#LifeHacks: 5 Ways to Give Back This Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a great time to spend with family and friends. Take a moment  to reflect upon everything you are thankful for. With that being said, Thanksgiving is also a great opportunity to stop what you're doing and give back! Here are five ways that you can help someone in need during this Thanksgiving.

Donate your time: Volunteering is the best way to get involved with your community and also help families in need. Shelters are a great place to volunteer during the holidays. Many of them need the support to! Check our your local community centers and sign up to help out.

Donate food:  Food is one of the essential parts of Thanksgiving! Take your unexpired canned goods and non perishable food items to organizations that are doing Food Drives or that are accepting donations.

Sponsor a family: In addition to donating time and food, a good way to give back is to sponsor a family for Thanksgiving. You can buy their Thanksgiving groceries or simply make double of what you will be serving for on Thanksgiving Day!

Donate blood: Many people will have to spend the holidays in the hospital, a good way to give back to them is to donate blood. Make sure you check out your local blood banks to see what are the requirements to donate.

Write letters to troops: As Thanksgiving day is two weeks shy from Veterans day, it's always good to give thanks to the people who volunteer everyday to fight for our country. Get the family together to make heartwarming letters!

Remember its always great to GIVE! 

Apartment Resident #LifeHacks was created in 2018 by Grady Management, Inc.  Grady Management was founded in 1965 and continues to provide a full service residential, commercial, and consulting real estate firm in the greater Washington and Baltimore metropolitan area.  Learn more from our website or Facebook page.

How To Prepare and Serve a Holiday Meal in an Apartment

Three Simple Steps to Cooking and Serving a Delicious Holiday Meal in an Apartment Community

With Thanksgiving only two days away, the 2018 holiday season will soon begin! 

Many apartment residents may be getting ready to host friends and family members for Thanksgiving or other, upcoming, holiday festivities.  For some residents, this may be the first time they are hosting guests at their apartment communities.  There are some simple ways to ensure your holiday festivities are enjoyable to both attend and host:

1) Preparing the meal: The first step in preparing a holiday meal is to ensure that the kitchen appliances are in working order.  Test the oven, stove, and microwave now, at least 48 hours before holidays, to make sure the appliances work before the morning of the holiday.  If anything needs to be adjusted, submit a service request as soon as possible so the community maintenance team can ensure everything is working for meal preparation. 

2) Organizing the apartment: Once the kitchen is set up for the holiday meal, it is time to prepare the rest of the apartment.  Begin cleaning and organizing at least 24 hours in advance of when guests will arrive.  Run the dishwasher and take out the trash and recycling.  Set out extra soap and toilet paper in the bathroom so guests do not have to hunt for those items the day they arrive.  Since apartments tend to be smaller than single family home and/ or townhouses, it is necessary to ensure everything is put away in designated places to provide for ample seating areas.  Hang jackets and fold and store blankets in closets to ensure there is enough room for guests.

3) Entertaining the guests: Once family and friends arrive to the holiday celebration, things will become a lot more fun but also a lot more hectic.  Offer to take coats, scarves, an outwear and put in the bedroom or linen closet to remove excess clutter.  Before the main meal, scatter plates of appetizers like cheese and crackers and fruit throughout the apartment so people all do not gather in one central place.   Make sure to set out place settings with names so everyone knows where to sit and can easily identify their place when the time comes to begin the meal.

The Grady Management team wishes you a happy and healthy holiday season!

Apartment Resident #LifeHacks was created in 2018 by Grady Management, Inc.  Grady Management was founded in 1965 and continues to provide a full service residential, commercial, and consulting real estate firm in the greater Washington and Baltimore metropolitan area.  Learn more from our website or Facebook page.