MyMemories Software Giveaway + free calendar printable!
So I got my craft on this past weekend. Say what? As you know I’m so not crafty, in fact I use to be a scrapbooker person just so I could organize all the supplies. So not kidding. Anyway once I realized that all those supplies took up way more space than the time I ever spent with them I needed to rethink things and said bye bye to most of those supplies.
So when the makers of the MyMemories Scrapbook software asked me to review their product, I was like um no thank you. Well actually I wasn’t even that polite, I may or may not have just deleted the email “by accident”. Then one night I was blog surfing and stumbled across one site where the blog master was offering up a pretty free printable to her readers. She’d made this printable using, you guessed it, the MyMemories software. Well who knew you could do that? Anybody that knows me knows I have a HUGE fascination with printables. Love them!
Lucky for me, the owners of MyMemories emailed me again and I decided I would be brave enough to try it despite the fact that technology likes to mock me consistently and stick it’s tongue out at me for being so stupid for not understanding how it works. This totally happens to me….time and time again.
So after downloading the software to my computer I started playing around. I never read manuals or instructions, which could so be why I never understand what I’m doing but whatever. Anyway after a few hiccups that might have involved a few grunts and groans, I did indeed figured it out and made a very awesome printable (if I do say so myself!) for anyone planning on participating in Org Junkie’s 29 Day Organizational Challenge starting tomorrow. Check out this calendar I created, hola!
So here is what I know. Playing around creating this calendar was fun. I really enjoyed myself and am pretty happy with the result. The software itself only comes with basic backgrounds and embellishments but you have MANY options to purchase various kits and templates on their website. In other words it could get as addictive and expensive as traditional scrapbooking (however no clutter which makes me very happy!). Just something to keep in mind. The embellishments I used to create my calendar I did purchase separately. Will I make more printables? Yes I definitely will!
If you are interested in checking out the MyMemories Digital Scrapbooking software for yourself, the company has given me a special code that will give you a $10 discount off the purchase of the MyMemories Suite software plus you also get a $10.00 coupon to use at the MyMemories.com store – a $20.00 value! The code is STMMMS32191 (copy and paste it to make it easier)
Giveaway:
I also have a copy of the software to giveaway as well. If you would like the chance to win the MyMemories Suite software simply leave a comment on this post, prior to Monday, February 6th at 6:00 pm PST, telling me whether or not you’ve ever ventured into digital scrapbooking before.
For more info on MyMemories and to be informed of future giveaways you can also follow them here:
Good luck everyone!
January 2012 Sponsor Spotlight
It’s that time again where I give a huge shout out to my FANTASTIC sponsors. Please read below to find out how each of them can assist you on your organizational journey. I’ve also highlighted any specials, giveaways, promotions, posts, discounts and/or any workshops that may be available to you at this time. Keep reading and you’ll see what I’m talking about, there is something for everyone!!
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I’m happy to welcome back Profitable Organizer to my site. I get many inquiries from people wondering how to go about setting up their own organizing business. Professional Organizer, Cynthia and her helpful husband Adam have designed their business and membership site to help walk you through this process step by step. To find out if this is a path that might be right for you, you can download their free 38 page 2-Week Guide To Generating $50/hr as a Professional Organizer that walks you through what is required and how Profitable Organizer can assist you with setting up your business. Find out more about their membership options, which include videos, forums, sample documents and much much more, here.
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New this month is i Dream of Clean, a blog providing organizing and cleaning tips for the busy mom. Christine is also the author of the ebook, How to Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule available for instant download for $5.99. For a limited time though you can get a $2 discount at checkout using the code 2offOrgJunkie. How to Create Your Perfect Cleaning Schedule is a step-by-step guide to create a plan tailor made for you. It includes a master list of every possible cleaning task that came to mind and many of them link back to “how to” posts so you can complete them better and faster. You’ll also get calendar templates available for you to use when creating your schedule. I also highly recommend Christine’s series titled The Great Paper Purge where she offers terrific information on how to go from piles to *almost* paperless. You can also find i Dream of Clean on Facebook.
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Get Organized Wizard is a company designed to help you move from procrastination to action. Their programs help busy men and women take action toward a life of greater happiness, productivity and personal organization. Their Organize-In-5 2012 Diary gives you a 5-minute organization task for every day of the year – except Saturdays, when you get a 5-minute relaxation task. They even provide a timer! You’ll tackle home, work, closet, computer, health, finances, time management, relationships, family. The Organize-In-5 2012 Diary is the time-poor, busy person’s solution to an organized life. One of Michele’s latest programs is called 52 Weight Loss Missions and it has been designed to help you take action and do the things that bring weight-loss success. Forget struggle, perfectionism and willpower. This is a better, saner way. You can get TWO free sample missions here. You can also find Get Organized Wizard on Twitter and Facebook.
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Start 2012 out right – get access to hundreds of lists & planning pages to help you organize your family, home, time, business, – & life! As a Print Member, View pages you want & Print as often as you like. As a Download Member, Type into a page & Save to your computer. Organize the New Year with these pages: resolution map and planner, goals for this year, exercise and calorie tracker, daily, weekly and monthly planners and to-do lists, meal planning pages, project planning pages and lots more! See for yourself with some examples in their FREE Trial. Also you can find ListPlanIt on Facebook and Twitter.
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In addition to her professional organizing business, Aby Garvey also offers terrific online workshops at simplify 101. For a complete list of all upcoming online classes please visit their workshop catalog. Unsure if an online workshop is right for you? Take a tour of their online workshop system in advance. Their next workshop, Organize Your Paper Clutter begins February 16th. In this online workshop, you’ll learn how to create effective organizing systems for every kind of paper in your home. Plus, you’ll learn how to apply these same concepts to your papers at work. You’ll eliminate your paper clutter and the stress that comes along with it! Tackle your paper organizing projects on your time schedule, with the support of a professional organizer and a friendly online community. You can also find Simplify 101 on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
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Also new this month is Carmen from Clutterbugs. Carmen is a Professional Organizer as well as a Virtual Organizer. She has helped thousands of people from around the world improve their home and life through organization and she can help you too no matter where you reside. To find out how Carmen can help you de-clutter your space visit here and for help de-cluttering your schedule visit here. Carmen also offers a FREE video series that reveals how to purify your space and your life, be your most productive self, and find the serenity you seek. Also find Carmen on Facebook and Twitter.
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I’m also happy to welcome Naked Binder to the blog this month. Naked Binder makes the highest quality recycled and recyclable eco-friendly office and school supplies on the planet. They have designed their binders to be safer and healthier to make, use and recycle. Their binders, folders and tabs are all made in the US and don’t include any plastics, vinyls or toxins. Thumb through their online catalog to see all they have to offer. Everything about these binders works. Because they last, you have no worries about your papers, or having to get another in a month, or a year, or even 5 years. Read more on their blog here as well as on Twitter.
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If you would like to consider joining these awesome sponsors and advertising with me, please send an email to orgjunkie (at) hotmail (dot) com and I’d be happy to discuss my rates with you. Please also check out my advertise page for my site statistics. Thanks so much!!
Menu Plan Monday ~ Jan 30/12
Hello friends! I hope you are all doing well. I’m a hobbling mess and experiencing shooting pains with a sciatica problem that is acting up big time (one of those things that never went away after pregnancy). I even had to break the cane out this week as I figured that was less embarrassing than falling down flat on my face. Anyone have any suggestions for me? I did go for massage but even that didn’t seem to work this time like it has in the past. So frustrating.
So how about we get into our menu plan stumbling block right away. Many people think menu planning is way to rigid an activity for them. They don’t understand how menu planning can be flexible if necessary.
Stumbling Block:
Menu planning when things don’t go as planned
First of all it’s totally going to happen, let’s just get that out of the way. I don’t think anyone who menu plans sticks to it precisely ever single week. So please don’t beat yourself up if you find yourself veering of course every once and awhile. After all, that’s the beauty of menu planning! Menu plans are not meant to make your life more complicated, menu plans are designed to help you simplify life and give you one less thing to think about each day. If some days you don’t stick to your menu plan exactly, it’s really not the end of the world.
Some of the things that can happen:
- you forgot to thaw the meat
- you end up being busier than expected with less time to cook
- you just didn’t feel like eating what was planned that day
- your husband surprised everyone by taking you out to eat (who’s going to pass that up!)
- friends invited you over for dinner at the last minute
- you decided to let your kids eat potato chips for dinner (and for five minutes I was the best mom in the whole wide world!)
Menu planning allows you to go with the flow, it provides so much more flexibility than people give it credit.
What you can to do to compensate:
- on really busy days switch one day with another simpler day. You already have the ingredients in the house so flip flopping is easy to do.
- scrap the meal altogether and remind yourself why the next time you create a menu plan….recipe was too complicated, took too much time, etc. Learn from this experience.
- Move a missed meal to leftover day (to use up ingredients that might spoil) and put any leftovers away in the freezer for the following week.
- Quickly plug the list of ingredients you’d originally planned to use into the advanced search field of your favorite recipe site (mine is Taste of Home) to come up with an alternative meal you think you might enjoy more.
- If ingredients will keep, simply move that recipe to the following week
Don’t sweat it!
So this is the week my 29 Day Organizing Challenge starts. If you haven’t read about it and think this might be a challenge you are up for, be sure to check out my challenge page by clicking the button below.
Last week I made this Apple Dumplings recipe and I have to tell you that they were absolutely delicious! I even cut the sugar mixture in half and used the reduced fat croissants (shhh, nobody tell Janelle!) and they were still to die for. It would make an awesome potluck or company dessert. Wish I’d remembered to take a picture for you but we ate them too fast :)
Have a great week everyone!
My Menu Plan:
Monday: Sausage & Peppers with Rotini Pasta
Tuesday: Skillet Tacos
Wednesday: Slow Cooker Honey Sesame Chicken served with rice and broccoli
Thursday: Leftover buffet
Friday: Quick Homemade Pizza
Saturday: Double Chocolate Waffles with Berry Sauce
Sunday: YOYO (you’re on your own!)
WHAT’S ON YOUR MENU THIS WEEK?
Menu Plan Guidelines, banner selections and recipe helpers are here.
More family favorite recipes here.
It’s Time for Another Org Junkie Video
Hey friends, thought I’d give you a peek into what my unedited videos look like. I’m done with editing…blech. Seriously, who has time for such things anyway? Just kidding to all you editing geniuses, it’s all good :)
From now on though I’m one cut Laura, dorkiness and all!
So I’d love it if you’d chime in below with any video topics you’d like to see in the future. I’m going to try to post videos more frequently, maybe. If you tell me to stick with blogging and forget the videos well then I might do that too. Want to see more, let me know! Then let me know what to talk about :) Gosh I’m bossy aren’t I? Don’t answer that.
Bye.
PS: If you can’t see the video in this post, click here.
PPS: Here’s the link to the Teaching Your Kids to Organize post I referred to.
Teaching Your Kids to Organize
Last week I wrote a post about my love of purging. Afterwards I got a sweet email from a reader that I’d like to share with you.
When I was a child (now I’m 58), we didn’t have many toys but my mom was always giving away what we did have to my cousins who had way less than we had. Clothing, furniture, and toys. She gave away my Mickey Mouse Farris Wheel. If you price those today on antique toy sites, they go extremely high prices. But that’s not really why I wrote. Both my sister and I have had, over the years, very hard times giving away or getting rid of things as a result of Mom’s wanting to purge our things. I would caution you or anyone else who makes their children get rid of things. Sometimes, it causes the opposite result, as those children become adults. I’m not a hoarder, but I do think I struggle letting go more than if I had been allowed to make more decisions on my own as a child.
It is because of letters like these that I’m such a huge advocate for teaching your children how to organize rather than wait until they are out of the house to do it for them. Sure you satisfy your need for a cleaner tidier house doing it that way but unfortunately your children are missing out on a very valuable lesson in the process. I honestly believe that organizing isn’t some magical gene that only a few of us get but rather it’s a skill that anyone can learn. There are specific steps to the organizing PROCESS that when learned make all the difference to how you view clutter and the power it holds over your life. Guess what? The process works for kids too! Someone just needs to teach them.
Now I get a lot of resistance when I talk crazy like this. Things like “are you nutso lady my kid won’t part with anything, she’ll want to keep everything” and “I couldn’t possibly let her decide what to keep and what to get rid of because she doesn’t know what’s special and what’s not”.
And so on and son. But the truth is sometimes WE can be our child’s biggest hang up. Sometimes the roadblock is US. Oy.
Tell me, are you ready to just grab a garbage bag and head on in to their rooms while their at school to go a little purge crazy?. Not quite so fast. My experience has taught me that the only thing that teaches your children is not to trust you. Let me assure you that the more you involve your children in the process of organizing (and purging!) the more they’ll acquire the necessary skills to make it an ongoing habit that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.
I’m currently writing an ebook on this topic because it’s something I’m so passionate about, but in the meantime set aside a couple of hours one day to work with your children armed with the following tips in hand and watch what happens.
First thing you need to do is collect all toys along with all the bits and pieces that belong to the those toys from around the house into one area. Sort everything into piles so that all like toys are together in one pile. Kids love sorting so this step in the process typically goes pretty quickly. The next step which involves letting some of those prize possessions go is a little trickier especially when you are first starting out.
Organizing is about making decisions and the younger children learn to flex this “decision making muscle” the easier it will be for them to execute it on a regular basis. Presenting them with choices is an excellent way to do this.
Here are a few questions to help them decide:
When did you play with this last?
Why is this so important to you?
Rather than this toy sitting here neglected do you think another child might like to play with it now?
Give them a choice between two things and ask them which one is their most favorite? I see you have two stuffed horses, would you like to keep this one or this one?
Or
Your Lego container is full and you don’t have any room to add more. We need to make room in case you get some more for Christmas. Let’s go through the box and decide which ones we can part with so the box isn’t so full.
When you first start out with this process and having them make their own tough choices, you will more than likely be met with resistance. Expect it but stay firm. I promise you this step gets easier and easier with practice. You might not always agree with what they want to keep but remember your favorites don’t need to be their favorites.
You empower them to make these decisions themselves alleviating potential power struggles. It’s your boundaries and limits but their choice what stays and what goes within those boundaries.
Do you struggle with getting your kids to part with their toys? How have you handled it in your house?
PS: Are you up for a challenge? Join Org Junkie’s 29 Day Organizational Challenge starting Feb 2012!!!
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