Blog Posts

11 Tips for a Happier Home

It can’t be overlooked how much our homes shape our moods, actions, and even our outlook on life. Home is where we start and end each day, and it holds the power to change the way we live and spend our time dramatically. Our homes are there to care for us and help keep us feeling our best. A few small yet meaningful changes can make for a far happier home. Here are our top 11 tips to make your home here at Hohm Highlandtown Apartments its most comfortable. Make Your Bed Do you have to make your bed if you just mess it up again the next night? Though it seems like a waste of time, the simple act of making your bed can increase productivity and boost happiness . Making your bed takes no more than a few minutes and can set you up for success from the minute you wake up. Don’t Let Dishes Pile Up The sight of a mountain of dirty dishes in the sink can be a huge stressor. The best way to avoid the buildup is to rinse a dish as soon as you use it and stick it in the dishwasher. If you don’t have a dishwasher, wash the dishes by hand and set them on a drying rack. It might feel like a chore in the moment, but a clean kitchen is sure to boost your happiness and protect your family from sickness. Keep Surfaces Clutter Free Too much stuff can be one of the biggest sources of stress for people . Your home should be a peaceful place. One of the easiest ways to keep your home tidy is to get into the habit of keeping surfaces clean. Though it’s tempting to throw your mail and keys on the table, put those things in designated spots and you won’t have to pick them up later. Return Your Room to Its Normal State One of the best practices to get into is putting a room back to normal before you leave it. After you’ve cooked, put away all the ingredients, empty the sink and wipe down the surfaces. This practice can be difficult to make a habit but the happy feeling you get when you enter a clean room is worth the extra effort. Decorate with Photos Identify the memories that make you happy and display them on your wall. Put up your wedding photos, pictures of your grandparents and your kids’ first day of school shots. When you walk by those photos, you’ll remember how happy that moment was, and it will surely brighten your day. Add Some Natural Elements House plants are not only beautiful, but they also help reduce toxins in the air , boost your mood and improve productivity. If you don’t want the commitment of a houseplant, try adding a bouquet of sunflowers to your counter for an instant mood boost. Greenery makes an excellent addition to any room. Try incorporating plants in your bedroom for better sleep ! Make a Zen Space Our homes have become our office, our gm, our movie theater, our restaurants, so having a designated space for unwinding is crucial. The best way to create your personal zen space is to pick a spot that’s comfortable — it could be a small corner or a spare room. Decorate your space with cozy items that make you happy. Set aside time every day to go to your zen space and meditate, practice yoga or read. Show Your Personality It’s empowering to express yourself, and home decor is one of the best ways to do it . Make a list of everything that makes you happy. Look at your list and incorporate those things into your home. Whether it’s paintings of the ocean, tea towels with cat print or the color pink, placing things around your house that reflect your personality will make you happier to live in the space. Let the Light In The brightness and color of light directly affects mood . Blue light can increase productivity, bright light can heighten emotions and natural light can boost happiness. Open the windows, pull back the curtains and let the sunshine in. If you live in a dark space, add lamps and dimmers to boost the brightness and your mood. Choose Mood Boosting Colors The colors in your home can directly affect your mood . The best way to optimize your space for positivity is to choose what specific mood you want to create and use those colors accordingly. Use yellow for an energizing feel, try blue for a calming space and use green for comfort. Fill With Fragrance Smell is the sense that is most closely related to memory . Have you ever smelled an old book and been transported back to your elementary school library? Try filling your home with fragrances that remind you of good memories. Filling your home with pleasant fragrances is sure to lift your spirits. Find Your Happy Place at Hohm Highlandtown Apartments! With a style all its own, Hohm brings well-designed living spaces and community-focused amenities—all tucked behind a thriving and lively main street. Our unique apartment homes offer a variety of floor plans with high-end modern finishes and our community features amenities that will elevate your urban living experience. Make yourself at Hohm!

9 Tips for Sustainable Apartment Living

Creating a positive environmental impact starts at home. Through sustainable living, we can live a lifestyle that attempts to reduce society’s reliance on the Earth’s natural resources. Apartment dwellers can take earth-conscious steps towards making their home an eco-friendly zone and reap the numerous benefits that come along with sustainable living, which include cost savings and a healthier life. To help you take the first step into sustainable apartment living, here are 9 tips: Reduce Your Energy Use There are numerous ways to reduce your home’s energy consumption, like making sure to shut down your computer, unplugging idle electronics, and turning off lights when they’re not in use. Speaking of lights, make sure you’re using LEDs , which are eco-friendly, energy-efficient, and have a longer lifespan. Conserve Water Did you know the average American uses an average of 82 gallons of water a day at home? What’s more, nearly 1 in 10 people around the world lack access to clean water . Do your part to reduce water consumption by turning off the water when it’s not in use (this includes while washing hands), taking shorter showers, only running your dishwasher when its full, and reporting all water leaks to your Leasing Office. Conserving water protects our ecosystem and can also save you money on your energy bills! Use Green Cleaning Products Cleaning products are necessary for maintaining attractive and healthy conditions - the removal of dust, allergens, and infectious agents is crucial to maintaining a healthy indoor environment. However, certain cleaning products may contain chemicals associated with eye, skin, or respiratory irritation, or other human health issues . Making the switch to green cleaning products can help to reduce the human health and environmental concerns that come along with cleaning. To identify greener cleaning products, consult the EPA’s Safer Choice program , which certifies products that contain safer ingredients for human health and the environment. Opt for Energy Efficient Appliances While you may not have a say in the type of larger appliances used in your apartment home, swapping your smaller appliances for eco-friendly alternatives can make a huge difference in your energy bill and carbon footprint. Though they can cost more up front, energy efficient appliances will save you enough in utility costs that they’ll often pay for themselves in a short time. Shop Sustainable Furniture Often made of cheap single-use materials derived from questionable working conditions, fast furniture is manufactured quickly and en masse to keep up with passing trends. That kind of consumption is having real ramifications on the planet. The EPA estimates that over 9 million tons of furniture is tossed in landfill each year. What’s more, as furniture decomposes, it can emit harmful gases like methane and carbon dioxide. When furnishing your apartment home, first opt for secondhand pieces to help keep them out of landfills. If secondhand isn’t an option, opt for pieces made from sustainable materials and by brands that are doing their part to reduce their environmental impact . When it comes to floor coverings, choose rugs made with natural materials like organic cotton, seagrass, jute, and wool. Control Temperature Naturally Besides adding a touch of design and personality to your apartment, window treatments provide shade against the sun in the summer and trap heat during winter. When choosing window attachments, look for products certified with the Attachments Energy Rating Council (AERC) Energy Improvement rating for increased energy savings and added comfort. Control the temperature in your home more naturally by opting for an open window vs air conditioning or adding or removing layers of clothing. And when it is time to turn on the thermostat, make sure to schedule your programmable thermostat for optimal energy savings. Reduce Your Overall Consumption Recycling items you’re no longer using is a great way to reduce your footprint, but reducing your consumption in the first place has an even bigger impact. Buying less isn’t about purchasing only sustainable brands or shopping secondhand. It’s about being thoughtful with what you buy, thinking about the future, and spending your hard-earned cash on things you’ll actually use. Opt for Zero-Waste Consumables Single-use plastics are a glaring example of the problems with throwaway culture and reflect our tendency to prioritize convenience over durability and consideration of long-term impacts. Of the 300 million tons of plastic waste produced each year worldwide, half of that is for single-use items. Zero waste alternatives can be found for nearly every single use plastic consumable – like toilet paper, dish soap, laundry detergent and more! When it comes to living a low waste lifestyle, perfection isn’t the prime objective. Simply swapping out one or a few of your “normal” items for these zero waste products is a significant move. Compost Food Waste Tossing food waste into a garbage bin might seem like no big deal, but food waste sent to landfills can seriously impact climate change. When food waste is trapped in a landfill without air, it releases methane, which is a potent gas that contributes significantly to global warming. One way to avoid this is to compost your food waste . Composting is a process of naturally recycling organic materials like leaves and food scraps into decomposed matter that enriches the soil. Composting simply speeds up the process of decomposition by creating the ideal environment for microorganisms to feed on them. You can add compost to your window boxes or mix it with potting soil for indoor plants. Creating an eco-friendly apartment has immense benefits, from ridding your space of dangerous greenhouse gas emissions, improving your health by avoiding products and materials that contain toxic chemicals, and saving energy by using lights and electrical appliances that are power efficient. Practice the tips mentioned above and create an eco-friendly apartment. Not only will you save money, but you will be doing your part in saving our planet.

Navigating Online Reviews

If you are like 89% of all renters, checking out an apartment community’s ratings and reviews is a major part of your apartment hunt. Seeing what other residents think of the apartment community can give you great insight into what it’s like to live there, but how do you know how reliable they are? Knowing what to look for when reading reviews will help you get the most out of them, so we’ve put together a list of thing you’ll want to be sure to look for when reading online reviews! The Date You’ve been on an exhaustive hunt for your new home and you think you’ve finally found the perfect one. It offers plenty of natural light for your plant babies, it’s a 10-minute commute to work and the fitness center is the stuff of dreams. Before you commit and sign the lease, you decide to check out some online reviews. Most of the reviews are reassuring you that you’ve made a great decision, when you come across one that warns “ Don’t rent here. Worst decision I ever made!”. You start to question whether this is the right place for you. Before you make the decision to jump ship on your new pad, check the date of the review. While an older review can still provide insight, things may have changed since it was posted. Maybe the property is under new management, or its undergone renovations. These changes likely wouldn’t be reflected in an older review, so keep that in mind when reading older reviews. The Motives Even if that review cautioning you away from your dream home is recent, think about the reviewer’s motives. Reviewers are often motivated by extreme feelings, either positive or negative. When everything is fine, people are less likely to write a review. This is true regardless of the industry – restaurants, hotels, etc. If a negative review seems vindictive, take it with a grain of salt, especially if all the other reviews are more positive. This reviewer likely just wanted to vent, and their experience won’t necessarily be your experience. The Star Rating Because most reviewers are motived by extreme emotions, it is very common to see reviews at the low or high end of the star rating (1 out of 5 or 5 out of 5). Oftentimes, the reviews in the middle (the 3 and 4-star reviews) tend to be more detailed and objective. While you’ll want to read the reviews when looking at apartments (at least the most recent ones), you’ll likely gain more insight from the reviews in the middle. The Manager’s Response You can tell a lot about the level of service you will receive and how engaged and responsive your property manager will be by the response to the review. When reading the responses from the manager, you’ll want to look for the following: Did they respond at all? A lack of response to a review can sometimes say more than the review itself. Were they genuinely appreciative of the review? A good property manager should be thankful for all reviews, good or bad, and should take the opportunity to thank everyone who is willing to provide helpful feedback. If there was an issue mentioned, did the manager acknowledge it frankly? Issues don’t get resolved by being ignored, and a good property manager will acknowledge the issue without pointing fingers or getting defensive. If there were issues mentioned, did the manager share how they planned to address them or attempt to have the reviewer get in touch to share more details? As you read reviews, a clear picture will begin to emerge about the apartment community. The things residents truly enjoy will become clear, since those things will likely be mentioned by multiple reviewers, and you’ll feel better knowing what you can expect your experience living in the community to be like.

6 Ways to Make Your Overnight Guests Feel at Home

Hosting friends or loved ones overnight? Make them feel right at home with these tips for being a thoughtful host! Whether you’ve never hosted before or are simply looking to do it better, a little hospitality can go a long way and may be easier and more rewarding than you anticipated. Before your visitors arrive, write down your Wi-Fi log-in information so you have it handy when they ask for it (and they will ask for it!). Have plenty of breakfast options ready in the morning - especially the coffee! You’ll want to inquire about any special dietary restrictions ahead of time. Show them where to get water or soft drinks while staying with you and make sure they know they’re welcome to help themselves! That way they don’t feel like they must ask you every time they need a drink. Make sure the toilet paper is in plain sight to re-stock. Nothing is more uncomfortable to a guest than having to root around your bathroom for a fresh roll. Make sure you have a clean hand-towel out for drying their hands after washing them as well! While we’re on the subject of the bathroom, make sure you have additional toiletries such as extra toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, razors, tissues and feminine products. Though your guests are likely bringing their own, have them on-hand just in case! Set out the hair dryer for them, too! Show them how to work your television and set the remote in front of it so they don’t have to go hunting for it. Your Guests Will Love Hohm Highlandtown Apartments! Whether they stay one night or five, your guests will love your brand-new apartment at Hohm! Hohm apartments in Highlandtown were developed to connect you with the heart of the city and embrace what’s right outside your front door — Eastern Avenue and generations of small business, emerging artists, and cultural institutions. With a style all its own, Hohm brings well-designed living spaces and community-focused amenities—all tucked behind a thriving and lively main street. Our unique apartment homes offer a variety of floor plans with high-end modern finishes and our community features amenities that will elevate your urban living experience. Make yourself at Hohm!

How to Care for Your Stainless-Steel Appliances

Stainless steel appliances look great and blend with most decors. Here at Hohm, our brand new apartment homes feature fully equipped kitchens with stainless steel appliances sure to compliment your personal design style. Keep your brand new appliances looking pristine and free of marks from grease, fingerprints and water drops by following these guidelines. Wipe in the Direction of The Grain When cleaning stainless steel appliances, the main goal is to do it without damaging the surface or leaving unsightly streaks on it. Find the direction of the grain by looking for little horizontal or vertical lines in the stainless steel. If the stainless-steel grain is horizontal, wipe from left to right. If the grain is vertical, wipe in a downward direction. Use a Designated Stainless-Steel Cleaner Avoid using any harsh chemicals or multi-purpose cleaners that contain bleach or ammonia on your stainless-steel appliances, as these can cause scratches and damage to the appliance. Instead, use a designated stainless steel cleaner , which is formulated to dissolve grease without scratching. Many also leave behind a protective coating to help deter future fingerprints. Wipe With Microfiber Cloth After cleaning your appliances, avoid allowing them to air dry, which can lead to streaks. Instead, buff them dry with a clean microfiber cloth, which lift and trap dirt and grease and do a better job zapping streaks more quickly than plain cloths or sponges do. Apply a little extra elbow grease when you come to any oily smears or stubborn fingerprints. Steel brushes and steel wool pads should not be used since they can scratch the surface of your appliance. Experience Hohm for Yourself! With a style all its own, Hohm brings well-designed living spaces and community-focused amenities—all tucked behind a thriving and lively main street. Our unique apartment homes offer a variety of floor plans with high-end modern finishes and our community features amenities that will elevate your urban living experience. Make yourself at Hohm!

How to Make Friends in a New City

Moving to a new city can be tough for a lot of reasons, not least among them is having to make new friends. However intimidating the idea of finding new friends may be, though, it’ll be worth the effort! To help you get started, here are 5 great ways to make some new connections in your new town! Pick Up a Group Activity Joining a group activity is a great way to not only meet new people, but to meet new people who share your interests and hobbies! Like to cook? Join a cooking class! Into fitness? Try a local yoga class. Here in Highlandtown, consider taking a training class at PEAK Performance Training , yoga classes at B-Fit Lifestyle , or joining a local club like the Patterson Park Mountain Bike Club . Attend Community Events In cities of all sizes, organizations often host meetups and events to encourage mingling and welcome newcomers. Not only are these events a great way to make new friends, they’re also a great way to discover your new favorite bar, restaurants, art gallery and more! For those new to Highlandtown, Highlandtown Main Street offers some incredible events including First Friday Art Walks . Plus, there is always something to do at Creative Alliance or Patterson Park! And don’t forget the events hosted right here in our community! Make sure you’re following Hohm Highlandtown Apartments on Facebook to stay in-the-know about the Resident events we have planned for you! Connect with Colleagues Don’t overlook the office; it can be a great catalyst for social connections. To spark new friendships in the workplace, try: Eating your lunch in the break room Participating in work events Posting about events or fun ideas in your work’s communication channels Inviting colleagues to join you for lunch, dinner, happy hour, a group activity, or other social events. Use Your Building’s Amenities Community amenities are a great way to find common interests with your neighbors. Plus, you’ll quickly learn who the regulars are. Start by waving or saying hello to the people you recognize. Whenever the chance presents itself, strike up a conversation! If you’re not sure what to talk about, make a comment or ask a question about the amenity you’re both using. For those new to Hohm, start your morning off with a workout in our Fitness Center, wind down after your busy day in our Resident lounge, or enjoy some time outdoors in the courtyard. Regularly spending time in these communal spots is a great way to meet the people who are also new to our brand-new apartment building! Throw a Housewarming Party While you obviously don’t know your apartment neighbors yet, it’s quite possible that they don’t know each other, either. A housewarming party is a great way to not only meet them but to provide opportunities for them to connect with each other as well. Having a theme for your event might help take away some of the anxiety. Try hosting a game night, ice cream social or wine tasting to help break the ice.