29
Dec

Operation Organization: Tackle One Project a Day

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Makeup Drawer

Kids' Closet

I’m calling this week operation organization. Determined to get at least one thing put in order each day, I’ve tackled the kids’ toys, both of their closets, my makeup drawers and am starting on the kitchen today.

If you’re so inspired, tackle just one small project a day for one week, and you’ll be amazed at how non-intimidating but useful it can be. And maybe it’s just me, but I feel better once things are de-cluttered and organized. If only it would stay that way…

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15
Aug

Back to School Means Crazy Mornings: Here’s Some Help

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For me the morning rush is not so bad. As a teacher working 1/2 hour from home, I’m up and out before the rest of the household. For my husband, it’s another matter entirely. While last year he needed to get the kids up and out to the sitter’s house, this year with two in preschool the morning will present more of a challenge. Our beloved “Aunt Margaret” will not be able to fix my daughter’s hair or feed the kids breakfast. Adding these into the morning mix makes everything just a bit more challenging.

As always, I turned to online resources, friends and Facebook for tips.  One I even tested out myself two weeks ago when heading to BlogHer in San Diego. Since I always laid out clothes for the week, a four day trip to California seemed like the perfect time to try out our new One Step Ahead Days of the Week Closet Organizer which worked like a charm. From experience I know Sunday evening is much less hectic than weekday evenings. While I typically laid out clothes on the dresser, the self-proclaimed neat freak in my always had a bit of an issue with clothing sprawled out all over the place. The organizer is also out of the way from little fingers itching to put things out of place. I actually purchased a 2nd organizer for my daughter’s room.

One Step Ahead, who “tests thousands of products and brings [us] the best” has been a favorite shop of mine since the kids were born. Cool Baby Kid prides itself on sharing the best of the best while One Step Ahead/Leaps & Bounds sells this cool stuff. They also have fantastic resources such as Family Management: 10 Ways to Beat the Morning Rush which includes pre-planning outfits for the week and packing a lunch as you cook dinner. Other articles helpful for Back to School include:

What are some of your Back to School or Beating the Morning Rush tips?

Disclosure: A sample product was provided for review purposes; all opinions are 100% ours. Read our full disclaimer.

Cool Tip: Can’t get enough One Step Ahead? Visit their new mobile site at onestepahead.com on your smartphone. Be sure to subscribe to CBK for more cool tips too.

Filed Under: Big Kids Corner, Education Corner, Toddler & Preschooler · Tagged With: , ,
09
May

All New Shutterfly Custom Path Photo Book *Giveaway*

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We’ve written previously about Shutterfly, and their new Custom Path for creating Photo Books takes the cake. We had an opportunity to test it out in beta creating an 8X8 “siblings” photo book. Although we can’t feature the book here since our kiddos pics are off limits, there are plenty of photo book samples on the website highlighting some of the new features such as an ability to move and place pictures and text anywhere you want on the page. No longer limited to preset templates, the sky’s the limit when it comes to photo book design with Custom Path. Utilizing Autofill which revolutionized photo book creation by automatically arranging photos by date into your book allow more time to get creative with stickers, borders and so many fun features.

My favorite feature, aside from Autofill, is the ability to use a photo as a page background. I added a picture with our two children standing in front of Cinderella’s Castle in Magic Kingdom as the background to other Disney pics for what amounted to my favorite page in the book. Choose Custom Path, pick a book size and try it out for yourself to see how easy and fun saving memories into a Shutterfly Photo Book can be.

Disclosure: A sample product was provided for review purposes; all opinions are 100% ours. Read our full disclaimer and frequently asked questions.

Cool Giveaway: Enter to win a 8X8 Shutterfly Photo Book by commeting on this post after subscribing to CBK via RSS or email. For extra entries:

Check out even more entry possibilities if you’re really determined to win. Read the contest rules and prize claim information as we announce winners on Prizey.net. Expires 5/23/11.

Filed Under: Adults Only, Giveaways Galore, Picks & Tips · Tagged With: ,
27
Dec

Operation Organization

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My house currently looks like a Toys R’ Us exploded. I’ve decided to take baby steps to organizing the house and officially started operation organization. One small drawer at a time, I am committing myself to one organization task each week. From the refrigerator to each and every drawer in the house, large jobs to small ones, every nook and cranny is fair game. If you want to get organized too but can’t seem to find the time, or just really don’t want to spend every waking moment cleaning and organizing, add your name to the linky and get organized! Pick one task each Monday and get it done during the week. If you post Operation Organization photos or references, please link back to this post. If you’re not a blogger, you can still join me; just include your name  below with a link to any website with organization tips.

OPERATION ORGANIZATION: WEEK 1

kitchen organization

Before

Kitchen Organize

After

Cool Tip: Check out the Container Store’s Top 5 Clutter Areas and tips for getting organized.

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14
Dec

Managing Photos: Kodak Gallery Photo Books

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If you’re like me once you had children managing photos and videos became somewhat of a challenge due to the sheer volume of both. I’ve devised a way to be sure pictures don’t get lost in my computer (or phone) that works well as long as I stay on top of the system. At the end of each year I put together a photo book of all of my favorite pics from that year. Ideally I try to update a folder with some favorite snapshots throughout the year, but typically after March or so my busy life interferes leaving me in December or January with hundreds to sort through.

This year I tried out a new program for creating a photo book, Kodak Gallery. Normally I choose a book based whoever is running a discount at the time I plan to order and have tried at least three different photo book companies. This was by far the least painful experience I’ve had thus far since Kodak uses SmartFit Technology. Simply put, your photos are automatically arranged by the order in which they are taken. Genius! So rather than having to sift through and choose pictures yourself, you can spend time on the fun stuff…choosing backgrounds, adding borders and captions and adjusting pictures.  The book arrived in a timely manner with excellent photo quality. I choose a medium book which starts at $19.99 but there all all different options, sizes and cover styles available.

Keep up with Kodak Gallery on Facebook and Twitter and order your own book or even grab one as a gift. Be sure to check out the order deadline dates on their main site or shop their gift guide if you’re still looking for holiday gift ideas too.

Disclosure: A sample product was provided for review purposes; all opinions are 100% ours. Read our full disclaimer and frequently asked questions and be sure to subscribe to Cool Baby Kid via RSS or email for additional giveaways and exclusive discounts.

Cool Giveaway: With the end of the year approaching it’s your chance to create a 2010 Photo Book with Kodak. Enter to win a $75 gift card to do just that by commenting with your thoughts about the video above.  Follow Kodak Gallery on Facebook or Twitter as well as Cool Baby Kid on Facebook or Twitter for extra entries. Be sure to leave a separate comment for each.

Check out even more entry possibilities if you’re really determined to win and be sure to read the contest rules and prize claiminformation. Expires 12/28/10. U.S. Only.

Filed Under: Giveaways Galore, Picks & Tips · Tagged With: ,
10
Nov

AboutOne Family Management {Giveaway}

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Every once in a while a resource comes along that changes your life. Although this sounds dramatic, for someone who values organization AboutOne family management website is a lifesaver. First introduced to the site and its creator Joanne Lang through a moms’ group in my homestate of Pennsylvania, it took just a quick tour to realize the impact it would have on how I organized things around the house. A website accessible anywhere which houses information from your children’s artwork to education records and household receipts, the AboutOne system makes it easy to stay on top of things. To get a better understanding of how the site works, take the product tour for an overview or watch the short video below. Some of the things you can organize with AboutOne include:

  • School pictures, memories, documents, and artwork for each child in your family searchable by school year.
  • Household receipts, documents, phone numbers for quick answers to questions like, “Who is our plumber and what did we pay him last time to fix the garbage disposal?”
  • Store “family” and “relationship” information which cross-reference users in the site for easy reference.
  • Health information such as blood type, conditions, medications and more for emergencies.

You can even  send a quick memory such as something cute your child said right from your smart phone or scanner into your AboutOne email inbox. Before using the site I stored kids’ artwork in the basement in a file cabinet, important documents and receipts in my desk file cabinet, milestones and memories on my Google calendar, cute sayings and other snippets on the notepad on my iPhone…and the list goes one. Having everything in one place with the ability to ditch the paperwork is my favorite feature of this revolutionary family management website.

As a teacher I immediately saw a use for the classroom and indeed other educators use AboutOne to store and share students’ school information. Try it free for 15 days and when you love it, subscribe for $5/month or $30/year. I also love AboutOne’s commitment to serving military families and their partnership with Operation Shower, a non-profit that coordinates baby showers for pregnant or expecting military families in a deployment or high stress situation. And in case you’re concerned about security, don’t be. The AboutOne team uses the site for their own families and are serious about keeping your information secure; they use bank-level security and their advisory board includes a CISSP approved member. I predict in a few years so many people will know about and utilize AboutOne that it will be a household name for busy moms and dads looking to get it together.

Disclosure: A sample product was provided for review purposes; all opinions are 100% ours. Read our full disclaimer and frequently asked questions and be sure to subscribe to Cool Baby Kid via RSSor email for additional giveaways and exclusive discounts.

Cool Giveaway: Enter to win a one year subscription to AboutOne by commenting on the video above.Follow AboutOne on Twitter and Facebook and/or Cool Baby Kid on Twitter and Facebook for extra entries. Be sure to leave a separate comment for each. Check out even more entry possibilities if you’re really determined to win and be sure to read the contest rules and prize claim information. Expires 11/24/10.

Filed Under: Adults Only, Giveaways Galore, Picks & Tips · Tagged With: , ,
01
Oct

Use Post-it Products to Organize Home & Office

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A fanatic about staying organized, I have cleaning days wich include organizing files and keeping things in order. Both at home and work Post-it notes are an essential component of a complex system of organization that include…stickies. Even with apps and computer programs, no technology compares to having reminders front and center. New to my Post-it arsenal include items such as  Post-it® Label Pads and the Post-it Personal Calendar. Super Sticky Notes make the calendar perfect for the fridge without making you feel guilty about writing on the “good” calendar. (Yes, I have two but just can’t bring myself to write on the picture one.)

Alternatively Label Pads are perfect for storage with color coding possibilities that won’t unstick. I use the pads cabinets at work as well as storage boxes at home. But if you’re just looking for Post-it notes, big and small, for your standard quick note, Post-it Poptimistic Collection is an update to plain ol’ yellow making a fashion statement of your organizational system. And while organization is important to me, I still feel like my office is more put together than my home so I’d love to hear some idea you have about organizing? Have you used Post-it notes, labels or calendars to organize? What’s your best home organization tip?

Disclosure: A sample product was provided for review purposes; all opinions are 100% ours. Read our full disclaimer and frequently asked questions and be sure to subscribe to Cool Baby Kid via RSS or email for additional giveaways exclusive discounts and giveaways.

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25
Jan

Little Lamb Design Mini-Valentine’s Cards for Kids {Giveaway}

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Cool Baby Kid’s *Top Picks* all have one thing in common… everyone and their brother and sister won’t have the exact same one. Unique is the word of the day, and Little Lamb Design doesn’t disappoint in that department. The personalization factor in their mini-Valentine’s Day cards ensure they are one-of-a-kind. We were given the Pirate Valentine’s Cards to check out which are signed by Captain and First Mate with our children’s names.

Printed front and back, Little Lamb Designs, who also have an extensive inventory of invitations, announcements, stationary, photo cards and even novelty items such as luggage tags and waterproof labels Originally created by a mother, the team at Little Lamb Designs has grown to include an array of personalized Valentine’s Day cards for kids with top quality designs.

Cool Giveaway: Enter to win one set of Little Lamb Design cards (12) with envelops and shipping included by commenting on this post about your favorite Valentine’s Day theme. Contest ends 2/3/10.

Extra Entries: Find out how to earn an unlimited number of entries and read the contest rules and disclaimer.

Cool Code: Enter coupon code “CoolBabyKid” to receive 20% off any order on the website. Expires 2/28/10.

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