3 moving hacks for new Utah home owners

My life has been more than a little crazy recently - in the last month, I've moved, started a new job (while maintaining my part-time position and working on my own freelance projects) and began the intensely emotional issue of custody negotiations. Needless to say, the last few weeks have been pretty overwhelming. On top of the mental strain of the latter two issues, the physical and emotional drain from moving has been pretty intense - which is why I found this moving guide by Alecsy Christensen and Extra Space Storage so incredibly helpful. Check it out below, and be sure to leave your own tips for moving and packing in the comments!

3 Moving Hacks for New Utah Home Owners


1. Pack your Moving Truck Like an Expert

When you are moving valuable household items in a moving truck, it is important to know how to pack them so everything is transferred to your house with ease and nothing gets broken or damaged. The trick to packing your moving truck is to put all the valuables in the cab with you, your heavy appliances close to the cab (appliances like the washer, refrigerator, and dryer), Put your more heavy boxes in the middle area of the cargo, put your longer items (like your mattress and sofa) against the walls of the cargo area, and put your items with draws like desks and dressers against your mattress so that none of the drawers fall out. Then you can use all of your smaller items to fill in the spaces so everything is compact, almost like a tetris game.


2. Take Advantage of the Many Uses of Saran Wrap

Saran wrap can be used for many things for moving, and the more you have of it, the merrier. You can use it to cover the tops of your drawers when packing so nothing falls out, wrap all the handles of your shovels, brooms, mops, etc together to bundle them together for easy packing, saran wrap a blanket around your furniture to make sure it does not get dented in the move, and more. The more saran wrap, the easier the move!


3. Consult the Experts: Familiarize Yourself with a Credited Moving Guide

Before launching into the big process of moving it is always good to get an experts advice on what the best moving strategies are to make sure your belongings get organized, transported, and setup efficiently and without any mishaps. Check out this moving guide from Extra Space Storage that was developed to help with the ins and outs of moving, some of which you might not even know about!

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guest post: not to hot by Apryl of 365DG

photo by Sarah Hasleton

both images courtesy of Apryl @ www.365DayGirl.com

Putting together the Stylish Beehive over the last few months has introduced me to some pretty cool new peeps - including my sister from another mother, Apryl of 365DG. Although we haven't yet met in person, after having perused each other's blogs thoroughly, both of us realized just how much we have in common; most importantly, our very similar transitions from NOT to HOT.

I feel like there are a lot of girls (and women) out there who have undergone that same transformation - from elementary/high school nerd to unbelievably sexy and stylish adult. In honor of that transition, I asked Apryl to write a guest post for Frayed Threads telling her story. I'll be posting mine next Tuesday, so be sure to check back for the deets on my metamorphosis (and maybe even some embarrassing high school photos!).

by Apryl @ www.365DayGirl.com

In 4th grade lime green was not my color. In fact it wasn't ANYONE's color. At least not when it came to the shoe trend flaring like a disease throughout my school. I had been desperate to score anything resembling the high-tops trend and bought the unfortunately hued pair because it was they were the only ones I could find at the mall. I naively thought it was the shape that would count for style coolness. Day one of putting them on proved otherwise with one snarky comment from the cool girls...something about seeing my shoes from space...

For the first few years of my career in clothing myself I repeatedly missed the lessons of looking good. Maybe it because my parents were poor and hippie-esque in the material saturated 80’s. Maybe I was slow to learn cause I was too busy climbing every tree in the neighborhood. Or the perhaps it was the fact that I had no mentoring older sister.

From toddlerdom to my tweens I waded through a sea of hand-me-downs, dirty old coats passed down from boy cousins, out of season sweaters from someone’s older daughter. My mom insisted on the dull brown shoes because they were a million pennies cheaper than the black patent leather shoes with the liquid shine. Pretty dresses were the rare holiday occasion only to be worn on days I would be certain to not muck about.

My only on point sartorial statement made during these years was a dress I picked out when I was 8. Color blocked, modern, it had a slim translucent belt in a cherry red and even the popular girls thought it was chic. By 4th grade's and my high-top fiasco no one remembered that I ever looked sharp.

Entering Jr. High I found the fever of my peers to chase trends got worse. By this time I figured I could only play to lose so I stopped jumping in the game. Instead I dove into fantasy and doodled big bosomed starlets in sequined gowns with plunging necklines. Occasionally I would experiment only to get chastised by the principle for broadcasting sluttiness (belly baring shirt) or once again ridiculed by the cool kids (black tights under cut off shorts).

My problem probably stemmed from the fact that I wanted to dress like a movie star. Or an international spy. Or a wild fairy. An intriguing icon not some American girl growing up in the suburbs battling it out with other hormonally challenged humans.

What I didn’t realize yet was my styling talent lay in the mythic...rather than the mundane. But I wouldn't begin to harness this into a skill until leaving school altogether. Without principles fearing for a developing slutdom I began to turn on the sexy with heels, tight weaves, and skin bearing ensembles. Without classmates waiting to pounce from the schoolyard corners and pummel me with snarks I blithely experimented with color & texture. I entered my own renaissance and was on my path to successfully get myself dressed.

I expedited my transition in 2007 - after battling lame stress related beauty issues, becoming my own dietary dictator, and going under the knife to get the boobs Mother Nature neglected to gift me. Before that I had been too exhausted to get myself looking good for no one but the mailroom guy to notice and had been showing up to work in pajama pants to work 8 hours head down and shackled to desk. Health restored I felt the need to speed up my style trajectory since it wasn’t enough to look healthy – I wanted to look out of sight amazing!

Today I wear what I want AND what I know makes me look awesome. Awesome being sexy, confident, and intriguing. The key is translating mythic into socially interesting since years of trying to hold jobs and secure relationships taught me that full blown mythic attire is scary at worst, awkwardly inappropriate at best (Note - most guys that say they like weird girls actually mean "quirky", not Queen of the Damned so comb the wild hairs and put the pendant vial of blood away). I learned to artfully scale down during the day...and strategically intensify during the evening or for events. As I play with color families, organize ratios of texture, and get cheeky with contrasting elements I find there’s plenty to attract with without overwhelming. I clothe myself in ways that are pointedly interesting but just slightly destabilizing for those not adventurous enough to break thru boundaries of convention.

And there’s not a snarky peep from the cool girls to be heard ;)

be social - check out Apryl's blog, then

follow her on Facebook, YouTube & Tumblr.

Did you make the transformation from not to hot? Or have you always been one of the cool girls? Share your experience in the comments, and be sure to check back next week for my story!

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