Busy Body Book

I've just recently had the opportunity to review the 2008 Busy Body Book, a personal and family grid organizer. Back in January, on my other blog, I posted the favorite calendars and planners of some of my readers and this particular planner was my friend Jennifer's favorite.


As you can see this planner offers you the opportunity to schedule up to 5 family members in their own separate columns each week all on the same page. This could be extremely useful for families with kids constantly on the go with various activities. Another nice feature is the perforated "to do" sheets in the back.

The only downfall with this calendar for me is that they don't include a "month at a glance" calendar at the beginning of each month. They do however give you a condensed 6 months at a glance at the beginning of the book.

If you have been wanting to try this calendar out for yourself, now might be the right time because not only is Busy Body Book offering their 2008 Stripes and Zigzag planners for 50% off but also their Fridge Grid Pads as well.

Cabin Cuddler

Awhile ago I reviewed the Happy Traveler Family Gear Bag from Family Travel Gear. I was so blown away by the attention to detail in that product that I couldn't say no when they asked me to review another product for them. This one doesn't necessarily have anything to do with organizing but it is wonderfully efficient.

Meet the Cabin Cuddler:

Finally a blanket designed for traveling! I don't know about you but being somewhat of a germaphobe myself I will not use the blankets and pillows supplied on an airline. I mean I just have my doubts that these things are ever washed. Thankfully I never have to worry about that anymore. The micro-fleece Cabin Cuddler blanket solves that problem with it's unique wrap-around design created to keep passengers warm even in the coldest airplane cabins.

I absolutely can't say enough about the detail put into this product. I'm a details girl and I wish more companies would take the time to add the extra special touches to their products. The Cabin Cuddler, when not in use, folds all up into itself to create a pillow that conveniently fits into the matching reversible carrying case that is included with it. This case fits easily into carry on luggage but also has a handle if you'd rather carry it separately.


The carrying case also turns inside out to become a soft pillow case. This can then be used with airline pillows or you can use the blow up travel pillow that is included with each Cabin Cuddler. I love that they've thought of this, such a small thing that just makes me appreciate the product even more.

I've just been using the product at home while I watch TV. One of my favorite features is the patented pocket that I can put my feet into to keep me warm. I love it! The Cabin Cuddler is available in two colors and is machine washable. It is also reasonably priced at $29.99. You can read more about it on the Family Travel Gear site here.

Great stuff!

1-2-3.....Get Organized!

I know I've reviewed a few organizing books in a row now but I've got another great set to tell you about that I think you're going to like. Professional Organizer Beverly Coggins has created a 1-2-3...Get Organized series of seven mini books to help you organize your life one book at a time.

The seven books are as follows:

• Three Steps to Organizing your Child's Room
• Three Steps to Decluttering
• Three Steps to Organizing your Kitchen
• Three Steps to Organizing your Office
• Three Steps to Time Management for the Stay-at-Home Mom
• Three Steps to Clever Cleaning
• Three Steps to Time Management at the Office

Each book consists of three main steps with each step offering plenty of tips and advice broken down into quick and easy to read points.

I'll tell you what I love most about these books. Not only are they small but the plastic glossy pages are wonderfully durable making them perfect for throwing into your purse to take out and read whenever you are stuck in a "hurry up and wait" situation. I also love the colorful pages as presentation is very important to me.

For those a little bit more ambitious and wanting to really get serious about getting organized she offers a workbook series that comes complete with checklists, questionnaires and templates on CD. Some of the titles include Three Steps to Downsizing to a Smaller Residence, Three Steps to Time Management for the Working Mom and Three Steps to Planning Dinner. These do-it-yourself guides are very thorough with Bev carefully walking you through each step of the process.


Now I've saved the best for last. One of the other things Bev includes in some of her packages is a Hassle Free Dinners CD. This CD is a menu planners dream and you all know how I feel about menu planning! It offers 52 dinner menus complete with step-by-step instructions and recipes along with coordinating color-coded weekly shopping lists. I am very impressed with how much work this must have been to put together especially since everything you need to put quick, nutritious, sophisticated meals on the table is included! She also didn't repeat an entree for the entire year either! Well done Bev!

On the 1-2-3...Get Organized site you'll also find a page listing the February sales so if you are interested be sure to check that out first! Next week I'm going to be giving away a set of these mini books as part of a special organizing giveaway I'm doing so keep your eyes open for that over on I'm an Organizing Junkie sometime on Monday.

A Life Less Cluttered

Updated to add: Christine is offering free shipping on her book until December 31st!

I'm happy today to review for you another organizing book although this one isn't your typical organizing book. A Life Less Cluttered, written by Professional Organizer Christine Rice, isn't an organizing "tips" book but rather a book that focuses on the characteristics necessary to getting and staying organized. Christine's book takes you on a journey through answering the "whys" of disorganization to exposing the traits common to highly organized people in order to aid you in adopting them for yourself and reaching your own organizing epiphany.

I've always said that I'm not a born organizer. My organizing skills and abilities didn't develop overnight but were gradually acquired out of necessity, practice and a desire to lead a more simplified life. Christine feels the same way and she will also tell you that she wasn't born with the "organizing gene". She offers this encouragement in the very first chapter:

Organizing doesn't always come naturally but with help it can become easier. This is where you need to let go of any lingering guilt you may have regarding your current disorganized status and what originally brought you to that state. You've always had the capability to learn, you just didn't have the guidelines to follow. That is, until now. Open yourself to learning at the highest level possible. Accept your new reality that you, too, can be more organized.

Christine also offers one of the best definitions of what being truly organized means and it may surprise you:

Life happens. It's not as if finally being organized brings with it a guarantee that your home or life will never again be turned upside down. The difference is when you are better organized you can more quickly remedy the situation when things are a little out of control. It means living an easier, less stressful lifestyle and being able to locate important papers or belongings at a moment's notice. It usually means there is nearly a place for everything and almost everything in its place most of the time.

Did you get that? It isn't about being perfect! Amen to that!

I found Christine's book absolutely refreshing and eye opening. I never thought to approach organizing in this manner. Not only does she explain in detail what the traits are of highly organized people are but she also shows you how to adapt and apply those traits to your own life and surroundings.

This is one book I can't recommend more highly. It isn't heavy or complicated reading either because believe me most of those types of books I never end up finishing. This book just makes sense and is so uplifting and encouraging at the same time. I'm very impressed.

Christine offers her book for sale on her website in both paperback and ebook. More information can be found here. Check it out for yourself, it just might change your life!

You can also find Christine over at her blog Organizational Enlightenment.

And the winner is.......

The winner of The Organized Life by Stephanie Denton is......

#14

jynell

Congratulations Jynell, please email me your address!!

The Organized Life and a giveaway!

Back in September I wrote about the book The Organized Life by Stephanie Denton that had been sent to me from Marcia in South Africa. This book is making its way around the world and I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review it.

The Organized Life is a lovely and simple book offering quick, easy-to-reference advice to help you take control of your clutter so you can live every day with less stress and more free time. The organizing tips in this book are straight forward and practical and are presented on colorful pages that are pleasing to the eye and easy to read. As I said before I really do love how it is written in short snippets that I can read in quick bursts as I have the time. The tips are conveniently compiled into categories making it easy to find tips relevant to whatever space you are tackling in your home at the time. Each category contains quotes, checklists and easy-to-follow guidelines for organizing every part of your life, including:

Paper piles
Grocery shopping
Home office
Closets & clothes
Garage
Kitchen & pantry
Holiday shopping & storage
Photos
Children
Bedroom & bathroom

Let me share a few tidbits from the book:

The key to fitting in a major undertaking is to realize it's nothing but the sum of several small tasks. Change your mind-set from "I have only fifteen minutes, I can't start anything," to "I have fifteen minutes, what one small piece of this project can I complete?" If an endeavor seems long in duration, break it down in your mind. Instead of swimming thirty laps, think of it as swimming ten laps three times.

Have one set of cleaning products stored in each bathroom so it's convenient to disinfect at any point in time.

Getting organized is not about getting rid of your memories. It's about making them more accessible.

Here are some sample pages from the book so you can see just how fun the colors are. I know they are hard to read but if you want a closer look and to learn more about the author click on over here.




Suzanne of Let's Talk Organizing from Arizona was the originator of this fun little book excursion and you can follow the book here. I'm going to keep the trend going by sending it on to Melissa from Breath of Life. How did I pick Melissa you ask? Well on my previous post about the book Melissa wrote this comment that made me laugh when I read it:

Everyone said they want to hear what you’ve got to say…I just want you to pass the book to me! It really does look interesting & useful!

You've got it Melissa, the book will be on it's way to Virgina next week. It'll be fun to see where it goes from there.

For the rest of you, Stephanie Denton has offered to giveaway an additional copy of her book to one of my readers. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post by Tuesday, November 20th at 12:00 pm and I'll announce the winner shortly thereafter. Winner will be selected by random generator.

Good luck and thanks to Stephanie for a great book!!

PS: I'll also be adding a copy of this book to the 30 Day Organizational Challenge prize list. It's not too late to join!

Whomi ~ Planners that are fun AND functional!

When Whomi asked me to review their calendars/planners for busy woman I was more than happy to do so. You see I use a central calendar in my kitchen but what I can never figure out is why most calendars have all that wasted space on the top. I mean I guess it's nice to have a picture there but what the Whomi Color-Coded Family Calendar does is use both the top and bottom of the calendar to provide more space for monthly activities. Who couldn't use more space? Especially space that is color-coded at that. The monthly planner has one big white space per day PLUS there are three different color-coded smaller spaces per day as well which means you can designate a different color per kid for instance. Now that's smart! The price is reasonable too at $13.99 each.



Two other products I had the privledge of checking out was their Color-Coded Agenda and their What To Do Pad.

The Color-Coded Agenda is similar to the bigger family planner just smaller, suitable for those who might appreciate a more portable calendar. This one comes in TWO sizes to meet the needs of busy mom's, original and compact. If you want something for your purse though I recommend the compact size as the original seems at bit heavy to me to carry around in your purse. These agendas are just so pretty too and that my friends is important, who wants to pull out an agenda that's ugly or boring. Being organized doesn't have to be all doom and gloom. Take a look at these pretty designs:

These agendas also come with a heavy duty plastic cover that all moms will appreciate especially if we keep one tucked in our purses where they tend to take a bit of a beating.

Finally the What To Do Pad just makes list making FUN! That's it in the above picture on the left. It's a portable spiral-bound notebook with three separate color-coded pads designed to make maintaining lists simpler because it's divided by task and each sheet is perferated so you can tear off a sheet as you need to. I love stuff like this I really do. I'd especially like to try out the What To Do When Pad as well.

Fun and functional makes me very very happy and I hope it does you as well!!

Thanks Whomi!