Organize Your Closet with These Tips and Tricks

Organizing your closet can be a hassle.  However, with these tips and tricks you can have a clean and organized closet just in time for the new school year.

Hanging jewelry organizers

 If you rush to find the outfit-completing bracelet or necklace every morning, consider a new jewelry organization system. A hanging organizer will keep you from digging through a cluttered box in the last fleeting morning moments. Choose a product that has a soft vinyl lining to protect your accessories from getting scratched.

Purse rack

An over-the-door hanging rack is a good way to keep track of your handbag inventory and clear some space on sought-after shelves. The simple design is complete with adjustable hooks so you can organize your purses however you like -- by color, brand or season.

Vinyl storage bags

If you have items in your closet that you don't use on a daily basis, store them together in a vinyl bag. Fold towels, sweaters and extra linens neatly into multiple bags and then stack them on top of one another, freeing space for the items you use more often.

Revolving shoe stand

This takes up less space than your typical shoe rack, and the spinning motion makes sorting through your heels, sneakers and flip flops easier when you're rushing to get out the door.

Decorative crates

Get creative with your organization project by picking boxes in bright hues, fun patterns or chic designs. For a stylish and eco-friendly approach, try stackable crates made from bamboo.

Cascading hangers

If you just can't part with seldom-worn clothes but still need extra space, buy a set of cascading hangers. They're perfect for hanging multiple shirts, sweaters, blouses or slacks in a tight spot and are made with a non-slip grip so you won't have to dust your clothes off of the floor.

Island organizer

A storage island is a good option for more spacious closets. It's similar to the kitchen island but a little smaller and with more nooks and crannies for storing your belongings. It also can serve as a fabulous decorative piece!

Stacking shelves

They're relatively cheap and add extra storage space. Stack several pieces for an easy-to-reach shoe rack, or put a single row on an existing shelf to double up available areas.

Drawer organizers

Perfect for keeping lingerie, undergarments and hosiery in order, drawer organizers can be stacked on top of each other on a closet shelf to save space. Each organizer is conveniently broken down into smaller sections so you can organize smaller garments easily.

For more information see She Knows.

Decatur Running Routes

If you are a runner on campus or off, there are some great running routes through Decatur that will give you a nice change of scenery.  These routes have a variety of different elevation levels and can be used for running or walking.  Read below to learn more about running in Decatur, and the routes that you can take for your next safe run.

Why Run?

The medical community , the psychological health community, and the Decatur community knows that running in Decatur is a positive experience on many levels. Improving health, brightening one’s mood, and relieving the stress of the day are all benefits the runners of Decatur have come to appreciate about the sport, not to mention the added perk of having some of the prettiest neighborhoods in the southeast through which to traverse.
 

Research shows the benefits of running and local experience indicates a vibrant and active running community in the City which is fostered by the many routes available to those who are inclined. The City of Decatur’s Active Living Department would like to invite everyone who enjoys running (or walking) to enjoy the Decatur Running Maps which all begin at the Old Courthouse on the Square. So strap on your shoes, get out into our friendly neighborhoods and enjoy your run in Decatur!

When you run, be sure to....

...Carry Identification. Write your name, phone number, and blood type on the inside sole of your running shoe. Include any medical information.

...Run against traffic. This helps with observing approaching automobiles. Watch and stay away from cars! By facing on-coming traffic, you may be able to react quicker than if it is behind you. When cars are exiting parking lots, run behind the car, not in front.

...Help drivers see you! Wear reflective light colored clothing or lights, especially before dawn or after dark.

...Stay alert and aware! Be mindful of what's going on around you. Do not run with headphones turned up loudly. The more aware you are, the less vulnerable you are.  

Decatur Running Maps

The City of Decatur offers a number of running  routes, all beginning at the Old Courthouse Square in downtown Decatur. The routes include maps, turn by turn directions, and elevations. Enjoy your run (or walk) in Decatur!


Clairemont Heights 1 Mile Run
Clairemont Heights 2 Mile Run
Clairemont Heights 3 Mile Run
Clairemont Heights 4 Mile Run
Glenlake 2 Mile Run
Glenlake 3 Mile Run
Glenlake 5 Mile Run
Parkwood 3 Mile Run
PATH/Rocky Ford 4 Mile Run
Adair 2 Mile Run

For more information please see the City of Decatur.

The Olympic Games are Back in Atlanta

The oncology unity at the Winship Cancer Institute have brought the Olympic games back to Atlanta a little earlier than expected.  These games are just a little different.  They involve wheel chair races and hula hoop contests.

Olympic heroes shine in different sports, but probably few have had as much fun in as the "Oncology Olympics" athletes have had this week on the bone marrow transplant unit at Emory University Hospital. 

The idea of Amelia Langston, who treats leukemia as a medical oncologist at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University, the "Oncology Olympics" began Sunday, July 29. They will continue through Aug. 10.

 

Langston started the games four years ago as a way to bring some fun to the 24 patients undergoing bone marrow transplants at Emory University Hospital. Most of the patients are hospitalized for weeks at a time.

"The staff here is wonderful," say Joseph Alexander, a patient in the 8E wing. "They almost make you forget why you’re here. I knew I made the right choice when I came to Winship for treatment, but I never expected this kind of hospitality. "

Langston, who this year donned a fetching pocketbook, regal blue dress and plastic tiara to portray Queen Elizabeth II in Opening Ceremonies, explains that the "Oncology Olympics" games provide a way also to keep spirits up among the patients and staff.

And there has been plenty of fun. The unit has its own BMT flag, centerpieced by a bone. In addition, a string of flags from different nations decorates the units. American flags are plentiful. Each day since the games opened, 8E, as the unit is called, has organized a different competition at 4 p.m. The first day, there was the saline bag toss. The next day, a wheelchair race (physicians, nurses and staff only for that). Then there was a competition to pass a balloon down a line of people, without the people using their hands or arms.

The competition that has drawn the most medalists and spectators so far, however, was the hula-hoop competition. It attracted patient family members, nurses, pharmacists and doctors, including Thomas Heffner, an associate professor of hematology and oncology.

Heffner said he hadn't hula hooped "since he was 10." He didn’t say how long ago that was, but he does have a few strands of hair that give him a dignified look.

"Cancer can do a lot of bad things, and we see that every day," Langston said. "We want to be able to have fun when we can and celebrate when things are going well.

For more information please go to Emory University.

Olympic Legacy Lives on at Emory

 Emory University was a big part of the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games.  The dorms were used to house journalists, officials, and some athletes.  They also used the school for practice facilities.  It also was a center point for the torch relay from Greece to Atlanta.  Not only did this give Emory University national recognition, but it helped transition the University to what it is today.

Even after all these years, Patrick Kelly can't resist watching visitors pause before a display case in Emory University Hospital that harbors a piece of history.

He never reveals that the Olympic torch on view was the very one he carried, helping guide the flame during its long trek from Greece to Atlanta during the 1996 Centennial Olympics — one of only two Emory employees and some 40 Emory alumni among thousands of torchbearers.
It is enough, he insists, to watch and remember.

"I don't say anything, but it's nice to see — maybe it takes them to another place, says Kelly, a physician's assistant with EUH's pain management center who held the torch aloft as an escort runner pushed his wheelchair the one-kilometer leg of the relay.

"The whole Olympic experience was a high point of my life," Kelly recalls. "I really did feel like a participant, like I was a part of what was going on in Atlanta."

Sixteen years ago, Atlanta had Olympic fever, and Emory University was very much a part of the team that helped bring the historic games to town, housing officials and journalists — along with a few top-secret VIP guests — while also serving as a training facility for world-class athletes and a news center for foreign journalists.

The 1996 Olympic Games have long been credited with helping Atlanta establish its modern metropolitan identity, spurring a movement to revitalize downtown and strengthening the community's ability to attract new industry and tourism.
But looking back, what was the Olympic legacy for Emory?

Eyes of the world upon Emory

Standing along Clifton Road on July 18, 1996, it must have felt as if Emory was ground zero for the Olympic Games — an outpouring of thousands of employees jammed the sidewalks to cheer the Olympic Torch Relay.

It was a memorable turnout for an event that would eventually touch so many corners of the campus, recalls Karen Salisbury, chief of staff to the vice president of Campus Services, who was director of University Conferences at the time.

Atlanta had been an unlikely choice to host the Centennial Games. But when it won the designation in 1990, Emory joined the larger metro community launch into planning mode.

"The University saw it as a way for Emory's name to be broadcast around the world, and also to be seen as a partner with other Atlanta institutions to make this happen," says Gary Hauk, vice president and deputy to the president.

"It was also a way for us, as a university, to transcend the old canard that Emory was this aloof institution off in the suburbs that didn't really care about what happened in the city," he adds. "That never was the case, but it meant that however we could, we should step up."
And the University did.

The pool at the Woodruff Physical Education Center became a practice facility for synchronized swimming, swimming and water polo events. Track and field athletes and baseball teams also found training space on campus. Olympic banners festooned the landscape, and it wasn't unusual to find world-class athletes strolling the Quadrangle.

The University also utilized another rich resource — residence hall rooms. Hundreds of Olympic officials and journalists were housed on campus, along with Emory alumni, who were permitted to stay and attend the Games. The Oxford College campus also welcomed athletes and coaches.

However, Emory's most famous on-campus guests remained a closely-held secret.

At the last minute, the University was asked to host the U.S. women's gymnastics team — a group dubbed "The Magnificent Seven" who would become the first U.S. gymnasts to score a team gold medal.

"They wound up staying at what was then the Chi Phi fraternity house," Salisbury recalls. "For safety, we kept it quiet. On the radio, their code name was ‘The Flower Shop' because they kept getting so many flower deliveries."

But one of Emory's most important lingering Olympic legacies? "We had one more convincing reason to ask the trustees for resources to air condition all of our residence halls," Hauk reveals.

"Up until 1993 and 1994, students would move in and the bookstore would do a booming business of renting window fans."

Art and the Olympics

For a few weeks, the campus took on an international flavor, as the Cox Hall Ballroom was transformed into a news center for the Olympic foreign press.

"Every language in the world was spoken — it was as cosmopolitan as you could get," recalls John Connerat, executive director of IT finance and administration who managed the news center for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games.

Connerat remembers an energized scene: "You had journalists trying to do their jobs in a foreign country while experiencing all the frustrations of 1996 technology, which consisted of lots of photocopiers and banks of fax machines. You'd see people on deadline waiting in line to fax their story to Jakarta."

Despite the number of visitors — there wasn't an empty bed to be found — the campus met with few security challenges, aside from a few false bomb threats and a mysterious package that was delivered to U.S. gymnast Kerri Strug, who had famously injured her ankle during her final event, recalls Emory Police Chief Craig Watson.

"It was a concern, because nobody was supposed to know they were here," Watson says. "As it turned out, it was a very innocent thing — some ace bandages. In fact, we still have a framed, autographed poster of the women's gymnastics team that they gave to us as a ‘thank you' when they moved out."
Beyond athleticism, the games also provided an important artistic venue. Emory played a role in the Cultural Olympiad, a series of cultural events held in conjunction with the 1996 Olympics.

Michael C. Carlos Museum staffers curated two milestone exhibits: an on-campus show by acclaimed Alabama artist Thornton Dial and an ambitious off-campus exhibition, "Souls Grown Deep: African-American Vernacular Art of the South."

"It was one of the first times that this work — African American vernacular art —had been shown on such a large scale in the city, and it honored part of our Southern heritage," recalls Catherine Howett Smith, associate museum director.

"It certainly showed our strength as a regional museum — thousands and thousands of people saw them — and also showcased our resources," she adds.

How to measure an Olympic legacy?

For Atlanta, the Games brought decided economic gains.

But that benefit wasn't felt by everyone, notes Michael Leo Owens, associate professor of political science.

"We did see the Olympic Games serve as one of the factors that led to the creation of metro Atlanta as we now know it — an international city, a region good at attracting people to it," he says.

"But I also think of some neighborhoods that were promised investment that may not have realized those gains. Collectively, the region benefited. Individual communities may have found it hard to see what the actual benefit was," he adds.

At Emory, the Olympic legacy is measured in something beyond profit margins; Salisbury saw the University tested and strengthened by the experience.

"In typical Emory fashion, the collaboration among people was significant," she recalls. "It took everyone — the tech support, parking and transportation, the police department, facilities. It was something that was a positive opportunity, and Emory wanted to make sure that we presented who we really are to the world."

"I think it solidified us," she adds.
Connerat also saw the Olympics as "accelerating Emory's ability to react more quickly, with so many people involved at every level," Connerat says. "We created proof that we could do things faster than we ever did before."

Not only did an Olympic role increase the University's visibility among visitors from around the world, it created a level of community involvement and goodwill that remains hard to quantify.

"I think it was one of those rare experiences that create both a heightened level of stress and, at the same time, a heightened expectation about the possible good that could come out of it," Hauk says.

"By the end, when things had turned out well, it was the occasion for a lot of high fives," he adds.

For more information go to Emory Edu.