3 Tips To Keep Your Holiday Clean Up Speedy

(Image courtesy of i am real estate photographer)

Inviting friends and loved-ones over to celebrate with you is the reason that we look forward to the holiday season all year long. Catching up with family members and sharing gifts is the reward after a long month of planning, shopping, wrapping, cleaning and cooking but now that the party’s over your apartment could need a little pick-me-up.

Don’t let the wrapping paper overflowing your trashcan and the dishes crowding the sink scare you.This article from goodhousekeeping.com is full of great tips to keep your holiday cleanup as quick and painless as possible. Keep reading to get your apartment organized in no time.

1. Clear the table. If you only have the energy to get one room in shape tonight, the dining room is the easiest to accomplish. Take any remaining dishes, cups, and serving utensils into the kitchen (you'll deal with them in the next step). Then gather up the tablecloth or cloths, and shake crumbs over the kitchen sink or garbage can, or just take a step out your back door and toss the crumbs in the yard or nearest flower bed. Carry all the table linens to the washing machine. Fill it with warm water, add detergent, and leave the items to soak overnight (if you have a spare second, scan the fabrics for stains — red wine, gravy — and pretreat before soaking); you can finish the cycle in the morning.

2. Deal with leftovers. Food that you would normally refrigerate shouldn't sit out at room temperature for more than a couple of hours. So, toss anything that's been out longer, like appetizer dips, salads, veggie platters, or cheese. Cover any leftovers you plan to keep with foil or plastic wrap before refrigerating (though most baked goods can stay out once covered or wrapped); if needed, transfer food to different, smaller containers the next day when you have more time. If there's room in the kitchen trash can, scrape dishes as well as cooled grease or unwanted gravy from pans into it — it's faster than emptying the sink to get at your garbage disposal, and better for your pipes, too. Seal up the bag; set by the back door. With any luck, someone else may get inspired to take it out. Or else you can haul it to the outdoor garbage can in the morning.

3. Conquer the counters. Last, tackle what's left in and around the sink. Squirt grimy pots and pans with dishwashing liquid, and fill with very hot water. Set them aside on the counter or cooktop overnight — this extended soak will make them much easier to hand-wash later. Fill empty space in the dishwasher with dirty plates, glasses, flatware, and anything that fits, but don't bother to pre-rinse, because the machine will do the work for you (yes,really). Add the detergent and start the cycle. With any remaining dinnerware items, rinse and stack neatly in the sink. They'll get their turn at the dishwasher tomorrow.

Make It Easier Next Time

• Double- or triple-line the trash can, so you already have a clean bag in place when a full bag is removed.
  
• Have your kids or hubby unload the dishwasher before the guests arrive, so you'll have an empty machine ready to go for the after-dinner cleanup.
  
• Line broiling or roasting pans with foil before using, so baked-on bits, grease, and drippings are easily tossed away.

Give Back this Holiday Season: Berkeley Area Charities

The holidays are a great time to receive, but the cycle wouldn’t be complete without some giving, too. In our humble abode at Berkeley Central, it can be easy to forget that there are others less fortunate in our community.

If you have some extra money after finishing your holiday shopping, consider donating to one of the many charities serving the Berkeley area—click here for a comprehensive list of non-profit and charitable organizations in the region.

But if you’re unsure of where to start, here are some charities unique to Berkeley that you can donate to, so you can make someone else’s holiday season a little extra special:

Berkeley Public Schools FundThe BPSF’s mission is to inspire and empower an extraordinary public education for every child. The Berkeley Public Schools Fund invests directly in teachers’ ideas and creativity with classroom and district-wide program grants and volunteer support in the classroom.

Every year the Schools Fund awards approximately 300 classroom and district-wide grants, serving 9,000 students, 19 schools, and 550 teachers and totaling $500,000. This, coupled with our volunteer program, means every year we’re contributing $1.5 million in grants and in-kind donations.

Berkeley Food & Housing ProjectTo ease and end the crisis of homelessness in our community, Berkeley Food and Housing Project provides emergency food and shelter, transitional housing, permanent housing, and housing placement with support services to homeless individuals and families.

Founded in 1970, Berkeley Food and Housing Project has worked to ease and end the crisis of homelessness for men, women, and children in the Berkeley community. With programs ranging from free meal service to permanent supportive housing, BFHP provides a continuum of care to accommodate a broad spectrum of specialized needs.

BFHP assists low-income and homeless individuals with needs and disabilities that are not effectively met by mainstream social services. The agency hallmark is to provide services with compassion to foster a nurturing, healing environment that can effectively end an individual’s cycle of homelessness.

Berkeley Partners for ParksBerkeley Partners for Parks (BPFP) is a citywide nonprofit organization working for citizen support of parks, public recreation, open space, paths, greenways, community gardens, and environmental restoration in Berkeley, California.

Click here to browse more Berkeley-area charities.

The Holiday Hustle- 5 Tips To Stay Calm This Holiday Season

The Holiday Season is almost upon us and now is the time to start making preparations to celebrate. Though this time of year is exciting, it’s easy to get caught up in the frenzy of preparing for guests and buying gifts for loved-ones.

Though there are no definitive tips to having yourself a relaxing holiday season, there are a few steps you can take to make the weeks leading up to your celebration less panic-inducing. Apartmenttherapy.com has some great ideas to keep you from becoming nutty as a fruitcake as you prepare this season. Keep reading to learn more:

Schedule It Out. I always find that writing things down helps clear the incessant list making in my mind. Also, try to set a timed schedule each day or week for holiday doings so it doesn't just constantly keep taking up thought or energy.

Let The Little Things Lie. When making your to-do list, rate the items on it in order of importance from one to five. All the things that get ones and maybe even twos that you would really like to get done but that aren't gonna make or break it — just look at them as 'icing on the cake' and not 'well, if I can just get one more thing in'.

Delegate What You Can. Giving up control and/or asking for help isn't always the easiest thing to do, but it can be monumental. Try to see when an opportunity may arise that someone can 'scratch your back'. Just remember to scratch theirs back. You could get together a group of friends to keep each other in the loop as to where they might be running errands for the next few weeks. Maybe a friend can pick up that loaf of bread you need at the bakery when they're there, and you can grab them a pie at the local shop that you'll be going to later that week.

Breathe Through It. When all else fails, remember to take a deep breath. If you find yourself hitting your high stress level, then take a few steps back and remember the other years that you have gotten through the holidays and it all worked out. It definitely isn't the end of the world if it all doesn't end up exactly how you imagined.

Remember You Count, Too. And last but certainly not least: remember that you count too. Please don't forget about yourself amongst all the hustle and bustle of making everyone else's life special. When you are out shopping or at home cooking, take some time to thank yourself for a job well done. Whether it's a little gift that you've been eyeing for yourself, or a massage, or a nice bubble bath, or a glass of wine at the end of the night, make sure you acknowledge all that you're doing for others. You deserve it.

New Dining Digs in Berkeley

One of the best parts of living at the Berkeley Central Apartments is its proximity to lots of great dining establishments, both upscale and affordable. While California certainly has its own unique style of cuisine, usually including fusion elements and freshly prepared local ingredients, there are countless dining options close to our comfortable community.

Sure, Berkeley Central residents are probably already familiar with local staples like Chez Panisse and Comal, but the Berkeley food scene shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. There are always new, innovative restaurants opening up to cater to specific diets and tastes, with more than 350 restaurants in town so far.

Last week, Berkeleyside rounded up some of the best new dining options in the Easy Bay area, each with their own distinct style and approach to local cuisine. Among the notable mentions were:

ALAMAR KITCHEN & BAR

alaMar, which will focus on “sustainable seafood dishes designed to be shared and eaten by hand,” is set to open in Uptown Oakland early in 2014. Owner and executive chef Nelson German, an alum of Supperclub San Francisco who most recently worked in New York, said he has been inspired by his travels to the Mediterranean where he savored “the sheer simplicity of seafood served with a flavorful sauce and a slice of perfectly grilled bread.”

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ALES UNLIMITED

A craft beer pub and store called Ales Unlimited has been approved for 1501 Solano Ave. in Albany. The original Ales Unlimited in San Francisco boasts nearly 900 specialty beers.

Ales Unlimited

PHILZ COFFEE

Philz Coffee is set to open a second Berkeley shop (its first is at 1600 Shattuck Ave. at Cedar) in the Gilman District Project at 9th and Gilman in West Berkeley that will also house Whole Foods and Office Depot.

CUGINI MANZONE

Giuseppe Manzone, along with his brother Michele and sister-in-law Leslie, is opening Cugini Manzone in the shuttered Fillipo’s space at 2930 College Ave. in the Elmwood. The owners have imported a wood-burning pizza oven from Italy and plan on using it to cook, from scratch, many Italian dishes, including “authentic” Italian pizzas, according to Giuseppe Manzone.

Cugini Manzone

Click here to read Berkeleyside’s full list of new dining options in the East Bay!