In the United States, the first Monday of September is known as Labor Day. This low-key holiday can trace its roots back to the 1880′s.

As the industrial revolution kicked into full gear in the 1880′s, there came a need to dedicate a day to those American laborers who had contributed to the strength, prosperity, and well being of the country. Thus, the concept for a labor day was born.

While some records suggest Peter McGuire from the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners first proposed the holiday, other records pint to Matthew McGuire as the person who first suggested the holiday in 1882 while serving as the secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What records do clearly indicate is that the Central Labor Union adopted the proposal and planned a demonstration along with a picnic. The first Labor Day was celebrated in New York City on September 5, 1882.

The Central Labor Union encouraged other labor organizations to follow their example. They celebrated the Labor Day holiday in 1883 and 1884, encouraging others to institute a “workingmen’s holiday.” Municipal ordnances throughout the country were passed in 1885 and 1886 to recognize Labor Day. In 1886, after a general strike, an eight-hour day workday was instituted. Surprisingly, Oregon was the first state to pass legislation to acknowledge the holiday on February 21, 1887. Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York passed similar state laws later that year. Labor Day became a federal holiday in 1894.

Labor Day, unlike other holidays, doesn’t celebrate the end of a war or pay tribute to a certain event; instead it celebrates the every day worker. The type of celebration and observance the holiday should take was outlined in its first proposal, which included a street parade to demonstrate to the public the “strength and esprit de corps of the labor unions,” followed by a festival for the workers’ families.

Labor Day evolved throughout the years. Europeans celebrate their labor day on May 1st. Nowadays, the holiday is regarded as the unofficial end of summer and the start of football season. Jerry Lewis’s Muscular Dystrophy telethon is also associated with the holiday. Many regard Labor Day as a day of rest, but low-key activities such as picnics, barbeques, and firework displays are encouraged. A lot of cities forgo the parades of old due to lack of space, but laborer organizers and officials usually offer speeches which are given coverage in the newspapers, on the radio and television.

StephB is an author who can be found at http://sgcardin.tripod.com In her spare time she likes to read many books and a variety of different genres. StephB is an author at http://www.Writing.Com/ which is a site for Creative Writing.

Successful apartment management requires a consistent yet still a flexible approach. To keep residents happy and your units profitable you need to consistently offer superior service as a way of creating the maximum perceived value for your residents rent money.

Yet the current economic environment also requires that we get the utmost benefit out of every penny in our budget. There is just not any money to waste.

One way a successful property will stretch money is by using the latest technology. Just an example, how many communities still write out leases by hand? Probably the majority of properties. Writing out leases by hand requires that we first collect all the forms we need, then fill in spaces on each page with numbers and names.

Even if you don’t want to buy the actual program that does it for you , it is relatively easy to create a merge document that will print out the entire lease including all addendum’s with names, addresses and numbers already filled in on each form.

All you need is a simple word processing program and a data base. If you don’t have one of these programs both can be downloaded for free from openoffice.org. Not only is this method much faster, it also creates a much more professional looking document that can be easily corrected or edited.

At the same time we must maintain the core values that allow superior customer service for your residents. This is how we keep resident retention high. Keeping resident retention high will allow us to keep turn costs at a minimum.

It is all created by the enlightened manager who keeps up with the current trends in their business.

Bob Current writes on a variety of topics including apartment management and marketing. You can learn more at http://www.apartments.bcurrent.info.

Nothing makes apartment living fun like a playful pet. Fido and Felix bring a number of new elements to an apartment other than the additional smell. On any given day pets add companionship, humor, personality, and tons of fun to even the most monotonous dwellings. Although dogs and cats lead the pack of domesticated pals there are a number of untraditional, unique, and exotically extravagant creatures available. So, if you are seeking a cute, small, or just out of the ordinary companion check out the little buggers that round out my list of Top Six Unique Apartment Pets.

6) Pot-Bellied Pigs- While slightly destructive at times, Pot-Bellied Pigs can be as easy, if not easier to train than dogs. They’re playful, curious, caring, surprisingly odorless, and they don’t bark. Natural “rooters” and highly intelligent, these pets can get quite stubborn in their desperate search to feed their addiction to food, learning to open cabinets, drawers, bins, and find their way into making a real mess of the kitchen. Keeping food locked up is only a fraction of commitment to caring for these lovable little oinkers. Pot-Bellied Pigs may require much care, financial, and time commitment, but make an extremely fun pet and incredible family member.

5) Hedgehog- Although not a very social animal, a tamed hedgehog can make a nice furry friend. With a life-span of 4-6 years, Hedgehogs are relatively easy to care for and are easy to feed with high quality cat food. When they feel threatened these animals will roll into a ball, poking out the prickly spines on their back. These spines are not a big danger, but getting a hedgehog used to human handling is one of the biggest steps in making them comfortable and you avoiding getting poked. A seemingly quiet animal, they don’t require a lot of attention and are great at entertaining themselves.

4) Chinchillas- Pets don’t get much softer or cuddlier than one of these very soft, furrycreatures. Like most exotic mammals on this list, if handled from a young age Chinchillas bond very closely with their human owners. For a smaller animal they have quite the extensive life span, lasting about 15 years. An active and playful animal by nature, having a spacious cage and many toys available for the Chinchilla will add to their happiness and natural comfort level. Surprisingly, these little guys bathe in dust to keep their coat silky and smooth, so having a dust bath is a necessity. Does anyone else see the irony in the fact that an animal can bathe itself in dust to maintain a clean, shiny coat of fur?

3) Ferrets- A very mischievous animal, Ferrets can be highly entertaining. One of the more common animals on this list, Ferrets are known to sleep long hours (up to 18 hrs/day) and be very active during dawn and dusk. Most will adapt their sleeping and active times to fit that of their owner’s schedule. While they do have a reputation for having a musky smell, Ferrets are typically fixed and descented before being sold. Ferret owners should always try to be aware of the whereabouts of their pet as a ferret’s curiosity can lead it anywhere in the home. Living roughly 6-8 years, Ferrets make a really awesome and extremely fun apartment pet.

2) Prairie Dogs- One of the most social, playful, and active animals on this list, Prairie Dogs can make incredibly fun pets for an apartment. If trained very young to be around humans, these furry creatures become affectionate and very caring to their owners. With this need for affection, they require a good amount of attention. Feeding on rabbit pellets, hay, and the occasional treat, it’s fairly easy to keep a Prairie Dogs’ belly full. Make sure to have many chewable toys available as they do like to chew on things and you don’t want them to chew on you.

1) Sugar Gliders- This is the ultimate apartment pet. Sugar Glider’s are extremely social and bond naturally with their human owners. This in mind, these animals do require quite a bit of daily attention and interaction as without it they can at times become depressed or even die. A marsupial, the Sugar Glider is quite comfortable hanging out in a shirt pocket all day, cuddling close to its owner. They are a very endearing and non-aggressive pet that typically lives 12-14 years, so will make a wonderful long time pet that’ll connect well with its owner. Being small, fun, and easy to care for makes the Sugar Glider the perfect apartment pet!

That rounds out the list of Top Six Unique Apartment Pets. There are an increasing number of viable pet options for apartment dwellers out there, so make sure and look around and weigh those options to find the perfect pet for you and your place.

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Most people that get studio apartments are doing so because they are running low on money or they simply want to live simply. The space in a studio apartment is limited at best, and utilizing your space wisely is vital to living comfortably. Studio apartments can certainly be tough to furnish, as the furniture is what is going to take up the majority of space. If you consider the following tips, however, you can find furniture that fits into your lifestyle as well as your decor.

Dual Functionality is Your Friend

Furniture that is capable of serving more than one need is the best type of furniture for a studio apartment. A good example of this is a sleeper sofa. Sleeper sofas allow you to have a comfortable sofa by day and a very comfortable bed by night. This dual functionality is good because it keeps you from having to eat up space for both items. There are many great dual function type furniture pieces out there including ottomans with storage inside, coffee tables with storage compartments and other great furniture options. The best part is, you do not have to spend a fortune on them any longer. These dual function pieces can be had for very reasonable prices now if you know where to look. This brings us to the next consideration…

Size is Everything in Studio Apartments

Larger, full sized furniture is simply not a good idea in studio apartments. These cause all kinds of problems when it comes to space. Not only do large sized furniture items eat up a ton of space, they are usually quite expensive as well. The best options for studio apartments are the ready to assemble furniture pieces. Small sofas, small sofa sleepers and chairs are all available at a wonderful price and are more than large enough for studio apartment living. The best thing is, the RTA furniture market has seen some wonderful upgrades in quality and choices in recent years. No longer is ready to assemble furniture cheap and flimsy–it is made by some of the better companies out there to be very sturdy and on a par with the best furniture in the industry. These pieces are ideal for the studio apartment, and will keep the user comfortable and happy.

What About Choices in the RTA Furniture Industry?

The best options out there in the ready to assemble furniture market offers just as many choices as the standard furniture competitors, and in many cases even more. Ready to assemble furniture offers many different colors, fabrics, styles and firmness levels. They are made with the highest quality of materials and the best companies offer incredibly flexible terms and customer service policies. Please do remember that not all ready to assemble furniture companies are the same, and they certainly do not offer the same products. Do some research and find the high quality options available for your studio apartment. You will be glad that you did.

Studio apartments are furnished rather easily when you consider the situations mentioned above. If you are willing to do a little homework you will find that perfect fit for your style, function and comfort.

Based in Greensboro North Carolina, Rodney is a freelance author and writer for many different venues. He is also a writer for Simplicity Sofas. Simplicity Sofas is a furniture company that provides top notch small furniture options for great prices.

If you need small furniture options that are top quality, then visit Simplicity Sofas today!

You don’t have to wait until you move into a house where you have your own yard to be able to grow a garden of fresh vegetables and spices. There are quite a few plants that can be grown in window boxes or on the patio of your apartment. Container gardening is another option that will give plants a chance to grow in a small area. The variety of choices you have is very broad.

If your apartment does not have a patio, the best things you can do are to choose plants that grow well in shade or place the plants near a window. If you have a patio, but it does not have a lot of space, you can choose plants that climb trellises or have your plants in hanging baskets.

If you don’t want to have to worry about what to do with your planting over the winter, choosing annuals for apartment gardening is a good idea. By making wise choices in what kinds of plants you choose, you can attract certain animals such as butterflies. Also, you can use flowers such as magnolias as pest and rodent control. They repel certain animals.

Use The Right Container For Each Type Of Plant

After you choose the plants that you’ll want for your apartment garden, you need to find the correct container for those plants. It is important to choose the correct container first, because replanting vegetables or other plants can be risky and traumatic to them. Some vegetables can handle it better than others. Tomatoes, for example, can be replanted once without problems, as long as it hasn’t begun to bear fruit.

You may be wondering how to choose the right container. It is important that you know what the plant will look like and how big it will once it reaches maturity. Will there be enough space in the container or your apartment for the full grown plant? If the plant will be small enough, a boot, bucket, or hanging basket can be used. Anything will work as long as the plant can grow without restriction of space. Make sure you choose plants that are known to grow well in small spaces.

Join landscape professional Keith Markensen as he examines a small yard garden. Keep tabs on Keith at www.Plant-Care.com where he regularly gives his advice gained from years of on the job landscaping.