“Transitioning With The Seasons”
The season changes, and so does interior decor. However, there’s more than just appearance to consider when it comes to taking care of your apartment. Whether you’re living in a room you rent in a communal house, you’re renting the entire house, you’re in a studio apartment, or you’re in a traditional apartment, there are some things to consider at this time of year.
Following we’ll briefly cover five considerations you may not have realized were relevant to seasonal change and lease residency.
1. Assuring An Apartment Or Rental Is Environmentally Prepped
First things first: how well will your apartment “ford” the “river” of weather that’s coming? This question will have different answers depending on where you are. For example, if you’re in Texas, it’s unlikely things will be terribly cold in the fall or winter. That said, 2021 did see snow cause electrical outages in Texas. So things may be a bit different now than in previous years.
Here’s the point: if you’re in a colder climate, you need to make sure your apartment isn’t leaking any more heat than necessary. You’re very likely going to have a larger utility bill in winter owing to the cold. But in autumn, you might be able to avoid any heating or cooling needs whatever. Also, apartments can, to a small degree at least, “share” heat or cool.
If everyone in the building is heating their premises, provided you don’t open any exterior windows, your apartment may be warm by proxy—at least to a small degree. It will depend on the building. However, if you’ve got all windows and doors closed, and you can still feel a breeze, that means something is causing that breeze you need to address. Visit HVACSolvers.com for heating and cooling guides for your home.
2. Applying Decorative Arrangements To The Premises
Here’s a more discretionary item to consider: if you like to celebrate the seasons, you may have seasonal décor. Well, we’re in the opening days of autumn presently; you might as well start bringing out the autumn décor. Leaves, jack-o-lanterns, turkeys—these are all in season right now. Soon winter décor will be en vogue. Decorate to match seasons.
3. Where Moving Companies Come In
Sometimes you might want to downsize a little and move seasonal things to a storage container. Many people are only in an apartment temporarily, either while they seek a more permanent residence, or while they explore a given community. In such situations, professional movers can make things a lot easier.
To that end, a bit of advice from the company UMoveFree may be in order. They can help you shuttle possessions to or from a storage container. Also, such options are definitely to be recommended if you’re moving from a house you own to a rental property or vice versa. Finally, with companies like this, you can save money on professional movers.
4. A Little “Fall Cleaning” May Be In Order
There’s such a thing as spring cleaning, and if you’re at the end of the summer, it may well be worthwhile to consider autumn cleaning. You’ve got to put away summer décor and rearrange a few things anyway, and it’ll certainly be easier at the beginning of fall than during the winter. So why not pursue a little “fall cleaning”?
5. Arranging Lighting To Answer Shorter Days
Lastly, it’s worth considering the level of light you’re going to lose in the waning months of the year. By December, you’re going to be looking at a sun that sets when it’s still afternoon. The time when the sun sets gets earlier in the day based on how northerly your latitude is. In some regions of the world, like the arctic, the sun may not rise for a while.
People don’t think about this, but there’s a psychological reality which to some degree is defined by how much light is available. If you’re on the equator, this won’t be much of an issue. If you’re in southern latitudes, it’s not quite as noticeable. But the more northern your residence, the darker things get in winter.
You want to have lamps available. Colored lights are a good idea, as are candles. Gentle lights are best. You want a soft bulb or LED that doesn’t blind you but makes everything visible in the room. Proper lighting in your apartment can lead to a reduction in collateral depression associated with seasonal change.
This is a real thing—though they should have probably been a bit more conscientious about the acronym, SAD. SAD stands for Seasonal Affective Disorder. When things get darker and colder, some folks get SAD. Proper lighting and décor can reduce the impact of SAD.
Designing An Apartment That Naturally Segues Seasonally
When fall is coming, and winter on its heels, there are a few things you want to consider. These include lighting, fall cleaning, working with moving companies, decorative arrangements, and environmentally prepping your apartment.
Sure, some of these may not apply to you. But some will. At a minimum, think about the changing seasons for best preparation.