If you ever get the chance to move abroad, it could potentially be one of the most exciting, yet terrifying experiences of your life. There is so much that goes into moving overseas, that it can often times get overwhelming. Plus, once you count in the fact of how expensive it can get, it’s easy to start freaking out a little. However, there really is no reason too. With the proper planning, and a thought out budget, you can make even the most overwhelming move a breeze. And in this article, we will give you some tips on how to properly plan, so the only surprises you will have are the ones your friends will be throwing for you before you leave.

The first thing that you want to do in planning, especially when planning your budget, is to make a spreadsheet. You know that little program on your computer called Excel? Well, it’s time to get acquainted with it if you haven’t already. One of the best ways to create a budget and to stick with it is to provide yourself with a clear picture of the different expenses that you will incur. Go ahead and create a chart within Excel, and add any and all of the categories that you know will incur expenses along the way. Then, start filling in the actual cost amounts as you become aware of them. This process will help you clearly define how much you’ll actually have to spend to make your move, and therefore will be able to help you better budget and plan accordingly.

One important expense that you want to be aware of is a moving company expense. Often times, this will be your greatest expense so it’s important to make sure that you take your time and find a reputable moving company that will be the perfect fit for you. Be aware though, that there are several different moving companies out there that will try to take advantage of you. Avoid any companies that refuse to give you a solid price. If there are unwilling to give you a solid moving quote or price, it’s often times because there will be hidden fees or expenses that will accumulate along the way. So, make sure that before you sign a contract with the moving company you have the exact price of what they will charge in black-and-white.

Also, there are a few other moving expenses that you’ll need to be aware of when it comes to your moving company. For instance, you will have your moving company fee, but you also will want to purchase extra moving insurance to help cover the cost of your items if they are damaged or lost during shipment. This may not seem important now, but we promise you if anything were to happen you’d wish you had it. You also have to budget for tips to give to the movers on both ends of the move. Plus, don’t forget that you’ll need to purchase shipping supplies that will hold all of your items. Your best option is to find cheap moving boxes, if you can. Cheap moving boxes can be found almost anywhere, but make sure that you check with your shipping company in case they have any restrictions on the type of cheap moving boxes that you can use. Also, you may need to budget for storage unit in the country of origin for the things you may have to leave behind.

Other expenses that you may incur along the way will be your travel costs. This will include your flights, transportation to and from the airport, potential hotels if your new home isn’t ready, food along the way, travel documents that you may need to update, customs fees that you may have to pay upon arrival to your new country, and even vaccines that you may need to enter into the country are moving to. Just make sure that you are aware of all of the different types of rules and regulations that your new country will require of you, before even going.

Moving internationally doesn’t have to be stressful. Just make sure that you take your time, plan, be prepared, and expect the unexpected. If you can do these things, you will be able to help make your moving process a breeze. Good luck!

If there’s one thing you always seem to have a plethora of, it’s cardboard boxes. Normally, you’ll just fold them up and either burn them or recycle them. But, what if we told you that you’re missing out on opportunities to transform them into some pretty cool DIY projects. In this article we will share with you some ideas of converting cardboard boxes into functional and useful items you didn’t even know you wanted or needed.

Cardboard Playhouse

if you have a little girl, more than likely at some point she’ll be asking you for a playhouse. Unfortunately, playhouse’s can get expensive. So, create a playhouse by coming up your cardboard box into different pieces and taping them together in the shape of a house. This is easy and inexpensive to make, plus it folds up easily making storage a breeze.

Cardboard Tray

You can create cute and functional trays by taking the lid from a cardboard box and either gluing fabric or scrapbook paper onto its surface. This is a quick, cheap, and easy way to make cute trays that will leave your guests wondering where they can get one, themselves.

Cardboard Cathouse

Help make your feline friend happy by creating a cardboard cathouse. All you have to do is take a couple different cardboard boxes and stack them on top of each other. The, glue the surfaces together and cut out doors and little windows. Also, so they can climb through, cut out holes on the inside of where you glued the boxes together. Then, if you want to make it aesthetically appealing you can glue on fabric or scrapbook paper to help create a finished and sophisticated look.

Picture Frame

You can make adorable picture frames by simply using some cutout cardboard in the shape of the frame. You then can glue onto its surface any fabric or scrapbook paper of your choice. Or, you can paint the cardboard add a design to make it the especially unique. Then, fill it in with your most treasured memories.

Cardboard Clock

This project perhaps will take a little bit of extra time, but you could create a unique & fun cardboard clock simply by taking a cardboard box and cutting out a large circle. Then, attach on its surface a fabric color of your choice. Once that is completed you can then attach matching numbers. To help give the clock a more finished look, glue rope around the edges to hide any cardboard that may be showing. Then, drill a small hole in the center and attach the batter operated clock unit.

Gift Tags

You can always use gift tags, but you don’t have to pay ridiculous prices to get them. All you have to do is cut out different shapes from cardboard, and then take each piece and punch out a small hole at the top. Then, put in a rope or string of your choice to help tie them to any present or package.

There are literally dozens of different projects that you can make from cardboard boxes. The trick is to get creative and utilize things you already have to create interesting, fun and useful items that you can incorporate into your home. These projects are great to do on a rainy day, or you can even involve your kids to make it a family affair. Whatever you decide to do, we wish you happy creating!

There are many reasons why people decide to move, especially to a new city. Whether it’s to downsize, be closer to friends and family, or just move into a more exciting fast-paced lifestyle. Regardless of the reason, you will probably find that you will need some form of short-term storage space to help you transition into your new place. A storage unit is the perfect go-between if you’re trying to downsize, but still are still deciding on what you want to keep and what you want get rid of. Plus, it will give you some extra time to settle in if you’re moving in the midst of a busy season.

However, the question remains what do you put in storage versus what do you move into your new place right away? Well, here are a few tips to help you decide what would be best to put in storage, and what is best to take with you.

Organize your items by season

If you’re moving into a location that experiences all 4 seasons, you won’t need all of your items year-round. For instance if you are moving during the summer months you will not need your winter coat, boots, snow shoes, snowboarding gear, and so on. Vice versa if you’re moving in the winter months you won’t need your summer gear or things like patio furniture which take up a lot of space and are perfect to store as a whole ensemble in a storage unit.

Just keep in mind that if you are packing away a lot of clothes into cardboard boxes, make sure that your storage unit you choose isn’t subject to a lot of humidity or changes in temperature. And only pack away clean clothes. Otherwise you may find some not so savory items waiting for you when you get back.

Hang on to furniture that you might want later on

As you know moving into a new place is a great time to start over and redecorate. However, you may still decide later on that that coffee table you had or sectional, might actually fit very well into some part of your new apartment. Again, just make sure that when you’re storing furniture pieces you store them correctly in order to keep them from getting damaged during this waiting period.

Don’t throw away keepsakes or mementos

Once you start downsizing it’s very easy to get into a mindset where you no longer think you want to keep old photos or mementos. This is a decision you may regret down the road after you’ve been settled for a time. So, avoid unnecessary loss and opt for a high-quality storage unit where water damage or items getting lost, won’t be an issue. One way to better organize your things is by adding shelves into your storage unit. This way you can easily organize your cardboard boxes and keep them off the ground, further ensuring water will not reach them.

Antiques can also go in storage

Let’s be honest. You love your grandmother’s rocking chair because it’s an heirloom and has sentimental value, but it doesn’t actually fit into the decor of your new apartment. So, consider having your antiques professionally packed and take them to your storage unit for safekeeping. Just make sure that your valuable items are covered by insurance, just in case something was to happen. Once again, make sure that you are keeping your items organized, in order to create less of a headache later on when you are trying to unpack the storage unit. Happy moving!

I was browsing through Pinterest the other day when I came upon an article that spoke of storage solutions that were not only thrifty but also DIY.  Now, I’m the kind of gal that loves storage, and I love thriftiness, and I love doing it all myself.  Naturally, I clicked on this article, and the first amazing thing that caught my eye was how she called herself a “housie”.

I immediately fell in love with this term.  I am not a “foodie”, but I could definitely call myself a “house”.  The rest of her ideas in this article were just too good to not share:

• Hands down, my favorite suggestion was using metal baskets and securing them to the wall. You can secure them facing up for a basket, or facing out for shelves.  They can hold anything from outgoing mail to your favorite books.  A truly genius idea.
• Those little dip containers that you get from your take-out orders? Save them!  Of course you will need to wash them first, but when they are clean you can decorate the lid with a cute piece of paper and then label them with a sharpie and use them to hold little stuff: keys, safety pins, paper clips, small batteries…
• By now most of us have seen how you can cover and line just about any kind of cardboard boxes and they suddenly become adorable storage cubes.
• If you aren’t into cardboard boxes you can get plain wooden ones from craft stores, on sale, and then spray paint all one color, but then cover the front of each one with different kinds of patterned fabric or paper.
• If you are handy with a saw, or have someone in your life that is, take some old boards and use them to make a caddy. If you are using the caddy in your bathroom make the compartments large enough to hold a small mason jar, which makes for easy cleaning.   Use them to store toothbrushes and toothpaste, hair clips, Q-tips…
• Back to cardboard boxes: cereal boxes apparently make THE best desk organizers and drawer dividers. You can cut them into all sorts of adorable sizes and shapes and glue them all together, or have them separate, or even attach them to the wall or fridge!  This is my second favorite idea, because the Lord knows how many cereal boxes we go through in my house.
• Finally, print out pictures of the toys that go in each bin and then tape them to the front of the bins so that your kids (and anyone helping pick up!) has no doubt about what goes where.

By a show of hands, how many of us have received a homemade gift and thought it was the worst possible gift ever?  On the other hand, how many of us have ever received a homemade gift and thought it was the greatest gift ever?  The thing is that a homemade gift is basically always the best, and if you think they are terrible than you are probably egotistical and materialistic.  (Just kidding. Not kidding).  This is because a gift doesn’t have to be expensive or even that pertinent to hold value.  Still, if you want to make a homemade gift that will be universally appreciated, I suggest you start handing out handmade candy boxes.

Allow me to explain.

Just about any craft store is going to sell unfinished candy boxes, which you would then buy and decorate and stuff with [preferably] homemade candy.  Or, if you are really gung-ho and not willing to cop out, you can make your own candy boxes using cardstock and templates.

Consider decoupage.  The word “decoupage” is obviously French, therefore you would think that it has French origins.  Well, get this.  Someone out there supposedly uncovered that original decoupage (which was obviously not called by this French word yet) was actually tomb art.  That’s right.  Tomb art.  In Siberia, of all places, they supposedly cut out pieces of felt and used the cutouts to decorate the tombs of their loved ones.  The Chinese caught on, and then the Italians became famous for it.  Don’t ask me where the French word came from all of that.

The point of me providing you with that free history lesson is to show that decoupage is quite artisan and classic, therefore beloved by all.  Thankfully, in our day and age, it is a lot easier to accomplish.  You can literally cut some pictures out of a magazine and Modge Podge them to just about anything.  In this situation it would be your homemade candy boxes.  Then, after your joyful recipient finishes savoring their final bite of homemade confectionary, they can use the decorated box for storing keepsakes, or jewelry.

The thing that I like best about making these is that I can personalize them.  I can theme them based on whomever I’m giving them to, and I can give them to just about everyone I know.  You can even consider lining the inside of the box with satin, or the bottom with a piece of felt.  You can paint the inside for added flare or decoupage a solitary cutout at the bottom, to be a little bit of a surprise when the candy is all gone.