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Moving to a new apartment or home is an exciting time. You’ve been out hunting for months (or even years) and you’ve finally found the perfect place to settle down. But before you start nesting, there are a few household chores that you need to take care of. Most people know they need to change the locks or move the breakers to a new location. But you should also consider other important introductory measures, especially if you plan to stay for a while.

Change the toilet seat

Unless you’re moving to a place that’s been newly built or remodeled, your toilet seat has definitely been used. At least give a good cleanse. But going to the hardware store isn’t a good investment either take a new one before celebrating your new digs. Even if kept clean, toilet seats can often be included unsightly hard water stainsSo you might as well treat yourself to a fresh start.

Check the air filters

If you move into a house or apartment where they are accessible, check that the home ventilation system air filters are properly installed. If the filters look like they haven’t been changed, You replace. Your landlord, if you have one, will let you know if this is your responsibility in the future. In general, air filters should be changed at least every three months.

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Document everything

For those moving into an apartment, the first thing you’ll want to do is create your own Condition reportif your landlord hasn’t asked you to. Make a note of any damage or changes made to the home before you moved in. Provide a detailed description and take some photos. You don’t want to be held responsible for any problems caused by the previous owners. By documenting these issues now, you will save yourself a lot of hassle (and possibly even your security deposit) when you move out.

Make a contingency plan

Having a contingency plan, whether you are in a house or an apartment, is essential. If something should happen, you need to know which exits or stairwells are safe to use and where to go after leaving the house. Establish a meeting point so everyone in your household knows where to meet.

Real estate agent Sarah Darrow advises that an emergency plan should include the collection of supplies. “Order devices like an escape ladder, fire extinguisher, and smoke / CO2 alarm,” she advises. Renters should also immediately check the batteries in all existing smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms.

Darrow says it’s also a good idea to “call the fire department if they need gate codes or other specific instructions in an emergency.”

Get a toolbox

I love doing DIY jobs around my apartment, but replacing sink taps or doorknobs requires a good tool tool to do the job properly – and you never know when you might need to fix some things yourself (especially if your building is awesome or the management company is slow to respond to minor repairs. So bring some tools with you – I took a small kit with essentials like a screwdriver, nails, and Allan wrench, and also grabbed an electric drill and drill. Don’t bother yourself Worry about buying expensive high-end products when all you can do is take care of the simple things spend about $ 40 and get everything you need.

Get to know the rules and observe the state of the country

If your new home is governed by a homeowners association or list of building codes, make a list of all of the rules you need to follow, from how often you need to cut the grass, to where and how They do it, dispose of garbage. Make a note of the dates and times for the garbage and recycling collection, street cleaning, and see where the deliveries are going in your building.

Mark the locations of the water stops and gas pipes, and locate the breaker box so you know where to go the first time you find that you can’t run the microwave and coffee maker at the same time. Darrow reminds renters and homeowners to also familiarize themselves with city ordinances, including parking regulations and pet registration procedures. And make sure you track down your local first responders: They want to know where the nearest hospitals, police stations and other emergency services are and the quickest way to get to them in the event of a disaster.

Photo: Jodie Johnson (Shutterstock)

Keeping the shower clean is better than waiting until you can no longer ignore the clutter, but that doesn’t make it any easier to stick to a regular cleaning schedule. Whether you like to clean on the go or just want to scrub the walls more easily, leave a dish rod – you know, the way you fill the handle with soap – in the shower so you have no choice but to use it it.

Any dish rod will do, but the stiff plastic bristle type of brush has some advantages over the sponge type. Sponges never completely dry out in a damp bathroom environment, which can produce powdery mildew and mold. Also, bristles can scrub better. For the cleaning solution itself, plain old detergent is the way to go. For a little extra cleaner, TikTok user (and professional house cleaner) Vanesa Amaro recommends mixing in some plain white vinegar. Plus, the foam is easier to rinse off, so you no longer have to worry about streaks on your freshly cleaned glass shower door.

If you can’t handle the smell of vinegar at all, try adding a small amount of bleach instead – a teaspoon or two in a handle full of soap will do. Just don’t use both: Bleach and vinegar react to form chlorine gaswhich is extremely irritating to the mucous membranes.

This hack makes cleaning the bathroom much easier. If you notice any discoloration of the grout or a ring stain on the tub from a can of shaving cream, you can clean it off right away. Regular light cleaning also prevents serious mold growth and saves you a lot of trouble in the future. Best of all, if you’re already using one of these brushes in the kitchen, you don’t have to spend a penny: when it’s time for a new brush, just drop the old one in the shower. Even if you need to buy one just for the shower, they’re worth the $ 5 or $ 10 you’ll spend and should take years.

This article was originally published July 2012 and was updated with updated links on April 28, 2021 to comply with Lifehacker style guidelines.

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With the introduction of iOS 14.5, Apple finally released the highly anticipated app tracking transparency feature. It’s incredibly useful when you want to have precise control over which apps can track other aspects of your digital activity. Of course, this assumes that the function is not grayed out for you.

There appear to be a number of iOS users who don’t seem to have access to Apple’s App Tracking Transparency feature at all. When they pull up Settings> Privacy> TrackingIf the setting is there, there is no way you can adjust it. This is how it looks in both cases, where the top is not gray and the bottom is gray:

Apple recently released a support page Describing three scenarios in which this critical switch may not allow you to adapt:

• For users with child accounts or under the age of 18 up to the year of birth who are signed in with their Apple ID
• If your Apple ID is managed by a school or has a configuration profile that restricts tracking
• If your Apple ID was created in the last 3 days

However, this list does not cover all experiences. And I’ve seen all sorts of troubleshooting techniques that people have tried hoping to toggle the app tracking transparency switch – right up to restoring their iPhone from a backup or doing a factory reset.

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You don’t have to get that extreme, however. If you can’t turn on “Allow apps to request the track” it’s annoying, but it could be a lot worse. The disabled status means that you are denying apps the ability to request additional permissions to track apps. By default, when this option is disabled, apps are subject to the following restrictions:

… the app developer cannot access the IDFA (System Advertising Identifier), which is often used for tracking. The app is also not allowed to track your activity based on other information that identifies you or your device, such as: B. Your email address.

So it’s really an annoying problem that might be a bug, but it just keeps you from relaxing, not improving, your privacy. If you need to have an un-blasted setting, I recommend the following:

• Start with strategic reboots: Restart your iPhone, sign in and out of the App Store, then try signing in and out of iCloud (especially via Settings> Apple ID> Media & Purchasessome of which claim to have had success). Note that you may only be able to turn on the toggle temporarily. So after a few hours, check again whether you can still adjust it.

  Try too Restart your iPhone After signing out (one at a time), sign back in when your iPhone boots up again.

• Customize “Personalized Recommendations”: You can find this setting via Settings> Privacy> Apple Advertisingis another troubleshooting technique that I mentioned. I’m not sure why this would connect directly to app requests, but it’s a simple toggle on and off that is worth 10 seconds to try.
• Upgrade to iOS 14.6 Beta 1: This is a little more drastic, but I’ve also seen reports that people were able to “unlock” the feature by upgrading to the developer beta of the next iOS update. I wouldn’t recommend this if you absolutely need a sturdy iPhone that will have all of your apps and features working flawlessly very first developer beta for iOS 14.6– but it’s an option.

Note that graying out the option is different from enabling it and the lack of apps to manage. The latter is normal, expected behavior; If an app needs these permissions, or if you install a new one that it wants, the app will ask you and let you change your decision when it shows up on this screen. If there is nothing right now, don’t sweat.

Photo: GP PIXSTOCK (Shutterstock)

For about 10 years I practiced Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu three times a week – a constant level if it were still considered a leisure activity. Sure, there have been times when an injury or work got in the way, but for the most part, I’ve faced fellow weekend warriors on a regular basis.

And then the pandemic happened. My training plan is understandably gone. I’ve done my best to stay in shape, but jogging, HIIT training, and one or two boxing sessions didn’t put me through the same cardiovascular alarm as those competitive grappling sessions.

Now that I’m vaccinated and ready to get back on the mats, an unexpected challenge has arisen: I’ll be 32 in a few months, and my heart and general fitness are a shadow of what it is before you Year was – not to mention what it was when I was 23. After all this free time, how do I get back in shape without overdoing it mentally and physically?

While my needs may be a bit different from yours when it comes to getting back into the old practice groove, a few standard rules cut across the wide range of people who have seen their routines shattered by the pandemic (although they will apply equally Whatever the reason you stopped going to the gym).

Start slowly and build from there

You can’t just go back to your old routine – you have to start in a much more forgiving and less intense place. How much more forgiving / less intense? Fortunately, regardless of your previous fitness level, you can use professionally verified science to get a good idea of ​​where to start.

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The American College of Sports Medicine recommends Everyone experiences “20 to 60 minutes of uninterrupted aerobic activity” about three times a week. Twenty to 30 minutes of these minutes should include more rigorous exercise if you were used to tougher workouts before. The ACSP notes that the goal is different for those who are “severely unconditioned” as they may instead require “multiple, short-lived” sessions per week – less than ten minutes each, three to five times a week.

This is just a general foundation for rebuilding your fitness, and every starting point is different. The point is, you need to start slowly – whatever “slow” means in relation to your athletic history and comfort level – and re-acclimate your body and muscles to put yourself under pressure.

If you’re lifting weights or trying to get back to your beloved wind sprint routine, don’t try to get your max back until at least your third week. As the Cleveland Clinic NotesYou run the risk of sustaining muscle injuries if you don’t play carefully in the first few days of your return:

This can make you feel very uncomfortable in the days after your workout, or it can open the door to a muscle injury. It is best to start at a low level to build endurance and tone your muscles.

Another great way to think about it: rate the difficulty of your workout on a scale of 1-10. If you’re just starting out – the first two weeks – don’t go past a four. Then gradually increase the intensity by a number or two every week.

Set reasonable expectations

This is particularly difficult for me. When I return to the sport I have practiced all of my adult life, I expect to be at a level that I am immediately used to. But after a long hiatus – mostly from a sport as cerebral like jiu-jitsu– that’s basically impossible.

When measuring your expectations, you need to take care of both your mind and your body. The only thing working against you is the pressure you put on yourself, which is counterproductive. As you approach to get back in shape, you will eventually see results. It’s important to think of this as a long-term project rather than thinking that success depends on overnight improvement.

As a personal trainer Greg Pignataro said ladderssmall triumphs don’t seem like much at first, but you’ll notice the progression as a cumulative effect:

The goal of increasing the amount of weight you can successfully lift by five pounds a week for a given exercise doesn’t seem like much, but over the course of months to a year it makes a tremendous difference.

Take care of yourself

The majority of us won’t or can’t invest as much time as is ideal in keeping fit. We could be tied to a computer for most of the day, balancing the myriad demands of life with our exercise routines. With that in mind, it’s important to remember the basics: drink enough, stretching and warming up after a workout.

Depending on your ideal training level, you will likely want to opt for dynamic or static stretching. Emphasize dynamic routes Activity and movement; They are primarily intended to loosen up the body, and into rigorous activities Research shows that they are a great means of maintaining flexibility and strength.

Static stretching is probably what you’re more used to as you bend over and touch your toes, or stand on one foot and pull your foot back towards your buttocks to stretch your quads. It is suitable for lighter workouts and also for warming up after a strenuous workout.

One of the universal rules for getting back in shape is that it is a process that necessarily connects physical, spiritual and mental factors. It will take you a while to get back on your feet, but ultimately you’ll be glad you made the effort.