The Homemaker's Daily Planner {Review}

It's been awhile since I've had a review on here, but considering we have a new year just around the corner, I wanted to let you know about this great planner I found called The Homemaker's Daily Planner.  

Sue Hooley, a mom of six children ages 5-21, designed her first planner after several years of motherhood and homemaking. With the unpredictable schedule of a homemaker in mind, Sue thoughtfully came up with a planner that isn't regimented by hourly time slots. 

Start Your Shopping Here!

Welcome to Purposeful Homemaking's 2012 Christmas Gift Guide! I have several great sponsors I'd like to feature for this event...all of whom have great Christmas gifts for the special people in your life. And I even have a little Stocking Stuffer section, too so let's get started!

 

For the past 30 years, Usborne Books has proved time and again that in spite of the digital age we live in, it is possible to create books that engage a child's mind and give them a love for reading. Usborne offers activity books, fiction series, internet-linked science and history encyclopedias and wonderful books for babies. 

They have long been my favorite book company. It's no wonder I love using our Sonlight Curriculum so much because many of the books in our curriculum are from Usborne!(click here for a $5 coupon code for Sonlight!)

Giving your children books for Christmas is a fantastic present and one that they will continue to enjoy for many days to come. It's also a great gift that allows you to spend time one on one with your child. The gift of time with your child is truly priceless.

I thought it was great to include a Christmas book in my gift guide because I love getting the kids a new Christmas book each year. I usually like to include it in our Christmas Countdown Activity so that they can enjoy it in the days preceding Christmas.

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The Little Children's Christmas Music Book is the sweet story of all the forest critters coming together to play their instruments for a special Christmas concert. The music buttons on the right hand side of the book correspond with the various animals' instruments in the story.

An engaging story like this is sure to delight your children. I can't wait to give this to our kids as soon as we start our Christmas Countdown! For more of Usborne's Christmas books click here and be sure to check out their Black Friday Specials while you're there!

Now here's a gift for yourself to help keep you organized as you're out there doing your Christmas shopping. Thirty-One Gifts is one of my favorite organizational companies and they offer this All in One Organizer which is the perfect size to take along with you when running errands. For all your Christmas shopping it's great to toss all the sale ads, coupons, lists and a snack or two in. There's even a beverage holder on each end.

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I have this Organizer in the Black Parisian Pop and I love it! If you're looking for a gift for your child's teacher or for a friend, I think that one of these would look beautiful in and of itself with some tissue paper tucked inside with a few lovely little gifties.

Thirty-One Gifts offer a wide variety of totes, organizers, purses and more. Some of my favorite bags ever are from Thirty-One so make sure you stop by their site and check them out!

AND for every $35 you spend between November 2-26 you can choose a Medium Utility Tote for only $5! Start shopping here!

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Another one of my absolute favorite companies, Blessings Unlimited, provides inspirational decor for your home.

 

I love this beautiful pie plate from Blessing Unlimited's Grace and Gratitude line. There are so many incredible pieces from this line and they all wonderfully remind us to give thanks to our wonderful God.

 

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Thankfulness. Fill Your Heart with Gratitude adorns this 9" pie plate. It is such a beautiful piece (as they ALL are from this line) that it is such a special treat to be able to use it. I love it so much that I don't feel restricted to using it only as a pie plate, but also as a serving dish. :)

  

All orders placed on Deneen's site on Black Friday will be automatically entered into a drawing for $32 cash. That means if you win, you will be reimbursed fully for this pie plate! Your chances of winning increase for every $30 you spend because your name will be re-entered for each increment. Drawing will take place at 10 am EST on Saturday, November 24 and the winner will be contacted that day.

 

Rifle Paper Company is a unique boutique-style stationery company that features hand-painted illustrations and lettering to create a refreshing style that reminds one of simple times. 

 

 

I like to get a calendar each year for Christmas and I found this one for someone special in my life. I love the simple vintage style artwork in vibrant colors and think this would look great at a desk or hanging in a kitchen. I also like the natural look of the rustic twine for hanging. However, I think it would look amazing framed on a wall as well.

 

Rifle Paper Co. offers a wide variety of products including invitations, wrapping paper and tags, notepads, journals and more--all of which, I love. Just looking at them and picturing them in my home makes me smile.

 

All of Rifle's products are printed locally in the U.S. using environmentally friendly papers. They are then assembled by hand by their in-house production team in Florida. 

 

And if you're looking to give to others in need, check out Compassion International's Christmas Gift Catalog. You can easily purchase life saving things like clean drinking water for life for a child and family ($79) or help a malnourished child survive ($13). You can even get a free catalog so that you and your family can decide together what you would like to purchase for someone in need.

Clean Drinking Water

 

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Stocking Stuffers

And I don't know about you, but I think it's so fun to include stocking stuffers! I like to  make these somewhat practical by sticking to fun foods that we don't normally purchase. Usually that will include some healthy fruit snacks for the kids, but this year it will also include Nick's Sticks.

I know they're going to be a HUGE hit because our kids love them! We first purchased one of these 100% grass-fed beef sticks (or you can get free-range turkey) seasoned with Redmon organic salt at our local health food store. Whenever I pull one of these out the kids are ecstatic. Get yours HERE!

 

And finally, I thought it'd be fun to include a stocking stuffer idea for moms and daughters! Vapour Organic Beauty offers their Vernissage 3-Free Nail Lacquer in eight colors.

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Vernissage from Vapour Organic is free of the following known carcinogens: Toluene, Dibutyl Phthalate (DHB) and Formaldehyde.

Vernissage Nail Lacquer has a glossy shine, is long-wearing and chip resistant. And it's cleverly packaged in petite bottles so as not to waste any unused nail polish. Because really, have I ever used an entire bottle of nail polish before it went bad? Not that I can remember!

It's great to know that Vernissage is Non-Toxic, Safe for Children and Moms-To-Be and Cruelty Free.

Click here to see the color samples and to order yours today. And from now until Monday, save 30% on everything (excluding samples)! Use promo code blackfriday12.

Thanks so much for visiting Purposeful Homemaking. Please take a moment to "Like" me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter or stay connected with Google Friend Connect so you don't miss a thing!

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Current Sponsors

Although these are not sponsors of these particular companies I am blessed to have their support on Purposeful Homemaking. Please take a minute to check out their links.

• Blessings Unlimited-unique, inspirational products for the home
• Usborne Books-excellent books for children of every age
• Heather Bixler-inspirational author of ebook devotional

 
*Disclaimer: I received product from each sponsor at no cost to me in exchange for my honest opinion.

Let's Get Organized with Clutter Rehab {Book Review}

Today I am featuring Laura from I'm An Organizing Junkie. I recently read her book, Clutter Rehab, where she shares 101 quick-and-easy tips to getting your house in tip-top shape.

Laura gives these tips in such manageable, you-can-actually-do-it type steps that it takes the stress out of organizing and helps you painlessly tackle the piles of toys, stacks of paper and over-flowing drawers in your home.

Rather than making Home Organization an over-night (hence, overwhelming) project, you can use Clutter Rehab to make organization a way of life so that you will have time to enjoy your life and your stuff without letting your stuff take over your life.

Sometimes it's hard to remember that "stuff" is temporary and it needs to serve a purpose. If it's not serving a purpose, it might be time to get it out of my home.

My Top 10 Favorite Tips from Clutter Rehab

1. Organizing Doesn't Have to be Expensive--Make Do This has been kind of a hang up for me, but truthfully, I could make a stop at the Dollar Store and get a few baskets here and there to get things in order a bit more.

2. Attach hooks on the backs of doors for extra storage. A great way to use vertical space!

3. Get kids involved with organizing. I love this. "Organizing is a skill to be taught, practiced, and improved upon like any other, and we aren't doing our kids any favors by not teaching them at a young age." This picture below is actually a combination of several of Laura's tips. First, it is getting the kids involved. This rather large elephant is cute, but takes up a lot of space in our tiny living room. It wasn't getting used that much so I asked Caleb if he wanted to keep it or sell it at our garage sale. He said he would sell it. (Believe it or not, he seems to have a grasp on the concept and if it comes down to it and he changes his mind at the sale he can have it back.) :)

4. This picture also reflects Laura's suggestion to take pictures of sentimental clutter and to banish clutter excuses. Which in this case is, "I Don't Want to Seem Ungrateful". The elephant was a gift from my sister to my son and I kept hanging on to the elephant because I felt bad getting rid of it when truthfully, it was just sitting in the corner. Laura says, "You don't always have to tell the giver that you and the item are parting ways....Whatever you do, don't hang on to something out of a sense of obligation..." Well, the fact that I'm blogging about this means my sister might actually know we're giving the elephant up for adoption (Sorry, Anne!) but it utilized 3 of the 101 steps so I figured it was worth writing about. However, since I have the picture of him on it, the sentimental part of me can deal with the parting a little better now. :)

5. If you don't like something, change it or stop complaining. This is great. "Pay attention to your inner dialogue. When you're dusting your knick-knacks or tripping over your floor clutter and are mumbling and grumbling about it every time you do it, you've got to ask yourself if it's really worth it. So often we aren't even conscious of these negative conversations going on in our minds, and it's a lot of mental clutter taking up valuable brain space."

6. Purge Clothing at the End of the Season, not the Beginning. Brilliant....because it's still fresh in your mind if you actually even wore the item. If you didn't, chances are you won't wear it next season either.

7. Give Everything a Designated Space. This is hard for me, but I'm pretty sure once I master it I won't be wasting time looking around for things wondering where I put them. Like the time I was trying to find my Clutter Rehab book so I could finish my review...:)

8. Never Leave a room Empty-Handed Such a simple tip, but one that packs a mighty punch at the Disorderly Giant!

9. Use Containers to Set Limits and Boundaries I had already been using this tip when organizing our children's out of season clothes, but it's a great idea to apply to lots of other areas of our home, too.

10. If You Haven't Used Something in a Year, Get Rid of It! This one could be hard folks, but it can be done. At least that's what Laura says...:)

I hope you have found these tips to be helpful. There are a lot more really useful tips in Laura's book so grab a copy today!

Click here to receive Laura's weekly organizing product offers at discount prices. Laura has a fantastic blog with lots of tips and inspiration so check that out and while you're at it, be sure to follow Laura on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Pinterest for even more tips on organizing.

Sponsors:

Teachable Moments-character training tools

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This post may involve product that was received in exchange for a review or contain affiliate links for which I will earn compensation should you choose to make a purchase. I am disclosing this information in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR Part 255, Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. Thank you for your support of Purposeful Homemaking.

Let's Get Organized with Thirty-One Gifts

As part of my Let's Get Organized! event I teamed up Nicole, a Thirty-One consultant, to bring you more options to help get your home, car, or office organized. I've been a fan of Thirty-One Gifts for a long time now so I'll also be sharing some of my favorite products and how we use them in our home.

I was super excited to review this Large Utility Tote from Nicole because I had already seen my sister use hers and it seemed like something that would be very useful.

When I first got the Large Utility Tote, I just kind of hung on to it for a couple of days trying to decide where the best place was for me to use it on a daily basis.

I ended up deciding to use it to store our extra cereal and chips which I had been keeping on the floor in a coat closet that goes underneath our stairs. This area gets used for a lot of things beyond it's normal coat closet usage.

For example, we store our canning supplies, vacuum, clothes hamper and more under there. Whenever I needed to get to one of these items I had to maneuver around the cereal boxes and such. But, now all of those items are contained in one bag so if I need to get around back there, I can just lift the bag out of the way. Less time wasted maneuvering around everything now. I love how something simple like this can mainstream things.

Our extra chips and cereal stored in one easy location

I also have used my Large Utility Tote for a family picnic.  What I loved most about packing it for a picnic was that it was large enough to hold our small cooler as well as the rest of the food items.

It's also great to use when traveling on vacation (if you're taking a road trip) because I pack a lot of our food and snacks in here rather than using paper bags like I did before. It's sturdy wire rim around the upper edge helps give it some durability to keep our food from getting smashed when things press in around it in the car.

And in case you still need ideas of how to use this to help you get organized, Nicole has shared 31 other uses for the Large Utility Tote:

1. You can leave it in your car with blankets and a sweatshirt in case it gets chilly during a game
2. You can keep items in it for younger kids to keep them entertained during road trips, while caught in traffic or when you have to make an unexpected stop somewhere
3. Holding and transporting scrapbooking supplies
4. Picnics for the family
5. Holding the vegetables you pick from your garden
6. Holding and transporting sports equipment
7. Storing dirty shoes in your vehicle
8. Grocery Shopping (especially if you do bulk shopping at places like Sam’s or Costco
9. Knitting Clubs (holding and transporting all of your yarn, etc.)
10. Consultant's Tote
11. Tailgating
12. Storing toys in between the two bucket seats of any car
13. Beach bag--towels, lotions, food and your thermal totes (My friend uses hers to hold her family's towels and suits to take to and from the pool.)
14. If you're a teacher or a teacher's helper you can use it to transport items to and from the classroom.
15. Carry Christmas presents to relatives' homes so you don't have to worry about them falling and getting messed up (I'm definitely using it for this year instead of paper bags like I've done in the past!)
16. Food and paper products for church gatherings or reunions
17. Great GREEN alternative. Carry to Wal-Mart or wherever and DON'T use their plastic bags--they certainly won't think you stole that personalized bag! :)
18. Using it for laundry for the kids is a GREAT idea. It can work well for both clean and dirty. (I'm sure my kids would love a personalized laundry bag of their own.)
19. Moving "box"
20. “Trunk” for vehicles
21. Weekend trips
22. Rolled up towels, blankets, etc. for guest bath/bedroom
23. Gift wrapping supplies
24. Yard Sales (and may I add Mom2Mom sales? I am definitely using mine for this too. Apparently I need at least one more of these around here!)
25. Board games (Love this idea too. I think we'd use our games more if they were nearby in a bag like this instead of in the top of a closet)
26. Carrying Birthday gifts to get-togethers
27. Playground equipment for teachers
28. Bottom of closet organizer
29. Carrying in firewood
30. Quick 5 min clean up
31. Beach toys

As you can see, there are quite a few uses for this tote!

A closet that has been tidied up using Thirty-One bags

Some of my favorite other Thirty-One products are the Mini Utility Bins. We have the camo one and it holds all of our sons cars in it.

And I also love the Organizing Utility Tote which I use ALL the time. I love the pockets on the outside because it will hold everyone's water bottles or sippy cups and I can hold all of my stuff on the inside. Great for trips to the zoo and park!

There are many other great products from Thirty-One so stop by their online catalog and check some things out!

If you have any questions, please email Nicole and I know she'll be happy to help you. And, if you can believe this, one blessed reader will win a Large Utility Tote! Simply enter the Rafflecopter form below to enter.



Thanks so much for visiting Purposeful Homemaking. Please take a moment to "Like" me on Facebook, follow me on Twitter or stay connected with Google Friend Connect so you don't miss a thing!


Disclaimer: I received product from Nicole at no cost to me in exchange for an honest review.