Years after the kegs and Jell-O shots have disappeared from your living room (and blood vessels), you may find yourself craving the sort of refined and classy party of which Don Draper might approve. Only one thing stands in your way: your apartment. It’s not necessarily dingy or embarrassing, by any means, but it might be a little messy or a little cramped.

Never fear, though: There are some basic and easy things you can quickly do to add class to your not-so-classy apartment for that perfect “grown-up” party — even if you don’t feel quite so grown-up yet.

Make space

The easiest way to decorate and class up your otherwise cluttered apartment is to make space. This is a moment to take stock of your home and decide, with a discerning eye, what you really need. In some ways, throwing a party is actually a wonderful way to re-evaluate your living quarters and possessions. Is it time to get rid of that threadbare couch with the stain on the armrest? Do you really need that white plastic statue of an ugly dog? You can always rent a self-storage unit if you have nowhere else to go. And who knows: You might end up using the unit for longer than you think.

Once you’ve rid your apartment of unnecessary furniture and belongings, you’ll find that decorating (and cleaning, for that matter) will be extremely easy. Light touches, such as candles, jars, simple vases and flowers will instantly set the mood. Remember to arrange your furniture to facilitate social interaction and streamline movement, so that people aren’t crowded around the food table or squeezed onto a sofa without any other options for seating.

Pair drinks accordingly

Are you planning an experimental cocktail party or a simple martini affair? Will this be a haven for Scotch lovers or are you sticking to wine? If this is your first time, it will be much easier to stick to a drink theme, rather than opting for a full bar. Familiarize yourself with basic highball drinks and some other classics, so that everyone will have something to enjoy. Be sure to stock up on mixers, and don’t forget the ice.

Food matters

Once you’ve decided the drink menu, the food menu will come easily. Finger foods and most appetizers will pair wonderfully with cocktails and martinis. Meat is especially tasty with Scotch, and if you’re serving wine, don’t dare forget the cheese.

Basic appetizers such as olives, nuts, crackers, dips and chocolates are always perfect accompaniments to whatever drinks you decide to serve. If you’re leaning more toward a dinner party, plan two or three easy dishes that can be distributed among the masses, without pausing your guests’ enjoyment of the party (pick things that are easy to eat while standing up, for example). Crab cakes, crostinis, cheese plates and pasta dishes are all extremely easy to prepare and can go a long way in pleasing your guests. Always have at least one vegetarian dish, just in case.

If you’re absolutely scant for food ideas, don’t hesitate to look up party food ideas online — Real Simple, Epicurious and The Kitchn are great resources, to just name a few. Don’t shy away from Pinterest either, which offers a ton of great recipes.

Make the theme clear to your guests

The quickest way for your otherwise classy party to get out of hand is to have too many guests to control. There are two ways to prevent this: Make the theme clear to your guests, and be discreet about whom you decide to invite. A party with more than 10 people immediately has the potential to get a little crazy. Therefore, choose wisely and make sure your guests know beforehand the kind of atmosphere you’re trying to create. A very subtle, but effective way to do this is to provide a dress code.

Related:

• Entertaining at Home: The 5 Perfect Conversation Pieces
• Tips for Hosting a Party in a Small Apartment
• Equip Your First Kitchen for Under $200

Jenny Zhang is a writer at SpareFoot, the online marketplace where you can find and reserve a self-storage unit with comparison shopping tools that show real-time availability and exclusive deals.

Note: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of Zillow.

Feeling in the dark about light bulbs? You’re not alone. New federal regulations regarding the sale of incandescent light bulbs are a little confusing.

Many consumers mistakenly believe the new standards, included in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, ban the sale of incandescent bulbs. Not true.

Rather, the federal government has placed new efficiency standards on bulbs. As of Jan. 1, 2012, any bulb that can generate the amount of light produced by a conventional 100-watt bulb, but do so with roughly 30 percent less energy, is eligible for the market.

The basics

Uncle Sam is giving consumers — and light bulb manufacturers — time to adjust to the new regulations. In 2013, the rule will be extended to include 75-watt bulbs. In 2014, 40- and 60-watt bulbs will also be included. No bulbs will be outlawed if they meet the new energy standards, and retailers are allowed to continue selling bulbs that don’t meet the standards until their stock runs out.

It’s also important to note that the new standards do not affect all bulbs. Some specialty bulbs are exempt, including appliance bulbs, heavy-duty bulbs, colored lights, three-way bulbs and others. The new energy efficiency standards apply to conventional pear-shaped, medium size, screw-in light bulbs — most often used in traditional home lighting fixtures.

Watts and lumens

One of the most notable changes consumers will see when they hit the lighting aisle of their local home improvement store is the way products are labeled. For decades, bulbs have been sold by watt — a measurement of the energy used by a specific product. Now, bulbs must be labeled according to the amount of light they give off, a measurement known as lumens.

The Federal Trade Commission is requiring new product labels that clearly list the lumens — or brightness — of the bulb, the estimated operating cost for the year and the color of the light (from warm/yellowish, to white to cool/blue).

The U.S. Department of Energy sheds additional light on the subject:

• Nationwide, lighting accounts for about 14 percent of all building electricity use (approximately 10 percent of home electricity).The new lighting standards could save U.S. households nearly $6 billion in 2015 alone.
• Experts estimate that replacing 15 traditional incandescent bulbs in your home with new energy-saving incandescents, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) or light-emitting diodes (LEDs) could save an average of $50 annually.
• The average consumer spends about $4.80 to operate a traditional incandescent bulb for a year (electricity cost). By comparison, that consumer would spend about $1 to operate an Energy Star-certified LED bulb, about $3.50 on a halogen incandescent bulb and about $1.20 on an Energy Star CFL bulb — each producing roughly the same amount of light.
• CFLs and other fluorescent light bulbs contain a very small amount of mercury, so it is important to recycle them at the end of their lifespan. Many retailers recycle CFLs for free, and some municipalities have special recycling programs for CFLs. The United States Environmental Protection Agency offers special guidelines for recycling CFLs.

Related:

• High Energy Bills? Fix Air Leaks in These 4 Offending Areas
• How to Winterize Your Home on a Budget
• Stay Warm With a Fireplace Insert

Fannie Mae’s book of mortgage business decreased at a compound annualized rate of 4.8%, compared to 4% last month, according to the GSE’s monthly summary.

For the full year of 2012, Fannie Mae’s gross mortgage portfolio totaled about $633 billion, down from $708 billion a year prior. 

The conventional single-family, serious delinquency rate fell one basis point to 3.29% in December, remaining relatively unchanged from 3.3% in November. 

The multifamily seriously delinquency rate also fell one basis point to 0.24% in December, compared to 0.25% in November. 

Fannie Mae completed 12,095 loan modifications, totaling 163,412 for 2012. Last month, the government-sponsored enterprise completed 151,317 loan modifications. 

In December, the GSE’s gross mortgage portfolio grew at a compound annualized rate of 1%.

The monthly report summary contains information about Fannie Mae’s monthly and year-to-date activities including mortgage-backed securities, interest-rate risk measures and serious delinquency rates.

With all the hullabaloo surrounding social media, business blogging is not getting the attention it rightfully deserves. There are so many benefits of maintaining an effective company blog, and companies who do not risk missing out on opportunities for increased lead generation, more new business and amplified brand recognition—to name only a few. 

According to HubSpot, companies that maintain blogs attract 55% more website visitors, get 97% more inbound links and have 434% more indexed web pages than companies without blogs.  The more often a company blogs, the more traffic and leads it will be able to produce. Businesses that produce at least 20 blog posts per month generate over five times more traffic than those that produce less than four per month.  Additionally, companies that blog at least 20 times per month generate four times more leads than those without a blog. Clearly, high-quality business blogging has real value. Learn how to take your content marketing to the next level.

Who Should Blog?

Effective blogging requires dedication and a significant investment of time for brainstorming, research and the actual writing. CEOs who blog are rare; their hectic schedules and vast array of duties and responsibilities usually preclude them from engaging in content creation. So, the first hurdle is finding a content creator within your organization. This person should be passionate about your business, creative, committed and have serious skills as a writer and researcher. If you do not have such an individual within your company, you can always hire an inbound marketing agency to create the blog content for you.

Construction spending in the U.S. rose slightly to $885 billion in December, up 9% from the month before, the United States Census Bureau reported Friday.

The December construction spending numbers are still 7.8% higher than the previous December, when the spending total reached approximately $820.6 billion. 

Seasonally adjusted private residential spending increased slightly from November to December, rising 2.0% from $602.9 billion to $614.9 billion. The residential construction rate also hit $308.2 billion, 2.2% above the revised November estimate of $301.7 billion. 

“The increase in December was led by a 2.2% gain in residential outlays after a 0.6% increase in November. Most of the latest improvement was from multifamily construction although single-family outlays also advanced. Public construction declined in the latest month,” noted Econoday.