Seven Apartment Cleaning Hacks That Will Change Your Life

Easy Cleaning Tips for Apartment Residents

If you are like most people, you don’t look forward to cleaning your apartment.  But with these easy do-it-yourself cleaning hacks, you will have your place sparkling clean in no time.

1) Treat Your Microwave to Lemon Water

A proper scrub down of your microwave can be exhaustive, time-consuming and plain old gross, which is where cleaning hacks like this five-minute microwave cleaner come in handy. Cut a couple of lemons in quarters and place them in a glass dish filled with water. Heat up until the water starts boiling, hit stop then let the whole thing sit for a minute or two.
When you open the microwave door, you’ll notice a billow of steam, which has loosened up the gunk and grease lining the walls of the microwave. Take a sponge to the mess and wipe it away with almost no effort.

2) Dust Ceiling Fans with a Pillowcase

Ceiling fans are great for circulating cool air in your apartment and reducing your energy costs.  But there’s no getting around it: Cleaning your ceiling fans is just a part of apartment life. No matter how agile and bendable your duster is, reaching the tops of those blades is a task meant only for skilled aerial artists.
The average Joe can dust ceiling fan blades with this simple cleaning hack: Place an old pillow case over one of the fan blades, and slowly pull it backwards, wiping the dirt and grime off as you go. Move on to the next blade and the next, leaving a shiny, crud-free surface along the way. Then, just throw the pillowcase in the wash.

3) Knife-Clean Your Air Vents

Hate your dusty old main air vent? Poke it with a knife.
Take a clean towel and moisten it with warm water (avoid using too much water, as it can cause rust), then wrap it around a butter knife to create an excellent tool for getting between the shingles. Make sure to hit all the vents in your apartment– even the ceiling vents.

What An Apartment Resident Needs to Know When Transferring Apartments

Details About the Apartment Transfer Process

If your apartment needs have changed but you're happy with your community and neighborhood, then transferring to a different apartment within your community may be the perfect answer for you.

Reasons to Transfer Apartments

You may find yourself wanting to transfer to a different apartment within your community if:

• Your household size changes. You might outgrow your apartment and need one more bedroom or another bathroom. For instance, your one-bedroom apartment might have been perfect a few years ago, but now that you've grown your family, you need more space. Or you might be in a situation in which you no longer need all the space you. This can happen, for example, if you have children who become adults and move to a place of their own.

• Your financial situation changes. You might get a raise and decide you'd like to use your extra earnings to live in more spacious digs. Or, you might need to save money by downgrading to a smaller apartment so you can pay a lower rent.

Important Apartment Transfer Considerations

If you discover that the perfect apartment is just upstairs or down the hallway, keep the following points in mind before you go ahead with transferring apartments:

• Let the management office know you're interested in a transfer. Find out the procedure and what's required. For example, will you sign a new lease or amend your current one? Do you need to go through a new round of tenant screening? Will you owe more as a security deposit, or will you be due a partial refund?

• Get on a waiting list. If there's no apartment available that meets your requirements, see if you can be added to a waiting list. Ask for a time estimate. Also, confirm that the waiting list is just a list, meaning it requires no deposit and isn't binding, should you later change your mind.