Bloggy Giveaway Carnival

Bloggy Giveaway Carnival hosts a massive giveaway every quarter. There are already over 200 giveaways and it's just the beginning! I'm going to be giving away a package of organizing books (Decluttering, Cleaning, Kitchen, Planning Your Child's Parties, and the Time Management book of your choice) - over $50 in value. So click the title above to enter any or all of the giveaways. Hope you win!!

Just leave a comment to this post to enter.

Shake the Salt Launch Party

Christy over at Multitasking Mama has launched a new site called Shake the Salt - great reviews, freebies, deals and more! During her launch, which goes through August 25, she'll be giving away 40 items including one of my books. Click the title above and it will take you to her sign up page. Make sure you wander around her site - it's fabulous!

Help Mommy Meryl Win Blogging Idol

Mommy Meryl is trying to win Blogging Idol by getting the most new subscribers. She needs over 350 to beat the leader. Want to help? Click the title above to subscribe. The contest ends July 31st. Sign up for her newsletter and see my article each month. :-)

Organizing Your Pantry List

Jillian over at A Freckle for Every Moment blog had a great idea for creating a pantry list so you don't forget what you have and buy duplicate items. It's the July 20th entry.

Related posts: Get Organized Month - Declutter Your Pantry, Get Organized Month - Clean out the Freezer, Decluttering in 5 - Check out the Shelf Life of Your Spices

To Do List or Not To Do List - That is the Question!

I ran across an article today in MomSense, a newsletter put out by Christianity Today that I thought was extremely refreshing. It's about giving yourself permission to take things off your to-list that are good, but may not be good for you. It encourages you to determine what's important to you, and not compare yourself to others. It sings my theme song! And you don't need to be a mom to appreciate the message. For a wonderful, freeing read, click the title above.

Organizing for School - Papers

Yesterday I was walking through WalMart and I couldn't help but notice all the school supplies - in multiple places. It reminded me of an organizing system one of our foster children set up for herself. It's a 13-pocket expandable file.

She designated one pocket for each subject at school and kept homework assignments, finished assignments, study sheets, papers that needed to signed - anything pertaining to that class - in the appropriate pocket.

This system eliminated the bookbag stuffed with a multitude of random papers, lost homework, and the chaos such disorganization produced. At the end of the week, she would go through her expandable file and transfer noncurrent papers to her notebook.

I saw these expandable files at WalMat for $5.88. They come in multiple colors and are only a couple of inches thick.

If you want to get a much more sophisticated filing system, check out the Binder Buddies Multipocket Organizer by DocOA. Each pocket has three sections, so you could have three filing categories for each school subject. Just click the title to see more.

Either of these systems could work for elementary through college.

Related posts: Hope for Disorganized Students!, Getting Ready for School: Organizing Homework Papers

Organizing For College - Dorm Room

I really enjoyed helping my daughters get ready for college. Between the three of us, I'm sure we kept The Container Store in business! Now that I've moved to Ohio, the nearest Container Store is two hours away! Ugh! Maybe it's better that way. :-)

I just received an ad from The Container Store yesterday, showcasing six very cool rooms. If you or someone you know is getting ready for college, this is a great place to start - very fun ideas. And they are having a summer sale! Just click The Container Store image in the left side bar to see the six rooms.

One of my favorite products that both my daughters used was a folding crate. You can find it by clicking Summer Sale at the top of The Container Store page. On the first page in the second row you'll find folding crates. They come in several colors and can be used with or without wheels.

We packed up the girls' college items in the crates. And then when they moved into their dorm rooms, we turned them onto their sides and used them as shelves. You can stack several on top of each other. If you don't need to use all of them, they collapse to only a few inches and can be stored in very little space. And they're great for life after college, too!

Related posts: Packing for College, Check out CampusCalmU, Review of Three Steps to Time Management for the College Student

Recycling Cell Phones to Our Soldiers

When I posted my computer recycling blog last Friday, I got a comment that I want to pass on to you about recycling cell phones.

Qlubb-Andy said...
While you're at it, you probably have a bunch of old cell phones lying around in the closet.Here's a great service started by a 13 year old that helps you put them to good use.

I checked it out and found that you can recycle cell phones at locations in your community or get a postage-paid label to mail your cell phone. To help even more, you can pay the postage yourself.

The organization reconfigures the cell phones to be used with phone cards so our troops can call home for free.

What a wonderful idea and what creative kids to have started this service! Click the title above to find out how your old cell phone can be recycled for our soldiers.

Recycling Computer Components

Do you have old computer components you'd like to get rid of, but don't know what to do with them? The Environmental Protection Agency (http://www.epa.gov) has created a list of possible options. Click the title above which will direct you to their list.


If you have a computer geek in the family who needs to declutter, you might suggest the following amusing article by Evan Goer, Decluttering for Computer Geeks: http://www.goer.org/Journal/2008/07/decluttering_for_geeks_computer_components.html

The Most Wonderful Organizing Bag!!

I have discovered a fabulous bag at Target - something I've been searching for for months! A bag with lots of pockets for all my categories of things.

My technical abilities are lacking at the moment, so I can't put up a picture for you, but if you click on the title above, you'll see it. The one I got is fuschia canvas, but there are other colors - black, green, gray, and tan. And it's only $16.99!

What I love about his bag is that there is a separate pocket for my phone, my palm, my wallet, my sunglasses, my keys, my tissues and gum, and my papers - and that's just on the outside. Inside the large main zipper compartment are three open pockets I use for my lipstick, a little first aid kit, and my lotion. There's loads of room - I don't even use it all - just a couple of zippered bags to corral small things.

Last night we went to a waterski show and I was able to fit in a hat, sunscreen, and bugspray with plenty of room left over. I could get along with a smaller bag if it had the same number of pockets, but I'm thrilled to find this one! The strap is long and adjustable. I only hope they come out with something similar for winter!

Have you found a bag that works for you? I would LOVE to hear about it.

Keeping First Things First

Summer is whizzing by!! With organizing meals for our foster children as well as coordinating doctor's appointments, summer school, and fun activities, it's hard to have time for myself!

I have in mind two or three things I consider most important to accomplish each day. When I have some free moments, I tackle the one on the top of my list. Next, the second, and then the third if I get a chance. Remember "refill time" I mentioned in my blog on June 17 - alone time for each of the girls and for me? That's when I try to get to those important items on my list if I haven't done so beforehand.

What are your top three items on your list? Mine include spending time with God, exercise, and writing my blog. I'd love to hear yours!

Related posts: Refill Time

Why Time Off Is Well Spent

Did you see the article in yesterday's USA Today about how important taking vacation time is? You usually sleep more, exercise more, watch TV less, and talk to each other more. Other studies show how important having rest is to health and productivity. Check out the entire article by clicking the title above.

Organizing Your Print Photographs

Liz Seymour, Home Deputy Editor of The Washington Post (www.washingtonpost.com), has been running a series about organizing her attic. The eighth in her installment deals with her photographs. I thought you might enjoy her very helpful suggestions and insights as she goes through this process. Just click the title above to be directed to her article. I've enjoyed reading the other articles in her series as well.

Organizing Your Digital Photographs

What to do with all those digital pictures you've been taking? David Hutto has been working with digital media for 30 years and has written a very helpful article on how to organize your digital pictures. He shows you how to get them off your camera, get them onto your computer and what to do with them after that. He walks you through every step, so you don't have to be a techno-wiz to understand his directions. Just click the title to go to his article.

Getting Organized for School: Get Organized Sale

Just thought you'd like to know that Get Organized, a company that sells organizing products, is offering 15% off during the month of July. If you're needing some quality and innovative organizing products, click on the link in the left side bar. The under-the-bed shoe organizer looks very efficient! And check out the mini-fridge!