when we clean house.
The dishwasher. Use a specialty dishwasher cleaner to ensure the dishwasher is clean and can effectively clean your dishes. This should be done monthly.
Entire countertop surfaces. Clean the entire surface and don’t forget to get the backsplash.
Cabinets. Take the time to wipe off the tops and front sides of the cabinets where dust and grease can settle and build-up.
The refrigerator. It’s a good idea to take all the shelves and drawers out and wash with soap and water and wipe down the interior of the fridge.
The oven. At least once a year we should deep clean our ovens from top to bottom. Here’s an almost effortless way! Just warm up the oven to 150 degrees, turn the oven off, and then place a small bowl of ammonia (1/2 cup) on the top rack and a large pot with boiling water on the bottom rack. Let it sit overnight with the oven door closed and then wipe clean with some dishwashing liquid and a rag or sponge.
Bedding. Pillows, comforters, dust ruffles.
The washing machine. You can purchase a specialty cleaner or use white cleaning vinegar for the washer to ensure mold and mildew don’t build up and cause a stench you can’t get rid of. Leave the washer door open when not in use so it can dry out and further prevent mold and mildew.
Windows. Clean the inside of each window but also make sure to clean the outside of the windows to remove dirt and grime that built up over winter. House Beautiful’s pro tip is to wash on a cloudy day, so the cleanser doesn’t immediately dry on the windows.
Carpet. According to House Beautiful, the carpet should be professionally cleaned every 18 months in areas that don’t have a lot of traffic and three or four times a year in high traffic area.
Complete Unfinished Projects. Finish up and projects you started over the winter to make time for the new ones come spring when the air is fresh, and the temperatures start to rise.
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