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Great Indoor Dog Games for Apartment Living

Whether young or old, big or small, all dogs need some sort of exercise . But, combining adequate exercise with the space restrictions can be tough for dog owners who live in apartments. Especially during poor weather or, say, quarantine for instance. Lack of mental and physical stimulation not only results in a bored dog, but can actually create destructive behavior , such as getting into the trash or destroying items in the household. And obviously, there are the physical health issues related with lack of exercise, like loss of muscle mass and weight gain. It is much easier to prevent these than to fix these health issues, which is why indoor dog games are important for keeping your pet happy and healthy. Here are some great indoor exercise ideas when you can’t get to the doggy park. Jump the Leg Sit in a chair and stretch one leg out in front of you . Now toss treats to both sides of your leg, so that your dog must jump over it to get them. Make sure that you only play this on a surface with good traction, to prevent any accidents! In and Out Put a treat in your dog’s crate. Show him and let him run into the crate to get the treat. Continue to move further and further away from the crate, eventually letting him race to his crate even from another room. As an added bonus, this game will also strengthen the positive association with the crate and make it a happy place for your dog. Hide and Seek Hide some treats underneath a blanket on the floor and let your dog figure out how to get to them. Solving this food puzzle will really work your dog’s brain; dogs are not naturally good at understanding that they must lift one corner to gain access to the treats underneath. Repeat the games a couple times. Repeating brain games will teach your dog to pay attention to his thinking process and strengthen his memory . Treat Burrito Lay a blanket floor in front of you and place some treats on it . Now take one end and roll up the blanket, just like a yoga mat (or a burrito, get it?). Present the treat burrito to your dog and let him figure out how to get all the treats inside. Again, unrolling it usually does not come to the dog’s mind right away, so the puzzle fun will keep him entertained for quite a while. Sniff Box Take a cardboard box and fill it with crumpled-up newspapers. Now drop treats in there and let your dog use scent to find them. Sniffing is a very calming activity for dogs , so this game is especially great for the anxious pup. Hopefully these indoor games give you some ideas for how to keep your dog happy and healthy in the confines of your apartment home. Remember that the amount of exercise your dog needs will depend on many factors, including its breed, age and health, so talk with your vet about an appropriate exercise routine that will help him stay healthy without causing him discomfort. Do you have any great apartment games you play with your pup? Let us know in the comments!

How to Remove Pet Hair from Your Home

Our furry friends bring us a lot of joy and are part of the family, but they can sure leave a lot of hair all over everything – our couch, our curtains, our clothes, our floors! Cleaning up all that hair can oftentimes be frustrating and unproductive, so we’ve rounded up some of the best tips and hacks to save you time, energy and sanity. How to Remove Pet Hair from Furniture Remove pet hair from upholstery and fabric with a dampened rubber glove by running your hand over the surface to attract hair. Rinse off the glove when it’s covered with hair and repeat as needed. If you don’t have rubber gloves handy, try a slightly wet sponge instead. Alternatively, lightly spray a mix of water and fabric softener onto your upholstered furniture, then wipe off. To remove pet hair from wooden furniture, use a soft cloth and furniture polish or anti-static dusting spray . The spray will eliminate the electric charge, making removal easier and lessening the likelihood that the hair will re-stick. How to Clean Pet Hair Off Floors For heavily-matted carpet, scrape a pumice stone gently along the surface. Any hair will gather right up. When vacuuming your carpet, go over areas twice and alternate directions to loosen stubborn hairs. If pet hair is a problem for you, it’s worth investing in a specialty pet vacuum , like the Dyson Ball Animal 2 Total Clean , which has powerful suction and a tangle-free turbine tool to remove dirt and hair from carpets and upholstery. Vacuums tend to blow hair around versus corral it in one spot, plus they can damage your floors. So, on hardwood, laminate or other bare floors, use an electrostatic or microfiber dry mop , or a lightweight vacuum made specifically for non-carpeted floors. How to Remove Pet Hair From Clothes All pet owners should keep a lint roller right beside their door, for a quick hair removal session before leaving to meet friends, go to work, etc. It’s also a good idea to keep one in your car and at work, so you’re never without one if you notice any lingering hairs! For larger quantities of hair, first remove as much pet hair as you can by hand (pro tip: the wet rubber glove trick for upholstery also works well on clothes). Once you’ve removed as much as you can, give the clothing or bedding a good shake. Then, try throwing your clothes in the dryer , along with a dryer sheet for 10 minutes with no heat. Or, use a spikey dryer ball for a chemical free solution. The movement and softener loosens hair, which winds up in the lint trap. Then, shake the clothes again to get as many pet hairs out as possible before tossing them in the wash. How to Control Pet Hair on Your Pets Themselves While you cannot stop a healthy pet from normal shedding, you can reduce the amount of hair in your home by doing things like brushing your pet regularly, keeping him hydrated and feeding him a nutritious diet, and preventing fleas . Regular baths also encourage loose hair to fall out in the tub (or outside) instead of on your furniture. Also remember that excessive shedding can be the result of stress, poor nutrition or a medical problem , so if you are concerned about the amount of hair your pet is losing, make sure to consult your pet’s veterinarian, who can best determine if hair loss is part of the normal shedding process or is a symptom of an underlying issue.

The Essential Move-Out Checklist

Moving can be exciting, but it can also be one of the most stressful things we experience in a lifetime . From packing and hiring movers to budgeting for the expenses, there’s so much to do! In all the hustle and bustle, it can be easy to forget an important step of the process. We’ve put together an essential move-out checklist to help alleviate some of the stress of moving from your current apartment to give you peace of mind and ease your mind during this truly stressful life event. GIVE PROPER NOTICE Photo by Scott Graham on Unsplash To know exactly how much notice you need to give before moving out of your apartment, check your lease. The amount of noticed required can vary from apartment community to apartment community, so you’ll want to know what’s required of you. Pro tip: when you move into any new home, check the requirement right then and set a reminder or two. The delivery method required for your notice should also be specified in your lease. Usually, a written notice is required. TRANSFER YOUR RENTERS INSURANCE Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash Your renter’s insurance should move with you, but you’ll want to contact your carrier as soon as possible about your upcoming move. Some renter’s insurance will cover belongings during a move, so now is a good time to review your policy and ask questions, as well. Make sure you understand the insurance requirements at your new community, too. Most apartment communities not only require that you have renter’s insurance (and are able to provide proof at move-in), but they also may have specific requirements regarding things like liability coverage. CALL YOUR UTILITY PROVIDERS Photo by Hassan OUAJBIR on Unsplash Two weeks before you move, call your utility providers and schedule your turn off/turn on dates. You want to turn the utilities off at your current apartment the day after you move out (to avoid the electric and water being shut off while you are trying to move boxes). This is also handy if you want to do a last-minute vacuum after all the boxes and furniture are out of the apartment. Schedule the utilities to be turned on at your new apartment the day before you move in (so you’ll have electric and water when you are moving in). Don’t forget cable and internet! FIX EVERYTHING Photo by Steve Johnson on Unsplash In order to get your security deposit back, you’ll need to undo any damage you caused in the apartment. If you hung pictures, they likely left holes in the wall that will need to be filled. If you painted a wall, you’ll likely have to paint it back to its original color. If you switched out light fixtures, blinds, or drawer pulls, all of those need to be returned to the originals. Look for any pet damage, dings or scratches that weren’t there when you moved in, and stains on the carpets. CLEAN EVERYTHING Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash Try to get your apartment as close to its original move-in condition as you can. Some normal wear and tear is to be expected, but make it your goal to erase the year (or years) you spent in the apartment. If you aren’t sure you can tackle the cleaning yourself, you may want to consider hiring a cleaning service to get your apartment in tip-top shape. ASK ABOUT THE COMMUNITY’S MOVING POLICY Photo by Russ Ward on Unsplash Your apartment community may need advance notice if you will have moving assistance, like scheduling elevator time or possibly using the service elevator. If movers will have to park along the street, the apartment manager may have to notify the city, so it’s especially important that you give them plenty of notice. SCHEDULE A MOVE-OUT INSPECTION Photo by La Miko from Pexels Once your apartment is clean and empty, schedule a walk-through with your property manager. Your property manager may arrive with checklists: the one you filled out together during your move-in walk-through and a new one you’ll fill out during your move-out walk-through. Try to be there for the move-out inspection, if possible. This way you can discuss any issues on the spot and agree to any necessary repairs, eliminating any unwelcome surprises when it comes time to get your security deposit back. CHANGE YOUR ADDRESS Photo by Brett Sayles from Pexels You can do this at your local post office or online . Be sure to give your new address to anyone who might send you mail, from your bank to your employer to your grandma. Make sure your current property manager has your forwarding address as well, so they know where to send your security deposit refund if you’re entitled to one. GATHER YOUR KEYS Photo by Ingo Joseph from Pexels Collect all copies of your keys. Did you give a key to your friend so they could pet-sit while you were on vacation? Be sure to get it back. If you have separate keys or cards for the security gate, swimming pool, mail room, or fitness center, locate those as well. Make sure you turn in all of your keys to your leasing office before close of business on the day your lease expires to avoid any additional rent charges. Yes, moving can be stressful, but with a little preparation and to-do list writing, it can be manageable. And soon, you'll be settled into your new home and it will all have been worth it! For even more tips on making your move as smooth as possible, check out our previous blog post on Moving Tips !

Navigating Online Reviews

If you are like 89% of all renters, checking out an apartment community’s ratings and reviews is a major part of your apartment hunt. Seeing what other residents think of the apartment community can give you great insight into what it’s like to live there, but how do you know how reliable they are? Knowing what to look for when reading reviews will help you get the most out of them, so we’ve put together a list of thing you’ll want to be sure to look for when reading online reviews! The Date You’ve been on an exhaustive hunt for your new home and you think you’ve finally found the perfect one. It offers plenty of natural light for your plant babies, it’s a 10-minute commute to work and the fitness center is the stuff of dreams. Before you commit and sign the lease, you decide to check out some online reviews. Most of the reviews are reassuring you that you’ve made a great decision, when you come across one that warns “ Don’t rent here. Worst decision I ever made!”. You start to question whether this is the right place for you. Before you make the decision to jump ship on your new pad, check the date of the review. While an older review can still provide insight, things may have changed since it was posted. Maybe the property is under new management, or its undergone renovations. These changes likely wouldn’t be reflected in an older review, so keep that in mind when reading older reviews. The Motives Even if that review cautioning you away from your dream home is recent, think about the reviewer’s motives. Reviewers are often motivated by extreme feelings, either positive or negative. When everything is fine, people are less likely to write a review. This is true regardless of the industry – restaurants, hotels, etc. If a negative review seems vindictive, take it with a grain of salt, especially if all the other reviews are more positive. This reviewer likely just wanted to vent, and their experience won’t necessarily be your experience. The Star Rating Because most reviewers are motivated by extreme emotions, it is very common to see reviews at the low or high end of the star rating (1 out of 5 or 5 out of 5). Oftentimes, the reviews in the middle (the 3 and 4-star reviews) tend to be more detailed and objective. While you’ll want to read the reviews when looking at apartments (at least the most recent ones), you’ll likely gain more insight from the reviews in the middle. The Manager’s Response You can tell a lot about the level of service you will receive and how engaged and responsive your property manager will be by the response to the review. When reading the responses from the manager, you’ll want to look for the following: Did they respond at all? A lack of response to a review can sometimes say more than the review itself. Were they genuinely appreciative of the review? A good property manager should be thankful for all reviews, good or bad, and should take the opportunity to thank everyone who is willing to provide helpful feedback. If there was an issue mentioned, did the manager acknowledge it frankly? Issues don’t get resolved by being ignored, and a good property manager will acknowledge the issue without pointing fingers or getting defensive. If there were issues mentioned, did the manager share how they planned to address them or attempt to have the reviewer get in touch to share more details? As you read reviews, a clear picture will begin to emerge about the apartment community. The things residents truly enjoy will become clear, since those things will likely be mentioned by multiple reviewers, and you’ll feel better knowing what you can expect your experience living in the community to be like.

7 Ways to Celebrate Memorial Day 2020 from Home

There will be no pool parties, parades or barbecues to attend…celebrations for the Memorial Day holiday won’t look like they have in prior years. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t other ways you can recognize the holiday at home. This year might be the perfect opportunity to remind ourselves of the true meaning of the holiday, and make sure to remember and honor the brave men and women who have lost their lives serving our country. Send a Flower Tribute to a Fallen Hero Unsplash/J oshua J. Cotten The Memorial Day Flowers Foundation honors those who have served our country. The foundation works with local volunteers to place flowers on the gravesites of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country. Honor the 4 million veterans interred at National Cemeteries in the US and its territories by making a donation to this foundation and help them in their mission to place a flower tribute at the gravesite of all our fallen heroes. Watch the National Memorial Day Concert Twitter/@MemorialDayPBS While the yearly National Memorial Day Concert won’t happen on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol this year, the event will still air at 8 p.m. Sunday, May 24 on PBS . Joe Mantegna and Gary Sinise host a special presentation of the star-studded National Memorial Day Concert with new performances and tributes filmed in different locations around the country and iconic stories from past concerts. Listen to the Stories of Those Who Have Served Unsplash/ Daniel Ioanu StoryCorps is a nonprofit organization that shares oral stories from people all throughout the country from all walks of life. StoryCorps hopes to “remind us of our shared humanity, to strengthen and build the connections between people, to teach the value of listening, and to weave into the fabric of our culture the understanding that everyone’s story matters.” Through its Military Voices Initiative , StoryCorps is sharing stories from service members, veterans and their families. “In doing so we honor their voices, amplify their experiences, and let them know that we—as a nation—are listening.” Share a Moment of Silence Unsplash/Forrest Smith Since 1997, the National Moment of Remembrance has become an American tradition which asks Americans to pause and keep silent for a minute at exactly at 3.00 pm (local time). Many radio stations also play “Taps” in honor of the occasion, but if you can’t find a station playing the bugle call, it’s best to turn the radio off for the moment of silence. Send Care Items to Military Personnel Military.com Support Our Troops is a charity through which Americans strengthen the morale and well-being of their current military service members by providing easy ways to make a tangible difference through a variety of meaningful, substantive programs and services. Support Our Troops ® Care Packages enhance the morale and well-being of the deployed troops worldwide by shipping care boxes containing items specifically requested by them. Items requested include laundry pods, sunscreen, and movies and music on thumb drives. Make sure you read the rules and no-no items thoroughly before sending items, though! Get Crafty Sheknows.com If you have little ones at home, try one of these Memorial Day-inspired crafts . While you’re crafting together, consider using the opportunity to teach your children about the true meaning and origin or the holiday . Teaching your children about the holiday helps ensure that your children will become adults who respect and understand the true meaning of Memorial Day and who will one day teach their own children, so that the lives lost by those serving our country will always be remembered. Eat Something Yummy Tasteofhome.com While the most important meaning of Memorial Day is to honor and remember those who have died serving our country, it is also the unofficial start of the summer season. The days are longer, and the weather is warmer, so the day is often marked with backyard barbecues or weekend trips to the beach. This year, most of us will be celebrating from home, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still treat ourselves to some yummy food! Try one of these delicious and beautiful red, white and blue desserts – like berry white ice pops or the traditional blueberry pie. Bring the barbecue to you with this summer orzo pasta salad or these bourbon and brown sugar barbecue ribs . Make sure to top everything off with a delicious summery drink like this watermelon lemonade cocktail ! On this and every Memorial Day, we say “thank you” to our military personnel, veterans and their families for the sacrifices they have made serving our country. The bravery you’ve shown for the land we love will not be forgotten.

7 Ideas for Celebrating Mother's Day Virtually

Mother’s Day will be a bit different this year, but just because we aren’t able to celebrate the moms in our life with a pampering spa visit or brunch at her favorite restaurant doesn’t mean we can’t celebrate them at all! There are many Mother’s Day ideas that allow you to treat your mom without ever leaving the house. While being away from your mom on Mother’s Day is never an ideal situation, we have some suggestions for virtual ways to celebrate that are more personal than you might think. Whether they be thoughtful gift ideas that will make staying at home more enjoyable, or ways the two of you can get together virtually, we hope these ideas will help you and your mom create a memorable and happy Mother’s Day together. Video Chat with Her Alexander Dummer / Unsplash Nothing will beat getting to see your face on Mother’s Day for mom. There are plenty of tools out there for face-timing your friends and loved ones. If you have siblings who also aren’t able to be with your mom to celebrate, many apps - like Houseparty - allow for group video chats so you can all be together. She’ll love having everyone together, even if it’s just virtually. Send Her Flowers 1-800-Flowers Flowers are a tried and true Mother’s Day gift. Even if your local florist isn’t delivering, services like 1-800-Flowers still are. If your mom is stuck inside, having a beautiful bouquet of flowers in the house will brighten up a room and her day. Plus, they’ll remind her of you every time she looks at them. Taste Wines with a Certified Sommelier Airbnb Because most of us can’t travel right now, Airbnb is offering one-of-a-kind virtual experiences . For this one, you’ll be connecting over wine from your home with a wine tourism expert from New York City to learn the basics of the systematic approach used for professional tastings. Send Her a Customized Playlist F reestocks / Unsplash Create a custom Spotify playlist for just you and mom! You could be songs from her wedding day, songs she used to sing to you, songs from the first band she saw in concert etc. Another idea is using a song from each year of her life. Create a Customized Puzzle Shutterfly Everyone is into puzzles right now; they have become a staple for getting through social distancing at home. Shutterfly allows you to create a custom puzzle using one of your own personal photos! Mom can either frame it when she’s done or do it again when you can see one another. Use a photo of the two of you together, one of you and your siblings when you were younger, or any other sentimental photo that will make mom smile. Send Her a Spa Day Giftbasket.com Since you can’t take your mom to an actual spa for the day of pampering she deserves, gift her all the items she needs for a spa day at home. This gift basket comes with assortment of fragrant bath products and spa tools including shower gel, body lotion, a hand massager and slippers. Send Her A Delicious Meal Nerfee Mirandilla / Unsplash Order a nice meal from one of the many restaurants that are still delivering, and have it delivered to mom on her special day! Maybe even take it a step further and set up a video chat so it’s like the two of you are enjoying a meal together. The thoughtful gesture from you, plus not having to cook or do dishes will surely win with mom. How are you celebrating Mother’s Day this year? Let us know in the comments!