One of the biggest concerns that many of us have when it comes to living with a roommate is making sure that all of our personal information and data remains safe. Most of us aren’t too concerned about our roommate stealing our personal information; after all, if you really felt that way about a roommate, it is probably a good idea to find someone else to live with. Instead, most of us are concerned about friends and even neighbors who might be coming in and out of the apartment when we’re not there. Here are a few helpful tips for keeping your personal information as safe and secure as possible.

First, it would be a good idea to buy a small safe for your room if you don’t already have one. Personal safes can be bought at most big box stores or even at some post offices for as little as $50 for basic models. Make sure you don’t leave the combination lying around anywhere. Either commit it to memory or keep it written down in your wallet or in some other portable device that you always have on you.

If you use computer programs like Quicken that contain personal financial information, make sure you lock your desktop computer or laptop so that only you can log on to it. You should also look into setting up your web browser to automatically erase any login and password information so that just in case you leave it on and then leave the house, no one else can sit down and pilfer your bank website passwords or any other personal information.

Last but not least, you can always lock your bedroom/personal space door when you leave, although this obviously sends a bad message to your roommate. If you feel that you have to resort to things like this, you aren’t living in a relaxed, secure environment, and you had better start looking for a better place to live.

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If there is one universal hope that we all have when we move into a new apartment or home, it is that our neighbors will be kind, peaceful and respectful. What many of us forget is that we are neighbors, too, and it is up to us to hold up our side of the bargain. Most of us don’t set out to be bad neighbors; we simply don’t realize that our behavior is annoying other people, but a surprising percentage of us will put up with bothersome behavior for long periods of time because we don’t want to “make it worse by saying something.” Here are a few basic tips you can follow to be a great neighbor to those around you in Kansas.

When you move into a new apartment, try to hold some kind of neighbor get together so you can all meet face to face. Studies have shown that apartment crime and vandalism happens less often if the people in a building know each other well. Things like suspicious activity can be reported easier and things like neighborhood watch groups are much more effective.

One of the major reasons why people put up with annoying behavior so long without saying something is because they simply don’t know the people who live around them well enough to go knocking on their door complaining. By inviting over your neighbors or even hosting a housewarming party, you can learn first names and apartment numbers so that if someone is being disruptive, you don’t feel as out of place knocking on someone’s door for the first time.

As far as behavior goes, the golden rule is your best guide. Treat others around you as you would like to be treated. You can even ask to go over to a neighbor’s apartment while you have music on to see how loud you can have it before it causes problems. You might get a few odd looks from roommates, but you can bet they will appreciate the extra effort you are taking to be a good roommate.

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While it may sound like the plot to a new reality television show, every once in a while, a pair of completely mismatched roommates do get stuck together, such as a dedicated hunter or voracious meat eater living with someone who identifies as vegan or vegetarian. Most people would assume that these lifestyle preferences would be revealed long before the two of you move in together, but if it is an emergency situation and you don’t have time to exchange life stories, people with disparate personalities like this can get stuck together. Here are a few basic guidelines you can follow if you find yourself living in an odd couple situation like this.

First off, communicate. Make your limits and boundaries known right out of the gate so there are no miscommunication problems down the road. It is amazing what people will put up with for the sake of cheap rent or a perfectly located apartment, so just because you are a vegetarian, and you just moved in with a big game hunter doesn’t mean that the partnership is doomed to failure. The best thing you can do is to keep an open mind, be vocal about what you find acceptable on your end, and hang in there for a few months to see how it all goes.

Make sure you have food preparation rules and regulations that you stand by. You can even go as far as buying separate pots and pans that are just for you or just for your roommate so that you never have to share any cooking items. You can even buy your own plates and silverware if you want to go that far. Make sure there is always clean cooking and food prep space available that isn’t covered in meat guts or juices as a common courtesy.

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If you could make a list of everything that roommates fight about, the first would probably be sharing housework and the second would be paying bills and rent on time. The third, however, would almost definitely be decorating choices in the public spaces of your apartment. While most roommates work with the decorating decisions made by the other roommate if they moved in second, when both parties move in together and have an equal say over decorating decisions, problems can erupt almost right away. Who pays for what and who decides what goes where? Here are a few rules of thumb you can follow.

First, don’t expect to split the cost of decorating 50-50. You live with a roommate, not a spouse, and they probably aren’t going to want to spend the money that you do to decorate the public spaces in your apartment, especially if they see themselves moving in a few months time. For things like a sofa or a television, the smart thing to do is to take turns paying for things. Since you are both going to be using those things, one of you can pay for the living room television and the  other person can pay for the television stand and the sofa so that the costs are about even. Besides, if you each pay for half of everything, how do you divide things up once one of you finds other living arrangements?

If the two of you have drastically conflicting style preferences, try to buy furniture and decorations that are as neutral as possible. The last thing you want is for half of the apartment to look one way while the other half looks completely different. Try to find one style you both like and then use that as a template for the rest of the place.

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Most apartment complexes and buildings are quite safe thanks to diligent security, proper lighting and other basic security measures, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t a few things you can do to help make you and your living space even safer. Here are a few common sense things you can keep in mind to help stay safe this season in Kansas City.

To put it simply, criminals hate bright light. That’s why so many apartment complex hallways and entryways are so brightly lit all the time. If you notice that a light bulb has burned out in a particular area, it would probably be a good idea to get it fixed as soon as possible so that no criminal activity is attracted to that area.

You can talk to your apartment complex owners to see what rights you have as it pertains to adding extra security to your front door.  Your door already has a lock and possibly a chain, but you may be able to add an extra lock or a chain if you don’t already have one as long as your apartment complex owners have a copy of the key. Some states offer tenants rights that trump the property rights of your apartment complex, but you should ask to make sure.

Finally, it may sound like a cliché, but look for suspicious activity. That doesn’t mean spying on your neighbors around the clock, but if you see someone who fits a criminal profile, don’t hesitate to make the necessary phone calls.

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There is no question that technology is evolving faster than ever before, and while it can be tough to keep up, protecting your home and your belongings is paramount. Many computer users don’t realize that if someone were to do something illegal with an Internet connection based in your home, you would be held responsible. That’s why learning to secure your wireless, broadband connection is vitally important. There are already laws on the books to punish those that steal free wi-fi, but it is still up to the connection owner to lock down their connection so it can’t be used by a third party.

Luckily, the tools you need to secure your connection are already inside of your router. Your wireless router offers several different ways you can secure your wireless connection, all you have to do is choose one. Your router will likely refer to locking down your signal as “encryption.” You have a choice between two levels of encryption in most routers, one that requires a short password and one that requires a longer one. All you have to do is access your router via your web browser (your router’s instruction booklet will tell you how to do this) and set up a password. Remember, you will have two passwords on your router – the one you type in to access your router in the first place and then one to secure your connection. Make sure you write both down and keep them in a secure place.

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If you have ever been trapped in an apartment that had a scent you couldn’t get rid of, you know how debilitating it can be. Whether it is a musty carpet or a mysterious smell coming from behind a wall, there are very few things worse than foul odors in your apartment. While there is no cure all for foul scents, here are a few things you can do to keep them at bay.

Since most scents get trapped in carpets, hiring a steam cleaner or having your carpet professionally steam cleaned can be a big step in the right direction. The fibers in most carpets, especially old ones, tend to trap scents such as pet odors and using a professional cleaner is just about the only way to get rid of it.

If you have some strange scents wafting for some identified location, you may have a dead animal behind one of your walls, such as a rat or mouse. Having mice isn’t necessarily a sign that your apartment is unclean or unsafe, it simply could be just an old building that has had mice for years. You might need to call an exterminator to clear out the body and, in most cases, payment will be the responsibility of your landlord.

If you have mold or mildew problems in your bathroom or in other parts of your home, it can cause a damp, rotten scent to permeate your entire apartment. If you have a mold problem that is getting out of control, you need to call a professional to look at it immediately. Some buildings have actually needed to be torn down due to mold and mildew problems and breathing the air in a mold infested apartment can be very dangerous. Don’t take even a small mold or mildew problem lightly.

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With the hectic schedule that most of us lead today, the last thing we have time to do is to cook an elaborate meal each and every night, but eating out all the time is not only expensive, it can be lead to poor nutrition too. Depending on what you enjoy eating, here are a few simple meal ideas that take almost no preparation and can be enjoyed any day of the week.

Maybe the single best invention for your apartment kitchen in the last 20 years has been the rice cooker. Simply take the uncooked rice of your choice (either plain white rice or even a rice dinner mix like Uncle Ben’s or Zatarain’s), add water and turn it on. Thirty minutes later, you have a delicious and perfectly cooked side dish that goes with just about anything. You can toss a chicken breast in the oven for 30 minutes and have chicken and rice or you can do a steak and have steak and a healthy side dish. The sky truly is the limit here; be creative and go crazy.

While not everyone may be cut out to eat a vegan menu every day of the week, having one night where you eat nothing but raw foods can be a nice change of pace and there is almost no preparation involved, which is great in a small apartment kitchen. The main component of any raw menu is veggies so pick your favorite and add them to your plate. You can also incorporate cheeses, smoked meats and other favorites, such as a can of tuna. It might seem a little weird at first, but chances are your body will respond well and you might find that you have a raw night scheduled every single week from then on.

Finally, if you are going to eat out or get delivery in, make sure you at least try to watch the calories and fat. If your order pizza, try to get whole wheat crust instead of the fattening alternatives. You can eat out and watch your waist; you just have to ask the right questions.

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If you are lucky enough to find an apartment that allows cats, your first priority is to keep them safe and sound when you aren’t around. Every year, thousands of cats meet their doom because careless owners are too distracted or simply too ignorant to bother looking out for them. Here are a few common sense things you should do if you have cats in your new apartment.

If you live above the first floor and you have cats, you should either get screens on your windows or you need to make sure that your cats can, in no way, escape from your apartment through your window. Cats will often be tempted to scoot out too far on a window sill in an effort to chase birds or bugs and can plummet to their death. If you don’t have screens installed, ask your landlord where you can get some or if they need to be custom made (many old buildings require this) or simply head to the hardware store and get them yourself.

Next, if you have cats and you have plants, you need to make sure they aren’t poisonous. Many times, cats will chew on plants to add plant matter to their diet to help with digestion and to ward off hairballs. Since cats aren’t always aware of what plants they can eat and which ones they can’t, you could be greeted by the sight of your dead cat one morning or one day after work. Check the Internet to see what plants you can have and which ones you can’t.

Finally, don’t leave any standing water in sinks or the bathtub. Cats tend to play quite roughly and can run and jump around your apartment when you aren’t home. This could lead to a slip and fall or even an accident where your cat drowns. If you have to leave a faucet on for them, only let it drip and don’t plug the sink.

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It seems sometimes that there are constantly elections, by-elections and special elections going on all the time. It used to be that it was an every two to four year cycle, but for politics junkies, every issue is worth debating. If you have found yourself living with someone with disparate political leanings, it can be tough keeping that part of your life separate, but it might be a good idea to reduce stress and even potential fights and arguments. Here are a few tips if you have found yourself living with your polar political opposite.

If you are an overly political person, it would be a good idea to include that information in any sort of roommate ads that you place. When you start giving interviews, make sure you include that information since it would be almost impossible to live with someone who is as politically active as you, but for the other side. However, if you think that this living arrangement could serve as a learning experience, than by all means go ahead, but you should be aware that your roommate may not be as open to learning new ideas as you are, so you had better check on that before you start.

Try to keep any overt signs of your political leanings out of any public spaces so that they don’t grate on your roommates feelings. Living with anyone who you have starkly different feelings or ideas with is all about respect. This applies to religion, politics, food preferences, different tastes in music or movies or if you are a morning person and your roommate is a night person. Being able to find a roommate that you are completely compatible with can be just about impossible and there are likely going to be conflicts. It is up to you and your roommate to get over your differences and make your situation work. If you can’t, it is smart to end the partnership as quickly as possible and move on.

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