44 Buzzzzzing Like a Busy Bee!

Life can be so crazy sometimes!  You absolutely never know where it will take you, or how amazing it can become.  One day I am working too many hours at an Insurance company, the next I put in my notice to stay home with my babies. That is a blessing in itself, however, while home, I had an epiphany that I was slightly insanely OBSESSED with organizing.  Like crazy obsessed.  And it scares to me to think sometimes that if I would have stayed with my original career as a manager at a large company, I may never have realized or been given a chance to follow my real dreams.

Of course organizing and beautifying has always been a part of me.  Growing up, I would switch my bedroom around every other week trying out new ideas and I was always tapped into at the office to help with building spreadsheets.  And when peeps would pop by our house, I would get questioned for tips regarding organizing and decorating.  So this here blog was formed.  It was my fun way to share little things I was doing that were making my home more functional, simplified and beautified.  It was also to be my outlet to share my story along the way, in my desire to someday do this for a living.  I have never kept that a secret, I just also haven't been ready to fully take the plunge.  But anywho, I NEVER would I have thought that this blog would grow and expand to what it is today.  And seriously friends, I am SO incredibly grateful that it has.

I want to start out by saying THANK YOU!  For your daily emails with encouraging love and support.  It's always scary to follow your dreams, especially when you feel that your friends and family may not understand it to it's fullest potential {why would I leave a very successful career, to blog, open an Etsy shop and organize homes?}.  I say WHY NOT?  Why not be happy?  Why not do what you love?  Even though I know in my heart the "whys" to go for it, there are moments of feeling discouraged and nervous and unsure.  But you all give me that extra push every day, to keep going forward and not look back.  You give me a daily gift by leaving sweet comments, asking for ideas or advice and sending me lovely notes "just because".  Your gifts of encouragement are priceless to me.  You are my daily drive.  I will never be able to Thank YOU enough!

It's also because of you, that things have really taken off.  You see, I have always been a reader of Money Saving Mom, but somehow I missed the chance to guest post.  And had it not been for one of my blog readers, Heidi, I may never had known about the opportunity.  But because she took a second out of her busy day to send me the link and some encouragement to write up a Time Management post, I was published on their blog!!!

That post brought in a lot of traffic to this blog.  A lot of new love that I never would have found, or would have found me, had it not been for that post.

Since that post, I have been in my own personal haven.  I have realized that I AM NOT TURNING BACK!  I absolutely ADORE what I do!  I want to keep going!

What's different now you wonder?  Well, my support increased tremendously to a daily blushing amount.  This month alone, my Etsy shop boomed, my inbox flooded and I received my first three Style Tile orders!!

Yep, for the first time ever, my kitchen table looked a little like this:

I call this my "Dream Come True" picture.  My happy place. 

So, because when I started this blog, I vowed to keep you updated on my venture.  That is what I am doing today.

As I mentioned, I received my first three Style Tile orders in the month of January.  What is a Style Tile you ask?  Well, they started off as a way for me to throw together some inspiration for a space.  I did one for my bff when she asked me to help her with her bedroom update.

You can see how that turned out here.

Then, a reader wrote to me and asked for my design advice!  Yep, me.  I was so excited, I whipped up a style tile for her, as the easiest way for me to explain to her my vision.

She adored it and was excited to start taking the inspiration and ideas from the board, to implement them in her own space.  That's when I thought I would spread the word and give one away on the blog, here is what I came up with for the winner:

The style tiles had been for sale in my IHeart Services tab for awhile, however, nothing really happened with them until January, when I received a kind note from my reader, Gina.

Gina was in the middle of a large scale reno in her farm house, and wanted my help pulling together her kitchen and living room, using a mix of items she already had and adding in some new.  WOW!  I couldn't wait to get started working with her.

Because Gina was basically working from a blank slate, there weren't any "Before" photos, we just had to grab inspiration from current furniture pieces.  Gina sent me a description of the space layout along with her ideas and dilemmas and cabinets/fixtures that had already been decided upon.  I came up with a color plan and she found the perfect curtains.  We worked together until we got everything exactly as she wanted it, and here was the outcome of the project:

Along with her Style Tiles, Gina received a detailed source list and walk through of the space.  Here is what Gina had to say when we wrapped up the project:

"I love it! I love it! I love it!  {As do a bunch of my friends so hopefully you’ll be getting more business}  I’ll definitely send you pictures when it’s done!  The kitchen’s coming together now as we are putting down the tile floor right now and I’ll paint this week and have cabinets in by the weekend!   I’m VERY excited!

Thanks so much!  I’ll have more work for you when it comes to do the bathroom and living room on the main floor!"

My heart melted into a big happy gooey puddle.  I seriously wondered how I got so lucky.  And before I knew it, another order popped in!  I was on cloud nine and I refused to come back to earth!

Danielle contacted me to give her room some added storage, color and texture.  Here is a picture of her space:

She mentioned she liked greens and blues {my personal fav color combo!} and that she was going to tackle painting her mantle white, so here is what I had come up with for Danielle: 

A style tile is a great way of placing room decor and storage pieces together to snag a feel of how they would look in a given space.  They offer inspiration and guidance for making choices in your updates.  If you are interested in a Style Tile, you can purchase them here!

Oh, but that's not all I have been up to!  I am telling you, January was a fantastically fun, whirlwind month!

I received the following email from a Leanna:

"I run a small personal training business and part of my service offering is Weight Loss Coaching, called Breakthrough Weightloss.

I need a few things.  My program begins this Saturday and I understand if the time line is too tight, but here is what I need and a quote on these.

Meal Planning Organization tools.  I want them big, with magnets to post on the fridge and enough for 31 days in a month.

I need my logo, and colors and need somehow to include all these elements.

1.  Grocery list
2.  Daily menu
3.  HOT LIST RECIPIE!
4.  Monthly overview?
5.  Exercise accountability?  somewhere
6.  Maybe somewhere to write their "skillset" small step, and their "mindset" small step for the week as well.

I am a life coach, and lots of your home organization resources could really support my clients to take control of their lives and see the results they want. 

Let me know!

Looking forward to your response.  I love your site!"

I can't tell you how quick I jumped on this incredible opportunity.  Again, we worked together until we got things just right, integrating all of her elements and colors into the designs, and here is what I ended up with:

When all was said and done, here is what Leanna had to say about the process and outcome:

"I am a small business owner who runs a personal training and lifestyle coaching company.  I was surfing the net looking for organizational resources one evening and came across IHeart Organizing! 

What a gem!  What I found was this super sweat, authentic and very practical website.  What I loved about it was it kept my attention with the great pictures and graphics. 

In one of my coaching programs “Breakthrough Weight Loss”, I support women to organize and plan their nutrition for themselves and their families.  This is the KEY foundation to success.  What I needed was some additional tools to support their organization and most important INTEGRATION of new skills and behaviors, and that’s exactly what Jen’s meal planning calendar did.

Jen’s prices are incredible, and I emailed her just to see if she could get something done not expecting it to be done in three days, the kick off of my next program.

She had it to me 2 days in advance which allowed to print, laminate and deliver an added bonus to my participants to ensure their success!

Thanks IHeart Organizing!!  I would recommend Jen and IHeart Organizing to any other small business, friend of family member.  Excellent prices, unbelievable service and time turnaround!

Hire her you won’t be disappointed!"

Leanna Martens {http://www.fitnesssuccess.ca/fitness/}

Totally cool right?  But the fun didn't stop there either!  

One item I had been getting some requests on, were children's chore charts.  I myself, absolutely NEEDED to get something like this put together for our own munchkins, and Angie gave me that last little push I needed to get it done!

Angie wrote, asking if I could help her get some chore charts created for her two angels.  She gave me the details like their ages, gender and responsibilities, also mentioning that she wanted some blank spots to add in additial items if necessary.  Here is what I came up with for Angie and her little ones:

Angie already has them printed and hanging above their backpacks hooks!!  

If you are interested in one for your little sweet pea, you can find them both in my Services tab and in my Etsy shop.  Spreadsheets are completely customizable, including a variety font choices and colors:

Aside from all of the special orders I mentioned above, the Cleaning Checklists, Meal Planning Calendars and Shopping lists have been flying off the shelves Etsy rack.  If they are ever out of stock, just shoot me a quick note and I will relist {which many have done, so THANK YOU!}

If you ever are looking for a type of spreadsheet or template that you don't see listed, make sure to email me at iheartorganizing@gmail.com, and inquire.  Most likely I will be able to work with you to get something created special for your needs, and will send you an estimate on time/cost. 

At the end of the day, none of this would be happening without you!  You are making my dreams come true!  How do you thank someone for that?  It's the ultimate gift.  It's like winning the life lottery.  I will virtually hug you til the end of time....

So now I must ask, other suggestions on expanding my Etsy shop?  What would you like to see added?  Are there other tools that could be created to help streamline and simplify your day or your life?  I would heart to know what you think!

75 February Challenge: Project Photography {step 1 - organize digital files}

I mentioned here, that I was going to tackle organizing everything photography related this month.  Such a great response, I am so excited for this one!!  However, let me just say that coming up with a starting point wasn't the easiest for me.  It was kind of like deciding what came first, the chicken or the egg.  Only what comes first, backing up current files, then sorting, or sorting then backing up.

Logically, you may think, sort your files, then back up what's left.  However, I will argue, I wanted to back up everything first, because I get nervous when I start going through my extensive sorting and purging {deleting}, that something could go wrong and something could get lost.  And I want that piece of mind right this very moment, that all my two years of un-backed up data, is now safe.  I want to have a good sleep tonight.  No more worries about losing my most valuable possession {next to my family of course}.

So, I looked into an online service that will automatically back up my files.  In fact, I looked at many.  And there are a lot of stellar options out there, for around $50 per year, all of your files can be automatically be backed up, multiple times a day, and then easily accessed at any point, while offering the same security you would expect from your online banking.  Sounds incredible.  Sign me up!  But wait, I need to know more....

I currently back up all of my files on our external hard drive.  So, I popped over to my external hard drive, to see how much storage I am currently using.  Ready for this?

Yikes, I am already using TONS of space... Mostly photos, but some music and documents hang out there as well.... Enter panic attack now.

So this is where it got worse for me.  Although some sites charge for how much storage you are backing up, others don't.  Unlimited they say.  Until you bring an external hard drive into the picture.  That's when I heard that awful "wah wah" sound in my head.  I have yet to find a service that offers unlimited storage backup of an external hard drive.  If you know of one, I would love to hear your suggestions!

Let me just point out now, that I am learning with you this month.  I am sharing my adventure in organizing photos, and will love to hear what is working for you, or has worked for you, along the way!  I am by no means an expert who already has a fantastic plan in place... and I know there are oodles of different ways to get this done....

So since I am unable to do a quick backup before I get started, my step one is to start filing and purging and back up later.

And knowing the amount of folders and pictures I have, this is absolutely going to take a large chunk of time.  Here are my action plans for Step 1:

Map out a plan.  Some people use programs pre-built on their computers to organize their photos.  I currently don't have one/am not using one, so I am going to do this the old fashion way.  The way that any one of you could do if you wish.  I sat down and wrote out how I would mostly benefit from this time investment.  What is my desired outcome?

My Goal:

• To be able to quickly find a photo at any moment
• To cut down the amount of storage I am using by purging unnecessary photos
• To sleep better because I know my photos are safe
• To create a system that is easy to maintain going forward

Knowing this, I have decided to map out my pictures in the following way:

By Year -> By Month

I also will be creating two sub folders in each annual folder, one for vacations, one for special events {weddings, parties, etc..}, because I tend to take many more photos for those occasions and want to be able to find them even quicker.

For my organizing blog, I also take quite a few pictures.  So for that, I would like to see it organized by post, so I can always go back and re-use pictures vs. take new ones.

Posts -> Post Title

For daycare, I take pictures for the parents and then upload them to a photo printing site to share them.  I will continue to organize their photos just as I do for my family photos, only within their own folder.

By Year -> By Month


Create Folders.  Now that I know the format I wanted, I decided to create folders for last year and this year, by month.  Why only two years back?  The rest of my photos had already been organized, not using my new method however.  They were all organized within categories and folders within each category.  Because so many categories can mix and cross, sorting became a nightmare and I still can't find a lot of the photos right away, I have to dig.  I may go back some day and re-organize the already organized photos, but until then, they will remain as is.   

By placing the numbers in front of the months, they remain in sorted order.

Now, if you have your settings on your camera right, you can always look at the history of an image to see when it was taken.  This is a life saver for me when it comes to this moment.  Just right click the photo image and select 'Properties'.  You should see this info:

If you don't have your camera's date set up, it's a good idea to do it now for help in the future.

Sort.  Now that I have a method and folders in place, I can start the sorting.  Because I was somewhat good at dumping all of my pictures into some sort of folder already, I will just take it folder at a time.  I set up the screen to have both windows open.  The folder that I am pulling from on the left, the new folder on the right.

As you can see, the one January folder that I am pulling from, has 302 photos.  {yes, embarrassing, but we are doing this together right?}

All January photos go into my new January folder.

Because I am still learning my camera, and because i have the luxury of digital, I take a thousand pictures of the kiddos, to ensure that I get a bunch that I love.  But I take too many, with intentions of deleting, and then I don't delete.  Next step is...

Delete.  Time to start viewing each picture and hitting that Delete button on any duplicates, fuzzies, blurries, eyes closed or unnecessary photos.  Just like any organizing task, purging is always the hardest part {yet, offers the most reward}.  By purging out the bad, you will be more likely to print or retrieve the good.  I vow to only keep the photos that capture a special moment, serve a purpose to my photography learnings and blogs, or would be printed in the future.  Goodbye to the rest.

Deleting all of my excess January photos took me about 15-20 minutes.  I toggled between similar ones to pick my favs.  I cringed hitting delete a couple of times.  But when I was done, I had cut down my folder from 487 to 116!!

Yep, I cut my total storage by 371 photos.  Enter sigh of relief!  Feels good.  I am shedding out the excess, keeping what I adore.  And still have at least one or two pictures of every moment I captured throughout the month!

Many of you wondered what I do with my edited photos.  Well, I keep the original and edited version.  I have created one folder for each month that includes my "edits".  I do this for a couple of reasons.  When I go to make prints, I will probably pick my favorite edited photos.  However, my editing styles change as I learn, and I would always want to ensure I could snag an original copy and re-edit it to my liking if I choose.  So I am at the moment, keeping both.

One folder down, a trillion to go!

After all that deleting, I went back to view my external hard drives stats on more time...

I gained a whole GB of free space.  From organizing one folder!  It almost feels as good as realizing I lost three pounds.  Only I lost 1 GB.  Sweet!

Rename.  Because I know I can perform a "Search" on my external hard drive, I decide to rename all of my photos with the month.  I could go through and rename each photo with it's specific contents, but I don't have the time on hand to do that.  Plus, I do that when I edit the photos, so all of my edited photos have a special name.

To rename the rest of the files in the folder {the originals}, I selected all of the pictures {Ctrl+A}.  I right clicked, selected 'Rename', and entered in the month_year format {01_2011}.  Because I selected all, they are all renamed with the format.

Schedule time to sort.  Now that I know how much time one folder takes, I know how much time I will need to get everything in order.  I want to accomplish it all by the end of the month.  Thank goodness it's snowy and cold outside, and I won't have reserves about spending a couple of hours after the kiddos are in bed, or while they play with their dad, to work on sorting.  In fact, I worked it out with him and scheduled a couple of different time slots in my planner to get much of the work done this weekend.

I have to apologize.  This was probably one of the most confusing and challenging posts to write.  Writing as I go versus having an existing working system already in place, is a little out of my comfort zone.

Because I am only getting started in this, if there are better and easier ways working for you, please take a moment to share.  It will not only help me, but the many others that are excited and pledging to work on this challenge this month!  Anyone already get started and have some progress to share?  What's working for you?

I decided a little challenge would be fun! This month we are getting all those pictures in order!  Wanna join?  Take photos and blog about your awesomeness as you go!  I am hoping to do a giant, "We did it!" celebratory post where we can all link up our picture organizing success stories at the end of the month!

6 IHeart: An Early Spring!!

We got news that the groundhog didn't see his shadow today!

And we whipped up a fun little project to celebrate the day!  You can check it out here on our family blog!

10 Reader Space: "Loads" of Laundry Wow

What I love about today's reader space as it shows just how easy it is to take a space from so so to so wow!

Ashley wrote:

Hope you & your family have a blessed holiday season.  I have been following your blog since the summer.  I am not certain how I stumbled upon it, but I check it out in quite frequently & love it!  You & your blog has inspired me to redo our laundry closet.  It is a small area, but my husband & I tried to make it as functional as possible.  Here are a few pictures...

Thanks,

Ashley

Ready to see what some simple updates can do to a space?

BEFORE:

AFTER:

 

Anyone who knows me, knows why I adore this transformation: 

• A fresh coat of paint works wonders in any space needing a quick update!
• Adding one more shelf packed oodles of extra storage punch!
• Baskets and white vases {wahoo!}, add concealed storage, giving the space a more eye pleasing and less overwhelming feeling!

Congrats on your new space Ashley!  I love all that you have done to make it more functional for you!  If it's ever possible to get excited about doing laundry, this is the route to go!

Sometimes it's the simplest changes and updates that really bring into perspective the fundamentals of updating a space to be more pleasing!

Inspired by Ashley's submission, today I wanted to open our weekly party up to small changes making a wow of a difference.

P.S.  Have an awesome organizing story to share?  I am looking for projects that have made a positive impact to your life.  Please send your story and photos to iheartorganizing@gmail.com and I would heart to feature them right here, on the blog!!  Photos should be high resolution and un-editted.  Please include a description of the project, including any costs, inspiration, and how it has changed your routine for the better is so helpful!  Oh, and no worries my friends, we will NEVER judge "before" pictures because that just wouldn't be nice!  Only love goes on at this blog!

316 IHeart Giveaway: CSN Stores!

 **  Attention:  This Giveaway has since ended.  Thanks everyone for participating!!  The winner will be contacted via email **  


CSN Stores has over 200 online stores where you can find anything you need whether it be wall art and decor, fitness equipment, or even cute cookware!


Seriously, they have anything you can imagine for the home, I personally head straight to their storage options, since I am an organizing obsessed gal, but I can't help but get distracted by their choices of decor, rugs and cookware as well!!


Here are a couple of things that had me oohing and awing!

I would be much more proud to serve my lasagna if it was cooked in something uber fab!

I have been eying up these rugs for what seems like an eternity!  IHeart the pattern so!

And where is one of the first places I check out online when searching for table lamps?  CSN, because they have an endless selection!

Have kids or pets?  They have goodies for them also!  Like these Molly Mutt pet bed covers!  My Bentley adores his as much as I do!  Aren't they divine?

For those kiddos, some kids friendly storage bins make my heart skip a happy beat!

Love to cook?  Or craft?  Or just need storage for itty bitty items?  These spice tins could do it all!

I could go on, but I will let you hop over to CSN stores and see for yourself how easy it is to find something for anyone!


See something you adore?  Well, CSN is partnering with me to offer you a giveaway!  Wahoo!  $35 smackaroos to be used in any of their online shops!  


Want to enter?

1} Anyone in the US and Canada are eligible to enter.  Only one entry per person, duplicate entries will be disqualified.

2} Leave your email or blog address so I have a way to contact you if you win.

3} Leave a comment on the giveaway post stating "IHeart CSN." and for fun, tell me what you would indulge in if you win!

Giveaway is open from Tuesday, 2/1 through 9 p.m. central time Sunday, 2/3.  One winner will be selected using random.org.

 

66 February Challenge: Project Photography {intro}

Tomorrow is the first day of February.  Just in case ya didn't know.  And needed a reminder that the first month of the year has already come and gone in the blink of an eye...

I have been having a blast peeking at all of the linked up projects thus far, from January's project paper!  We have had some busy folks!  From what I have seen just from poking around {tomorrow night I will actually be heading off to read each and every link up!}, individuals have come up with some incredible ideas, from using binders and expandable files to creating message stations on their counter-tops!  So much to be seen and great ideas being shared!  Which is causing me to have a giant smile plastered across my face as I type this.  Which is causing my hubs to give me weird looks.  One more day to link up my friends!  A special thank you to everyone participating in the fun!! 

I have gotten mucho requests to do another challenge in February.  So I picked one that I could participate in right along with you.... one that has been near and dear to my heart, yet incredibly neglected and out of control.  And that means it has been eating away at my gut more and more each day.... PHOTOS!

That's right.  Many of you following through my family and photography blog, know IHeart my camera and taking pics.  Of my kids.  Of my family and furry friends.  Of my organizing projects and house.  Of nature.  Of pretty much anything and everything!  Which then means that I have OODLES and OODLES of digital files built up in, you guessed it, OODLES AND OODLES of folders.  Both on my desktop {gasp} and my external hard-drive. 

I am a preacher of keeping photos stored on an external hard-drive, and then also backed up on CD's in either a Fire Safe or Safe Deposit Box or External Web Storage.  However, I do not practice what I preach.  Well, I do, but those files are like two years old.  In the last two years, I have not practiced what I preach.  I got behind in my organizing and got overwhelmed at the thought of catching back up.  So each day, new folders are created, more storage is lost and finding things becomes a headache.  And because IHeart each moment I capture, the thought of losing any of it makes me ill.  Like major loss of sleep ill.  Which is why it's time to do something about it.  And I am excited many of you are wanting to do the same!  You are not alone, and I know I am not either!

So, here is the list I have come up with so far {many based on your questions and inquiries}, when it comes to topics to touch on this month:

• Organizing digital photos
• Organizing printed photos
• What type of camera/lenses I use
• Organizing equipment
• Backing up digital photos
• Photo books/albums

So today, to kick off this project, I wanted to ask what other topics you would like to see this month when it comes to photos and this project?  Of course, I may not have the answers to everything, but I will do my best to try and consider all of your current "photo dilemma" topics.

So pop in a comment letting me know if you are excited for this month's project, pledging to take the "Project Photography" plunge, or any questions you have regarding the subject!

1 IHeart: Winter?

Ok, maybe not so much....  but anyway, new family blog post today, and it's all about how we stay sane indoors!

Hope you all had an incredible weekend!