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.

Midterms Are Coming

Before you know it, your first midterm exam will be here.  Make sure to check out these midterm preparation tips ahead of time so you will ace your tests.  As a student, the earlier you prepare, the easier it will be to remember everything the day of the test.  Check out these tips and comment with any of your own tips you may have for midterm studies.

1. Get a good night’s sleep before the exam.

2. An absolute must if you can: get prior years’ exams and, with a small group of classmates, prepare point form sample answers to share among yourselves.

3. Review your notes to see all the items the professor indicated were important. In some cases, s/he might even have hinted at exam topics.

4. Take a quick scan of the course outline – make a note of the topics the professor seemed to spend a lot of time on, or otherwise emphasized.

5. Take a look at the assignments if there were any – see if you can find topics, skills or techniques that were emphasized, especially those after the mid-term.

6. Did the professor comment on areas of weakness on the mid-term? These sometimes reappear on the final.

7. Make a set of study notes from your class notes and the text. Writing them down in condensed format aids in recall during the final exam, and in some cases, helps you identify items you need to clarify with a friend or teaching assistant. Work with the group you formed to address point 2. If you like – this can increase the scope of your studying.

8. If there is a key item you need to remember for the exam, study it right before you enter the exam room. Right after the exam starts, write down what you know. A favorite is to list formulas (or dates?) that you need to remember. If you wait until you are freaked out by a difficult exam question, you might not remember them.

9. Make sure you have a meal that includes carb’s AND proteins before the exam. This will give you staying power. Take a granola bar and fluids to your exam desk if permitted.

10. In case you have forgotten the first, and very important point, get a good night’s sleep before the exam.

For more information see RP.

DIY Projects Made Affordable

Are you trying a new project in your college apartment?  New DIY projects can be expensive, but with these tips you can make sure any new project affordable.  Make sure to recycle, shop at sales, and refurbish old pieces to create your new piece for your apartment.

Choose CheaplyThe best DIYs are those which take trash and turn it into treasure. And by "trash" I mean hand-me-downs, flea market finds and ubiquitous big-box store pieces. Choosing affordable objects to makeover to begin with not only saves money, but gives you the freedom to take chances, change your mind, and mess up. If it doesn't work out the way you planned, at least you didn't invest too much in the process.

We have some great posts in our archives on budget DIY projects, so get searching and get inspired!

Beg, Borrow and Steal
Ok, so we can't really advocate stealing, but everything else is fair game. DIY can mean investing in a lot of equipment, some of it expensive, and some of it the kind of "affordable" extras that can really add up. Rather than shelling out for reusables like drop cloths, paintbrushes and tools, why not see if a friend or neighbor has any to spare?

When it comes to power tools or other expensive equipment, consider renting if you can't borrow. Your local hardware chain store probably offers this service, and for something you'll only use once or twice (say, a floor sander or tile cutter) it makes sense to cut down on cost, not to mention storage space. Bonus: renting tools often comes with support on how to use them properly, unlike a purchase, which can leave you reading the manual and scratching your head in confusion.

Know your Limits
One of the best ways to keep your DIY budget in check is to know when DIY isn't such a great idea. Online tutorials and crafty books are great, but they can only lead you so far in this game. Tackling a project beyond your skill level can lead to costly mistakes and professional re-dos, and spending more money than you ever planned. So think hard about where your DIY line is: wallpapering your bedroom? Adding shelves to your kitchen? Re-upolstering a beloved piece of furniture?

Before you entirely give up on that ambitious project, however, consider a few educational options to help it run smoothly: take a class at your local hardware store, or ask a handier friend to help you out.

For more information see Apartment Therapy.

Fundraiser to Combat Hunger

Title:	Check out this great event to help combat hunger.  This event will be held Thursday from 11:30am-2:00pm in hte Mendenhall Student Center Great Rooms.  Guests can purchase $15.00 tickets for a meal of soup and break with a handmade bowl.  The bowls are all created by ECU students and the ECU Ceramics Guild.  Check out more details about this great fundraiser below. Second Annual Empty Bowls event
Date:	Thursday 2/7/2013
Time:	11:30 AM - 2:00 PM
Where:	Mendenhall Student Center Great Rooms (map)
Summary:	Empty Bowls is an international grassroots effort to raise money to combat hunger while reminding participants of all the empty bowls in the world. Guests purchase $15 tickets for a meal of soup and bread, along with a handmade bowl.
Details:	At ECU, the bowls are created and donated through the ECU Ceramics Guild, which is sponsoring the project along with ECU Campus Living and Dining Services. Local businesses are providing food and beverages. All funds raised will be donated to the Greenville Food Bank. “Empty Bowls is a wonderfully unique fundraiser that gives our community a chance to come together and help those in need,” said Sara Kurtz, president of the ECU Ceramics Guild.  “Service is a big part of the mission of the Ceramics Guild and we are thrilled to be a part of this event.” Bowls will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis and must be picked up during the event. Tickets are $15, available through the Mendenhall Student Center ticket office. Guests may park in the lot outside Mendenhall Student Center. Local sponsors include Peasant’s Pub, Starlight Café, The Skullery, Winslow’s, The Tipsy Teapot, Starbucks, UBE, La Bendicion bakery and ARAMARK.  For additional information, visit www.emptybowls.net or contact ECU Campus Living at (252) 328-2834. For more information see ECU.