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Organize Your Life

The Stonefire Apartments Blog has a few tips to help you organize your schedule and your closets. Use our tips to clean up your life and let go of your stress. We hope that you have an organized (and stress-free) month! Organize Your Schedule Start organizing your schedule by getting a reliable planner. It’s important to pick a planner that fits your lifestyle and your schedule. Some people work best with monthly planners, but others find weekly or daily planners more effective. Many people write their big goals and events on a monthly calendar and use their planner or journal for their day-to-day schedule. You can find a large variety of calendars and schedules at Target . Once you’ve got your planner, figure out how you’ll prioritize each task. You should finish your most important tasks first. It’s important to use your energy on your most important goals. Figure out which tasks you need to get accomplish each day, and which tasks you would like to get accomplished. Make sure that you get your “need to get accomplished” list done. You can save items on your “would like to get accomplished” list for another day, if you need to. Also remember to schedule some free time into each day. You’ll get burned out if you work too hard and forget to take some time to look around and smell the roses! Organize Your Closets Decrease the stress in your life by cleaning out your closets. We recommend clearing everything out of the closet first. This gives you the chance to clean or vacuum the floors and wipe down any shelves in your closet. Once everything is clean, go through your things. Throw out anything that is old, broken, or that you no longer use or wear. Donate any unwanted (but still usable) items to your local thrift shop or donation center. After you’ve gone through everything, come up with a system to organize your things. We recommend using a closet organizer. Wayfair has an awesome selection of closet organizers . Do you have any scheduling or organizing tips for us? Leave your best advice in the comments section. Thanks for reading our post!

National Pecan Day

The Stonefire Apartments Blog is featuring a few of our favorite pecan recipes for National Pecan Day on April 14th. Gather some friends together, make a few pecan recipes, and have some fun on National Pecan Day. We hope that you have a wonderful National Pecan Day! Southern Pecan Pound Cake from The Baking Pan This southern pecan pound cake is one of our favorite recipes on this list. All you need to make this treat is pecans, flour, baking powder, salt, butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract, and sour cream. Serve it up for your Pecan Day breakfast (or dessert). Chocolate Caramel Pecan Turtles from Six Sisters’ Stuff These chocolate caramel pecan turtles are great for gifting friends on Pecan Day. We know that you’ll really love how caramel, chocolate, and pecans mix in this easy treat. Buy candy boxes from your local craft store and use these chocolate turtles as a party favor or gift sometime this month. Nana’s Southern Pecan Pie from Melissa Sikes Pecan Day wouldn’t be complete without a delicious slice of pecan pie. A store bought pie shell can make it easier (and quicker) to make this recipe. Make the filling with pecans, eggs, corn syrup, light brown sugar, molasses, butter, salt, and vanilla extract. Serve up a slice of this pie with a heaping scoop of vanilla ice cream. Skillet Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake from Lively Table This skillet Texas chocolate sheet cake is one of the most delicious desserts we’ve ever tried. We are especially big fans of the frosting. Use butter, cocoa powder, low fat milk, powdered sugar, vanilla, and chopped pecans to make this fudgy, sweet frosting. This Texas sheet cake (made with cinnamon, sugar, and cocoa powder) is tasty, sweet, and delectable. Caramel Pecan Sticky Buns from Chocolate with Grace We think that these caramel pecan sticky buns are the perfect breakfast for Pecan Day. This treat takes awhile to make, but it’s well worth it. You’ll love how the dough, filling, and pecan topping work together to make a delicious and decadent dessert. What are your favorite Pecan Day recipes? Leave us a recipe in the comments. Thanks for reading our post!

Stretch Your Creative Muscles

This month the Stonefire Apartments Blog has a couple of ideas to help you stretch your creative muscles. We hope that our tips help you further your creative (or career) ambitions. Becoming a more creative person isn’t just useful if you’re an artist or a writer — creativity can help anyone out with their goals or career! Learn Something New Learning something new is a great way to explore your creativity. You never know where your next great idea is going to come from. Don’t be afraid to pick up a book on something new, attend a lecture on something you’ve never heard of, or to ask questions. Your questions will help you come up with new ideas and think in new ways. Talk to Someone It can be useful to speak with someone who has a similar goal as you. You can help each other come up with ideas, support each other, and help each other learn things that you might not discover on your own. Consider joining up with a group of people — some of whom may have very different ideas from you — as well. Speaking to other people will help you become a more open person and help you think of old ideas in a new light. Brainstorm Brainstorm different ideas on your own. Take some time each week to think about your next business venture, piece of art, or DIY project. What do you need to do to accomplish your project or goal? Take notes on everything that you need to do, the logistics of the problem, and then start brainstorming! You never know what you’ll come up with. Explore We recommend taking some time to explore your city this month. Go out of your way to discover new things about your hometown. Go out to a new restaurant, visit an art exhibit, take a cooking class, or take a hike on some local trails. There’s no limit to what you could learn or discover. Do you have any creativity-boosting ideas for us? Leave you best advice in the comments. Thanks for reading the Stonefire Apartments Blog!

Do Your Spring Cleaning

The Stonefire Blog is featuring a couple of our best spring cleaning tips today. We have some advice on cleaning your appliances! It’s important to remember to clean your appliances regularly, and we hope that you’re able to use our tips all year long! Take spring cleaning as an opportunity to clean the appliances that usually get ignored. Washer and Dryer Take some time to clean your washer and dryer this month. Apartment Therapy has some great tips to help you keep your washer smelling fresh and your dryer safe. Use vinegar to clean your washer (and get rid of any smells that might have built up over the year) and be sure to clean out your lint filters. Fridge & Freezer Start cleaning out your fridge and freezer by taking everything out (we recommend doing one at a time) and throwing anything spoiled or expired away. Once you’ve finished cleaning out your fridge, take time to wash the shelves and get rid of any spills and stains with soap, water, and all-purpose cleaner. Real Simple has an excellent checklist for cleaning your fridge and freezer. You can find it here . Dishwasher Your dishwasher can get really messy. Clean your dishwasher up using white vinegar, baking soda, and soap. Wipe down the outside of your dishwasher, as well. Vinegar and baking soda is the most cost-effective way to clean a dishwasher, but you can also find dishwasher cleaner (it’s different than dishwasher soap!) from many major retailers. Oven The Kitchn has some great advice on cleaning your oven. All you need to clean your oven is baking soda, water, rubber gloves, a dish cloth, a spatula, a spray bottle, and white vinegar. If you’re wary of turning your oven onto self-cleaning mode, use the Kitchn’s easy and helpful tips! You can find them here . Obviously, there’s much more you need to do when you’re spring cleaning a home. Let us know your cleaning secrets and tips in the comments. Thanks for reading our post! We hope that you have a great month in your Stonefire apartment!

Apartment-Safe Decorating

The Stonefire Apartments Blog has several tips to help you decorate your apartment home this month. We hope that our tips help you add some color to your apartment in a safe way. Use our tips to make your Stonefire apartment feel like home. Tapestries Hang a couple scenic tapestries on your walls. You can find tapestries of woodland scenes, sunsets, beach scenes, and more. Find a tapestry with a background that you love — after all, you’ll be seeing it everyday. Colorful accessories Colorful coasters, quirky quilts, and cool knick knacks can do a lot to brighten up a room. Scatter fun little accessories all over your Stonefire apartment. Put meaningful objects from people you care about throughout your apartment. Souvenirs from your vacations can be great decorations, and they usually have fun memories associated with them. Posters and Pictures Hang pictures of your favorite memories on the walls, posters of your favorite movies, and posters with fun and quirky sayings up. Hang up a map with pins marking the places you’ve been and the places you hope to go. Furniture Buy bright colored or uniquely shaped furniture for your apartment home. Put up a bookshelf with your favorite books on it. Buy a coffee table or an ottoman for your living room, and put an armchair in your bedroom. There are plenty of ways to get creative with your furniture. Curtains Hang curtains up for privacy and also to make your windows look even bigger. Hang your curtains wider and higher than your windows for a spacier feel. Pick unique colors and mix patterns and colors for a unique look. Just remember to pick curtains that complement the color scheme of your apartment. Do you have any apartment decorating tips for us? Let us know in the comments. Thanks for reading our post!

Valentines at Home

This week the Stonefire Apartments Blog has several ideas to help you celebrate your Valentine’s day. We have dinner ideas, flower ideas, and more. We hope that you have a very happy Valentine’s day! Dinner Set aside some time to visit your favorite restaurant in town on Valentine’s day. Make your plans today; call the people you are inviting to dinner, and make sure that you set the reservation for the right amount of people (and at the right time). You’ll want to set your reservation now to make sure that you have a table waiting for you on Valentine’s day. Cilantro-Lime Chicken from Delish This cilantro-lime chicken is delicious. Pair it with white rice, mashed potatoes, or quinoa for your Valentine’s day dinner. We also recommend making a vegetable like asparagus or fresh peas to go with your dinner. Dessert Dessert is one of our favorite things about Valentine’s day. Valentine’s day means eating all the chocolate you desire and not feeling guilty about it. Indulge with a few great desserts and a box of your favorite chocolates. You deserve it. Salted Caramel Brownie Bites from Live Well Bake Often We love these salted caramel brownie bites. We are definitely fans of the mix of caramel, salt, and brownie in these tasty snacks. They’re perfect for snacking on with friends. You’ll want to have them with ice cream or a tall glass of milk. Flowers Flowers are a great way to celebrate your Valentine’s day. Send the people you love a bouquet of roses or tulips, or design your own floral arrangement for your dining room table. Flowers are a great way to bring some life into your Stonefire apartment. Movies We wrote a post last month about watching movies. Put together your own movie night for your Valentine’s day! Watch your favorite romantic comedies, binge watch your favorite series on Netflix, or rent a brand new drama from Amazon. There are plenty of great ways to celebrate your Valentine’s day! Let us know how you plan on celebrating in the comments. Thanks for reading our post!