Going Into Winter: What to Know When Living in an Apartment for the First Time

By Kailey Walters on November 12, 2018

If you are living in your very own apartment for the first time this year, congratulations! You’ve made it to a new stage in adulthood. What with living on your own, there are inevitably a number of changes and adjustments you have to make to get used to living in an apartment — from sharing a space with roommates (some or all of whom you may not know) to paying bills on your own.

One thing you may not have accounted for yet is what to do once you enter the winter months. Whether or not you’re already accustomed to living in a cold climate, wintertime can often be a shock to the system. Read on for some tips on how to best handle the coming of winter while living in your new apartment!

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If You’re Moving Into an Apartment During the Winter

Most people might not think winter is the best time to move into an apartment, but moving in during the cold season definitely has its benefits!

You can save money.

The busiest season for apartment renting often tends to start in spring, around March and April, and ends around September. By the time the winter starts sneaking up, prices start to drop — which is great news if you’re thinking about renting in December, January, or February. Take advantage of this cycle and look into renting an apartment sometime in the winter!

Your belongings may be more well-protected.

Many people tend to move in during the peak months, particularly during the spring and summer as mentioned earlier. During those hot, scorching months, you run a greater risk of ruining your belongings — particularly the more fragile and delicate ones — while they’re being transported in the heat of the moving van or your car.

To keep your belongings safe, consider transporting your stuff during the wintertime instead. When the temperatures are lower, your belongings are less likely to be damaged from being overheated. Thinking ahead in this way can certainly help you to preserve your belongings for your new apartment.

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If You’re Already Moved Into Your Apartment

To prepare for the impending cold weather, there are a number of things you can do, for yourself and for your apartment, to make sure you stay warm and cozy.

Get a sun lamp.

Once the days start getting shorter, which means less sunlight and more darkness, it can be easy for energy levels and general morale to dip below normal. Throw in the increasingly cold weather, and you’re most likely going to feel a bit drained and ready to curl up in bed once you arrive back at your apartment.

Having a sun lamp at home can help to alleviate those drowsy, drained feelings and perk up your mood. It can also help to brighten up your living space, so that the inside of your apartment seems much brighter and happier than the dark winter world outside your windows.

Even just getting a regular lamp (or a few) can brighten up your apartment and make the space seem livelier. There are many options when it comes to giving your apartment a warm, bright feel to chase away the winter blues.

Consider getting a space heater.

If the heating system in your apartment isn’t quite doing it for you, you may want to consider investing in a space heater (as long as one is allowed). It can do wonders for warming up your apartment on those cold winter days. Just make sure that you’re using it responsibly, as you want to avoid any potential accidents that involve setting things on fire.

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Stock up on supplies like candles and blankets to give your apartment a warm, cozy, and homey feel.

Who doesn’t love to come back to a cozy, comfortable home after a long day of school or work? Especially during the winter, when all you want to do all day is curl up on your sofa or in your bed with a blanket and Netflix, it’s definitely a wonderful feeling to feel welcomed once you step into your apartment.

To enhance this warm and fuzzy feeling, stock up on items such as candles and blankets to place around the apartment. Having multiple candles throughout your living space can create a warm, soft glow as well as permeate the air with a homey scent of your choosing. Especially during the winter months, as the holidays are approaching, it may be fun to choose some scents that get you in the holiday spirit, such as candles that smell like pine or peppermint (if you’re into that). And having multiple blankets scattered throughout your apartment — draped on the sofa, folded at the foot of your bed, etc. — just provides more opportunities for you to snuggle up in a cozy bundle whenever the need arises.

Get rid of cold drafts.

Even if you have the heat cranked all the way up, and your space heater is turned on, your apartment could still be suspiciously cold in some areas and you have no idea why or how. That strange coldness may be due to drafts coming in from outside, perhaps because of certain windows and/or doors that have cracks.

If you do happen to have cold drafts blowing into your apartment, a quick fix is to patch up the exposed spots with duct tape or a draft stopper. Draft stoppers are simple items that you can either buy online or make on your own out of some old clothes lying around.

If you decide to make one on your own, you can simply cut off the sleeve of a long-sleeved shirt and stuff it with some kind of material such as foam, beans, rice, or even cat litter. Place the draft stopper over the gap in your windows and doors, and it should help in keeping the cold out while keeping heat in.

Of course, as this is only a temporary solution to the problem or if the situation becomes more severe, you should definitely reach out to your super and request to have it fixed. Then you won’t have to worry about drafts and can enjoy your heater. To prevent this from turning into a drawn-out hassle, try to check up on potential drafts in your apartment before the cold really settles in. Then you’ll be all set once winter finally arrives.

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Consider getting insulated curtains.

Another thing you can do to ensure your apartment is as warm as it possibly can be for the winter is to get insulated curtains.

When choosing insulated curtains, it’s best to stay away from thin materials. Instead, go for heavy, dense cloth such as velvet, tapestry, denim, or suede. Additionally, you can add a pelmet to the top of your curtain rod, which helps to keep the room warm by preventing the recirculation of cold air into the room.

Cook!

One effective (and really fun) way to keep some warmth in your apartment is to cook or bake. Surely if your family has ever hosted a big holiday meal, you remember what it’s like when the whole house is filled with enticing aromas wafting from the kitchen and the whole atmosphere is unmistakably warm and cozy.

Whether or not a holiday is coming up (although, during the winter, there most certainly are plenty of occasions), take some time to cook and bake your favorite foods. Using the oven or the stove is a great way to not only warm up the kitchen, but also to spread the wonderful aroma throughout your apartment (as long as you don’t mind that).

What’s more, once you’re done cooking or baking, you get to enjoy the finished product. Warm up with some hearty, home-cooked comfort foods, from mac and cheese to soup to a tray of cookies. Filling up your belly with this food will not only make you feel physically warmer, but will also hopefully lift your spirits and make you feel right at home in your apartment.

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Infographic by Kailey Walters

Figure out how to store your stuff.

Something you might not have thought about is how you’re going to store your belongings in your apartment during the winter months. After all, once the temperatures start dropping, it’s finally time to put away the summer and fall clothes and dig out the heavy-duty winter clothing — which often takes up considerably more space in your closet and dresser drawers. So, when it comes to clothing in particular, there are a few things you can do to efficiently maximize your storage space.

One way to go about it is to sort through the clothes you currently own and figure out what you can get rid of. Clear out a chunk of time in your calendar specifically for sorting through your clothes and create separate piles for things you will keep, throw out, donate, or sell. This system can certainly help you to not only organize your clothing items, but also to do something productive and make room for the more important winter clothes in your wardrobe.

For the clothes that you plan on saving but don’t have enough space to store in your dresser or closet, you may want to consider storing them in bins that can be tucked away neatly, perhaps under your bed or desk or in the back of your closet. These bins would contain clothes that you don’t plan on using for a while, such as summer clothes, so they can be stored out of sight and out of mind until summertime rolls around again.

Another way to efficiently store your clothes is to decide what to hang and what to fold. Jeans and sweaters should be hung up in your closet, as they can take up a lot of space when folded, while other clothing items that are significantly thinner, such as T-shirts, undergarments, leggings, and long-sleeved shirts, can be folded in your dresser drawers or on shelves. Having a system for hanging and folding can definitely help you organize your clothes and maximize on saved space.

Find ways to occupy yourself if you get stuck in your apartment.

Once you’ve taken care of all the logistics of living in an apartment during the winter, something that’s important to account for is, well, just how much time you’ll end up spending inside the apartment throughout those cold months. After all, when it gets dark out before 4:30 pm and you would prefer to spend most of your time indoors anyway, there’s a good chance you’ll end up confined to your apartment most of the time (at least, when you’re not in class or at work).

Knowing that, it’s important to find some ways to occupy yourself to keep from getting bored or feeling like you have cabin fever. Perhaps make use of this time to indulge in some hobbies or activities that you’ve always wanted to start or continue, be it knitting, whipping up new recipes in the kitchen, reading through that pile of books that’s been waiting for you for months, or catching up on your favorite show on Netflix. Doing so can make you feel productive while also chasing away feelings of boredom and/or loneliness.

Speaking of loneliness, one way to bring more liveliness and cheer (and both figurative and literal warmth) into your apartment is to invite friends over. If you’re feeling up to it, have some company over one weekend and live it up together. The extra people in your living space will give it a warm, cozy feeling and certainly prevent you from getting bored!

Ultimately, with the coming of winter, there are many ways you can go about preparing yourself and your apartment for the cold season. Whether you’re attempting to physically warm up your apartment, brighten up your living space with cozy additions like blankets and candles, or find ways to enjoy yourself indoors during the winter season (or all three!), you have many options. Happy winter!

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