Add a Tool Kit to Your Apartment Essentials

July 19, 2010 | By MFA Editors AuthorMy First Apartment

Our Bloggers Wanted ad got a huge response and brought in a whole bunch of good first apartment ideas. Here’s one from Kasey, who is a junior at UCSD and just got her first apartment. “The one thing I suggest for any new apartment renter is a good tool kit. It doesn’t have to be…

How to Make your Bathroom So Clean it Sings

March 27, 2010 | By Alissa AuthorMy First Apartment

I’m having a house guest this week and as I walked around my house, I couldn’t help but notice…yuck. The bathroom was down right gnarly. There was that yucky bathroom dust over toilet, sink, tub and the like. I know that cleaning once a day takes about five minutes and that’ll let you avoids the…

Girl vs Rank, Disgusting Fridge

July 26, 2009 | By Alissa AuthorMy First Apartment

When I moved into my apartment, two roommates moved out and two(including me), moved in. As it was, one gal stayed on. I didn’t think too much about the fridge, as there were more important errands to run and, most importantly, a neighborhood to explore. Months passed. The roommate who moved in when I did…

The Great Clean Up of My Old Room

July 7, 2009 | By Alissa AuthorMy First Apartment

Sorry for the small delay in posting, ya’ll, but I’ve retreated to my parents home for the week and my work ethic has become a bit like jello. Mmm cable tv and a screened-in porch. . .why do I want to go back to Brooklyn and reclaim my independence? Until yesterday, when the ‘Clean Out…

How to make that funky room smell go AWAY

March 11, 2009 | By Alissa AuthorMy First Apartment

So I wonder sometimes, if smells are like that age-old question, “If a tree falls in the woods and no one’s there to hear it, does it still make a sound?” Except I tend to become the woods after I live somewhere for awhile and need a new nose to tell me something stinks. Like,…

My ten steps to green your apartment

January 10, 2008 | By Shelby AuthorMy First Apartment

10. Set up a recycling area. This can be as simple as a grocery sack next to the trash bin. Seriously. It’s not that complicated. 9. Install compact fluorescent light bulbs. It will save you money in the long run – always a good thing. 8. Live close to work so that you can walk,…

10 Ways To Make Your Apartment Greener

November 24, 2007 | By Amanda AuthorMy First Apartment

Ed. note. This is a repeat of one of our most popular posts from last summer. ‘Green’ is a concept that not only describes safer, more environmentally-friendly products, but also a state of mind. Let’s face it… times are changing and despite common belief, one person can make a difference. Below are ten ways to…

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…