KEEP IT DOWN OVER THERE! How To Avoid Being That Noisy Neighbor

October 10th, 2011 by Crystal Beran| Posted in Apartment Guide, Apartment Life 2.0, Apartment Living, College Housing, Going To College, Healthy Apartments, Parties and Events, Resident Life, Tenants & Management Relationships, Tips & Tricks | 1 Comment »

There’s nothing worse than living next to noisy neighbors. They keep you up, disturb you with their loud music and dramatically increase your stress level. But what if you are the noisy neighbor? How can you tell and how can you make sure that you aren’t annoying your neighbors?

1. Watch the Time

Though there are always people who have to work unusual hours, for the most part, people wake up around 7 and go to bed around 10. Children often go to bed earlier because they need more sleep than adults do. Playing the music loudly at 4 in the afternoon is much less disturbing for your neighbors than playing it loudly at 11 at night is. Pay attention to the time of day so that you don’t create excessive noise when most of your neighbors are asleep. During quiet hours, turn the volume down not only on the music, but on the TV and computer as well.

2. Close Your Windows

A lot of noise can escape from your apartment through open windows. Though closing them won’t seal noise inside, it will definitely mute it. Try to keep your windows closed whenever you’re making a lot of noise, whether it’s from entertainment, vacuuming the floors or practicing the saxophone. Your neighbors will appreciate the lowered volume.

3. Avoid Noisy Fights

Everyone in a relationship knows that fights happen. Disagreements arise and sometimes turn into a battle. If you’re having a disagreement with your significant other, or even with your roommate, make sure to lower your voices. One of the worst things that a neighbor can hear is two people screaming at each other, no matter what the time of day. Though emotions may be running high and your impulse may be to yell at one another, this is not an effective fighting strategy and will seriously damage your relationship over time, even if you make up right away. Learning to use other strategies for dealing with conflict isn’t easy, but it will make your relationships stronger and your neighbors happier.

4. Keep the Kids Quiet

If you have kids, don’t let them run around the apartment like crazy banshees at all times of the day and night. Instead, take the kids to the park, or, if they’re old enough, send them outside to play. Kids need to run and shout but they don’t need to do it in your apartment. Remember also that if you live above a neighbor, they can hear you walking around above them, so a child running through the apartment, even if the child is being quiet, may still create a lot of noise.

5. Notify Your Neighbors of Your Parties (or Better Yet, Invite Them)

If you know you’re going to have a late night bash on a Saturday, let the people living around you know ahead of time. If they know what’s going on they’ll be much less likely to mind the occasional noisiness coming from your apartment. They also won’t mind the noise if they’re at your party, so keep that in mind when you’re coming up with the guest list.

Have a tip or trick to share? We’d love to hear from you – here or on our Facebook page!