Fort Collins used to be the leader in retail and dining in Northern Colorado. Now all of the neighboring communities that once depended on the opening of new stores and restaurants are developing their own shopping and dining areas, leaving Fort Collins a bit emptier.

Residents are now asking questions. What is going to happen to the Foothills Fashion Mall? How about the empty lot where Wal-Mart once was? These questions and more go unanswered to many anxious to see South College get it breath of life back into the Fort Collins community.

Currently there is approximately 655,000 square feet of empty retail on College Avenue alone. It is in line and ready for revitalization and attention of developers and investors. The Midtown Commercial Corridor Study, by ELS, Economic & Planning Systems, and Warren W. Wilson will be hosting and evaluating the challenges and issues regarding South College not to mention provide strategic direction for the City and community.

If you are one of those who would be interested in putting in their two cents concerning this topic, or if you just are interested in overseeing the process as to what will happen to South College, you are in luck. There is a public meeting being held regarding this matter today, Wednesday, March 10^th  from 5-7 pm at the  Fort Collins Marriott (350 E Horsetooth Road). If this topic is something of interest to you, make sure to attend! These meetings make communities truly what they are—a collaboration. There will be much to discuss and to learn so bring your notebook and save your voice.

At times understanding the mumbo jumbo in a lease can leave you scratching your head and feeling like you need a lawyer just to sign it. Take these glossary terms and terminology will most definitely help you in your journey through moving.  

Co-tenant- A person who agrees to a lease or rental agreement together with one or more other persons who will also occupy the premises.
Domicile- The state in which one maintains a permanent home to which he or she intends to return (even though residing in another state).
Forfeiture- Loss of the tenant’s continued rights under a lease.
Guaranty- An agreement as it pertains to a lease, whereby a person who will not occupy the premises guarantees that the tenant will perform his or her obligations under a lease or rental agreement.
Joint tenancy- A means of owning property by two or more owners. If one of the owners dies, the other owner or owners automatically take over that person’s portion of the ownership.
Periodic tenancy- A rental agreement that runs from week-to-week, month-to-month, or year-to-year.
Rent- The compensation paid by the tenant to the landlord for use of the premises.
Rent control law- A law (usually enacted by a city, but sometimes by a county or state) that limits the amount by which a landlord may raise rents.
Security deposit- An amount of money given to the landlord by the tenant at the outset of the tenancy, to secure the tenant’s performance of certain legal obligations specified in the lease or rental agreement – such as payment of rent and cleaning the premises at termination of the tenancy.
Sub lessee- A person who subleases a tenancy from a sub lessor
sub lessor- A tenant who subleases his or her tenancy to someone else.
Tenancy in common- A form of owning property by more than one person, in which each person owns an undivided interest in the whole property. Unlike joint tenancy, the interests do not have to be equal, and upon the death of a tenant in common, his or her interest does not pass automatically to the co-tenants, but is disposed of in the same way as all other property.
Tenant- Some who enters into occupation of property with the permission of the owner.
Tenant association- Another name for a tenant union.
Tenant at will- A person who occupies property with the landlord’s permission with no clear agreement as to how long the tenant may stay. The law will usually allow either party to terminate a tenancy at will on 30 days written notice.
Tenant union- A group of tenants who organize in order to further their common interests as tenants.

American economy may be at an all time low, and times are surely hard for most of us in America; perhaps it is time to start investing in yourself and what makes you happy. Maybe today, more than ever, is a day to consider a dare-to-be-great situation and start exploring new possibilities! Every great story begins with somebody doing something that seems uncomfortable, scary, and even potentially costly, but if you never step outside of your comfort zone you may never know what you’re worth.

How does 7,546 feet (that’s 1. 439 miles) above the ocean sound? Maybe glorious panoramic views of the glorious visual splendor that Colorado has to offer tickles your fancy. You can take advantage of Colorado’s own Rocky Mountain National Park, which was the 6th most visited National Park in 2009. Hiking, backpacking, fishing, camping, birdwatching, and so much more are waiting for anybody who is daring and caring enough to venture to Estes Park, CO.

For those of us already living in Colorado, why don’t we start using what CO have to offer? Take a risk, live the gamble, and dare to move closer to God’s majesty incarnate. Estes Park, CO has all the luxuries and wonder of any small town and so very much more. Estes Park has over 140 stores and shops that offer local goods as well as national products, and offers more than 120 restaurants. Estes even offers a great single scene, with 40% of it’s local population finding themselves without a life partner and nearly 20% of the population between 18 and 34.

Now is the time, and Estes Park is the place if you are considering relocating your life to a place where you can be a true Coloradoan. Why not move to a place where the most challenging day-to-day choices can be what you love most about the place you live?

What’s the one thing you have to have when you move? Some might say a moving truck, some might say patience, but the number one thing you have to have when you move is moving boxes. Moving can be extremely wasteful, especially since a lot of people will just throw away their cardboard boxes after using them once. You can always reuse them or recycle them, but often people feel like it is “easier” to just throw them out. To avoid being wasteful and even to help with some home space issues, we compiled a list of some great Do It Yourself projects to put those cardboard boxes to good use, and keep them out of the landfill.

Brought to you by wikiHow, this article helps you learn how to create a fantastic Cardboard Box Storage System. All you need is boxes, tape, scissors and a Sharpie for labeling.

For those who have a love for playing games, how about a Faux Wood Checkers Box? It’s light weight, saves money and is easy to make!

And the daddy of them all, how about 101 things to do with your used cardboard boxes? Well that list exists and it is good! You’ll find anything from hot wheels racetrack to a robot to a toolbox and most importantly, because you never know, a homeless shelter.

Hope these DIY projects were helpful and sparked your creative and crafty side. If you do decide to create anything from the lists we included, please send us your photos, we’d love to see your handy work!

Being a moving company, we are on the roads every single day and night making sure your belongings is getting to their final destination safely. The quality of the roads, bridges, etc., is obviously something that makes our jobs either really easy and smooth, or frustrating and challenging. We wanted to give our blog readers an overview of the TIGER grants being distributed to help fund road, rail and other infrastructure work.

The project has been dubbed the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER, plan. “TIGER grants will tackle the kind of major transportation projects that have been difficult to build under other funding programs,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “This will help us meet the 21st century challenges of improving the environment, making our communities more livable and enhancing safety, all while creating jobs and growing the economy.”

The $1.5 billion fund should have a beneficial effect not just on worn-out bridges and highways, but on the job market, too. The economic recovery potential that this plan has is extremely exciting, but at Exodus, we are also thrilled to have hands on experience of the improvements across the country. Below is a chart of where the spending will occur:

For more information, check out the full TIGER press release

Here at Exodus we are all about finding ways of treading lightly on the planet as a moving company. We use durable bins when moving customers, wooden shelves on wheels for office moves instead of boxes, and we offer recycled boxes giving them a second life and reducing our resources. When we came across an article explaining what designers Diogo Aguiar and Teresa Ott did with their used storage boxes, we had to feature it on our blog.

What do you get when you put 420 IKEA boxes, LED lights and a metal base together? How about a 15-foot-high bar that has funk, character and uniqueness. The appropriately named structure; Temporary Bar, was constructed for a competition organised by the architecture faculty at the Universidade do Porto in Portugal. Finished in just one week with the help of students, this bar stands tall and proud in Parque da Cidade, Porto, Portugal.

Next time you move, think about the endless possibilities you could do to reuse those boxes instead of throwing them in a land fill. Moving somewhere dry and need to get rid of your umbrella(s)? Bars are not only made out of recycled boxes, but can also make a bar too, like the Bucky Bar in Rotterdam. Talk about creativity and reusing! This project references the famed geodesic domes of the late American architect Buckminster Fuller and attracted 300 visitors before the police intervened at 2 am on February 19^th, 2010.

Morale of the story, whether you are moving or not, look around your house and before you throw anything out, see if you can reuse it for something else, or donate it to someone else that could put it to good use.

Today is the opening day for Soapstone Prairie Natural Area and Red Mountain Open Space, located in Larimer County. This natural area first opened last year and now is ready for hikers, horseback riders and outdoor enthusiasts to come and enjoy its’ beauty and activities.

Even though Northern Colorado has been experiencing some snow, there are still trails open and areas to experience just make sure you dress warm. Zoe Whyman, spokeswoman for Fort Collins Natural Areas says there is some snow and ice covering areas and that some trails could be closed because of the winter conditions, but not because there’s snow on the ground.

If your deciding what to do this week and/or weekend, consider visiting the 18,728-acre Soapstone Prairie, owned and operated by the city of Fort Collins, and 15,000-acre Red Mountain Open Space. This is the first time the prairie has been opened in March, so take advantage of the early opening and spend some time with Mother Nature!

More about Soapstone Prairie

Soapstone Prairie Natural Area is an integral piece of the Laramie Foothills Mountains to Plains Project, a partnered conservation effort to create a corridor of protected lands, linking the mountains to the plains. These lands are home to many species of wildlife, such as pronghorn, elk, swift fox, burrowing owls and golden eagles, and rare and threatened plants. Funding for Laramie Foothills Mountains to Plains properties came from Fort Collins and Larimer County dedicated open space sales taxes, Great Outdoors Colorado, The Nature Conservancy, Legacy Land Trust and private landowners.

The United Way of Larimer County has just been recognized as having one of the 10 best Make A Difference projects nationally. Last fall, United Way set national records for its 6 day long Make A Difference event, claiming the outcome was just another way to show the  the community has to service. Keep your eyes open for the United Way of Larimer County to be featured in the USA Weekend Magazine in the April 18 issue, as they receive a $10,000 donation from Newman’s Own. The levels of excitement not only motivate the organization to set larger goals for the next Make A Difference event in October, but it also recognizes efforts of over 4,400 volunteers for finishing up over 150 projects in one year! News like this just proves that we can accomplish so much if we work together! If you are looking to become more involved in the Larimer County Community, connect with United Way. The organization recruits and trains community professionals to become valuable members of a volunteer program, and assists in matching volunteers with the needs of non-profit local organizations. Their efforts are greatly appreciated and they should be recognized for their outstanding efforts to “Live United”.

There’s no doubt about it: moving is stressful. It’s filled with changes, schedule disruptions, mixed emotions and uncertainties, not to mention a whole lot of hard work. Right when you feel like the hard part is over; there are still a few very important things we would urge you to consider, for your safety!

Once you move into your new home, make sure to put fresh new batteries in the smoke detector. More importantly, make sure they are working properly. Once you know your smoke detector is working as it should be, walk around your house and plan the safest exit route, just in case of an emergency. Meanwhile, it’s also important to install a carbon monoxide detector. Unfortunately, every year over 200 American’s die of carbon monoxide poisoning. Make sure your new home has one, if not, put one in. You should also have your heating system, including chimney’s and vents inspected and serviced annually. If you have just moved into a new home, your best bet would be to have them checked right then and there, for your own peace of mind. Speaking of peace, make sure all windows have locks that function properly. Examine your outdoor lighting system and make certain arrangements to install low voltage outdoor system, if needed. Also, trim any large shrubs around the entrance of your home; this prevents a burglar from hiding in your shrubbery. Find out if your neighborhood has a neighborhood watch program. If it does, join it! If it doesn’t, start one! Last but not least, consider installing a security system. There really isn’t anything better with having peace of mind and if you do these things, we assure you that is exactly what you’ll have

It is unfortunate that scam movers take over the moving industry. By following a few steps, you can have the advantage of spotting them before they take your stuff and run. Here are some pointers on how to avoid getting scammed:

• Be wary of radical estimates. Estimates too high or too low should not be trusted, and when it seems too good to be true, it probably is.
• Get everything in writing! If you don’t have anything in writing there is no way to be sure that your given estimate will be honored.
• Avoid companies that only accept cash or large deposits
• Find out if the company is on the American Moving and Storage Association of blacklist scammers
• Avoid doing business with moving companies who do not have a physical address or licensing information on their website

The best way to find a legit moving company is through word of mouth or other local resources. Good sense and judgment should be used whenever you hire any company to do service for you. It is in your best interest to take extra precautions because they are packing up everything you own, stuffing it in a truck for a cross country trek.