7 Kid Friendly Things to Do With Kids in NYC

Maybe you’re a mom who’s just moved to New York City. Or maybe you’re a New Yorker who just became a mom. Either way, it’s quite a different experience to navigate The Big Apple with a little one. That’s why we devoted this month’s Newbie NYC edition to a neighborhood guide just for moms!

Upper East Side: 92^nd Street Y
A great place that offers everything from dance, music and art classes to cooking and science courses. You will also find reading series and lectures for families and kids of all ages.

Upper West Side: Scribble Press
At Scribble Press, parents can take their kids to create their very own stories and illustrations, and turn them into bound books.

Chelsea: Taste Buds
Called the Best Kids Cooking Class by New York Magazine, Taste Buds Cooking Camps teaches pint-size chefs how to cook and love good food.

SoHo: Animal Haven’s Caring Kids Program
Our friends at Animal Haven sponsor a program that introduces kids to basic animal care and animal welfare issues through hands-on activities at the shelter.

East Village: Monday Night Magic
Every Monday at 8pm at the Players Theater, Monday Night Magic features live magic performances geared towards both kids and adults!

TriBeCa: Moomah
A great place for moms to unwind with their kids, together. Enjoy locally sourced, organic foods at the café, and create art projects with your kids!

FiDi: New York City Police Museum
Kids love the interactive Junior Officers Discovery Zone, which helps kids better understand the role of Police officers in NYC.

New York City moms, do you have your own favorite places to take your kids? Let us know in the comments! Or, share your favorites with us on Twitter or Facebook.

For more fun things to do and NYC neighborhood guides, check out the rest of our Newbie NYC series!

The 2011 Home Design Issue from Time Out New York dropped last month, and we wasted no time devouring it cover to cover. We especially appreciated getting a peek inside some seriously rad spaces in Harlem, Chelsea, and the Upper East Side. We took away a few helpful design tips for making the most of your economy-sized living quarters:

5 Things to Learn from TONY’s Apartment Tours

1. Sneaky storage. Designer Christopher Crawford’s secret for his own studio? “Everything that closes in this apartment contains things.” Several of TONY’s apartment tours showcased beautiful vintage briefcases and suitcases that doubled as storage.
2. Rethink your kitchen cabinetry. The only time you’ll see cabinets in Manhattan apartments is in the kitchen. Consider repurposing them like Jordana Shankman, who uses her cabinets for books and keeps her glassware in a neat wooden crate on the fridge.
3. What’s old is new again. Tired of that clunky dresser? Your new furniture piece is just a few squares of sandpaper and a paintbrush away. For extra points, embellish with a few mismatched drawer knobs like Ida Woldemichael used in her Harlem studio.
4. Find your feel. The best apartments made use of different textures and patterns to break out the different spaces. Use varying paint glosses as in Mary Kate Frank’s striped Chelsea studio, or crafty wall decals like in Erica Reitman’s Park Slope pad.
5. It’s your party. Make your home your own by filling it with creative things from your own life! Our favorite take? Jordana Shankman’s vacation-photo wall art using Image Canvas.

For more inspiration on decorating pint-sized apartments, click through our Home Design section!

Got any other small-space schemes to share with us? Tweet us @ManhattanMini, or share your wisdom with us on Facebook!

Plus, Some We’re Looking Forward To

Every year, the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade boasts the biggest, brightest, and most outrageous costumes of New York City. We’re hoping to see quite a few Bachmann’s at this year’s 39^th annual on October 31^st at 7pm, from Spring St to 23rd St along 6^th Ave.

In the meantime, we’ve got a selection of our favorite over-done Halloween costumes from 2010. We’ll miss them this year. Kinda.

1. 

   From RickysHalloween.com

   Old Spice Man – All it took was some washboard abs and a towel.

2. Lady Gaga – Gaga getups took over NYC last year, and all the major networks too! (See Gabe on The Office, and Dean Pelton on Community.)
3. Jersey Shore – Cross your fingers and hope that Snookies and Situations don’t come back to haunt us again this year.
4. Steven Slater – The hero of the service industry was the inspiration for Ricky’s “Angry Steward” costume last year, as well as the oh-so-useful SlipQuit.
5. Chilean Miners – “Left behind” Chilean miners #34-38 also made appearances last year. We predict a few “Where are they now?” Chilean miner costumes this time around!
6. Antoine Dodson – an incredibly easy costume, this one was all in the attitude.
7. Na’vi – Avatar came out at the tail end of 2009, leaving fans 9 months to perfect their stripe-painting, hair-braiding, and loincloth-wearing skills.

Our bet for New York’s most overdone costume of 2011? Anthony Weiner.

Need some inspiration for your own costume? We’ve got a few excellent ideas for making cardboard Halloween costumes from Manhattan Mini Storage moving boxes right here.

Tweet us pics of your own Village Halloween Parade experience @ManhattanMini, or share them with us on Facebook!

For Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Manhattan Mini Storage teamed up with Avon Walk NYC to help raise money for breast cancer research, screenings, support, and treatment to those who need it.

We pledged to donate $1 for every new Facebook “Like” our page got between October 1^st and October 23^rd during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and with your help we were able to raise almost $1,000! We’ll be sending our donation to the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer this week, along with our congratulations for an amazingly successful 2011 Avon Walk season.

If you haven’t visited us on Facebook yet, be sure to “Like” our page for more ways to help out some of our favorite New York City causes. You can also follow us on Twitter!

Find out how we’ve supported other great local organizations in NYC, like the Coalition for the Homeless, Mighty Mutts, and The Crazy Piano Guy.

Photo from Avon Walk for Breast Cancer on Facebook (click to visit)

Halloween one of New York City’s favorite holidays, and there’s no exception here at Manhattan Mini Storage! We’ve cooked up some great costume ideas all made from Manhattan Mini Storage moving boxes.

1. New York City, the Place
The island of Manhattan is conveniently tall and rectangle-shaped, so it’s easy to create a cutout to wear. Use it as a PSA to help everyone remember: if you leave the city, you’ll have to live in America.

2. Subway Lost and Found Box
For this fearsome costume, cut a hole out of the bottom of a box big enough to fit around your waist. Then, fill the box with any of the following: a pet rat, lost socks, grocery bags, a single shoe, or broken umbrellas.

3. Taxi Cab
A New York City classic. For these cardboard box costumes, all you have to do is paint a box yellow, cut some windows, and fit it over your head. Consider embellishing with rooftop ads for Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark.

Suitcase photo by Lasse C, Flickr

4. Nuts 4 Nuts Cart
Similar to a taxicab costume, but should fit lower down on your waist so you can have your hands free for selling – what else? – nuts.

5. Suitcase
Use your Halloween costume to show everyone why you moved to New York – because nobody becomes famous in Des Moines.

6. The 99%
One cardboard box can make at least 4 signs, which you can use to tell Wall Street bankers how you feel.

7. The Brooklyn Bridge
For this, you’ll need a friend. First, decide who gets to be the Manhattan side (try flipping a coin). Then, use 2 boxes for the bridge towers and some string to attach them (the “suspension”).

Visit our Packing Supplies section to get moving boxes in all shapes and sizes, perfect for any Halloween costume you dream up.

We can’t wait to see what you create! Tweet us pics of your finished costumes for inspiration, or show them off on our Facebook page!

How to Organize a Closet for the New York City Fall Season

We’re storage professionals here at Manhattan Mini Storage, and we love sharing what we know! We’ve put together some (dare we say?) expert advice on organizing your closet for optimal seasonal clothing storage this fall:

Photo by Shine4Him8, sxc.hu

1. Take Inventory. Pull all your warm jackets and clothing out of storage and decide which ones you’re actually going to wear this season, and which itchy wool sweaters your mom knitted but you’ll never wear.
2. Can You Repurpose? Certain summer clothes might work well as part of a layered outfit, over long sleeves or under a blazer. Evaluate which summer clothes you can continue using, and which ones will get folded away.
3. Functionality is Fun! Divide your clothing by type: work, weekend, and formal. Work clothing (or what you wear the most) should be most easily accessible, and casual and formal clothes can live off to the side.
4. Make a Heat Map. Keep your closet divided by warmth level – keep your thinner jackets and sweaters next to each other, and your wool sweaters and thick blazers can stick together for easy access on those subzero days.
5. Layer Your Layers. Your base layers (thinner shirts, tanks, etc.) should be separate from your middle layers (vests, shrugs, light sweaters), which should be separate from your outer layers (coats, jackets, heavy sweaters). This makes it easier to quickly assemble an eye-popping outfit every morning.

Now, Keep it That Way!

Once you’ve given your closet a makeover, make sure it stays neat and tidy by storing your summer clothes out of the way. You can keep them safely in storage bins under your bed or in a storage closet until it’s time to pull them out again.

If you’re low on under-bed space, you can always give us a call! We’ve got great rates on easily accessible Storage Closets perfect for seasonal items, which you’ll also be able to use to swap out your bulky winter clothes come springtime.

New York’s Best Fall-Weather Events

Don’t get us wrong – we love the new fall TV lineup, but we’d like to get out of the house before it’s time to unpack our winter coats and snow boots. We’ve got a list of great October events in NYC guaranteed to help you make the most of fall.

Photo by Knowsphotos, Flickr

1. openhousenewyork (OHNY)
Visit OHNY this weekend, an annual 2-day event that unlocks the city to allow New Yorkers free access to New York’s architectural treasures. Roam SoHo lofts, take a tour of NYC’s manholes, or visit the third, undeveloped section of the High Line Park!

2. BMW Guggenheim Lab
Got ideas on how to improve small-space living? Help rethink notions of comfort and city-life solutions by contributing ideas of your own. The BMW Guggenheim Lab will close after OHNY weekend, so be sure to make a visit before October 16^th!

3. Museum at FIT
The Museum at FIT is hosting the “Daphne Guinness” exhibit this fall. It showcases the fashion patroness’ most inspiring designs, straight from her own (overflowing) closet and includes pieces from Alexander McQueen himself.

4. AVON Walk NYC
If you’re looking for something to do, this great event in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month gets our vote! We’re especially excited to be donating $1 to Avon Walks for every new “Like” on our Facebook page this week.

5. Occupy Wall Street
If you’re adventurous, passionate, and ready to change the world, consider making a trip down to Zuccotti Park this month to #OccupyWallSt and swap solutions for our nation.

Photo by Matt Marquez, Flickr

BONUS: Keep Your Eye Out in November For…

Quidditch World Cup
Whether you’re a quaffle-dunking wizard, a sharp-eyed seeker, or an enthusiastic spectator, the Quidditch World Cup on Randall’s Island hosts teams from 27 states and promises us, “Whether you’re a die-hard Harry Potter fan or you’ve never heard of this Quidditch thing, you’ll have an unforgettable weekend.“

Feel like getting out of the city? We’ve got some great ideas for adventures outside Manhattan (leaf-peeping, anyone?). You can also follow us on Facebook and Twitter for fun things to do and see around New York City!

Because October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, we’re excited to be able to help support Avon for the annual New York City Avon Walk for Breast Cancer! We’ll be donating $1 to the NYC Avon Walk for every new Facebook fan we count over the next 2 weeks.

Regardless of ability to pay, our mothers, sisters, wives, and daughters all deserve a chance to fight this terrible disease. That’s why nation-wide Avon Walks work to raise money to provide breast cancer research, screenings, support, and treatment to those who need it through local, regional and national breast cancer organizations.*

Avon Walk NYC: A Like is All It Takes to Donate

Starting October 1^st until October 16^th (the last day of the NYC Avon Walk), Manhattan Mini Storage will be making donations for every incoming Facebook “Like” for our page: facebook.com/manhattanministorage. Show your support for Breast Cancer Awareness month, and help Avon make health possible for New York City women and women nationwide!

On Monday, October 17^th we’ll announce our total donation amount, so make sure to share with your friends and family – it can make all the difference!

Want to do more than donate? Join the NYC Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, taking place the weekend of October 15-16. To learn more and to register for the NYC-wide walk, visit the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer site.

*In 2010, the NYC Avon Walk contributed to local NYC organizations such as the Young Survival Coalition, The Fund for Public Health New York, the Avon Safety Net Program at Bellevue Hospital, the Rosewell Park Alliance Foundation, and the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. To learn more, visit AvonWalk.org.

Though NYC still seems to be in denial this week, it’s officially autumn and we’re taking the opportunity to daydream: what if you packed up your stuff into moving boxes in New York, tucked them safely into temporary storage, and took off on a leaf-peeping, harvest festival-noshing, fall foliage tour of the Northeast?

Photo by kimberlykv, Flickr

5 Breathtaking Fall Foliage Tours to Take This Season

1. Catskills Fall Foliage Tour – The Catskills bursts into life in late September and early October. Make sure to catch the Mechanics Harvest Festival, showcasing old-fashioned harvest processes.
2. Harvest Time in the Fingerlakes – See the grape harvest and the “Big Crush” first-hand through October. Bonus treat: the world’s largest blown-glass pumpkin at the Corning Museum of Glass’s Glass Harvest.
3. Adirondack Harvest Festivals – Our favorite of NY’s harvest festivals: the Adirondack Harvest Taste-Off in Lake Placid, a locavore culinary competition that appeals to our deep love of Iron Chef-style taste-offs.
4. Bear Mountain Fall Foliage Cruise – If you’d rather not get behind the wheel, opt for a chauffeured fall foliage cruise from NYC. Don’t miss the Bear Mountain Oktoberfest celebration, operating on weekends!
5. Long Island Fall Foliage Tours – Leaf-peeping Manhattanites who want to stay a little closer to home can also visit the beautiful north shore of Long Island in late October.

With Moving Boxes, New York State Is Your Playground

While you’re on that glorious NY fall foliage tour, you’ll be able to rest easy knowing your stuff is safe with us inside your snug moving boxes in New York. And at just $29/month, you might just have enough left over for your own blown-glass pumpkin! Give us a call at 212-STORAGE for special rates today.

Voting closes this week for Apartment Therapy’s Design Showcase 2011 – have you cast your vote yet for the best new design of the year?

Apartment Therapy’s Design Showcase has been encouraging independent and student designers to create new concepts that help make homes more beautiful and inspiring places to live. In New York City, apartment inspiration can sometimes be hard to find (we’d guess it’s usually buried underneath the years’ worth of stuff crammed into your shoebox studio apartment). That’s why we’re excited to incorporate ideas from the third installment of the Design Showcase into our own apartments, and to see which two designers wins the opportunity to “make it big”!

Not sure how to choose your favorite design? Here are our top picks:

1. The Nook Coffee Table, by Dave Pickett – It’s the perfect place to put your feet up when you don’t have lot of space.
2. Secret Passageway Switch, by Ben Light –Use it to turn on a lamp, or activate a secret passageway! Either way, we can’t wait to get Mr. Light’s light switch.
3. Wineglass Rack, by Julian King – A minimalist wine rack for NYC apartments that really makes your glasses sparkle.
4. Collections Media Console, by Sawyer DeVuyst – Created from beautiful reclaimed NYC water tower wood, this furniture piece collects your favorite items for display all in one place.
5. The M.O.C. (Made of Carpet), by Tricia Wright – You won’t find many NYC apartments that have carpets (for good reason), but there is a good use for it: sweeping your wood floors.

Want a Secret Passageway Switch of your own one day? Hurry, and vote now! Voting closes on Friday, September 30^th.

Meanwhile, look for more imaginative ideas on how to live big in small spaces in our Minimalist House Tour section! Or, check out our great organizing tips for ways to cut down on clutter.