Buying gifts for my husband is hard. He usually gets what he wants after a little cajoling, so when it came to Christmas this year, the plan was he ALREADY GOT HIS PRESENTS throughout the year! But, since I am a major suck and a loving wife, I decided to really splurge and get him an iPod Touch. He wasn’t expecting anything (due to our previous conversations about “limits”) and he was thrilled.

Since Christmas however, it has been a gift that keeps on giving - for ME! Man, I LOVE that thing!!! It is so much stinking fun I want to use it all the time! Whenever I am nursing Ezra, I have to have it, when I need a little break from this house, I want it… It has basically come down to Paul asking to use his own Christmas present! Sigh. While I wish I didn’t love it as much as I do, I really, really do.

So - for Valentines Day… guess what Paul is getting me?!!! I think he just wants his iPod back - which I don’t blame him for at all - but I am completely thrilled with how it has turned out. Now - what does this have to do with organization you ask?? Everything! I think that is why I love it so much. As soon as I get it I am downloading this great app called “Things” which seems promising to have as my calendar. I can’t WAIT to get it (neither can Paul) and as soon as I do, I will let you know if “Things” is as good as it looks. In addition to a to-do list, I am also scoping out the grocery list apps, a budget/balancing checkbook one and trying to find a goal setting one. I think it will be a great way to manage my time, keep me paperless (and therefore less cluttered), on task, on time and in such a beautiful, slick package…. Wow. Seriously. Can’t wait! Do you have a great app on your iPod/iPhone that you love and can’t live without? I need to hook up with the good stuff! - Maja

With the birth of baby #4 only weeks away and in the heat of the summer, I am finding it harder to get excited about organizing. The weather is just so beautiful!

But as I am typing this, I am realizing that with a baby only weeks away, now is the time we NEED to get geared about organizing again so I don’t get buried alive when he comes! I have also been seriously considering homeschooling my kids (because, you know, why not?!?!) and while looking investigating it a little further came across this great post on the popular blog “Balancing Everything”(formerly Very Mom).



Her idea for divvying out chores and letting your kids have choices was great and appealed to the side of me that is trying to not be so controlling! Not only that, but it is SO chic and adorable!!! I loved her blog entry and while it does provide details on what she did, there are no explicit instructions on how it was done. It looked like a great project though and had the benefit of including/teaching your kids to work - which you all know I am a huge fan of! I can’t wait to get busy on my own chore tickets. - Maja

**Photo Credit : Balancing Everything.com.

Home Economics 101 - get great cleaning products!

For cleaning I love Method cleaning products – they smell oh SO good, are nice to use and you can feel good because there is nothing bad in them. They are naturally derived and biodegradable. I also enjoy their line of hand soaps for my family. If you have kids, you typically go through pump hand soaps like crazy. I love the foam soaps because they dispense just the right amount of soap, and somehow makes hand washing fun for your child!

We regularily blast through the stuff, so my sister-in-law gave me this idea:

*Take an empty foaming hand soap container and fill it with Method dish soap to about a quarter full. Then fill the rest up with water, give it a shake, and you have a very economical way of refilling the more expensive foam soaps. The biggest expense will be when you initially buy the foam soap containers, and then wait for the savings to kick in!

Today I’m dishing about a product line that gives us back our sanity, and works efficiently to help us get organized. It’s all about LobotoMe paper planners that are sure to get us all on track and scheduled!

There’s something really satisfying and powerful about making lists, I’ve always been a real list maker and love to have all my duties laid out in front of my eyes. When I take that extra step to write it down, I see greater results in the amount of things that I can accomplish. However, I’m not perfect and I definitely need a little help getting everything prioritized, and then staying on track. I was sent the organizeMe Weekly Planner, and got right to work filling in my weeks activities. This planner doesn’t disappoint, in fact they have really covered the bases with spots for my entire week full of appointments. For the Mom who doesn’t exactly put herself as a priority, the Weekly organizeMe planner offers reminders to drink your water, take vitamins, and hit the gym (you can add in - Get A Massage, Pedicure and New Outfit if you like, that’s what I did). It’s like having an assistant that really cares about you right there in your own writing.

I loved that this pad included 60 pages on white recycled paper (1 for each week) to take along with you, just tear off your week’s schedule and bring it along in your purse wherever you go. It’s all there at a glance. And since LobotoMe includes some additional pages, you can definitely help out another stressed out Mommy in need by giving her a LobotoMe, or at least a weekly page to make her feel that way.

The LobotoMe website is rich in humor and offers “goods to keep me sane”. Everything from a Mantra Poster for your wall, to PackMe travel pads for your next trip, Feed Me meal planning pad, Save ME to do list pad, even a HoneyDo note pad!By shopping LobotoMe products you are buying eco-friendly organization gear. And LobotoMe even offers a Brain Fog Blog with a great dose of “sanity saving tips…to save you from a trip to the looney bin”. So go check out the website today and get your very own LobotoMe! - Daria

When you’re encouraging your kids to keep their rooms tidy, there is no better way to do it than to make it seem like a game…think Mary Poppins - “a spoon full of sugar, makes the medicine go down, in a most delightful way”!!

These fun hampers are the perfect way to engage your kids, and teach them to put their dirty clothes in the right place. I love so many things about these Bongo Buddy hampers by Redmon, besides how adorable they are they come in a variety of animals and colours to fit in any decor. So many in fact, that you can find one that both you and your kids would appreciate and adopt. I also love that they are collapsable - you can take them with you when you go somewhere for the weekend! You still want to keep some semblance of order when you are on vacation and there is nothing I hate more than garbage bags of dirty laundry, or worse - dirty clothes everywhere! The portability of these was the ultimate sale for me.

I am certain your children will find it a much easier task keeping clothes off their floor when they “feed” the animals their dirty clothes. I hope you enjoy these and find the perfect one for your decor! Be sure to comment and let us know your FAVE buddy.

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