When summer comes along, many people love the warmer weather as they can get outside to grill or have a picnic. While most folks living in an apartment can’t have a grill on their patio or balcony due to fire code restrictions, at Essex Chase there’s a community picnic and grilling area for everyone who lives here to use. 

This means you can enjoy all of the great grilled and barbecue treats that summer has to offer and eat your meal in the picnic area. It’s an excellent place to gather with your family or get the entire Essex Chase community together. 

But sharing a barbecue and picnic area means that you need to be aware of some etiquette for sharing this space. While none of these things are big deals, keep them in mind the next time you head out to grill or picnic.

Share the Grills

Nice weather means lots of people will want to grill out. After all, they’ve spent the colder months dreaming of grilling some steaks or barbecuing some ribs. Be prepared to share the grills with those around you. When your meal has finished cooking, let the next person start cooking their items.

Bring Your Own Equipment

If you’re grilling, bring your own equipment. You may need a brush to clean the grill, tongs, or a spatula – and you shouldn’t expect to find what you’ll need at the grilling area. Keep a selection of grilling tools at your place and bring them with you!

Come Prepared

When you head to the picnic area to grill, come prepared. If you are repeatedly running back and forth to your apartment, you will find that you are needlessly wasting time (and energy) – and may be keeping others from enjoying the space. A great idea is to keep a bag with all of your picnic basics that you can grab when you’re heading out to the grill. You can easily add your meats and sauces and have everything ready to go.

Pick Up After Yourself

There’s nothing worse than sharing a community space and finding that people have left their trash there. Bring some trash bags down to the space so that you can easily throw away your garbage and keep the area clean for the next people who want to use it.

Don’t Host a Personal Party in the Space

While it may be tempting to host a big get-together in the community space, refrain from doing so. The picnic and bbq area is meant for the entire apartment community. As such, everyone should be able to use it, and if you are “hogging” the space with a big party, your neighbors may not be so happy.

Watch Your Smoke

You can’t always do this, but if you can keep an eye on your smoke – do so. You don’t want to leave your grill unattended, and don’t throw items into the fire that can don’t belong there. 

Clean the Grill After You Use It

Finally, be sure to clean the grill when you are finished. No one wants to come down to the community grills and find sticky barbecue sauce on the grates when they’re going to grill a beautiful piece of salmon. 

This summer be sure to get outside and use the grilling and picnic area. You’ll love the taste of some of your favorite meals prepared on the grill and al fresco dining on a nice evening is always enjoyable!