Happy New Year Silver Spring

Now that the new year is here, tell us what you plan do change or keep the same. What are your goals?

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Small Business New Year’s Resolution: Get Organized!

Five tips from Kacy Paide, who has been helping grown-ups keep their rooms clean since 2001.

Small businesses face many challenges, especially in this economy – limited staff, limited funding and limited time. It can be a real challenge to get (and stay) organized. While we can’t do a lot about the economy, we’re here to help your small business get more organized in 2012. Patch sat down with Silver Spring-based organization expert Kacy Paide of The Inspired Office to learn how she became an expert and her top five tips for small businesses who want to get more organized. Patch: How did you get started organizing professionally? Kacy Paide: When I was young, I was always helping my mom with her closet, my dad with garage, and that kind of stuff. Then in college, I learned that professional organizing was a profession! I never …

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House Fire Displaces Silver Spring Family Before New Year's Weekend

About 45 Montgomery County Firefighters were dispatched to the scene Friday afternoon.

A Silver Spring family will have to find a new place to live, after a fire damaged a majority of their home Friday afternoon. Montgomery County Fire and Rescue (MCFR) received a call around 4:12 p.m. to report to the scene of a house fire on the 8700 block of Sundale Drive, MCFR spokesman Captain Oscar Garcia said. “It took approximately 45 firefighters about five minutes to extinguish the fire," Garcia said. "They also checked for fire behind the walls in the attic area." Two family members were in the house watching TV, when they smelled smoke in the bedroom, he said. When they opened the bathroom door they noticed flames. They called 9-1-1 and fled the house. There were no injuries reported. Firefighters are continuing to investigate …

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Ringing in the New Year in Silver Spring

Your guide to the most unique New Year's Eve events in town.

Whether you're tired of watching Ryan Seacrest counting down to the new year from Times Square, or just want to take your significant other out for a night on the town, Silver Spring has a number of New Year's Eve parties, events and dinners with a wide range of themes. We've done all the hard work, now all you need to do is pick a party and have a good (and safe!) time! Old Year’s Night Masquerade Ball at the Silver Spring Civic Building Where: One Veterans Place. It goes from 8 p.m. – 2 a.m. Why: Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of Trinidad and Tobago’s Independence  during “A Night of Fantasy,” sponsored by the Embassy of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. The event will feature culinary delicacies, beverages and entertainment from …

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Tamika Smith

1:56 pm on Friday, December 30, 2011

Thanks Kathy!   more ›

A Reminder for Year 2012

Are you still waiting to exhale? Now would be a good time.

Now that the cards have been mailed, the gifts bestowed, the family dinner consumed, and the house guests departed, you can finally sit back and relax. OK, maybe not relax. The kids still need to be fed three times a day, the bills need to be paid and the laundry pile that is starting to egress to and from the family room needs some attention. Never too far away from the normal business that is parenthood, hopefully you can take a minute or two to revel a bit in the slower pace that defines the winter break. If all goes as planned, you can turn a little extra attention to your spouse, partner, parent, child, or whoever it is in your life that inspired you to do all that pre-holiday preparation in the first place. With the new year comes …

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Declutter for Cash with eBay

Selling through eBay doesn't have to be intimidating.

Another holiday season has passed and now that the wrapping paper wreckage has been cleared, it’s time to think about how to pay the bills. Before panic starts to set in, start looking around your home for gently used items with a lot of life left in them or turn to those still packaged gifts that you know you will never use and consider selling them through eBay. eBay is a great way to make extra money by selling items in good-condition that you and your family are no longer using. Outgrown winter coats, barely worn boots, toys that were once hard to part with but now have been cast aside for shiny new ones, and gifts destined for re-gifting are potential eBay items that can put money back in your pocket to help pay off holiday bills. If …

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