You’re Sniffy, You’re Sneezy, and it’s Time to Blame your Apartment

September 4, 2007 | By Alissa AuthorMy First Apartment

With the seasons changing, if you’re feeling aglow with sneezing, scratchy throat, and itchy eyes, you could very well be allergic to pollen. What you might not know, and might not want to know, is that it could also be due to factors within your apartment, especially if you live in a vintage walk-up or…

Organizing Your Desk (and Other Miscellaneous Things)

August 15, 2007 | By Amanda AuthorMy First Apartment

An organized desk… nothing beats it. This is the one area of my humble abode that has a tendency to sometimes get out of hand. Like most things, the battle is in the maintenance. Here are some of my favorite tricks to keep a desk organized. Like all tips that I pass along, please feel…

Don’t be a product hoarder!

June 4, 2007 | By Amanda AuthorMy First Apartment

I was at a dinner party over the weekend and mentioned that I just began writing an “organization column/blog.” Before I could start my next sentence, a guest (a female, 20-something, fashion design major) screams out, “I am the biggest product hoarder ever!” After a few confused faces and giant sips of wine, another guest…

No wire hangers! Tips for an organized closet.

May 24, 2007 | By Amanda AuthorMy First Apartment

Closets… Many of us have forgotten what a real one even looks like. Since the majority of us don’t have the luxury of having a walk-in closet, having an organized one is essential. (By the way, in case you’re wondering what’s behind the left side of my closet, I have no idea. It belongs to…

Let’s get organized!

May 16, 2007 | By Amanda AuthorMy First Apartment

Hi there! My name is Amanda and I’m an organization addict. It started with simple to-do lists and finding pleasure in crossing off each completed task, and has now spread to making sure every single thing in my apartment has a purpose and a place. My objective here is to help you, too, get organized…

Laundry-O-Rama

March 14, 2007 | By Alissa AuthorMy First Apartment

Our clothes go through a lot of wear. By jove, just this very day, during lunch, a fellow co-worker and I participated in crab-walk contest and in my haste to the finish line, ended up dragging my sweater across the dirty blacktop; now, it looks like my sweater has a black eye. And, no way…

Flooded Toilets and Ants, Oh My!

December 20, 2006 | By Alissa AuthorMy First Apartment

When my toilet flooded for the second time in a week yesterday morning at 6:00 A.M, I wanted to argue with it. I wanted to chastise it for being so thoughtless during the holidays. Didn’t it know that I was out late the night before altruistically looking for presents for others? I did not deserve…

Adventures in the Shower

August 2, 2006 | By Kate AuthorMy First Apartment

There’s pretty much nothing I like less than cleaning the bathroom. There’s just too much room for nasty. So usually I do it as infrequently as possible. With two boys and I sharing one aging bathroom, though, it’s reached a severe level of gross on my homeland hygiene monitoring system. Red alert. Mental alarms sound.…

Kate’s Apartment

July 26, 2006 | By Kate AuthorMy First Apartment

Managing your first a apartment is a constant learning experience. I, for example, just learned what mouse poop looks like. My boyfriend, who grew up in the country, pointed it out. “Are you sure those aren’t just really stale Rice Krispies?” I asked, crossing my fingers. I’m not bigoted, but I hate varmints. “Don’t worry,”…

Is This Still Safe to Eat

November 23, 2005 | By MFA Editors AuthorMy First Apartment

If you follow some basic, common-sense rules about handling your edibles you can avoid the nasty effects of food poisoning. These rules are compliments of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. How Long Can I Keep It? Refrigerate all perishable food within two hours, or one hour if the temperature is over 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Wrap…