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A Place for Everything and Everything in Its Place

Storage. No matter how much storage we have in our homes, we manage to fill it up. And then what? How about some tips for creating/maximizing your storage space. First, purge. Simply getting rid of extra things that you dont really need cuts down on the clutter. Consider donating your gently used clothing and household items to a womens shelter, a Goodwill, or a halfway house. Knowing that something that was just taking up space has found a new home and is being used, creates warm fuzzies inside. Do you actually need to keep every single paper that comes home from school? Or notebooks from college? Or ten-year old business reports? But what if you may actually need it, or what if you really love it? Take a picture that way you can keep the memory intact, without having to keep the stuff. After purging, look for furniture that can double as storage. For example,put your bed on risers, and then use the space underneath to store items that are rarely used, decorations come to mind. What about seating that doubles as a storage chest? Or use a loft bed, which leaves room underneath for a desk, toy box, or cubed storage. Go vertical. The back of the door is a great place to gain some storage. A shoe organizer can do duty as a holder for office supplies, or in the kitchen it can hold all of the random little things that currently clutter the drawers. Bookshelves and baskets are a pleasing combination that can keep game controllers out of the way, and off the floor, provide a place for random DVDs, and keep the books you are currently reading handy. If you have a balcony, outfit it with weatherproof boxes for additional storage. Or hang your kite collection on the wall there, adding a decorative touch. Is your closet overflowing? Rotate your clothes on a seasonal basis. Put the off season in totes (perhaps they can go under the bed) and keep what you are currently wearing on the shelves and hanging up. As you sort at the end of each season, cull old and worn out items before you put away them away in storage. At the end of the day (or week, or month) after you have created a place for everything, and everything is in its place, admiring your clutter free spaces will bring a smile of satisfaction to your lips. Please feel free to share your storage tips in the comments.

Charity Rides around Puyallup

So you finally caved and bought a motorcycle. I cant blame you; they make them look so cool on Sons of Anarchy and shows like that. But now that youve got the bike and the protective gear you probably find yourself looking for excuses to go out and ride. Well, what better excuse is there than a ride for charity? On Saturday, July 26 you will have your choice of two charity rides in the Puyallup area. Destination Harley-Davidson and BLACKSTAR PRODUCTIONS, proudly present the 3rd Annual Kids With Cancer Fundraiser . The event kicks off with breakfast at Destination Harley at 9:30. Then, at 11:00 its kickstands up the ride begins. Participants will travel together to The Royal Bear in Algona, making a few stops and events along the way. Events include a poker run, demonstrations and even a bikini bike wash! There will be live performances from six bands and two comedians scheduled throughout the day. Check out the events Facebook page for tickets and additional information. If you want to participate in a charity ride, but would prefer a slightly shorter ride, head to South Sound Motorcycles and sign up for their Ride to the Pig ! This event has no official starting point, but focuses instead on the destination; this ride concludes at the Minimus Maximus food truck. This ride encourages riders to form teams to support one common charity. The team with the most participants at the destination wins a $1000 donation to the charity of their choice!

An Action Packed Weekend in Tacoma

With all the excitement of the Fourth of July behind us, many people assume the rest of the month will be relatively humdrum. While that is largely a matter of opinion, there is no shortage of activities going on around the Puyallup and Tacoma areas. Follow this guide to an action packed weekend around Tacoma. Start the weekend off with a classy garden party held at the W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory in Wright Park. Attendees will enjoy hors doeuvres and a glass of champagne as they enjoy a live performance by the Musig-Christensen-Hume Trio. Come dressed in stripes and polka dots and explore the conservatory grounds at this fundraising event. Proceeds from the garden party go toward the advancement of the W.W. Seymour Conservatory Foundation. Now that youve got the fancy part of the weekend out of the way, Saturday is your chance to break a sweat. The Run to the Top is an annual 5k race through one of the toughest and steepest courses in all of Tacoma. Held at McKinley Park, the event includes a 5k and a Kids Dash, so the little ones can participate. Check in starts at 8:30am, so youll want to get there early. Now that youve had the chance to attend a classy function like the garden party, then get your sweat on during Run to the Top, youve earned a day of easy relaxation. Head back to the Seymour Conservatory for their Second Sunday concert series . This months performance features Kareem Kandi and his jazz trio. Music is generally played inside the greenhouse, but may spill out onto the grass if it gets hot enough. The show runs from 1:00 to 2:30pm and admission is $3.

Patriotic Celebrations in Puyallup

The 4th of July is right around the corner and that means it is time to break out your favorite red, white and blue attire and celebrate all things America! If you dont feel like going through all the trouble of hosting an Independence Day BBQ, consider heading out to one of these events in the Puyallup area. JBLMs Freedom Fest is an obvious choice for those looking for a particularly patriotic celebration. After all, who has more pride in this country than those who have signed up to defend it? This action packed event runs all day, from 11am to 11pm, and features a long list of attractions. Visitors get access to live music, military displays, carnival rides and delicious food. There will even be an aerial demonstration featuring classic planes from generations passed. Parking and admission to the event is free to the public, so you only end up paying for food and rides! Maybe you want to celebrate the part of American culture that existed before European settlers came to the country? If so, take a trip out to Steilacoom for this years Grand Old Fourth of July celebration . This is another all-day event packed to the gills with things to do. The event starts with a fun run and a street fair at 9:00am. Beer gardens open and music starts an hour later at 10am, along with the Tribal Museum Fry Bread Outpost (my personal favorite part of the event). From there, visitors can explore the historical museum, watch a parade, then enjoy dancing in the street until the sun goes down. After dark youll enjoy an impressive fireworks display over Puget Sound. Like Freedom Fest, this event is free to the public. They are, however, accepting donations to help cover the cost of the fireworks display. Information on how to donate can be found on the event website, linked above.

A Book Club in the Clubhouse

Do you remember the kid at school who always had his nose in a book, or were you the girl who was a voracious reader? Chances are, shes still reading; and if you like to read too, you can bet that there are plenty of other people in your community who like to read. One of the perks of living here is the use of the clubhouse, and what better place to get together for a lively discussion about books? Todays blog is about how to go about organizing a book club. One of the marvelous things about book clubs is that they are so flexible. Essentially, two ingredients are necessary for a book club, books and readers (and throwing in some good food is always a plus). Generally speaking, a book is chosen,read, and then the members of the club get together and discuss their opinions, thoughts, and observations about the book. Book clubs can be formal or informal, focus on a specific genre or explore multiple genres. One person can decide the titles or it can be a democracy where everyone gets a voice. Books can be planned for the year, or month-to-month, or in some book groups, the person who brings the food that month chooses the book too. The gathering can be held the same time every month, i.e. every third Wednesday or on a rotating schedule. Flexibility, thats the name of the game. So, to get started, first, decide the type of club, formal or informal, the genre/s, when to meet, and who to invite. Second: Decide on your first book. (It might be a good idea to start with a book youve already read for the first one.) A book that is not too long and is a fairly easy read (and falls within your genre guidelines) is a good first choice. Here are a couple of websites that have lists of books that are currently popular with book clubs: LitLovers About.com Resources for Book Clubs, Classes & Reading Research Third: Choose a date and schedule the clubhouse. Remember, its not set in stone, after your first meeting, you can change the schedule to meet the needs of the members. Fourth: Advertise - use your community bulletin board (electronic and physical), have the office put it on the scheduled events, word of mouth, to get the word out. Create a FaceBook Group to facilitate communication for the ongoing club. Many books have book club Study Guides, that have thought provoking questions to stimulate discussion, these can be accessed online, and are sometimes in the book itself. And many libraries have book group loan kits where multiple copies of popular books can be checked out. Libraries also often have books available to lend electronically; this is a great option for people who use Kindle, Nook, or other reading apps. (Check in advance to see if the book you are considering is available electronically for loan.) And there is always the method of passing a book around if only a few copies are available. Books groups tend to work best when the numbers average about a dozen. Enough people that you get a consistent turnout, but not too many, so everyone has an opportunity to share their thoughts. So if several differently focused book groups are available, the more to choose from. And there you have it. A fun, friendly way to use the clubhouse in your community and an opportunity to read a book genre you may not have tried before. Leave a comment today and share your favorite book with us.

Dog Parks Near Puyallup

At Willow Hill we love our dogs! Cats are cool too, but there is just something to be said about the loyalty of dogs that has earned them the title of mans best friend. Between belly rubs, new chew-toys and the occasional table scrap, few things seem to bring my two mini-dachshunds as much joy as running around outside. And, while the grassy areas around Willow Hill work well for short bouts of daily exercise, I try to get them to an off-leash park at least once a week to let them socialize and run, unrestrained to their hearts content. Here is a list of my favorite dog parks in and around Puyallup, WA. Puyallup Dog Park is a small, fenced park not far from Willow Hill apartments. Located between Clarks Creek Park North and Clarks Creek Park South, fully fenced park sits on 2/3 of an acre and provides local pups a place to run around off the leash. At less than 2 miles away, South Hill Park is perhaps the closest option for off-leash play time for dogs living at Willow Hill. While this proximity certainly makes the park a convenient choice, it is not fully fenced, so beware if your pup is the type that likes to sprint off and find their own, unsupervised adventure. Wapato Park is a bit further away than the others, but is a great option if your small pup has a hard time getting along with larger dogs. They two separate areas: One for large dogs and one for smaller breeds. This is perfect for my two pups that seem to think that they are the biggest dogs in the yard until a larger breed puppy tries to join in and play. The parks listed so far have been selected because of their proximity to Willow Hill. That said, they can leave much to be desired from an aesthetic standpoint. If you want thicker grass, a larger play area and slightly more maintained grounds I suggest packing up the pups and heading out to Fort Steilacoom Park in Lakewood. This park comes almost universally recommended due, in part, to how well it is maintained. The beautiful scenery provides an incredible backdrop as you and your four-legged friends enjoy the parks large, open areas. It takes about a 30 minute drive to get there, but if your dogs are anything like mine, they wont mind a trip in the car. Did I leave out your go-to Puyallup area dog park? Leave your favorite in the comments below!