Posts about Home and Decorating

How to Organize Your Documents-image

We live in an increasingly paperless world, but there are still plenty of stacks of papers that can easily crowd our desktops, drawers, filing cabinets, and our peace of mind. Organize all your documents so you can relax, knowing you’ve conquered the paper-clutter monster. Try out some of these tips from today’s StoneGate Apartment Homes Blog. First, reduce and simplify. If you’re like many of us, odds are you probably have folders and stacks of mail full of documents that you probably don’t need to keep. Some of them may even still be around after years! Tackle these papers first by checking out your most recent papers and going through them with the mindset of organizing by need. Documents related to taxes, insurance, and other important things should be kept, but some you don’t even need. Keep a shredder or recycling bin handy so it’s easy to immediately get rid of the old and unimportant papers. Depending on your habits and the number of papers you need to go through, getting rid of everything that it is unnecessary to keep may take a while. Focus on one small step at a time and give yourself a timeline so you can have something to work toward. Organize by category. Once you’ve purged all the unnecessary papers, sort according to a system that works for you. A good idea is by category : financial documents can be together and organized by year, while documents pertaining to your identity (including your birth certificate, social security card, and passport) can stay together. If there are multiple people in your household, keep this organization method consistent for everyone by designating a folder for each person within the categories. Take photos. Of course, sometimes there are documents you want or know you should keep but that you don’t necessarily need to have a physical copy of — for example, crafts, hand-drawn photos, letters, or certificates. If you have a smartphone, camera, or even access to a scanner, take a photo so you can have an electronic backup. Then connect your photos to an online storage space like Google Drive so they can stay safe even if your phone breaks. Whatever your specific organization method, the key is to give each paper a home. If you need to make yourself a guide for finding these documents later, create one on your phone or in a trusted notebook. All of these efforts will definitely help you feel more on top of your life. We hope you find success with these tips soon, so you can get out and enjoy summertime in Williamsville, NY!  

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Three Ideas to Personalize Your Balcony or Patio-image

  One amenity some of our residents here at StoneGate Apartment Homes appreciate the most is their apartment’s balcony or patio. If you have one, make the most of it as we are enjoying this lovely spring weather here in Williamsville, NY by dressing it up this month! Today we have three suggestions to help spark your imagination when it comes to balconies and patios.   Create a Fairy Garden Create a miniature fairy garden to put on your balcony. Purchase a fairy garden kit or gather supplies from various places like a dollar store or a craft store, or check and see what you already have on hand that may work. Begin with a container. Some ideas for containers include a bakers rack, terra cotta pots, old-fashioned orange crates, old fashioned children’s wagon or pram, or even a bird bath. Fairy gardens by definition are small, and you’ll need some miniature items to complete your garden. Of course, you can be creative and fashion items yourself, or you can orden pieces to put in your garden. Some resources include the Miniature Garden Shoppe and Fairy Garden Supplies from Oriental Trading, both online.   Container Garden to Repel Mosquitoes Container plants that repel mosquitoes are great additions to your balcony or patio. Some good ones to use are rosemary, horsemint, marigold, lemon balm, ageratum, citronella, catnip, basil, lemon thyme, verbena, peppermint, geranium, basil, oregano, lemongrass, and lavender. Many of them have other useful properties, as well. Use this Plant Encyclopedia from Better Homes and Gardens to learn more details about these plants. The section on container plants is particularly useful when you are planning what to add to your patio or balcony at StoneGate.   Furniture Your patio or balcony is there for you to enjoy, so as you’re decorating it, make seating a priority. It doesn’t have to be full of furniture if you don’t think you’ll use it, of course. But stock it with a cozy chair or two — or a bench — and a table for your laptop, book, or food so you can enjoy the beauty of New York without feeling crowded with furniture or other decorations.   What are your favorite ways to decorate or otherwise enjoy your balcony? Share your ideas with us in the comments. We hope you love making use of your balcony this season! Thanks for reading!  

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