When looking to create a new look in your home or if you’re looking to move into a new home, most people will browse through a few decorating magazines or ask their friends and family for some inspiration… but why stop there?

Here are 4 of the best new ways to get your creative juices flowing and help inspire you to design an incredible new look for any room in your house:

1.) Travel

It’s worth keeping hold of your holiday photos, not just for the memories but also for design inspiration. Whenever you’re away from home, be watching for a new look for your home. Take your camera along and get snapping. A color scheme in a Moroccan restaurant, an ornate wall hanging in a Parisian theater or even just a combination of colors seen in an English summer carnival can be all you need to dream up a wonderful design for your home.

2.) Television Shows

Have you ever watched Pride and Prejudice and wished you could live is a stately country home like Mr Darcy? The answer for many is yes and this is just one of the looks that have inspired would-be designers across the country to have a go at creating their own vintage look. Or perhaps you prefer something more modern, like the apartments seen in Friends or Sex and the City? You don’t have to copy the entire look exactly but a borrowed touch here and there can really look amazing. It’s worth paying attention to the TV shows that you love and getting inspiration from there.

3.) Nature

Nature isn’t just about green and blue – there is a rainbow of colors out there to see – in a rainbow for example! Look closely at the colors of beautiful bird feathers or in wild flowers and you can find great combinations that will transfer easily into your home. You can even utilize nature inside your home as well, with stunning flower arrangements for your dining table or artistic landscapes hanging above your fireplace. If you are lucky enough to enjoy the sounds and smells of the English countryside in a particular room of your house, then try adding flowing curtains that will move in the breeze. You can find customized drapery by The Shade Store if you’re looking for a particular style to match your decor.

4.) Music

This may not seem as obvious as the others on this list but music can be a powerful motivator. Listen to your favorite album in the room you wish to decor and see what comes to mind. Do you see passionate reds, calming blues or vibrant pinks? Do you want leather furniture to reflect the drums in your song or would you prefer a soft bean bag chair and a fluffy rug to chill out to on a lazy afternoon? Music can help you come up with ideas you might not have considered before and will also give your room a deeply personal look that means something to you.

About the Author
Anna is a freelance writer with an interest in interior design and home makeovers. She loves working in a project, crafting, music and a good book. @a_jonesyjones

First, access your social media outlets – Facebook, Twitter, Google+, etc. Throw out a quick blip about needing moving boxes. Chances are that someone in your area just moved and would be happy to have you pick up their boxes rather than having to break them all down and hall them to the dump!




2. Local Grocery & Supercenters

Next, try local grocery and super centers. Walmart, Target, and your local grocery stores go through countless boxes each day. Make a list of those closest and give them a call before driving all around town. You may not have to look any farther!






3. Liquor Stores

If you’re still not having any luck, there are still several places left to call. Liquor stores are a good place to check out because they use sturdy boxes so the glass bottles don’t break! Again, I’m sure most employees would be happy to give the boxes away rather than taking the time to break them all down!






4. Coffee Shops

Coffee shops are another good place to check out, as they are constantly receiving shipments of syrup bottles and other merchandise. Call your local Starbucks or Caribou store to see when a good time would be to come in.






5. Book Stores

This was not an idea that came to mind right away but it makes perfect sense. Have you ever had to move boxes of books?  It only takes one time to learn that A) books should be packed in SMALL boxes and B) those boxes better be darn sturdy. So, like liquor stores, book stores are definitely a good place to find sturdy boxes.




6. Apartment Complexes

If you live in a fairly large city, there are likely people moving around all the time. Apartment complexes would naturally have new people coming in and therefore needing to get rid of their used boxes. Call or stop by these different complexes and ask if there are any you can have.




7. Office Supply Stores and Newspapers

I grew up in a Newspaper family and we had tons of people coming to us over the years asking for used boxes. All paper reams come in sturdy boxes, typically with handles and lids. In my opinion, they’re only one grade down from plastic bins! Office supply stores obviously sell the same merchandise and so have the same type of boxes. These are the best boxes!




8. Online Resources

Finally, you can search Craigslist and FreeCycle for local areas and people who have free boxes. As always, use caution and common sense when meeting people through sites like these. They can be fantastic resources when used wisely!






I hope this makes the process a little bit easier on those of you facing a big move. It’s a lot of work but having the inside scoop can lighten the load! I am also uploading a checklist sheet for you as you search local spots for your boxes. It is at the bottom of this page.  

And if you happen to be an expert mover, please feel free to share some of your secrets to finding free boxes in the comments below.

• Free Boxes Checklist

About the author: Victoria is currently a grad student studying in Nebraska and working part time for Hire A Helper. She loves music, road trips, and reading.

(Photo courtesy: Jason A. Howie, Amit Patel, Raymond Shobe, Marco Pakoeningrat, Grand Canyon NP, Greg Goebel, Medil DC, and Chris RubberDragon).

So you’re packing up and moving to Houston! You are headed in a great direction. Whether you’re transitioning for work or merely in search of a warmer climate, Houston is a happening city full of rich culture. From shopping, art, and entertainment to NASA’s Johnson Space Center, there is something for everyone.

Family & Kid-Friendly

If you happen to have kids in your crew, check out the Downtown Aquarium. It boasts a 500,000 gallon aquarium with more than 200 aquatic species from across the globe. In addition to the amazing aquatic exhibits, there are games and rides. It’s a fun attraction for the whole family.

The Children’s Museum of Houston is also a great place to visit. Inside, kiddos can tour Kidtropolis, the city for kids, run by kids! They can run for office, use an ATM, shop in the grocery store and even own a business. Along with having fun, kids learn how to manage money and work alongside their peers.

Sites & Attractions

Whether you have kids, or not, museums are a major advantage of Houston life. At the top of this list is the Houston Museum of Natural Science, which has eleven permanent exhibits, including Paleontology, Ancient Egypt and Energy Hall, as well as various special exhibits. One of the current popular exhibits in their planetarium is Experience the Aurora, which was created by photographers over the course of seven months using “all-sky” lenses in the Arctic Circle. It allows you to experience the Aurora Borealis, commonly known as “Northern Lights.”

And as long as you are standing in awe of the world we live in, you may as well take a trip to Johnson Space Center, where you can have lunch with an astronaut and discover what it’s like to live in space. There are several different tours you can take of the station. The advantage to actually living in Houston is that you can purchase annual memberships and if you’re a student or educator, you can participate in different camps and programs offered throughout the year.

Entertainment

Beyond museums, Houston offers all types of entertainment ranging from rodeos, athletics and parades to fine arts. The largest rodeo in Texas, the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, lasts the entire month of March each year. Many people go just to see the concerts, whether you’re a country fan or not!

For free concerts and events, visit Discovery Green downtown. They have a wide selection of activities from yoga, young writers classes and boat rides to concerts and running trails for you and your four-legged friend.

Houston also has world-class entertainment in the realm of fine arts. The Houston ballet offers famous showings throughout the year like Swan Lake and the Nutcracker. If, like me, you have not had much experience with the opera, Houston’s Grand Opera will help you enter that world with ease. They have lectures and symposiums to prepare you for the real deal! For something more along the lines of Broadway musicals, you’re in luck. Houston actually has Broadway plays! Their theater schedule is bound to keep you entertained. Finally, our orchestra lovers are not left behind with the Houston symphony performing hits, such as the scores from the 2003 blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean.

If sports and athletics are your deal, you have a wide variety of choices from watching the pros to playing yourself. For major league baseball fans, pull on your navy blue and orange gear and take a trip to Minute Maid Ballpark in support of the Astros! NBA fans may choose to spend more time in the Toyota Center, cheering on the Rockets. Or if you want to get in on supporting the youngest franchise in the NFL, the Houston Texans joined in 2003. You could join this legendary fan base from its near beginnings! (Impress existing fans with a little trivia: there are two teams to which the Houston Texans have never lost – the Chicago Bears and Miami Dolphins.) Soccer fans have the Dynamos and though Houston rarely has natural snow and ice, hockey fans have the Aeros!

Shopping

For the more shopping-focused crowd, you are in luck because Houston is home to the largest mall in all of Texas – The Galleria. The upscale mall hosts over 375 stores, several dining options, an indoor ice-skating rink, arcade and much more. The mall contains two Westin hotels and even has three office towers, one of which houses a financial center. A short distance from the mall will also lead you to one of the city’s most photographed location, the Water Wall.

If you are looking for a more laid back shopping atmosphere, Old Town Springs is your spot. The Springs has a long list of shops and places to eat as well as events like their Texas Crawfish & Music Festival. You almost take a step back in time when entering this historic, turn of the century railroad town.

Cuisine

After a long day out on the town, there is no doubt food will be on your radar. And Houston has whatever your taste buds are craving! They’ve got everything from Greek, like Niko Nikos to Tex-Mex. Tex-Mex is the most famous in the region so if you want something local, head to Pappasitos. At either of these places, count on getting there ahead of time because there is always a line for their spectacular dishes!

What’s Nearby?

While there is enough within Houston to keep you busy for a long time, you are also not far from some really great spots. For instance, Glaveston, Texas is an hour from downtown Houston and has beaches, shops and restaurants.

About the Author: Victoria is trudging away in her Master’s classes while working for HireAHelper. She’s in love with her dog, Lilly, and enjoys summer thunderstorms, stars and road trips! Go Huskers!

(Photo courtesies: JLabrador, Sikeri, JD Hancock, Eschipul, and dionhinchcliffe

At the moment I have three core things I consider as I plot my decorating plan of attack. First, I have to consider cost because I’m broke! Second, I consider the fact that I live in a tiny apartment with very little space. I can’t be building and moving in new pieces of furniture or anything. Utilizing space is a must. And third, I want it to look good. I won’t just pick something out just because I can afford it. I err on the side of simple rather than quantity.

With those three things in mind, I’ve come up with FIVE simple ideas to use when decorating a new kitchen area (or re-decorating your old kitchen!).

(1) Make Tiny Changes

You know how buying a new shower curtain can completely change the look of your bathroom? The same thing goes for new towels and potholders in the kitchen. If you’ve just moved and are unpacking some of your old stuff, it’s likely that you’ve used the same things for years. If you can afford it, use those old things as cleaning rags and pick up a few new things!  It makes more of a difference than I ever thought it could.

If you have a sewing machine, you can use old jeans or cheap material from Walmart to make your own potholders. You don’t have to be Martha Stewart to do this… if I can make them, so can you!

Another fun thing, now that it’s garage sale season, is to look around for a new-to-you fun and fancy dish. Use it to display your fresh fruit. Making stops at local garage sales is also a great way to get to know the different neighborhoods and people in your new city!

(2) Get Creative & Use What You’ve Got

Something I’ve been trying to do is to make use of my food, utensils, and spices to decorate. I mean, you’re going to have all those things in your kitchen anyway, you might as well make them look cool, right? For example, you may have bags of sugar, flour and popcorn in a cupboard. Instead of packing those away, put them into individual glass jars and display them!

Another thing that looks cool sitting out are spices and olive oil jars. Line them up above a cupboard or counter or find a sweet spice rack. If you’re feeling really crafty and have the room, you can even create individual spice jars with labels.

(3) Grow Your Own Fresh Herbs

Okay, don’t freak out. If you’re anything like me, attempting to keep a plant alive doesn’t have a great outlook for ya. However, herbs are the one thing I have actually been successful at keeping alive and well. I believe in you! They also take up very little space, which is a plus if you live in a shoebox of an apartment. The only thing you need besides a pot/jars and soil is a bit of sunlight. This is honestly one of the most rewarding projects for your kitchen. You can buy terra cotta pots for like a quarter each, seeds are only a buck or two and you don’t need much potting soil.  And in a week or so, you’ve got fresh herbs! Your kitchen has a nice smell, looks fresh and you’ve got homegrown ingredients for some delicious recipes. I’ve already scouted a recipe for pesto because my basil is starting to come up.

(4) Bring Back the Lost Arts!

After working out how to make my own potholders, I have slowly been learning a few other “lost arts” like embroidery and canning. The thing is, these types of things are seriously in vogue at the moment and places like Terrain charge an arm and a leg for them! You can make them yourself, for a tiny fraction of purchasing them. I bought my plain, white flour sack towels at Bomgaars for $2 a piece. If you don’t have Bomgaars, Amazon has them from several places and your local craft store will have embroidery floss and the other necessary supplies.

Another of these “lost arts” is canning. This is actually more involved, so if you skip to the next paragraph I don’t blame you! But even if you can’t muster the energy or desire to can for yourself, see if you can find a friend who does. They just look colorful and trendy!

(5) Repurpose

For this last thing, you can make it as simple or complex as you want. You can make something simple like a chalkboard to write your grocery list on or something more involved like making a pots and pans rack out of an old ladder.

If you want to make a chalkboard, all you need is a flat surface (i.e. anything glass, metal, plastic or even wood) and chalkboard spray paint in a can.  Yeah, it’s that simple! Or if you want to go even more simple, you can make a dry erase board out of an old window by using the glass to write on.  It looks rustic and shabby chic in a kitchen! All you need are the markers.

Another fun and easy thing, if you have wall space, is using a burlap coffee sack with an old bulletin board. I got several sweet burlap coffee sacks from a local coffee roaster for free. They have so many that they’re usually happy to give them away.  Then just stretch the bag around the edges of the bulletin board and staple the bag on the backside. Boom. You can use it as art AND a bulletin board.

Shown above is a ladder shelf that my lovely cousins made for me. They literally used scrap wood and leftover paint from another project!  I wish I still had room in my current kitchen for it but for now it will have to live at my parents’. I just wanted to share it because I love it so much!

Hopefully these ideas will get you started.  What ideas can you share with me as I continue to transform my own kitchen?


About the Author: Victoria is a grad student in Nebraska and was once a champion mutton buster at the Days of 56 Rodeo. Yee haw! She currently works for HireAHelper.

Photo courtesy of Ross Catrow, Tyler Burrus, Grannies Kitchen, and Lori L. Stalteri.

That’s right, it’s official! Our friends at self-storage marketplace SpareFoot.com have declared that today is National Moving Day (the Tuesday after Memorial Day). It’s the busiest day of the year for self-storage facilities (the last Saturday in June is the busiest day of the year for movers according to our handy moving infographic).

Their research shows that moving is becoming a pretty popular activity (1 in 6 US adults moved in the last year) and as such, they wanted to kick off the busy summer moving season by sharing the results of their massive study on moving America as well as some tips from key moving industry players. Our very own CEO, Mike Glanz, was even mentioned!

Are you moving? Where to? What caused the move? A new job? School? Family? Leave a comment.

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