When moving into your new home, there are a lot of things to coordinate. With all the work that goes into it, you can very easily forget some of the most important things that you’ll want to have done. Start with your best foot forward and don’t let the following crucial matters slip your mind on your first day in your new home.

Get Situated With Your New Home

It’ll be natural for you to be excited about your new apartment, so of course you’ll want to have a look around and see for yourself how you’ll make the best use of your home. Besides mentally figuring out which the wall the sofa will go against, you’ll also want to learn some of the important features of your apartment. For instance, you’ll need to know where your mail is delivered, where to take out the trash and recycling, and which key works where. Just ask, and someone will be sure to help you out.

Learn the Rules

Now would also be a good time to go over the community rules if you haven’t already. You should expect pretty standard guidelines, and honestly, it’ll mostly be common-sense stuff. However, you might be surprised at some of your community’s expectations you wouldn’t have thought of otherwise. Nothing makes a bad impression like inadvertently breaking the rules shortly after moving in, so be familiar with them first to avoid breaking them at all.

Take a Look Around the Area

You’ll be looking through all the nook and crannies while acquainting yourself with your new home, but don’t limit your discovery to just your apartment. Have a look around the community grounds, too. You’ll be able to see first-hand all of the amenities at your disposal, which may give you some ideas for the future. Imagine the picnics you can have outside or future lazy days lounging by the pool. Time to start scheming!

Make Sure You Have All the Necessities

While you’ll surely be exciting about moving into your own place, you don’t want to forget to stock up on the necessities. Nothing is as bad as learning you’re out of toilet paper at the worst possible moment. But besides these obvious requirements, think about the other things you’ll need to make living in your new apartment a success. Do you have all the cooking utensils and dishes you’ll need to cook a meal? Are the cable and internet ready to use? Best to think of these things now before it’s too late.

Update Your Mailing Addresses

While you can probably put off changing your mailing address for a few days, why not just get it over with right away? it’s easy to let time slip by, and you definitely don’t want bills and other sensitive material being sent to your old address. You’ll want to contact places like your bank and credit card institution, and you’ll also need to change your address on your driver’s license as soon as possible. After all that, remember that your friends and family will want to know your new address as well!

Moving into your new place might be a bit stressful, and adding these important steps to your to-do list might not help with the stress. But at the end of your first day, you’ll be rest assured knowing that all of the essentials are out of the way.

The beauty of having your own home is that you can craft it to look however you want it. While some don’t really mind what their place looks like, others consider their interior design choices to be a way of expressing their personality. However interested you may be in the design choices of your home, you have to admit there’s a thrill when you find some inspiration that clicks with your sensibilities. So, if you’re thinking about making some changes to your apartment or you just want some cool design to look at, there are lots of great resources you can check out.

Pick from Tons of Ideas on Pinterest

Pinterest has become one of the biggest social media platforms because it takes an image-over-everything stance. But in opposition to other photo-based social networks, Pinterest leans more heavily toward the DIY crowd, offering great how-to guides and infographics for whatever project you might want to undertake. Here, you can find tons of ideas from both established brands and amateur DIY enthusiasts. The amount of stuff you can find on Pinterest is almost overwhelming, so start with your interests first and go from there.

Get Help With Houzz

Similarly to Pinterest, Houzz relies on a lot of great images to give you that perfect vision for your home, no matter where your interests lie. You can easily filter down all these ideas by criteria such as your budget level, the design style, and much more. But along with having some professional photos to get your creative juices flowing, Houzz also integrates a marketplace that connects homeowners and remodeling or interior design professionals. Think of it like a LinkedIn-meets-Craigslist if you’re looking for help on a project.

Stay Caught Up With Design Blogs

If you’re not feeling social or you just want some simple inspiration, following a few blogs may be just the ticket. Choosing the right blogs to follow will depend on the style of interior design that fits you. For example, if you’re a fan of modernist interior design, sites such as LikeModern and Design Milk will be worth looking into. On the other end of the design spectrum, sites like Country Living and City Farmhouse are great sources of country-style insight. If you’re not sure where to start, Apartment Therapy is a great catch-all resource for home design.

Get Your Design Choices Critiqued on Reddit

If you can imagine it, there’s a community for it on Reddit. Want to learn some interior design know-how? Check out Interior Design. Want your rooms critiqued? Take a look at Design My Room. Or maybe you need to dial down on the specifics of your furniture? Head on over to Furniture. Reddit is great for the back-and-forth you can have with other like-minded people, so be sure to poke around a little and find the right sites for your needs.

These are a ton of great resources that will keep you busy, but as you spend more time on these sites, try to branch out to other places you find these sites linking to. Soon, you’ll have more design ideas that you’ll know what to do with, and then your problem will be picking the right inspiration to go with!

In the day-to-day of life, it’s very easy to get settled into a routine. And when you’re in a routine, it’s difficult to see the great opportunities all around you. As an apartment dweller, you might not have a backyard all to yourself, but the great community amenities available to you can more than make up for that – as long as you put them to good use. Here are some ways you can make the most out of your community amenities.

Get Some Social Time in at the Clubhouse

Obviously, the community clubhouse might not be the hottest spot in town. But just because the common room doesn’t have a five-star rating on Yelp (or any rating, for that matter), that doesn’t mean you should write it off completely. The clubhouse can be a great way to get out without all the trouble of “going out.” Located conveniently right near your home, you can invite some friends for a little social time, or perhaps even meet some of your friendly neighbors.

Relax at the Pool

Who doesn’t dream of having a pool in their backyard? With summer coming up, some poolside relaxation is a great way to unwind and soak up a few rays. Chillax with a book or take a nap, but just be sure to wear sunscreen! Of course, the pool isn’t just meant for sitting next to – swimming is a fun and healthy activity. Whether you want to splash around with the kids or you want to get a few laps in, a community pool is a great resource that shouldn’t go unnoticed.

Work Out at the Fitness Center

Everyday fitness is a key factor in staying healthy, and with a fitness center located right within your community, you have few excuses for going! If you’re having trouble getting into a fitness routine, try hard to make it only a few times a week, and gradually up the frequency of your visits. Alternatively, consider enlisting a similar-minded friend. Having a fitness buddy will keep you both accountable and will make the exercising go by much quicker. You might find that after a little time, hitting up the fitness center is something you look forward to.

Have a Picnic Outside

What better way to spend the summertime than being outdoors and having some fun? Make the most of your community’s green space with a picnic with friends and family. Or, if you fancy yourself a bit of a cook, why not hold a barbecue? There’s almost nothing that says “summer” more than enjoying some good food out in the sun. Just be sure to pick up after yourself and leave as little a trace as possible. Your community’s common areas should be able to be enjoyed by everyone, after all.

You have a lot of great resources hiding in plain sight, so make use of them! When making use of the amenities, there’s a good chance you might bump into a neighbor. Don’t be afraid to say hello! You never know might become a good friend.

When it comes to personal finance, we all need help sometimes. But rather than using a pencil and paper to make sense of your budget, why not utilize some helpful apps and programs? Not only will there be less of a chance of you making a calculation error, you’ll also have some colorful charts and graphs to look at, which, in all seriousness, can help you make more informed decisions. If you don’t already have these five programs, check them out to get your money in order.

You Need a Budget

If you’re a total beginner when it comes to tracking your finances, or you’re just feeling overwhelmed by the thought of managing your money, you should look into You Need a Budget. YNAB holds your hand through creating a budget and making sure your money goes toward the important stuff. It runs on your computer, but you can also go mobile with apps for your phone or tablet. Heads up: this is a paid program, but YNAB is aware of the irony of paying money for a service when money is tight. Thankfully, they provide a month-long trial, so if you haven’t turned around your budget by then, you’re free to get out.

Mint

If money’s a little tight and you’re looking for something a little less involved, Mint might be the best finance-tracking option for you. It’s completely online and hooks up to your bank and other financial institutions you have accounts with and indeed provides you with the pretty pie charts that you don’t get with YNAB. Best of all, though, Mint is free, so there’s no reason not to check it out. The downside to Mint is that it takes a little more effort to get up and going.

Excel/Google Sheets

OK, this may sound silly – after all, we all have Excel, or at least one of the free alternatives, such as Google Sheets, and they’re not known for being financial programs. But, the beauty of a basic spreadsheet program is that, with a little time and effort, you can customize how you track your finances. You can build a basic budget sheet, or if you’re willing to get more advanced, even something like a loan calculator, all to suit your own needs and interests. If you don’t know where to start, consider looking up templates online or checking out tutorials on YouTube.

TurboTax

For most Americans, mid-April is almost certainly not the most wonderful time of the year. Why? Two words: tax season. Yes, you have to do them, and yes, they’re a pain. So, make things a little easier on yourself by getting some help with TurboTax. While you’ll have to pay some money for this service, you get a lot of benefits from using this program to help you file. TurboTax finds the right forms for you to fill out, keeps a database of tax deductions you could eligible for, and even tracks your tax returns.

Robinhood

Once you’ve got some money in the bank, you may want to start investing. But if you’re interested in investing in stocks, good luck to you. Due to the knowledge involved in buying stocks and possible expensive transfer fees, there’s a high barrier of entry for getting started in stock trading. That’s why Robinhood exists. An app for both the iPhone and Android phones, Robinhood simplifies stock investing by providing easy-to-read data, and by linking up to your bank account, it’s quick and easy.

Remember that simply using a program to keep track of your money isn’t going to be the only thing you need to do to get ahead in your finances. You aren’t going to become a millionaire overnight with these programs, but you’ll certainly start heading in the right direction.

What a time to be alive. We may not living in space or teleporting across the globe, but companies are coming out with impressive inventions year after year. 2016 is no different, and we’re finally at a point where the loftiest sci-fi ambitions are beginning to become a reality. Here are three inventions that will blow your mind in 2016.

Consumer-Ready Virtual Reality

For decades, virtual reality has seemed like a futuristic fever dream, as attainable as a flying car or a true hover board. Recently, though, there’s been a stir in the virtual reality development community. Oculus Rift, which is now owned by Facebook, has been making steady gains over the past few years, and recently, Google released its cheap Cardboard do-it-yourself headset for smartphones. But now, all the major players in tech are getting in on the action with cutting-edge VR headsets. Samsung released their Gear VR late last year, and you can expect even more such as the HTC Vive, the Playstation VR, as well as a rumored new offering from Google to be announced later in the year.

Fitness Trackers for Pets

There’s no doubt that fitness trackers have exploded in popularity over the years, as the hardware to make them becomes smaller and cheaper to produce. Nowadays, it’s difficult to go out in public without seeing a smart band around someone’s wrist. But now, hardware developers are looking to a new, previously untapped demographic in the world of fitness tracking: animals. That’s right, Fido could soon be sporting a FitBit. OK, while FitBit doesn’t have any offerings for pets (yet), companies such as PitPatPet, FitBark, and Whistle are counting on the fact that people want to know where their pets are and if they’re living a healthy lifestyle. Way of the future or silly fad? Only time will tell.

The Electric SUV

Hybrids have been a thing for a few years now, but we’re slowly beginning to see the push for cars that are fully electric. But what if you require something a little more powerful and spacious? Tesla, the car company with the most chips in the electric game, is set to release their Model X in 2016. Tesla boats that the car gets 257 miles out of a single charge, and it goes from zero to 60 in a little over three seconds. With the Model X on roads, and other manufacturers such as Ford building their own competing fully-electrics, expect to see these gasless cars on the road soon.

And that’s not all. As the Internet of Things becomes a real – ahem – thing, expect to see more and more “dumb” objects gain a brain and get connected to the cloud. Soon, we’ll be wondering how we ever lived without a coffee pot that knows when exactly to make the perfect cup or a refrigerator that knows what foods we need to buy when. Some fear that such technologies will dumb us down or make us lazy, but honestly, who cares? It’ll be awesome!

Some people might think of binge eating as a non-issue, but as you may know, it’s an embarrassing problem that’s hard to fix. Thankfully, with some lifestyle changes, and some hard work, you can get on the right track to a healthier lifestyle. Here are the steps you’ll want to take to stop yourself from binge eating.

Think of the Underlying Causes

You’re unlikely to stop binge eating if you don’t consider why you overeat in the first place. Take a few minutes to figure out why exactly you reach for that food, and try your best to remove that cause from your life. If you’re stressed, try breathing techniques or other anti-stress methods. If you’re bored, pick up an active hobby. While you may not be entirely successful in removing these root causes for binge eating, any little bit will help decrease the chances of you going on a binge.

Eat Only When You’re Hungry

Eating only when you’re hungry sounds so simple, but you might not be thinking about that when the urge to eat rears its ugly head. Our bodies are smart machines, and they tell us when it’s time to eat food. Think of food simply as fuel for your body. Outside of your meals, every time you want to eat, think about whether your body really does need the food.

Eat Real, Nutritious Food

An apple or baby carrots aren’t going to hit the spot like a bag of chips or a candy bar will. They might not even fill you up right away. But unlike processed foods, whole foods will, over the long run, keep you fuller for longer. To avoid temptation at home, avoid buying unhealthy foods; that way, when you’re hungry, your only choice will be something that’s good for you.

Track What You Eat

Even once you start eating more healthily and in healthier portions, it can still be unclear as to how much, and what, you should be eating. Using an app, or just a pen and paper, add up the calories of what you eat all day, and aim for the daily recommended value. Plus, writing everything down will show you in black and white the choices you’ve made, giving you more incentive to make the right decisions.

Destress With Exercise

You may find that going through this lifestyle change is stressful, so you’ll need to find a way to channel that stress, or else you’ll find yourself back at square one, eating a lot and being unhappy about it. You might be thinking that cutting out unhealthy overeating is a big enough change to undertake, but adding a little more exercise to your everyday routine will help you deal with stress while also helping you on your journey to a healthier lifestyle.

The secret to changing your lifestyle is to build, and stick to, the habits you build. You might slip one day, but don’t let that deter you from continuing on the right path the next day. After some time, and some hard work, your days of binge eating will be in the distant past.

When moving into a new place, there’s no telling what sort of neighbors you’ll end up having. In a perfect world your neighbors would be quiet and respectful, without causing much disruption in your life. Unfortunately, we probably all have a few ex-neighbor horror stories that prove how bad things can really be out there.

Befriending a neighbor can be tough. You want to remain distant enough so that nothing will impact having to live next to them. On the other hand, nobody wants to be completely standoffish and rude with those they live near. In order to find that balance, here are some things to consider about why you should make friends with your neighbors.

Help In A Pinch

We’ve all been there. That moment when you are in the middle of making your favorite recipe, only to realize you’re missing a key ingredient that you simply can’t continue without. You don’t want to have to run to the store, but you can only really ask your neighbor if you are on good terms. Being friends with your neighbor comes in handy when you’re in a pinch, as long as you return the favor.

Help In An Emergency

A friendly neighbor might be helpful in a pinch, but they could be invaluable in an emergency. You never know when an accident is going to happen. And while you may not be able to handle the emergency on your own, having a neighbor that’s a friend will surely be useful. Neighbors who help each other in emergencies can help take a lot of the worry out of life.

Someone To Spend Time With

Work takes up a lot of your day, so it’s hard to meet new people. When you don’t get along with your coworkers outside of the office, things can be even more boring. However, when you connect with your neighbors it’ll be great to have that outlet to come home to at night. Whether you hang out occasionally or nightly, having a friend in a neighbor will be a refreshing relief in your otherwise hectic day.

Building A Community

Apartment complexes are great because they often have clubhouses where the entire community can gather. For some people, this is perfect for finding a yoga class or movie night. However, you may use this gathering place as a chance to build a network of people inside of the apartment community to keep everyone banded together. Building a healthy community is an invaluable part of every apartment complex, and making friends with your neighbors will build that camaraderie amongst your peers.

Keeping Things Cool

At the end of the day, even if you and your neighbor don’t become the best of friends, it’s still a good idea to keep things cordial. These are the people that you are around whenever you are at home, and any sort of hostile environment will be dreary for everyone. If nothing else, keep things cool and wait it out till one of you decides to move.

Expand your community and recharge your batteries in the process, as you consider this insight as to why you should make friends with your neighbors.

They are called accidents for a reason and the time to prepare for one isn’t in the moment. One tiny accident can leave a lasting impact if you’re not careful. Instead, diligence and preparedness will help to ensure that you’re ready for whatever comes next.

Be ready for any number of situations, while also keeping you and your family safe, with these ideas for preparing an apartment emergency kit.

First Aid Kit

A small First Aid kit will prove to be invaluable in the event of an emergency. Most First Aid kits also come prepared with most things that you’ll need in a minor situation. This means you won’t have to piece together your own kit, which could result in forgetting valuable items. Grab a small First Aid kit and keep it handy, and you’ll find it to be a vital part of your apartment emergency preparedness.

Water & Food

In the event of a serious emergency, any number of things could happen in your apartment. One very possible scenario could include not having clean water. Therefore, have at least three gallons of water per person, which will be enough for each person to use at least one gallon per day. You may also want to have enough non-perishable food for that long as well. Food and water may be a normal good in your daily life, but it could become a valuable asset in an emergency.

Flashlight

Losing electricity in your apartment won’t be as bad if you have a flashlight available. The flashlight will help to keep things visible in your apartment, as well as if you need to relocate to another area.

Radio

A transistor radio will come in handy in the event of an even more disastrous emergency. In the event of a tornado, flood, hurricane, earthquake, or any other disaster, a radio will help to pick up information that you can use to get to safety.

Batteries

In order to keep your flashlight and radio powered, add a few batteries to your apartment emergency kit. An additional battery pack for USB-powered technology will also be useful. Batteries can be heavy and won’t last a long time, so use them sparingly in the event of an emergency.

Basic Tool Kit

A basic tool kit will help you fix minor things around the home. In addition, that tool kit will prove to be useful in a more serious emergency as well. A hammer, screwdriver, tape measure, and other parts of a tool kit will prove to be useful in a variety of situations in your apartment.

Hand Sanitizer

Keep your hands clean and free of germs, especially if you don’t have clean running water.

A Plan

Your emergency won’t have nearly the impact on your life if you stay prepared. Make sure that you, your family, roommates, and other people all know what to do in the event of an emergency. This will keep everyone calm, which can prove to be vital when time is of the essence.

The difference that you’ll pay for an additional bedroom in your apartment could be hundreds of dollars each month. While it may be nice to have that extra space for an occasional visitor, home office, or even new baby, the budget may not have a lot of wiggle room for more square footage than what you already have. If that’s the case, you’re not out of luck entirely.

A great way to add space to your apartment is by making an additional bedroom. With the right creativity and forethought into what you plan on doing, that room can be incredibly useful for your living space. Here’s a look into adding a bedroom to your apartment layout, opening your home to a variety of new options.

Find The Perfect Space

The first trick to adding a bedroom to your apartment layout is finding the perfect space. If you currently live in an apartment, your options will be limited to the existing layout. However, if you’re looking to move into a new apartment and hope to add an additional room, keep this in mind as you begin the search.

The perfect space for a new bedroom would likely be along a large wall or in a bigger open area. A lot of awkward corners or angles may make it more challenging to have a room that is comfortable, so be sure to avoid these areas in your apartment. Being limited on space doesn’t prohibit your options completely, but it will constrict what choices you have when adding a new bedroom to your apartment layout.

Divide The Area

Once you’ve found the perfect space, consider putting up a wall to divide the area. For those that are renting, your options may be limited to a temporary retaining wall. On the other hand, you may be able to add a new wall to the layout if you own the apartment. In either event, dividing the area by adding a wall will help to give the new room it’s own isolated feeling that you may be looking for.  

Consider Natural Light

When deciding on the perfect location for your new room, be aware of how natural light comes into your apartment. You may want to consider putting the room next to a window so that natural light can flow in, but you also want to avoid blocking that light from the rest of the apartment. Your options for natural light may be limited, which is where you’ll have to get creative when making a new room in your apartment.

Add The Right Touches

Complete the look by adding the perfect finishing touches to your new room. This is where you’ll want to use furniture that fits the space, rather than things that are too large for the area. Whether it’s a comfortable bed for guests, a functional desk for your office, or a crib for the new baby, be sure to add only what you need to this new room.

A little creativity can go a long way in an apartment that doesn’t have enough space. No matter how much space you already have, consider this information when making the decision to add a bedroom to your apartment layout.

Being a parent is tough. Luckily, you’re not alone in your efforts, as there are countless parenting websites and blogs that are dedicated to helping along the way. Granted, the Internet can be full of varying parenting styles and techniques, so it’s important that you consider your own methods and values in the process. Keep in mind that there’s no guaranteed perfect way to raising a child and that you’ll continually be learning as you go.

As you start the learning process, here are the top 5 websites and blogs for parents to follow.

The Stay-At-Home Life

You won’t find a job that’s more difficult, but rewarding, than being a stay-at-home parent. While most people think that just means making sure the kids are up in time to get to school, there’s so much more that goes into living your life as a stay-at-home parent. To learn new tips for parenting, ideas for fitness, how to cope with loneliness of being at home, rely on the SAHM blog.

The Full Plate Blog

With everything going on in your life, imagine how much time you could save if you didn’t have to worry about what was for dinner each night. With The Full Plate Blog, you’ll find tons of recipes and new ideas that are easy to create. To make things even easier, the blog offers weekly meal plan options that help to organize your hectic schedule even more.

Parenting.com

No hidden secret here, as Parenting.com offers a huge database of information. The website is full of tips for parenting, kid-friendly products, food options, and so much more. You won’t get quite the personal touch that you may with other sites on this list, but Parenting.com is certainly worth bookmarking.

The Juggle

The Juggle is a Wall Street Journal blog that helps parents balance their personal and professional lives. From getting advice on how to prepare for retirement, to the best way to separate the office from your time at home, you’ll find plenty of tips on this blog that help you stay focused. Just because you are a new parent, that doesn’t mean your career has to suffer. Learn how to balance both with The Juggle.

8BitDad

Being a dad is a hilarious experience that comes with plenty of chances to learn. The layout and presentation of 8BitDad is quite different than some of the other softer blogs on this list, but it’s perfect for new dads. Whether it’s a list of classic video games that you need to share with your kid or advice on how to talk about sex with your teenager, new fathers can rely on 8BitDad for relatable insight.

There’s no way to truly prepare you for the ups and downs of being a parent. But with the more you know, the better you’ll be prepared for whatever comes your way. Rely on these top 5 websites and blogs for parents and you’ll have help in the journey.