How long has it been since saw the top of your desk? Do you own skinny jeans or plaid shirts? Do you rearrange your burgeoning vinyl collection more than five times a year? Yes and Yes? Well, thank your lucky stars that Manhattan Mini Storage runs a Spring Cleaning Intervention and Universal Order Program. So step up to the plate, admit you have a problem, and order some storage, stat!

In the meantime, we’ve compiled a few tips to get you into the Spring cleaning mood:

Get into the groove. Everyone knows that music really sets the scene when it comes to loathsome acts like housecleaning, and since you’re madly modern, you might as well stream that crunk free from the Internet to get in the mood. And we’ve got just the playlist to get your booty under the sink to see if that can of Ajax is still empty.

If you can’t hide it… Let’s say the landlord wants to raise the rent again or your smelly neighbor’s freegan commissary makes you want to run hysterically and naked into the streets, consider putting everything in storage for a spell. This will give you time to clear your mind, take some deep cleansing breaths, and renegotiate your contract with City Life.

Just get ‘er done. And yeah, you hate it when people say that, but one of the unavoidable side effects of consumption is accumulation. But look on the bright side, somewhere down there awaits something long forgotten and loved. When you find it, you’ll throw off the Haz-Mat coveralls and waltz around the room. And then look on the super bright side: when you’re apartment is finally empty, you can start collecting all over again!

And keep in mind, when deliberating whether it’s this year, or next, that you take the step to fling instead of cling, the fate of Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout, who would not take the garbage out.

Coming next: Cling, or Fling? A checklist for deciding what stays and what goes.

Well, March 17^th is here again, and you know what that means. That’s right! Time to chase the snakes and all of the other winter woes out of your closet to make room for spring!

It also means that St. Patrick (the patron saint of people who claim to be Irish), his day, and the traditional St. Patrick’s Day Stumble…er…Parade is upon us.So we’ve compiled a quick list of what to do – and what NOT to do – should you venture to 5^th Avenue to get your Irish on.

• DO WEAR GREEN. Because that’s what we do on St. Pat’s, wear green, lest we become pinched. Or in case we do. Get your hands on some green underwear, because sometimes the joke goes that far. Extra points if you get your snake costume out of storage and wear a sign that says, “I’m back!”
• DON’T SAY PATTY. It’s Paddy, not Patty. To the Irish (as opposed to Irish-ish), Patty is an insult. And since this is the one day a year when we celebrate the Hibernians among us, let’s make sure we’re not calling them a nasty name while we do it.
• DON’T START THE PARTY on an empty stomach. Seriously. When the road rises up to meet you, make sure it’s not saying howdy to your face. This simple step can help you avoid being a St. Patrick’s Day cliché.
• DO THINK BEYOND 5^TH AVE. Looking for an awesomely inclusive way to celebrate St. Paddy’s Day? Put the Queen’s-based St. Pat’s for All Parade on your calendar for 2013! Family-friendly and proud to welcome the LGBT community, this is a great alternative to the crazypants Manhattan drinkfest.
• DO STOP TO APPRECIATE the irony that, though St. Patrick drove the snakes (aka pagans) out of Ireland, they seem to be alive and well, celebrating the man himself, once a year in NYC!
• AND DO GET READY TO MAKE HISTORY because at some point after you’ve enjoyed the parade and stuffed yourself with green eggs and ham and whiskey and beer, you can always dress up like Shane MacGowan and land face first in the Washington Square Park fountain for the inaugural Million Leprechaun March.

Happy Saint Patrick’s Day!  Póg Mo Thóin!

Finding inspiration for your pintsize Manhattan apartment can be challenging. We pulled six spaces that will help spice up your creativity.

1. Keep it simple – We love this space posted by 1 kind design. White walls and minimal clutter help open small spaces. Try taking down the curtains or using something light and sheer for a more urban feel.
2. Create space –No linen closet? Utilize narrow shelves in the bathroom to create storage similar to the space on Arianna Belle. Use clear containers to store the brushes and toiletries you wouldn’t mind showing off.
3. Re-use and repurpose – Blue Velvet Chair features wooden pallets as a bar and server. A hammer, nails and a new paint job can take you a long way.
4. Avoid bulky boxes – Transfer boxed food into clear containers like this example from the Home Shopping Spy to give you more pantry space.
5. Make a small change – Better Homes and Gardens says, skip the fresh coat of paint and put up some wallpaper. It will help give your room a whole new look at a modest price.
6. Frame it – Inside the Loop features Kate Spade inspired framing. Frame your favorite work of art or your kid’s latest project. Place all of your frames on the ground to work out the placement. Balance is important but forget the tape measure and have some fun!

Looking for more apartment and organization inspiration: Follow our boards on Pinterest. If you have any suggestions let us know in the comments below or you can always find us on Facebook or Twitter.

Want to give the gift of organization? We pulled a list of gifts to help friends and family get it together in the New Year!

1. Golf Organizer: Whether your friends are storing their golf clubs at Manhattan Mini Storage or in their garage, help keep them neat. Plus, the next time you call you won’t have to go on a team scavenger hunt before you play a round!
2. LaCie USB Hub: Don’t you love when your roommate “borrows” your USB cord and it’s never to be seen again? Stuff their stocking with this USB combo hub in hopes they will never, tangle, loose or take yours again.
3. Magazine Rack: Help your friends organize their sixteen subscriptions with this minimalist and modern magazine rack. Recommend they limit the number of magazines in their space, to the number they can fit on the rack.
4. Empire State Building Bookends: Grab this gift for your New Yorker friends or that friend that lives inDes Moines. Either way, everyone could use bookends!
5. Nesting Bowls: Like a set of Russian dolls, these bowls fit comfortably inside one another. The set includes four measuring cups, a measuring bowl with pouring spout, a sieve, a strainer, and a large mixing bowl. Making this gift, pretty and practical.
6. iPad Organizer: This gift will help keep the iPad and all of its accessories in one place. Plus, it will be protected if bumped by a fanny pack-clad tourist or while crammed into the A train.

Have other great gift ideas for organization? Let us know in the comments! Or, share your favorites with us on Twitter or Facebook.

As the weather gets colder and the nights fall faster, staying inside with an oversized glass of wine and some comfort food sounds just about right. Don’t judge us! We know you were thinking it too and we have just the place!

6 reasons you should head to City Winery:

Photo by: City Winery

1. Wine – City Winery features 11 wines made right on the premise and if wine by the barrel isn’t your thing, ask for the 500-strong wine list! Either way, get comfy, pour, taste and repeat.
2. Location – This oversized gem is conveniently sandwiched between two of our Manhattan Mini Storage SoHo locations. Making it easy to drop off your stuff and belly up to a barrel in minutes.
3. Cheese – The cheese board of the day features favorites from New York’s own Murrays’ Cheese. Translation: A cheese selection any New Yorker would gladly give up a cab for!
4. Winemaking – Wine classes are offered from the initial crush of the grapes to creating your own blend and private label wines.
5. Live Music – Bring old friends or make some new ones, there is an artist on the event calendar for everyone.
6. Dessert – Caramelized apples, espresso butter cream and candied pecans…need we say more?

Have other great wine bars for us? Let us know in the comments! Or, share your favorites with us on Twitter or Facebook.

Even if you love a good parade with 32-feet tall floating Tim Burton balloon characters, we’re betting that you’ll need a break from the crowds every so often.

Spice Up Your Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade Route Experience:

1. Get Your Sports Fix. Sports fans won’t mind going a few blocks out of their way to catch up on Thanksgiving Day football scores at Jake’s Dilemma on Amsterdam Ave. Don’t worry, the parade will still be there when you get back.
2. Sweet Sustenance. Anyone who gets up early to brave the Macy’s Parade crowds deserves a treat. Reward yourself for your bravery and stamina with a decadent cupcake from the new Magnolia Bakery outpost on 69^th and Columbus Ave.
3. Don’t Dawdle. “If a parade is boring, run in the opposite direction, and you will fast-forward the parade.” – Mitch Hedburg. Rent a bike at Bike Rental Central Park for an even speedier parade experience!
4. Get Caffeinated! Those who make the commitment to saving their place on 7^th Avenue at 4 in the morning will need some caffeine. Visit the Zibetto Espresso Bar for a pick-me-up to help keep you awake until the fun starts!
5. Hungry Yet? Stock up for a long morning of parade watching with a stop into the famous 7^th Avenue Carnegie Deli for a sandwich with so much pastrami, you won’t be hungry for a week.
6. Get a Laugh. If you missed this month’s New York Comedy Festival, you can always score tickets to great comedy shows at Caroline’s on Broadway. Stop in on your way through Times Square.

The 85^th annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade route will begin at 77^th Street and Central Park West and it will end at the Macy’s flagship store on 34^th Street/Herald Square. Click here for a map of the parade route.

It could be chilly during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, so feel free to stop into any one of our nearby Manhattan Mini Storage locations in the UWS, Hell’s Kitchen or Midtown to pull some winter clothes out of storage on the big day.

For more great ideas and things to do along the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade route, check out our Newbie NYC guides to the Upper West Side and Midtown!

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!