I have to start off by saying - it is COLD outside!  I am doing a Becky Higgins project called Project 365 which is basically taking a photo each day of the year to capture life for your family in 2009.  Today’s photos - the temperature!  The radio has said it is going to get colder and with the wind chill today it is close to minus 30!

Last night’s scrapbooking organization went well - I didn’t get as much done as I wanted but know that next Tuesday will come and I can tackle some more then.  I was happy to get to the card portion of the closet as we love to use blank note cards when sending thank you notes and hello notes.  I keep a package of stamps in my dayplanner along with our addresses so it is easy to send them out.

I found a cute box at Walmart that is intended for CDs but the size was perfect for our collection of cardstock cards. One side fit the square format and the other was perfect for the more traditional size.  When I was done I found a spot on the shelf for the box and put my printed cards with it so our cards are now all in one spot.  Embellishments for the homemade cards can be found in my scrapbooking supplies so the box of cards is really just that.  Clean and simple.  One thing done!

Keeping with my plan to have a creative to-do list this year - Wednesdays is Project Day.  This is the day of the week that a project left undone or something that needs to be done (and can be tackled in an evening or a series of evenings) gets done!  My project for today is to finish Christmas.  Yes - I still have some Christmas stuff to put away along with the wrapping supplies.  I know I can get this done tonight after the kids go to bed.

Have a happy Wednesday!

Helen

Before Christmas we did a countdown that was really just a creative to-do list. I put all of the things we always want to do into a countdown activity and it helped us to focus each day on something we could do together to celebrate the holidays. I kind of think having a bit of a set schedule can do the same thing for us busy moms - in a way it is a creative to-do list!

Recently, I sat down and made a list of all of the things that need to be done each week and added in some time for ME and my favourite pastime, scrapbooking. I don’t’ always get to go out to scrapbook with friends so I have decided to make Tuesdays my scrapbooking day. I love to take photos and I love to scrapbook but I just don’t take the time. By making today my scrapbooking day - my ME day, it means that I don’t schedule other things on this day (other than the must dos with the kids). My weekly creative to-do list allows me to take that time on Tuesdays and not worry about it on other days - kind of like my laundry day!

I recently moved my office to a new room in the house. We haven’t painted yet but I have reorganized things a little. Tonight my scrapbook plans are more related to finishing my organizing as stuff everywhere tends to get in the way or me being creative! Besides wanting to get this done, I need to get it done!  In just about a month I will begin an Alumni class at Big Picture Scrapbooking (if you can get in to take this class - do it! It is the most amazing class you will ever take. ) The Library of Memories class is part scrapbooking, part organizing and part celebrating life and the reason behind my love for this favourite pasttime.

So as I say goodbye and get on with my day I leave you with a few photos of my partially organized scrapbooking stuff - I will add the finished photos when the day is through.

This is part of my problem - stuff piled into the closet where I keep my supplies.  The bottom is just a filing cabinet but the 4 drawers are part of my Library of Memories way of scrapbooking.  On top of that is more photo organizing and all of my tools which as you can see, I can’t even move for fear of it all falling down!

We love to make cards but often don’t because the stuff is not easy to get to.  The baskets and piles are going and hopefully being transformed in a way that makes it easier to grab, create and send!

If you read my wish list before Christmas you will know that I was wishing for some Ikea wooden boxes.  The group of 8 were a gift from my Mom a few years ago and I have been using them to sort my scrapbooking supplies by color.  The only problem is I didn’t have enough drawers.  So, I was lucky enough to get two more sets, the 4 you see below.  My job now is to separate the mixed colours and get them in order.  Right now it is a big mess behind the ‘closed’ drawers!  By the way - if you haven’t organized by colour you should try it.  It makes finding things so much easier.  Oh and the binders beside the boxes - another tool I have created from the Library of Memories class.  You know all the memorabilia you save for pages - these pages in progress books make it easy for me to tuck things away in a more organized fashion so coming back and scrapbooking about an event is so easy (of course, you have to take the time - my problem!)

Here is another LOM concept  - these boxes hold the supplies I use in the albums I update annually.  I have a Christmas album, school of life albums, disney album etc… and I can easily grab the box and sit down and get the page completed in a short amount of time.  The boxes contain paper, embellishments, and stickers too.

This is the only part of my office where you can actually see scrapbook supplies.  I like a clean space to keep my head clear but I didn’t have anywhere to put this stuff so it is ontop of my desk.  The black boxes are my alphabet boxes - I keep my letters stored together (another idea from Stacy Julian!) and the clear boxes are for stamps and other supplies.  They are not very organized and don’t look great so my goal here is to make them organized and pretty!

There you go - I will share some photos of what I accomplish.  I am sure I won’t get it all done but I am going to put on a movie and get to work.

It’s Project Day!  Each week I have a day set aside to do the things I either don’t have time to do, or avoid because I don’t want to do them.  During my countdown to Christmas I use this day to do things that will help make the holiday season easier for all of us.  I had planned to work on a closet that needs shelves but a more important task is getting my office moved.  We still have to paint and it is a complicated move - daughter to our room, our room to lower level, office to upper level…. so that is NOT getting done today but I am going to switch and setup the desk so the move will at least be easier.  My husband is taking over the old office along with the treadmill and hockey table (the one noone plays with!) and I am using his old desk when I eventually move my office upstairs.  So, today the goal is to get the other desk setup so I can work there, get my current office cleared out so he can move his stuff in and finish getting my scrapbook stuff out of the way.  Once this is done, I will have gotten rid of a lot of junk and feel a lot more organized!  Wish me luck!

If you don’t have a plan for today look around and pick something that will make you feel more organized and move you one step closer to being ready for the holiday season!

Helen

For those of you who are following along, I hope you got some wrapping done yesterday.  I know SarahN prefers to wrap all at one time, and I think if you have found something that works well for you, like it does for Sarah then you should stick with it.  For me, wrapping all at once, especially on Christmas Eve was just not working.  So if you find another way works better, share like Sarah did so we can all learn from one another!

OK - now on to today.  Tuesdays is my scrapbooking day but I have decided to work on organizing my scrapbook stuff instead of actually scrapbook photos.  I am moving my office so the scrapbook portion of my room is a little crazy right now.  So, tonight I am going to prep the scrapbook portion of my office so I can easily move it later this month when the painting is finished.

What are you doing?  Remember, if you are making gifts they will get done if you carve out a little time for the creation of each item.  So, if you don’t have plans today or tonight, consider tackling one of the projects so you can get another task crossed off your list!

Enjoy your day.

Helen