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Decorating Your Apartment for the Holidays
Decorating your apartment for the holidays can be a bit harder than decorating a home. You likely have less space and more restrictions on what you can do. But there is a way to decorate for the holidays and stay within your lease’s rules at the same time.
First things first
Before you buy that first string of lights, it’s important to do some legwork that’ll save you time and trouble. Find out from your apartment community manager what is and is not allowed, especially in the common areas such as outside your door or your patio.
If you get the OK from your apartment manager to decorate, start planning what you want to decorate with and where it should go:
- Take a look at how much room you have. This will determine what you can do, where you can do it and will narrow down what you need.
- Once you know how much room you have to work with, you can decide the size of tree to buy, and whether to get a real or an artificial one.
- Pick a theme. This will help you with your decoration shopping.
Think safety
Just because you can plug twelve items into one electrical outlet doesn’t mean you should. The key to decorating successfully is decorating safely. This means:
- Don’t overload electrical outlets.
- Keep your live tree watered to reduce the risk of a fire.
- Don’t hook up holiday lights with frayed wires.
- Don’t put holiday candles near flammable items, such as your tree.
- Don’t buy an artificial tree that’s not flame-retardant.
- Don’t leave holiday lights on when you are not there to monitor them.
More safety tips can be found at the U.S. Fire Administration’s Web site, which also links to videos on proper Christmas tree safety. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission also posts holiday decorating safety tips.
Be nice
The holidays are a time to be giving to others, and a considerate thing to keep in mind is not annoying your neighbors. Be tasteful and respectful with your decorations, and remember that you may not share the same beliefs or practices as an apartment neighbor.
If you have a roommate, don’t decorate your apartment before talking it over with him or her first. Collaboration is in the spirit of the season. Coming to an agreement will make the holidays — and sharing your living space — go more smoothly.
Decorate with joy
The holidays are supposed to be fun, so let that happen with your decorations. Create your holiday decorations to match your personality and style. (MarthaStewart.com has lots of decorating tips for all holidays you might find interesting.)
The good thing about the holidays is that there’s no shortage of decorating ideas. It only takes some preparation, planning, and effort to create your own winter wonderland!
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