What's Not Working: DVD Collection

Thank you all for your sweet comments & emails about this new series! I kind of felt like a dork for a little bit - thinking no one would fun this as fun as I do... but clearly I was wrong ;)

We have an itty-bitty portion of our entertainment console dedicated to DVDs. My problem with the space was not that the DVDs didn't fit, but more that I could never find what I was looking for. Here's what it looked like before:

Every time I had to look for one of A's videos, I had to tear apart the whole lower shelf. It was a waist of time, and frankly, we didn't even know what movies we owned.

So I bought 2 mini binders from Target, and some CD/DVD sleeves from Amazon, and a solution was born. One binder is for A's videos, and the other is for grown-up movies. I'm on the lookout for 1 more mini-binder, but my Target seems to be out of stock.

Here's what the shelf looks like now. So much better!.... I wonder if C will notice if I sell all his video games? (Hi babe!)

So much more organized. We can quickly find what we're looking for, and we even made space for some of A's crayons and coloring books!

Next organization project is tackling our mail piles, which somehow almost end up on the entertainment center and not in the designated mail basket.

Happy Thursday, friends!

gReader

I'm pretty sure I've mentioned it before, but I do all of my blog reading in the mornings, while I take the train into the city. I have been using Google Reader for the last several years, and while it has served its purpose, I always wondered if there was something better. Google Reader drives me a little crazy - I find it disorganized, and I can't stand that I have to open a browser to comment on a blog.

On Wednesday, Leah posted a few questions to her readers, about how they read blogs, and Kathryn suggested gReader. I'm officially hooked.

gReader is a Google app, so all of your blogs are automatically loaded for you. But unlike Google Reader, you can comment directly in the app, rather than having to open a browser to comment.

Here are some screen shots form my phone, to help explain.

gReader Home Page

And just by clicking on the post you want to read, you are brought here.

'Blog' Page

The one and only thing I would change (so far), is the the name of the blog should be seen on the 'home screen'. In order to see the name of the blog, you need to click on the post.

I've only been using gReader for a day, but so far, I love it!

Happy Friday friends!
Check back next week for my Valentine's Day gift guides!

XO

August Done! List - Update

Last night, my computer died. Well, I don't know if it's really dead, but it won't charge. That's not usually a good sign... Hopefully the nice people at Apple will tell me it is a quick (and cheap!) fix... I had been thinking this would happen soon, but thought I had another few months.

So what better time than now for a no-picture post?!

If you remember, back in August I created my August Done! List, inspired by Becky from CleanMama. Now that August has come and gone, here's my update.

 Done! August To-Do List:
• Clean out my personal email DONE!
• Upload all iPhone pictures & videos to an online storage site DONE!
• Backup all family pictures & videos to an online storage site DONE!
• Create a warranty binder
• Finish and order one Blurb album

As you can see, I didn't accomplish all that I had hoped. A big reason for that is I had been working on one item that I had been keeping a secret:


• Launch Bella Carta Boutique on Etsy... DONE!

Last week, Bella Carta Boutique went live on Etsy, and I was elated. I had worked so hard to get my business online, and to see it actually happen... to type those words in an email to my friends and family... well, it was one of my proudest moments.

Having a small list of goals for the month was exactly what I needed to keep me focused. I'll definitely be doing this again.


The two items I didn't get to? I'm OK with that. They'll be part of my September Done! List. 

The items I did get to? I'm so happy they're done. 

If it turns out that my computer really is dead, I will be even more thankful I chose August to backup all my pictures!!

Happy Friday, friends!

August Done! List Update

I’ve made a little more progress on my August Done! List.

 Done! August To-Do List:
• Clean out my personal email DONE!
• Upload all iPhone pictures & videos to an online storage site DONE!
• Backup all family pictures & videos to an online storage site DONE!
• Create a warranty binder
• Finish and order one Blurb album

Family Pictures & Videos: I’ve finished uploading all of these to SmugMug. You can see my review of their site here.

Personal Email: This is done. Sort of.

Over the last few weeks I was able to get my email inbox down from 1800 messages to 60. I was so proud of myself. Once I finished, I vowed to keep up with my emails and not let them get out of hand again.

And then… I was looking for email I had sent to our family last year announcing the launch of our family blog. I typed “blog” in the search engine at the top… and it returned 2,000 results. WHAT?! My inbox is down to 60! That’s impossible.

After a few minutes of playing around in gmail, I found an ‘All Mail’ tab. Hidden below the rest of my folders. When I clicked on it, you will NOT believe what it said. The top of Gmail showed this:

31,000 emails?! Are you kidding me?

A quick google search led me to the problem. Maybe I’m the only person on the planet who doesn’t know this:

When you delete message on your iPhone, Gmail actually archives them into your ‘All Mail’ folder. This is a default setting. It is very easy to change, but, you have to know to change it. So… for the last 18 months of being an iPhone user, I have never actually deleted an email. I've been saving them, for later, in a special folder. I realize the nice people at Gmail are trying to be helpful – in the instance you accidentally delete something and need it later.

AHHHHH!

For now, I’m claiming this item as done. My ‘inbox’ is down to 60, and important emails are stored away in folders. One day, when I’m not so mad at gmail, I will try and tackle my ridiculously large ‘All Mail’ folder.

Done! List Update & SmugMug Review

I’m happy to report I have 1 item crossed of my Done List!

Done! August To-Do List:
• Clean out my personal email
• Upload all iPhone pictures & videos to an online storage site DONE!
• Backup all family pictures & videos to an online storage site
• Create a warranty binder
• Finish and order one Blurb album

While this was extremely time consuming, I’m so relieved that all my iPhone pictures & videos are backed up online. I have already lost one iPhone (it was dropped in the toilet, while I was doing laundry… not one of  my finer moments). I was SO sad about the pictures and videos I hadn’t saved, and vowed to not let that happen again. Here I am, 8 months later, finally doing something about it!

I am totally type A about my pictures, and always have them backed up in at least 2 places. Before this year, those 2 places were my computer hard drive & my camera’s memory card. Once I started to run out of room on the memory card, I knew I had to come up with a better solution. First, I purchased an external hard drive from Apple. I use it to back up my entire computer, roughly twice a month. I tend to do it every time I upload new photos to my computer, so that I get into a habit of doing it often. However, after reading this post on Young House Love, I knew an external hard drive wasn’t enough. It would give me a back-up in the event something happened to my computer, but god forbid anything happen to our home...I would lose all of my pictures. So I set out on a mission to find the best online photo storage site. Here were my requirements:

• Unlimited photo & video storage (with no video-length cutoff)
• Photo & video uploads can be organized/renamed in any way I deemed fit
• Ability to download the original photo, in high-resolution format
• Ability to purchase prints directly from the site
• Ability to share links to my uploads with family & friends AND the ability to have private galleries
• An iPhone app where I could upload pictures & videos directly from my phone
• A reasonable yearly fee for storage

After much research, SmugMug was the only website I found that met every single requirement. And before I get into the details, I LOVE their site!

The one website that was a serious contender (although I found it after I had purchased my subscription to SmugMug) was This Life. While they are more expensive than SmugMug, they offer some pretty amazing features like face recognition. I am not sure that you can order prints from their site though. 

A huge, huge advantage that SmugMug had over most other online storage sites was that I could try them out free for 14 days. No credit card was required, and I could upload my own photos to play around with. This was amazing! I wanted full-access to make sure all the features I listed above were as easy as they made them sound. They were! On day 14 I happily purchased a yearly subscription, and have been using their website ever since.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m a crazy picture-taker. I have over 5,000 pictures of A’s first year, and had roughly 800 photos and videos on my iPhone. I was able to back-up my iPhone pictures and videos to SmugMug through their iPhone app. Their app also has a feature called ‘awesomeize’, with allows you to run a filter on your photos and makes them look professional. Completing all the uploads required that I upload a picture or video every time I had my phone in my hand for about a week. I also took advantage of my lengthy train commute, and would upload for 2 hours a day. Now that I’m caught up, the maintenance should only be a few minutes a week. 

I would definitely recommend SmugMug to anyone looking for an online storage site. And, I’d be happy to answer any questions anyone may have about their services. Now, off to work on the rest of my Done List!

Note: I was not paid or perked by SmugMug in any way. SmugMug probably doesn’t know who I am. Although I may known to them as ‘the girl that uploaded the most photos during her trial period’. Ha!

Done!: August To-Do List

I'm back! We had a wonderful vacation at the beach last week. If you can’t tell from the picture, A also had a great time!

While I may be back physically, it is taking me much longer to get back mentally!

Today, I’m borrowing an idea from CleanMama, with a Done! list for August. Becky is so organized, and her blog always inspires me to tackle my to-do list.

The concept is simple, but so smart. Break down your goals into smaller, realistic projects that you can actually accomplish. Give yourself a deadline, and then get it done.

Project Organize My Life (POML) started out as one of my 2012 Resolutions. The list was small in January, but gets added to pretty frequently. Unfortunately, items get added more quickly than items are crossed off. I’m proud to say that I have completed a few projects, but I love the idea of breaking down the rest of the list by month. And writing about it here keeps me accountable!

Done! August To-Do List:
• Clean out my personal email
• Upload all iPhone pictures & videos to an online storage site
• Backup all family pictures & videos to an online storage site
• Create a warranty binder
• Finish and order one Blurb album

I'll blog about each project as I complete them. Wish me luck!

Erin Condren Life Planner Review

Well, it's here! And just to get this out of the way - I love it!

This is the first time I've ordered an Erin Condren Planner. I had been using MomAgenda for the past few years, and loved it. Last year, that planner stopped working for me. I'm not sure why (maybe because I was mesmerized by the love for Erin Condren online, and secretly wanted a Life Planner!), but I stopped using it. I felt disorganized, and knew that when the Erin Condren Planners were launched this year, I wanted in.

I ordered the Viva España Planner - Watercolor, and had the EC team use only the classic font on the front for our family name. I also ordered a set of the colorful pens. 

I've only been using the Life Planner for 2 days, but here are my thoughts so far...

1) Erin and her team have thought of everything! There is so much detail in every part of this planner. I'm not surprised (now) that it takes almost 2 weeks to get this in the mail. They have a lot of work to do!
2) I'm surprised how big it is. The size itself wasn't a surprise, but more the weight. This thing is hefty!
3) I really like the layout. I think the morning/day/night breakdown for each day is wonderful, and the 2 page spread for each month is very helpful. I also love, love, LOVE the birthday/anniversary reminder at the front. Very helpful.
4) I already feel more organized!
5) Now that I've seen all the creative color combinations and front/back picture combinations on Pinterest, I'm a little sad I didn't make mine more interesting.
6) I wish there were more lined pages. I'm a chronic list-re-writer. So 18 lined pages to last me the next 18 months? That will be hard.
7) I wish there was a folder in the front, too. I think it is personal preference, but I like to store all my "must-remembers" in the front. I need to see them every time I open the planner.
8) I'm not crazy about the pens. There, I said it. I should have known that no matter how cute they were, I wouldn't like writing with a ball-point pen. I'm sure I will use them at some point, but for now, I'm using my Pilot G2s, which are my favorite.
9) This may be pushing it (I do realize I've only used it for 2 days) - but what if the cover itself was larger? Only 1" taller and 1" wider? That way, the tabs would be enclosed in the cover, and have less chance of getting damaged. Maybe?
10) This was well worth the $50 I spent on it! If you are an organization nerd like me, you'll love this. If you love to breakdown your to-do list by week, this is totally for you!

I saw somewhere (Pinterest, probably) the idea of using Washi Tape in your EC Planners. This is totally unnecessary, as you can write in the same information. I personally think that the Washi Tape adds a little more fun, and prevents me from drawing lines all the way across the page (to indicate how long I'm on vacation, exactly).

Here are some iPhone pictures of how I'm using my Washi Tape (I bought mine at Target). So far I've used it in both the monthly planner section and on the lined pages... to separate my lists, of course.

I'm linking up with Meredith for the Erin Condren Life Planner Link Up. You should stop by to see what all these other ladies did with their planners, and to see more pictures of the interior. Meredith did a great job photographing the monthly pages (and the Instagram stickers, which I wish I ordered!)

Pinterest Challenge (Summer Edition) - Gift Wrap Organizer

Currently, I keep all of my wrapping supplies in a large plastic box under our guest-room bed. This needed to change for a few reasons: 1) it was always messy, and 2) at some point, I hope to turn our guest room into another nursery. Everything I keep in that room will eventually have to find another home.

Brooklyn Limestone was the first place I had seen a Gift Wrap Organizer. I loved how she used affordable products from IKEA, and kept the whole project clean & simple.

Source: brooklynlimestone.com via Jillian on Pinterest

Better Homes and Gardens was my second find. I loved how many size options they had in the their version, so that there was space for everything (including ribbon).

Source: bhg.com via Tya on Pinterest

The only door I could use for this project was our linen closet, which lives in our upstairs hallway. Our linen closet door is opened multiple times a day, so I had to find a solution that kept all the supplies stationary, and did not need to hang over the top of the door.

Here were my requirements for my gift wrap organizer:
• less than $50
• less than 16" wide and 5' tall, and less than 5" deep
• had to attach to linen closet door
• space for all wrapping paper, tissue paper, gift bags and cards
• wrapping paper needs to be stationary (cannot swing when opening door)
• needs to look cute!

I spent most of Saturday looking for something that would work. My first stop was Target. I found two file boxes that were grey metal. They didn't meet the 'cute' requirement, but I figured I could spray paint them if they fit properly. I brought them home to make sure they fit, but they were too deep. Back to the drawing board!

After checking Marshalls, HomeGoods and Lowes, I finally stopped at TJ Maxx. My mom graciously stayed in the car with my sleeping baby so that I could check one last place. And there, I found two of these. $7.99 each. PERFECT!

Once I was home, I held them up inside the door, and they fit perfectly in the center panel. Here was my plan:
(please excuse the poor picture quality - this hallway is hard to photograph!)

It wasn't until Sunday during nap time, when I asked my husband to help me hang them, that we released there was a small problem. We couldn't drill holes in the center panel - it was not deep enough to accommodate a screw. Grrrrrr.

We quickly came up with a new plan, although it meant sacrificing my card storage at the top of the door. We would mount each basket in-between the center panels (thickest parts of the door).

Once they were in, I quickly loaded them up with all of my supplies and made some cute labels.
Ta-da!

I'm so excited I can cross this project off my list. I do have to come up with a better storage solution for my cards, but for now, I'm very happy with how this project turned out!

I'm linking up with the following blogs for the Pinterest Challenge - Summer Edition. Make sure to check out the amazing projects they took on!

TenJune
Centsational Girl
Bower Power
Young House Love