15 Soundproofing Tricks To Try If Your Neighbors Are Keeping You Up At Night

Did you know that plants can help reduce sound? I sure as hell didn't!

1. Stack your books on the wall you share with your neighbor if they have a yappy dog or terrible taste in music.

Bethany Nauert / Via bethanynauert.com

Just one more reason to buy physical books, amiright?! Lots of books make for good sound insulation, but make sure to really pack them onto the shelves, because any pockets of empty space will counteract the effects.

2. And rearrange your furniture to get as far away as you can from the noise nuisances.

@fraulein_pusteblume / instagram.com

Moving your furniture may seem like a very tiny fix, but it will actually make a difference. For example, is your roomie in the ~honeymoon phase~ of their relationship? Maybe don't put your bed on the wall you share with them. Does the garbage truck drive by your window every single night? Turn your bed so your head is at the furthest point from the window. Noise travels, so every bit of distance you can put between you and the source will make a difference.

3. Strap a latch catch to your door knobs if your kids (or roommates) are constantly slamming doors.

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I can still hear my mother yelling across the house, "STOP SLAMMING THE DOORS." These cushions will render your doors completely silent — here's a video demonstration if you don't believe me. Get it from Amazon for $15.95 (available in 15 patterns and colors.)

4. Wrap pool noodles or insulation pipes in fabric and attach them to your bedroom door to block out the sounds of your roommates in the hallway.

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Door blockers can save you from cold drafts, as well as unwanted sound. To make one, all you need to do is cut the noodles down to size, use foam glue to conceal them with fabric, and attach them to your door with velcro strips so you can wash the fabric whenever it gets dirty. If you don't want to make your own, you can purchase one from Amazon for $16.99.

5. Line your windows with caulking cords if you're so sick of the darn birds waking you up every morning.

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Caulking cord will also keep the heat in, and the cold air and noise out. Get 90 feet of cord from Amazon for $10.50.

6. Get yourself some of those big plants that are all over Instagram, so your home can feel more like a zen garden and less like a zoo.

Instagram: @ihavethisthingwithurbanjungles

This is the coolest excuse I've ever heard to deck my apartment out with plants: The soft materials and irregular shapes of plants help to refract, deflect, absorb, and therefore reduce sound. It's best to organize your plants in the corners and edges of the room, grouped together. Plants with large leaves and pots with lots of dirt will perform the best — the more soft surface area there is, the more places the sound has to bounce off.

7. Hang blackout curtains to muffle the sound of trucks and other traffic screeching by.

bedbathandbeyond.com

Let me count the ways I love these curtains. Look, they're not cheap, but I have never been so satisfied with a decor investment. Not only are they pretty and soft, but they are so heavily lined that they block both the light and sound outside my windows. Hanging curtains seriously lowered the volume of my crazy New York City neighborhood.

Get a panel from Bed, Bath, and Beyond for $54.99+ (available in four sizes and six colors). Or find more highly rated blackout curtains from Amazon for $23.45 (available in five sizes and 19 colors) that'll work just as well.

8. Turn on a white noise machine to drown out those rowdy kids creating a ruckus outside your bedroom window.

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The Marpac white noise machine has been the most popular one on the market for decades, and for good reason. You can buy electronic machines, but often their white noise plays on a loop, which tends to be slightly more distracting than the consistency of the Marpac's fan. I used this one and found it impressively effective. The noise doesn't irritate me as much as most white noise does because it's so soft.

Get it from Amazon for $49.93 (available in three colors.)

9. Sprinkle baby powder or baking soda over floorboards, and work it into the seams, if your partner is always waking you up when they get up to go to the bathroom.

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Ever try to sneak in late at night without waking anyone up? It seems that squeaky floorboards are always located in the most unavoidable area. The powder will keep the floorboards from rubbing together. That is, as long as it's not an architectural issue. If this trick doesn't work, you may need to call in a professional to either replace warped wood or fix loose sub-flooring. If that's not in your budget, you may have some luck with this floor repair kit from Amazon for $19.95.

10. Cut foam to the size of a large board and wrap fabric around both if your laundry machine makes a huge racket.

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The soundproofing panels they use in music and film studios aren't the most attractive things in the world, but they're effective. If you have a particularly noisy room in your home, putting foam on your walls is the best way to deal with it. The fabric will just make it look a little prettier.

Get 484 sq. ft. of 2-inch foam from Home Depot for $5.97.

11. Or hide a mattress pad behind canvases if your kid just started taking music lessons.

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Using canvas art is an even sneakier way to disguise foam, and a mattress pad is cheaper than soundproofing panels but still works. Spray adhesive onto the bumpy side of the mattress pad and press it into the back of the canvas art. Let it dry and then hang.

12. Stick foam or felt on the backside of your furniture if you're sick of hearing conversations happening on the other side of the house.

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If sticking stuff on your walls is not for you, here's a compromise: Put felt or foam (basically, just something soft) on the backs of your furniture where people can't see. It'll help mute the echoing.

13. Or stick cork on your walls if you're just trying to get a little peace and quiet in your home office.

littlehouseonthecorner.com

A corkboard wall is great for organization and hanging artwork, but cork also helps absorb sound. Whether you use a few panels or cover the enture wall, every little bit helps!

14. Layer rugs to muffle the noise that the people living on the lower floor claim to be hearing, and to stop the clicking and clomping of your shoes.

@jenniflam / Via instagram.com, NBC

Laying rugs is a pretty standard trick for turning down the volume in your home. They stop your shoes from hitting the floor and prevent the sound from bouncing around the same way foam panels do. Thick (often expensive) rugs are best for this, but layering thinner rugs is good for working with cheaper rugs. Plus, it looks really cool when done well!

15. Or drape tapestries along the wall you share with your roommate who's up at all hours of the night playing video games.

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Same as rugs, tapestries add a layer of softness to deter sound from bouncing around. The thicker the better so pretty blankets will also work, if you can hang them.

Get a bunch of cool tapestries from Society6 for $43.99+ (available in three sizes).