Posted on Jun 1, 2010 | Tagged in: lifestyle
If you are looking for extra storage in you busy, multi-functional family bathroom, consider moving in a few furniture pieces from other rooms in your home.
Move a bookshelf into your bathroom as an unexpected source of extra storage space and mix items such as washcloths, books and a lamp with more practical, daily use items like cotton balls and after-bath lotions.
Paint the cabinet and drawer fronts with chalkboard paint and then label them with your kids' names so there will never be a question as to whose things belong where. This can be especially useful when girls are sharing a bathroom, but boys will find it a fun accent too. No kids, no problem… just label the drawers with fun words or the items inside to entertain your guests.
Add a trunk or shallow side table as an unexpected accent and fill it with excess items such as shampoos, soap bars, old bath towels or tuck away child bath toys when not in use to help maintain a clutter-free bathroom that can function for guests of any age.
Posted on May 26, 2010 | Tagged in: people , lifestyle , Houston , economy , community , business
Do cities have a future? Pessimists point to industrial-era holdovers like Detroit and Cleveland. Urban boosters point to dense, expensive cities like New York, Boston and San Francisco. Yet if you want to see successful 21st-century urbanism, hop on down to Houston and the Lone Star State.
You won't be alone: Last year Houston added 141,000 residents, more than any region in the U.S. save the city's similarly sprawling rival, Dallas-Fort Worth. Over the past decade Houston's population has grown by 24%--five times the rate of San Francisco, Boston and New York. In that time it has attracted 244,000 new residents from other parts of the U.S., while older cities experienced high rates of out-migration. It is even catching up on foreign immigration, enjoying a rate comparable with New York's and roughly 50% higher than that of Boston or Chicago.
So what does Houston have that these other cities lack? Opportunity. Between 2000 and 2009 Houston's employment grew by 260,000. Greater New York City--with nearly three times the population of Houston--has added only 96,000 jobs. The Chicago area has lost 258,000 jobs, San Francisco 217,000, Los Angeles 168,000 and Boston 100,004.
Politicians in big cities talk about jobs, but by keeping taxes, fees and regulatory barriers high they discourage the creation of jobs, at least in the private sector. A business in San Francisco or Los Angeles never knows what bizarre new cost will be imposed by city hall. In New York or Boston you can thrive as a nonprofit executive, high-end consultant or financier, but if you are the owner of a business that wants to grow you're out of luck.
Houston, however, has kept the cost of government low while investing in ports, airports, roads, transit and schools. A person or business moving there gets an immediate raise through lower taxes and cheaper real estate. Houston just works better at nurturing jobs.
