Creative Use for Clipboards

Do you have clipboards lying around your house?  They can be used for a lot more than organizing papers and meetings.  Check out these creative uses for clipboards in your home.  You can find more do it yourself projects at apartment therapy.


The ubiquitous, utilitarian clipboard. Often spotted in classrooms, board rooms and waiting rooms, its classic but sturdy chipboard and metal clap composition naturally lends itself to well, holding things.Be it artwork, a calendar or a collection of necklaces, we've rounded up five ways to reimagine this inexpensive office supply staple for the home.
1. Over a desk, a clipboard is perfect for organizing bits of mail, notes and inspiration. From The Pretty Blog.
2. Clipboards are also a great way to display a pretty collection of necklaces. From Design Indulgences.
3.The new (Instagram friendly!) calendars from Artifact Uprising come equipped with their own clipboards for display. $25 from Artifact Uprising.
4. As a part of my January Cure, I used clipboards as an alternative to framing a collection of art prints.
5. A clipboard with a menu affixed works well propped up on a counter top or table, as seen on Martha Stewart.

Let's Go Pirates!

Let's Go Pirates.  The East Carolina University Pirates will advance to the second round of the NCAA March Madness on Saturday.  The opponent is yet to be determined.  You can learn more about the game at ECU.com

Miguel Paul made two free throws with 13 seconds left and Akeem Richmond stripped the ball from Rashad Hassen as time expired give East Carolina a 66-65 come-from-behind win over Savannah State in the first round of the CollegeInsiders.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) Tuesday night.

The win gave ECU its first-ever Division I postseason victory in five appearances. The Pirates, who joined the ranks of NCAA Division I for the 1965-66 season, had not won a postseason game since defeating Erskine to win the 1954 NAIA District 26 championship.

ECU will host a second round game Saturday at 5 p.m. against an opponent to be determined.

The Pirates (19-12) trailed by 15, 45-30, with 14 minutes to play before rallying to take a 64-63 lead on a 3-pointer by Paul with 47 seconds left. It was their first lead of the game.

Hassen regained the lead for Savannah State (19-15) with 25 seconds left as he scored in the paint, while being fouled. He had a chance to extend the lead to two, but was unable to complete the 3-point play, which gave the Pirates the opportunity to win.

"It's hard to get to postseason and to win a game it's really hard," ECU Head Coach Jeff Lebo said. "This is the only East Carolina Division I team that's won a postseason game in almost 50 years. That's quite an accomplishment.

Despite shooting less than 30 percent, missing nine free throws and committing eight turnovers in the first half, the Pirates trailed only by seven at halftime, 32-25 as they closed the half on a 10-2 run.

The Tigers didn't exactly set the world on fire in the first half either, shooting just 38 percent and committing eight turnovers themselves as the two teams combined for 16 turnovers and shot 34 percent (20-58).

After watching its deficit grow to 15, ECU used a 20-9 run over a 6:34 stretch to get within four, 54-50, with Richmond burying three consecutive 3s.

The Tigers extended their lead back to seven with 5:23 to play.

After being held scoreless in the first half, Paul seemed to understand the urgency of the moment and the possible finality of his career. He scored eight of ECU's final 12 points, making two 3s and a pair of free throws and assisting on both of its other two field goals.

He finished the game with 14 points and nine assists, eclipsing the 200-assist mark for the season.

After his first 3 cut the Pirates' deficit to four, his dishes to Robert Sampson and Maurice Kemp brought ECU within one, setting the stage of his final minute heroics.

Kemp led the Pirates with 21 points and Richmond added 14. Sampson led all rebounders with 14 boards. Deven Williams paced the Tigers with 18 points and Arnold Louis contributed 15.

Organizing Your Closet Seasonally

Do you have small closets, or do you just have a lot of clothes?  Separating your clothes by season can be a great way to save space. It also gives you the ability to periodically go through your clothes and clean out what items you do not want anymore.  Keep reading to learn three great reasons about organizing your closet by season.  If you want some tips or more information, you can check out apartment therapy.

When I was a kid growing up in New York, it was a spring ritual to go through the box of summer clothes my mother had packed away the previous fall, trying them on to see what fit and what was, and wasn't, usable.

Now that I live in Los Angeles where it's always sunny and 70 degrees (not really), I'd fallen out of the habit of packing away summer clothes. After all, a particularly hot day in February might encourage a spontaneous trip to the beach, when I'd need a bathing suit. But, recently, I've picked up the habit again, sucking everything meant for three digit temperatures into Space Bags for the winter.

Now that the temperature's starting to warm up (seriously, it does get chilly here), I've started unpacking my stuff while making a mental list of the wintery things that will be the first to be packed away. Besides a closet in which I can actually see what I own, I've discovered a few other unexpected benefits to this childhood ritual:

• I'm forced to go through my clothes with a critical eye, discarding what no longer works or fits, or is beyond repair. The forced examination of my wardrobe has resulted in its considerable thinning. Unexpected benefit: a smaller wardrobe but one which actually works better (which means getting dressed in the morning — getting dressed period — takes half as long as it used to. No more clothes tornadoes. Another benefit.).

• With a few modifications, my closet can hold everything I need in one place: By keeping only the present season's wardrobe in my closet, I discovered that I didn't need a dresser after all. Unexpected benefit: more room in my bedroom, no money spent on storage furniture.

• Grouping clothing by season and by activity, it's easier to assess what works for my wardrobe and my life and what doesn't. Now I can look at a catalog and quickly figure out if I need something or not. Turns out, I have enough black tie dresses to last me an entire awards season (if anyone needs a date). Unexpected benefit: saving money.

Do you pack away clothes when the seasons change?

MUVE Promotes Welness Through Outreach

Exercise is important for everyone.  Physical fitness is what keeps our bodies happy and healthy for years to come.  East Carolina University students are reaching out through a new organization to youth and senior adults.  This group conducts outreach programs to promote exercise and physical fitness to different groups in the area. Keep reading and check out East Carolina University for more details.

East Carolina University students are reaching out to youth and senior adults through a newly founded ECU student organization called MUVE (Motivating and Uplifting via Exercise).
LaBarron Burwell, a health fitness specialist major in the College of Health and Human Performance, and psychology major Joshua Epps co-founded MUVE in October. The two friends were seeking a way to help others through exercise instruction, mentorship and leadership activities.

ECU students LaBarron Burwell, left, and Joshua Epps co-founded MUVE to help others through exercise.

Now 25 members strong, MUVE meets weekly on campus and conducts outreach programs with community organizations including athletic teams, after-school programs and assisted living centers. At each event, MUVE members are paired one-on-one with a child or a senior adult, with a goal of providing needs-based activities designed to motivate and inspire.

Junior communication major Victoria Loveless has been a member of MUVE since its inception. She said serving others in the community gives her a sense of satisfaction. “It doesn’t seem like service,” she said.

Epps said he finds joy in interacting with others through MUVE. “At the end of an event, when I know I’ve reached someone, I am satisfied,” he said. “It is my passion.”

Best friends since second grade, Burwell and Epps recalled the critical positive influence of their high school football coaches. They put their heads together to create an ECU organization that would have a similar effect.

Burwell grew up in a single-parent family, moved around a lot, lived in public housing and was briefly homeless. As a ninth grader, he joined the J.F. Webb High School football team in Oxford. After Burwell played one year in a defensive position, the coaches offered him a quarterback position for the next season.

Surprised, Burwell asked the coaches why they selected him over several seniors who were already playing offense. They said the decision was based on Burwell’s work ethic and history of making good decisions on the field. The coaches said they trusted Burwell to lead the team.

That trust gave Burwell the confidence to take on additional leadership positions, such as senior class president. But athletics had the biggest impact on his life, he said.

“Sports build a bond,” Burwell said, adding that exercise is something everyone needs. He said that MUVE participants benefit from team building exercises, physical conditioning, games, music and fun.
 
“Our goal is to create an environment where participants feel comfortable and realize their opinion matters,” he said. They are “given a chance to speak, to ask questions without fear of judgment and to discuss goal setting.”

The group’s activities this month included a Valentine’s Day dance and geriatric aerobic exercise event at Sterling House Assisted Living Center in Greenville and an activities program for students in grades 1-5 at Kenansville Elementary School in Duplin County.

In an earlier visit to James Sprunt Community College, MUVE worked with 125 middle and high school students participating in a program designed to help at-risk students achieve their academic potential. The program coordinator Felita Carr described MUVE’s visit as an overwhelming success.

“The students are still talking about that day and the experiences they had,” Carr said. The group engaged students and parents and “left them wanting for more.” Carr plans to invite the MUVE group back for another session this spring.

When Burwell was seeking members to join MUVE, he often asked fellow students, “Would you like to help others? Would you like to prevent them from making the same mistakes you made?”

That, he said, is what MUVE does.