Blog Posts

6 Easy Ways to Meet Your Daily Step Goal

Whether it is a smartphone, smart watch, or pedometer, it seems everyone has at least one device that tracks their activity these days. If you’re the owner of one of these step-counting devices, you’ve probably been told that you should be taking 10,000 steps a day . You’ve probably also realized that a daily step goal isn’t one-size fits all , and (hopefully with the help of a physician), set a step goal that is more tailored to you and your lifestyle. Regardless of how many steps you aim to take each day, The American Heart Association recommends adults get at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity each week . Spread out over a week, that equals out to about 30-40 minutes per day. The benefits of this regular movement include a lower risk of heart disease, better bone health, less chronic health conditions, better sleep and so much more! Walking is the easiest way to accomplish the minimum standard of exercise that the AHA has set for the average adult, so here are 6 ways to meet your daily step goal – whatever it may be! Hop on the Treadmill The easiest and most convenient way to get a bunch of steps completed is by using a treadmill, which you’ll find in 500 Park Avenue Apartments’ 24/7 fitness center! If walking in one place sounds extremely dull, try listening to a podcast or audiobook , calling a friend, or watching tv to pass the time! Park further away When you venture out to the store, office, or any other destination, pick a parking spot that is a little further away from the entrance. Go on a hike Outdoor activities have become a popular pastime during the coronavirus pandemic , and for good reason. Hiking does wonders for your body and your mind , and it is a fun way to get your exercise in while spending time with friends, family, or your pet! Thankfully, gorgeous hikes near Baltimore abound, and many of them are dog-friendly ! Take breaks Breaks from work are beyond important . If you sit at a desk all day, make sure to spend a few minutes each hour to walking around the parking lot, climbing a flight of stairs, or strolling around the block. Not only will these short breaks make your body feel less stressed, less tense, and more flexible, but your mind will benefit from these short breaks and you will come back refreshed and ready to go. Walk while you binge The next time you binge-watch The Queen’s Gambit or Bridgerton, use that time wisely and get some steps in ! Be Less Efficient When tackling daily or weekly chores, it’s tempting to be as efficient as possible to get it over with sooner. If you’re trying to meet a step goal; however, chores are the perfect way to sneak in a few extra steps. When you are loading the washing machine, bring a few armfuls at a time so that you must walk back and forth several times. If you have kids or pets and you need to clean up their toys, grab one at a time and put it back where it belongs before going back for the next one. We hope these tips and hacks give you some inspiration and help you towards achieving your daily fitness goals! However you choose to get your American Heart Association recommended 150 minutes of moderate cardiovascular activity each week, remember to have fun while doing it!

Five Fantastic Maryland Nonprofits to Support During National Volunteer Month!

April is National Volunteer Month ! Volunteering is an immensely rewarding experience through which you not only provide vital help to your community, but can also improve your own mental and physical health ! So, if you are looking for a wonderful opportunity to give back this month, here are some fantastic nonprofits in Baltimore and beyond with which to volunteer your time! United Way of Central Maryland United Way of Central Maryland works to increase access to basic needs such as health, housing, employment, and education. Among its many programs is the nonprofit’s 211 helpline - a free, confidential 24-hour helpline that connects people of all ages and from all communities with the essential health and human services they need. 211’s call volume has skyrocketed since the pandemic, averaging more than 500 calls a day. Last year, the 211 Helpline answered more than 195,000 calls for help with housing, healthcare, employment, and more. You can help support the 211 helpline by making a donation here , or find other ways to get involved with United Way’s work here . Casey Cares Casey Cares works to keep families with critically ill children’s spirits high by arranging programming - whether it is a simple movie night and a fresh pair of pajamas or attending a major sporting event. Casey Cares aims to provide lasting memories for families throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, Florida, and portions of the Midwest. Each April, the nonprofit hosts #CaseyCaresBiggestPJParty - encouraging folks to wear pjs to work or school and to collect movie and pizza gift cards as well as new pajamas to donate to Casey Cares. Find other volunteer opportunities with Casey Cares here . The Maryland Food Bank Even before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, so many families, seniors, children, and other neighbors turned to the Maryland Food Bank for help to put food on the table. Since the start of the pandemic, that need has only grown . The food bank is the hub of Maryland’s food assistance safety net, supporting a statewide network of thousands of community partners to meet the immediate needs of hungry Marylanders while simultaneously working to create pathways out of hunger. Find volunteer opportunities with the Maryland Food Bank here . Maryland SPCA The Maryland SPCA adopts out more than 3,500 needy and unwanted pets each year, providing warmth and comfort to them in their adoption center while the animals await new homes. The SPCA’ Spay and Neuter Clinic also performs approximately 9,000 surgeries each year on animals in its adoption program, other shelters and rescue groups, low-income pet owners, and feral cats all with the aim to reduce pet overpopulation. Other lifesaving programs include a foster program, Wellness Clinic and training classes which are offered to help keep pets in homes and out of shelters. Volunteers and staff also visit area schools each year to teach kindness to animals to children. Baltimore Hunger Project Children who come to school hungry often exhibit trouble concentrating, lower math and reading scores, difficulty interacting with peers, and lower graduation rates. Baltimore Hunger Project is dedicated to eliminating the growing problem of weekend childhood hunger by providing weekend food packages to children identified as food insecure, improving their health and increasing their chances at success in school. Baltimore Hunger Project is currently supporting more than 600 children at schools throughout Baltimore City and County . All month-long during April 2021, WPM Real Estate Management and its properties are running a campaign to benefit our friends at Baltimore Hunger Project. You can help us support this worthy nonprofit by donating to BHP’s Amazon Wishlist here , or by making a monetary donation here . Additionally, WPM has set a goal to collect 1,500 Notes of Encouragement, which Baltimore Hunger Project includes in their weekly food packages. Stop by the leasing office at 500 Park Avenue Apartments before April 30, 2021 to create your own note, and we will return them to Baltimore Hunger Project! Find other opportunities to volunteer your time with Baltimore Hunger Project here . What other Baltimore nonprofits are doing great work to give back to our communities? Let us know which organizations you support in the comments!

2021 Guide to Springtime in Baltimore

Spring has finally sprung and with it comes warmer weather, longer days, and plenty of reasons to get outside and enjoy all that springtime in Baltimore has to offer! To help you get the most out of your 91 days of spring, we have put together a guide to enjoying Baltimore this season. Tour the gardens at Cylburn Arboretum. Photo: @Cylburn on Facebook Cylburn Arboretum is a 200-acre urban oasis in Baltimore City. With hundreds of specimens of trees, plant collections, gorgeous gardens, wooded trails, and an historic mansion there is always something to see at Cylburn, but a visit during springtime is a must. The grounds at Cylburn also offer three and a half miles of woodland trails, ranging from easy to moderately difficult. If you are lucky, you might even spot a White Tail Deer! Check out this list of plant and animal life that can be found at the arboretum. Roar with the lions at the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore Photo: @MarylandZoo on Facebook The Maryland Zoo in Baltimore is home to 130 different species of bird, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles. In addition to enjoying all the animal exhibits , there are fun attractions to enjoy like the carousel and The Jones Falls Zephyr Train ride. Plus, the zoo offers several can’t-miss experiences like the Giraffe Feeding Station and the Penguin Fish Toss. For even more zoo fun, attend one of the zoo’s springtime events such as Bunny Bonanzoo , or the Glow-in-the-dark Egg Hunt . See the flora and fauna of Rawlings Conservatory. Photo: @RawlingsConservatory on Facebook When you are done visiting the zoo, take a two-minute drive next door to Rawlings Conservatory. Opened in 1888, the historical Rawlings Conservatory is one of Baltimore’s most beautiful structures. The Conservatory features five distinct greenhouse rooms , each in its own distinct climate that allow for the display of plants from all over the world, from tropical to dessert! Go on a Picnic. Photo: @CharmCityPicnic.co on Facebook Perfect picnic spots abound in Baltimore . You can even have your Baltimore picnic organized, planned, and cleaned up for you with Charm City Picnic ! Visit Baltimore Farmers' Market & Bazaar Photo: @BmoreFarmersMarket on Facebook Located Underneath the Jones Falls Expressway at Holliday & Saratoga streets, the Baltimore Farmers’ Market & Bazaar offers fresh cut flowers, seasonal fruits and vegetables, freshly baked breads and pastries, dairy products, meats and seafood, and more. The market is open every Sunday starting April 4 th ! Cheer on the O’s at Oriole Park at Camden Yards Photo: @Orioles on Facebook With gorgeous views of the B&O Warehouse and Baltimore skyline you cannot get anywhere else, taking in a baseball game at Camden Yards would be worth it just for the atmosphere! However, Oriole pride runs deep in Baltimore, so fans will rejoice that the venue will be welcoming fans back for the 2021 season with limited capacity and updated gameday policies . Support local artisans at Flower Mart. Photo: @FlowerMartBmore on Facebook The annual Flower Mart is a 2-day event held in Mount Vernon Place in front of the Washington Monument. This year, however, Flower Mart will be an online event featuring a marketplace of local vendors offering flowers and plants, arts and crafts, and food and beverages. Fly a kite at Patterson Park. In honor of The BIG Baltimore Kite Fest, which will hopefully return in 2022, Creative Alliance the Friends of Patterson Park are encouraging everyone to head outside the weekend of April 10th and 11th to fly a kite ! Help fill the sky with vibrant colors, welcome spring to Baltimore, and celebrate the broad spectrum of cultures that make up East Baltimore! Get your kite now from Creative Alliance’s Etsy shop ! Charm City is brimming with things to do and see all year long, but springtime really is a spectacular time of year in The Greatest City in America. Make sure to put these springtime activities on your spring bucket list! What is your favorite thing to do during spring in Baltimore? Let us know in the comments!

2021 Spring Cleaning Guide

Why is Spring Cleaning Important? Spring cleaning is a chance to push the reset button on your home and catch up on all the cleaning tasks you’ve been meaning to get to. Deep cleaning your home and giving it a fresh start is necessary for both your physical and your mental health . From helping to prevent illness to decreasing stress, the tradition of giving our homes a good spring cleaning does wonders for the mind and body. If you have started feeling the urge to throw open the windows and you can feel that that new-beginning energy that comes with warmer weather and longer days, it is the perfect time to start your spring cleaning! Clear out a day or two in your schedule and dedicate the time to giving your apartment the love and care it deserves, especially after it has been your gym, office, classroom and more during the lockdowns and quarantines related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Before you start, come up with a plan! Create a list of chores you want to tackle and create a schedule. Rather than committing to cleaning every item in your home, focus on the most important ones that will have the biggest impact. Here are some tactics for creating your spring-cleaning checklist so that you feel the greatest sense of accomplishment and see the most reward for your work. Choose tasks that involve multiple rooms. Choose tasks that involve more than one room or item in the house. For instance, washing all the bedding, cleaning all the doors, washing all the curtains, etc. While these tasks might not produce a visible outcome, knowing these rarely done chores are taken care of will feel good and will give you a sense of accomplishment. Put labor-intensive items at the top of your list. If you are having a hard time choosing what you will do and what you will skip, try putting the most labor-intensive tasks at the top of the list. This way, the chores that require the most out of you are getting done on a day you have dedicated to cleaning and you will not feel as much like you are missing out on something fun. Select chores that you usually dread. The momentum you get during spring cleaning makes you more likely to actually cross off those tasks that you dread (cleaning the oven, we’re looking at you). And once it is done, you will be relieved of the procrastination guilt. Put these items at the top of your list along with the labor-intensive items (we have a feeling there is probably some crossover, anyway). Having these chores at the top of your list means you will not feel as bad if you do not get to everything else. Sample Plan for Spring Cleaning in a Day Here is an example of what a designated day of spring cleaning might look like: Morning: Strip all the bedding throughout your apartment and begin laundering sheets, blankets, pillows, and comforters. Clean the mattresses while the bedding is in the wash. Empty every garbage can and recycling bin, then give them a good scrub , making sure to pay special attention to the crevices. If you have outdoor space, leave them in the sun to dry. Put bags of vinegar around shower heads. Let them soak for several hours while you move onto the next task. Slather the interior of the oven with a baking soda paste . You will want to let the paste sit overnight, so it looks like it is Chinese takeaway for dinner! Change bedding wash and dry cycles as needed. Afternoon: Dust bookshelves, the tops of cabinets, light fixtures, light bulbs, furniture, door frames, picture frames, etc. Start from the top and work your way down to the baseboards. Pay special attention to furniture legs, which often go overlooked. Polish wooden furniture. Just like you focused on using one tool while you dusted, focus on one product here: wood polish. Hit every wooden item in your home. Wipe down cabinet doors. Clean doors. You have already dusted the frames. Now take a damp microfiber cloth (and maybe a Magic Eraser for stubborn spots) to the doors themselves, including knobs. Continue changing bedding loads as needed. If you finish your loads, take down your curtains and begin washing those. Clean your windows . Take down screens, clean window tracks, and shine those windows. If you can, wash your curtains. Clean the rest of the glass in your home. Spot clean upholstery and rugs. Evening: Remove vinegar bags and scrub showers and tubs and clean the bathroom. Replace bedding. Hang curtains if you were able to wash them. Return garbage cans to their rooms. Vacuum under furniture and under rugs. Vacuum the floors throughout the house now that the dust you stirred up from dusting has had time to settle. Whistle While You Work Did you know listening to music while you clean makes the job seem more pleasurable and helps you work faster? To help your chores feel like a breeze, WPM Real Estate Management has curated a playlist of upbeat songs, ranging from throwback songs to current chart-toppers! What is on your spring-cleaning playlist? Let us know in the comments!

National Day of Unplugging 2021

Following a year where digital interactions eclipsed real-world connections in business, academic and social settings, the 2021 National Day of Unplugging has never been more necessary. At a time where we’re all dealing with Zoom fatigue and digital burnout, a 24-hour respite from technology is exactly what’s needed. While being so plugged in is an unavoidable fact of life these days, there is no denying too much screen time has numerable adverse side effects from interfering with our sleep, to hampering our creativity. Make a plan to unplug this March 5 th ! Here are some things you can do instead of using your devices: Have a Game Night Time to dust off those board games and roll the dice.Break out an old favorite like The Game of Life, Monopoly or Scrabble. Or give one of the best new board games and try and discover a new favorite! Ride a Bike From fast and flat to rugged and rustic, Baltimore has plenty of bike trails worth exploring . If it’s been a while since you took your bike for a ride, make sure to spend some time getting it trail-worthy first. Take a Hike If biking isn’t your thing, but you still want to hit the trails, there are also a ton of great walking trails to explore in and around Baltimore. Some of our favorites include the Lake Roland Park Red Trail and the Patterson Park Trail . Go on a Picnic Baltimore offers some beautiful views, so whether it’s the Inner Harbor, historic architecture or a peaceful park, pick a spot with an ideal view and go on a picnic! Charm City Picnics will help you with all the planning to make it a truly memorable day. Check out some of their recommended spots, then book your date, choose your package, and let them do the rest. Read a Book Whether its that book that’s been on your to-be-read list for an eternity or a current bestseller , what’s better to help you unplug than a good book? Support one of Baltimore’s independent book shops like Greedy Reads or Atomic Books . Did you know John Waters regularly stops in at Atomic Books to pick up fan mail? Do Nothing Rebel against the attention economy and simply do nothing! Shut off all distractions , close your eyes and focus on your breathing. Who knows? Maybe it will lead to a daily meditation routine! Take a Nap Napping can improve your memory, lift your mood and ease stress . Just remember to keep it quick. A nap more than 30 minutes can result in sleep inertia and make you actually feel groggier. Yikes. Volunteer Give back to your community and volunteer your time with one of Baltimore’s many charitable organizations. Help the Baltimore Hunger Project pick up and deliver food, prepare a meal for The Baltimore Station , or help Cylburn Arboretum maintain its deer fences. Visit a Museum While some museums remained closed due to COVID-19, some of Baltimore’s best museums are still open with precautionary methods in place. Spend some time appreciating the 10-foot statue of late Baltimore actor Divine at the American Visionary Art Museum or admiring the B&O Railroad Museum ’s collection of 19th century steam locomotives. Learn Your History Facebook/Edgar Allan Poe House and Museum / Poe Baltimore Take a tour of some of Baltimore’s most historically significant spots. Pay your respects to the great American poet Edgar Allen Poe with a visit to the Westminster Burying Grounds . See the house where F. Scott Fitzgerald lived when he wrote Tender is the Night . Explore Maryland’s Underground Railroad Network to Freedom . There’s no shortage of historically significant places to visit in Baltimore! Take Max for a Walk While you’re out getting your exercise and appreciating all that Baltimore has to offer, why not bring along your pup? Explore a new dog-friendly spot like Cromwell Valley Park or Lake Roland . Or, let your four-legged friend really cut loose at one of these off-lease dog parks . Try a New Recipe Put your new Instant Pot to good use and try one of these comfort food recipes , satisfy your wanderlust with one of these world cuisine recipes , or spoil yourself with one of these truly decadent dessert recipes . Will you be unplugging for National Day of Unplugging on March 5 th ? Let us know how you plan to spend your disconnected time in the comments!

How to Celebrate Galentine’s Day This Year

Galentine’s Day – an annual day for celebrating female friendships , normally marked with fun events like mimosas at your favorite brunch spot, spa treatments, or karaoke – is this Saturday! But, like everything else these days, the COVID-19 pandemic will change the way you celebrate with your BFFs this year. Yet, just because we’re dealing with life during a pandemic, it doesn’t mean you and your gal pals can’t celebrate at all. In fact, keeping up with your friends and loved ones—even if that means virtually – has never been more important. So, for those wanting to connect with friends this weekend, we’ve come up with a few ways to celebrate Galantines Day 2021, all while social distancing! Host a Virtual Game Night Get together virtually with the social networking app Houseparty ! With the app, you and up to seven of your girlfriends can play Houseparty Heads Up! , Trivia, Quick Draw, and Chips and Guac! If you’re already all Houseparty-ed out, check out the lesser known JackBox Games . With JackBox, you and your friends can challenge each other to games you’ve probably not already exhausted , like Drawful 2, Quiplash and You Don’t Know Jack. For even more ways to host a virtual game night, check out this list ! Throw a Virtual Spa Night Treat your BFF to this Best Friend Spa Gift Box , which includes all the essentials for a pampering night in like a moisturizing bath bomb and lavender body soap. Then, join together virtual via Zoom while you reach enjoy your spa nights from your homes while also catching up! Make sure to set the scene – pick a small room or space where you won’t be bothered, create a relaxing Spotlight playlist which you can then share with everyone , and dim the lights! Host a Virtual Karaoke Night YouTube has a plethora of karaoke videos, many like what you’d find in a bar or private room ( Olivia Rodrigo’s Driver’s License , anyone?) Make a list of your group’s karaoke favs and then create a queue of the tracks on Watch2Gether . Get together via Zoom a voila! To really recreate the traditional karaoke scene, make sure to get dressed up as if you were going to a real karaoke bar and perhaps send your besties a bottle of wine ahead of time. Bundle Up and Picnic If the weather holds up, consider getting together for a picnic (hear us out…) Let Charm City Picnics help you pull off a great picnic complete with spectacular Baltimore skyline views! After you pick your date, your location and choose a package, Charm City Picnics will handle everything else, so all you need to do is show up! Plus, Charm City Picnics is committed to using local products and supporting small businesses for the most authentic charm city experience! In addition to whichever package you choose, there are a ton of great add-ons, like gourmet cupcakes, polaroid camera and live music! So, there you have it! Don’t let social distancing stop you from having a great Galantine’s Day celebration with your best buds. Just get creative and you’re sure to create lots of fun, happy memories, even if you can’t be together.