deVivre
Personal Concierge and Assistant Services in NYC
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deVivre Blog

deVivre New York City Concierge Services: Travel Planning, Life Hacks, Top Concierge Tips, and our concierge adventures around NYC

deVivre Keeps You Cool

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Summer's almost here! While dreaming up packing lists, vacation destinations, and summer adventures is definitely on our seasonal concierge to-do list, let us offer a friendly reminder not to forget those mundane tasks that can make or break summer living in New York City. Retrieving your AC from whatever dark hole you've kept it stashed in and installing it correctly might not be the most glamorous way to spend your weekend...but we promise you won't regret having done it when that first really hot day strikes. Unsurprisingly, NYC summer apartment prep is one of our most popular concierge services this time of year and (because we love you) we thought we'd share our top 5 tips on how to breeze into our favorite season. And, of course, if you'd prefer to sit back and relax and leave the wrangling to us we can do it all for you.

GET COOL: If you've got central air (#blessed) then now is the time to find your optimal temperature range. Start high (75 or so) and work down until you figure out what's comfortable without blowing any fuses. If you're installing a window unit, clean out the filter, test it to make sure that it works after a season in closet purgatory, and, if it doesn't, replace it ASAP before they're sold out all over the city.

BE SMART: Unless you have furry pals at home, leaving your on AC on all day is a huge energy suck. Sure, nobody likes coming home to a hot house, but no one likes a whopping electric bill come July either (plus: the environment!). Consider investing in programmable smart thermostat (if you like new tech) or a simple electrical outlet timer (if you like old tech) and set your AC to come on 30 minutes before you get home. 

SWITCH YOUR FANS: Ceiling fans can go a long way towards increasing airflow in even the stuffiest old tenements. During summer you want the air to blow straight down which happens when the blades are rotating counter-clockwise as you're looking up at them. Grab a ladder and test it out—the little toggle switch on the base of most ceiling fans changes the direction of the fan's rotation for max chillin'.

CLEAN YOUR BLADES: While you've got that ladder out give your fan blades a wipe down. Nothing is more unsettling than sending January's dust bunnies winging across the room when you turn your fan up to 11 in July. Our trick? Get an old pillowcase and a damp cloth. Slide the pillowcase over each blade, use the cloth to wipe the dust into it, and repeat all the way around. Blades are clean, dust is captured in the bag—not on the furniture below (or floating in your margarita—gasp!).

SWAP OUT YOUR BEDDING: Sure, everyone knows that you (thankfully) are no longer in need of your puffer coat when summer strikes, but take that Marie-Kondo-Closet-Magic global and swap out your winter flannels and heavy duvet for airy cotton or linen sheeting and a light coverlet. We also recommend switching to silk pillowcases for the summer months. In addition to reducing frizzy hair during these humid days, they stay cool to the touch and feel fabulous Make sure you have (at least!) two complete sets so you can change them with increasing frequency, especially if you neglected to shower before bedtime. Three words: summer city feet.

Are you breaking a sweat just thinking about all of this? Don't own a ladder or need a new set of sheets delivered tout suite? deVivre Concierge Services to the rescue! Let us sweat the details and you can start summer off with a bang.