Posts about First-Time Renter in Rexburg, Idaho

Making Your Home Feel More Spacious

Here at Mesa Falls, we offer apartments with square footage ranging from 690 to 1100! We absolutely love having so much space, especially in our one bedroom apartment. However, if there is anything I’ve learned from apartment living over the past 5 years, it’s that the more you accumulate, the less space you have. Eventually, no matter how much space you start out with, you start to feel cramped. Here are 6 ways to make your home feel more spacious. Less is More! Less is more in many ways, but overall, Less things = more space. Start your journey by throwing some things out. There are a couple of methods for this. One is to hold each item and determine if it gives you joy. If not, toss it. Another is to throw out anything you haven’t used in the last 6 months (this one is especially helpful with clothing). Try the 20/20 method: if it is something you truly need that can be replaced (and needs to be) for $20 within 20 minutes of your home, go ahead and toss that as well. If you get stumped on ideas to declutter, there are plenty of ideas on Google! Store Up! Not out. There are a handful of items in the everyday household that can be stored upwards that aren't. Blankets, for example, we can commonly find are taking up too much space. A blanket ladder is a common and trendy solution to this problem. If you have too many blankets for just one blanket ladder, consider getting a bookshelf to store them. Maybe a hollow footrest is more your style. Pinterest some ideas for your style of storage, but always remember you can store a lot when doing so upwards! Simple decor Let’s talk about Decor. The minimalist lifestyle isn’t for everyone, especially not me. I like a view on every wall, however, sometimes that view ends up taking away from the space. Don’t be afraid to move around your decorations or furniture when you start to feel cramped. If you feel like you have one too many chairs or couches, don’t be afraid to get rid of them. After all, less is more! Use every space There are many floorplans at Mesa Falls that include a laundry room or pantry with a lot of space. Utilize these! Add a bookcase or shelves of some sort and fill the space with the things you don’t want in your main living areas. Specifically with the Private Falls, there is a nice space in the dining area, against the wall where a nice shelving unit would fit great! The Private Falls may not come with a pantry, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make one! There is also a great coat closet in the Private Falls, Bravura Falls, and Grand Falls. Just because it is called a coat closet doesn’t mean it can only be used for coats. Use that as a pantry or extra storage. Don’t forget that we also offer storage closets and garages. These are great spaces for large and seasonal items as well (think Holiday decorations, bikes, snowboards). If this peaks your interest, call the office! ORGANIZE If you have read some of my other blogs, you will know how much of an advocate I am of organization. Specifically giving everything a place. If everything has a spot to be returned to after use, the mess only accumulates a little and it’s easy to clean up. I am currently posting a series of organizing each room in your apartment. Check out this one for your bathroom , and keep an eye out for our next blog to see ideas on organizing your kitchen. Reset Daily Keeping a clean home can be difficult, especially when you are living with more people than just yourself. Remember that it’s okay for your home to look lived in, because it is lived in. Don’t hold yourself to an impossible standard of cleanliness. That being said, you can clean up each day by “resetting” the room. Change your mindset from “cleaning up after yourself” to “resetting for tomorrow”. This takes away any blame for a dirty area and changes it to acceptance that it is simply a used area. If it helps, number the tasks and do them in order. This takes away any overwhelming feelings. If you have any other tips or tricks to making your home feel more spacious, share it with us and we will share it in our next blog! Share to: [email protected] and address it to Maigan.

What to do in Rexburg (Outside)

Don’t know what to do during the winter months? Now is the perfect time to go outside and enjoy the beauty. Below is a list of ideas to do during the winter. #1 Grand Targhee Ever been snowboarding or skiing? Grand Targhee Resort is a 1 hour drive from Rexburg. This resort is known for its snow and luxurious lodging. Click the link below to visit their website. Grand Targhee Website #2 Sledding at the Dunes Saint Anthony dunes is known for its summer-time fun, but can also be sledding mania during the winter! For more information about the dunes use the link below. Saint Anthony Dunes #3 Coca Lodge Eat, drink and stay warm this winter with hot chocolate from Cocoa Lodge! This local shop has multiple flavors of hot chocolate. For more flavors check their website. Coca Lodge #4 Ice Palace Want to enjoy the cold weather? The LaBelle Lake has their annual Ice Palace attraction that opens December 17th, 2022. Through their website you’re able to see the attractions they offer and the pricing. Enjoy the beauty of winter with Ice Palace. Ice Palace

12 Renter Friendly Apartment Upgrades

Renting is super convenient and cheaper than buying a house. However, with renting comes restrictions. Often, we feel we can’t decorate or add any of our own personality to our living space as it belongs to someone else and we are only borrowing it. Today, we are going to go over a few ideas on how you can temporarily upgrade your apartment to match your style without damaging anything so you can still get your security deposit back! If you have a TikTok account, go check out @beingthebloom. She has dedicated her own home to find the best renter friendly upgrades! She has a link in her bio to amazon finds so it’s super easy to get what she is showing off! I want to start off with a few reminders: Any holes larger than a hole punch will be charged $3. Don’t use wall stickers or anything that could leave serious damage on the walls or other surfaces. Do not paint your walls. Frame Wall Pick one wall and fill it from top to bottom with frames! If you aren’t sure what to frame, here are a few ideas: Print out the pictures of the sunset that are just waiting to be appreciated in the back of your camera roll. Hang pictures of friends and family. Find your favorite wallpaper and hang a piece of that. This way you get to show off your favorite wallpaper and get your security deposit back too! Closets At Mesa Falls, all of our closets are open. I have seen some people close them by fitting an extendable shower rod in the top of the archway and hanging curtains from there. Not only will this give your closet more privacy, but it will extend the height of your room. Floors RUGS I am a huge advocate for rugs, and they’re probably the easiest way to personalize your space. Not to mention, they’re so accessible. Order some on Amazon, buy one at Walmart, or go to your favorite department store. You can find so many styles, you’re bound to find something you like. The best find is getting a set of rugs. Put the largest in your living room, and the other two in your kitchen and laundry room. Tie your whole apartment together with three simple rugs. Room Separator A lot of people will use one room for multiple purposes. Whether it’s a dining area and an office, or a playroom and a library, there are many areas that can be split in two. Use a room separator to designate your spaces. This could be made with duct tape and cardboard if you like to DIY! Lamps Our Mesa Falls apartments have a lot of natural light, but alas, there are always going to be a few dark spots in every living area. Get some lamps to brighten up the dark spaces. Even better, get multiple lamps of different heights. Layering your light will add a lovely hue to the room rather than any harsh light from the fixture in the middle of the ceiling. Bathroom Add a fresh pop to your bathroom by changing up the decorations. Start with your shower curtain. If that doesn’t give new life to your bathroom, change up the color scheme. Again, get some rugs! Bathroom rugs and a toilet seat cover definitely add a level of high-style living to your apartment. Check out our blog about bathroom organization for more upgrade ideas! New Shower Head Some of us like a lot of water pressure and some of us like less. Unfortunately, shower heads in your rental are usually a “one pressure fits all’’ sort of thing. You can go to Walmart and get a new shower head for about $25! Untwist your current shower head and switch them out super easily. DON’T THROW AWAY THE ORIGINAL! Remember, you are borrowing the property, and that shower head is part of it. Don’t throw away anything that comes with the apartment. Plus, when you leave, you can switch them back out and take your new one with you. Plants Plants get their own section because they can go anywhere! Add plants to your walls, large shrubs to your floors, small succulents to your shelves or counters, and all kinds of plants to your patio. Make sure each of your plants has something underneath to catch any water that filters out the bottom. That way, you won’t be damaging your surfaces. If you love the way plants brighten up a space, but have a brown thumb like me, consider getting some fake plants or plants that don’t need to be watered a lot. Cacti, succulents, and bamboo plants among others only need to be watered occasionally. Consider researching a few different fake plants and find your style! All in all, there are so many ways to decorate your apartment while still managing to take your security deposit with you. Here at Mesa Falls, we want you to love your space and make it yours! Just remember that you are borrowing the property for the time that you’re here. If you take any of these suggestions or have others, let us know! Email us at [email protected] or message us on Instagram or Facebook. We love to see the creativity of our residents. --- I want to give a shout out to Breanna for winning our pumpkin painting contest! Look how cute her pumpkin is!

Maintenance Monday: Winter Heating

Winter is coming! If you’re new to Rexburg, you can expect the snow to start falling in late October or early November. As a local, I can’t recall a time I wasn’t celebrating Thanksgiving with a bit of snow on the ground. With the cold, there also comes holidays, and with holidays comes trips. When you’re paying for your gas bill for the majority of the year, it is very tempting to turn off your heat for the few days you’re out of town to save a few dollars. Let’s look at why this is a bad idea: Each apartment in Mesa Falls has a fire prevention system. The sprinklers in your ceiling have an intricate pipe system behind them. Your smoke alarm goes off whenever it detects smoke, and your sprinkler system goes off whenever there is an actual fire. There is 80 gallons of water per minute that comes out of each sprinkler. If those pipes freeze, they will burst causing the sprinklers to go off. Your apartment would flood, and if you’re in a second or third floor apartment, an entire waterfall would appear right on your balcony, and you would be coming home to thousands of dollars in damages. What can we do to avoid flooding our apartment? In the winter, the only thing keeping your pipes from freezing is the heating system. Keeping your thermostat above 65 degrees Fahrenheit will keep the pipes warm enough to avoid freezing. Of course, when it is -10 degrees outside, you’re not likely to keep your apartment any colder than 70, so if you do make plans to leave for a few days during the winter, make sure to set your thermostat at 65 or higher. Paying a few dollars to the gas company is a small fee compared to paying for the flooding damages. If you have any questions or concerns, please call the office at (208)359-0000. We are here to help you!

Organizing Your Rexburg Apartment Pantry!

Organizing Your Rexburg Apartment Pantry! I think everyone’s ideal goal to live their best life is organization. Keeping your space neat & organized, helps your space feel more like a home. The one thing that tends to get the most unorganized is the pantry! Here are a few ways to optimize your pantry & stay organized. (Featured image from Mesa Falls) Small Spaces Can Still Mean More Room When renting, finding the perfect pantry space isn’t always easy. A key factor to creating this organization is imagining what could be used as an additional space if there is lack thereof. Say you have a washer & dryer room that is connected to your kitchen & not much cabinet space. Save the cabinet space for your pans, dishes, & cutlery. Create your own pantry space by adding a shelving unit that fits in a space you desire. Adding this will help create the even balance of optimizing as much space as possible without overcrowding your kitchen. Another great thing is hanging plants, pots, or utensils instead of resting them on countertops. By using a renter friendly hanging device, you will be able to keep your cooking area cleared & within reach. (Featured image from Ksmartstyling.com) Double The Size of Your Pantry Say when you put the oreos in the pantry & it just does not give the appeal you were looking for. Well, Khloe Kardashian had an iconic way of taking her organizing to new heights. Take a clear jar or vacuum seal container & organize your cookies in a beautiful stacked array to showcase in your pantry. Now some people would probably say that making a display pantry isn’t their number one priority. However, this just adds to the ambiance of creating a clutter free space! Take it to the next level by organizing with clear acrylic containers. Section off your pre-packaged snacks in the way that makes the most sense to your needs. For example, keeping oatmeal packets with the granola bars for a breakfast section. Or, keeping your chips & crackers together; however you would like to spice up your containers! Condensing Is Key to Formality! If you noticed, the main ingredient to creating this ideal space is by taking all the key components that add to your pantry, snacks, & drinks. Just remember, condense & create a home for all of your things. Including the items that live in your pantry!

What Your Leasing Agent Wants You to Ask on Tour

Getting into a new apartment can be stressful. There are so many options in the area, and they all have different policies and regulations and amenities and fees. All of these things can be difficult to navigate. As leasing agents, we strive to provide you with the best possible transition experience. That is why we have a model apartment always open and available for tours. Tours open a space for you to ask in-person questions and achieve understanding. We want to make that space as effective as possible. So, what are the questions your leasing agent wants you to ask on tour? Well, let’s talk about that. 1. How does maintenance work here? The maintenance personal are essential for an apartment complex to function. Often, it is never explained to tenants how they can contact the maintenance technicians, how they submit maintenance requests, or whether they need to pay for maintenance assistance. Some apartments will charge you for every maintenance request. Others require that you submit requests only online. You need to know how to get the help that you need. So, ask. Our maintenance staff here at Mesa Falls are available 24/7. They strive every day to establish a reputation for completing your needs promptly. 2. What utilities are included? This one seems obvious, but many visitors forget to ask and then come into the office on their move-in day and can’t get their keys because they haven’t set up their gas or electric accounts. Ask what you are responsible for as a tenant. Ask what is included in your rent. Ask what the average price for those utilities is per month. Then remember to call the relevant parties and get those account numbers. Gas and electricity are the only utilities that residents pay here at Mesa Falls. 3. What are the fees that I need to be aware of? Have you ever been in a situation where you forgot to read the fine print and now you owe someone more money than you thought you did? No one likes to be in that situation. That is a miserable situation. Don’t get sideswiped! Ask for detailed information on the fees through the application and move-in day. Believe me, you won’t regret asking money questions. We do our best to be completely open and honest with our customers and residents about our fees. Our fees are listed on the online application forms. If you want more information, give us a call. 4. What are the pet policies? Even if your pet is an ESA and you know that they should be allowed in the apartment with you, there are still policies. Apartment complexes always have pet policies and requirements for pets. Ask for details about what is allowed and what is required. Also, ask about whether or not your pet needs a leash when walking the property. No one wants to go through the process of getting an apartment just to find out last second that Fluffy is not allowed in the apartment. Protect Fluffy. Ask the question. Our pet policy can be found on our website. We welcome both dogs and cats with some breed restrictions for dogs. 5. Where can I go to write a review? "Because you were so great and you answered all of my questions and I just loved being here and taking this tour! I want to tell all my friends and let them know how beautiful this apartment is!" Ok so maybe this one is a little biased but as leasing agents we want you to find a beautiful, wonderful place to live. Everyone deserves to be somewhere they feel at home. It’s our job to help you find that place.