In case you missed it. Not sure how you could as I have been talking about this for weeks, but okay. 
I have been participating in a contest sponsored by 3M Command Hooks. The contest ended yesterday with my video/commercial submittal. The winners are chosen by March 6th — until then — enjoy the video! 
We all have a weakness in our organizing system. Im not afraid to say that I strive for perfectly organized. I am a slight perfectionist — or maybe saying I am meticulous is a better way to put it. I get it honest — I get it from my Momma! {Hey Mom, <3 you!}
But … with that said … I have 2 organizational weaknesses.
1) My home office
2) Beauty products.
This is NOT my office BTW - but inspiration
It is so hard for me to find the right system in my home office. Bullentin boards for inspiration — how do I keep up with project ideas — paper or electronic — do I need another table because my desk aint that big! Another reason why I struggle here is investing money in “equipment”. I will be moving in a few months and it is hard for me to investment in more office furniture when I know that the set up will be different soon. Yet I want it all to magically work NOW!
And makeup and beauty products. My oh my. The #1 problem here is coupons. Yes, coupons. I can usually get these products pretty cheap because of blasted coupons and sales. It is hard to pass up another bottle of shampoo when the total cost is $0.50. I took inventory of my shampoos, conditioners, lotions, and body washes a few months back. I was bad — I had 10 bottles of shampoo, and its only me! I dont have 5 heads of hair to wash on a daily basis! I had to stop. But then there is the makeup. You know, the kind that is old (like 2 years old) and in a really unflattering color (’80′s blue eyeshadow). Yea those — well I have a hard time throwing these things away. I dont like the makeup! In fact, I only wear Mary Kay now! So it should go in the trash — but it doesnt. *Sigh* Somewhere deep inside I want to wear it until it is all gone. Get my moneys worth! All while looking silly in blue eyeshadow and teal eyeliner. And in case you were wondering — no I am not the kind of gal that can pull that off!
Good Grief — what is your organizational weakness?
Until next time…
Pinterest has shot to the social media stage over the past few months! It is still difficult to effectively state what the purpose of Pinterest is; however, for me, the purpose is to organize my ideas and inspirations for organizing projects, home decorating, and cooking projects. These inspirations live online and are found online. I have a similar system for inspiration ideas that I find in magazines {they live in binders}. Each Pinterest board is full of ideas that I come across from either other Pinners or found online while browsing.
I would love to follow you in your Pinning journey. In the Comment section — submit a link to your Pinterest “home page”.
http://pinterest.com/jhburnham/ {If you are interested in following me}
Another blogger that I follow wrote an article this week about Pinterest as well. She talked about how to use and organize your Pin boards. If you are interested, read the article here.
Until next time…
Well the box of 3M Command Hooks finally arrived this weekend! Im so excited about filming a home video with these hooks in action!
With that said, Im in need of a project and family. I have a few ideas of what I plan to do with the hooks, but I would love to showcase them in action with a family!
Please email me if you are interested or would like more details! I cannot wait to get started — I have a few ideas floating around in my head!
Email me: jennifer@pureandsimpleorganizing.com
Include: “3M Command Hooks” in Subject Line — Your name & a little about you — A description of the room or closet that you think would be perfect for the 3M contest — Attach 1-3 pictures of the room or closet
The video must be filmed by Sunday, February 19th. I am willing to travel for this project (Charlotte, NC address isnt necessary)
*Disclaimer: I received these products free from 3M Command Hooks and am not being paid to use them or film*
Happy Monday!
Until next time…
February 8th will go down as “one for the books”. To say that I am over the moon about that day is an understatement. No I didnt get engaged, married, or have my first child. ;) However, just as equally amazing things happened on that day.
1) I was informed that I made it to the final round for a commercial. Product: 3M Command Hooks. I have one last test to pass and plan to blow it out of the water — I really REALLY want to appear in the commercial.
2) My guest post “aired” on the Money Saving Mom‘s website. Crystal is a well respected and well known blogger, and the fact that I landed the guest post opportunity was huge! The site has received 1,500 2,500+ views since the article was posted! {To give you an idea of how awesome this is — my previous record for daily views sat at 65} The feedback from the post has been amazing — it keeps me motivated and driven. Organizing is where I belong.
….before I go to #3….
I want to add that my luck is not that good. I have never won large sums of prizes or contests or … anything really. The fact that these two {huge} things happened in my life…on the same day….that aint luck…that’s fate!
3) Carolina played Duke….at Carolina. :) Two great universities and two great basketball teams! Raymond and I dress out in all Carolina gear and throw down like 20 year old college kids again. Gooooo Carolina!
Thank you so much for your support and kind words!
Welcome to all my “newbies”.
Indeed, I thought I was on an episode of Punk’d when I got the phone call last week. {Is that show still around?} I entered a contest awhile back {unsure of exactly how far back} through 3M Command Hook’s Facebook Page. Im pretty sure the parameters were something like this: “Tell us why you love Command Hooks”. Simple enough — about 15 minutes later my story was submitted and I went on about my business. *WHAM* A few months later I get a phone call. I could barely contain my excitement! I didnt get much done the rest of the day as I felt like I could knock out Rocky…I was walking on Cloud 9…well you see where I am going with this.
I still need to “pass” a few more tests, but I did make it through the preliminary rounds! The next step is to film a home video of me using and implementing 3M Command Hooks and why I think they are so great. This would be an exceptionally easy task except my home is fairly organized. {Who are we kidding, it is very organized} So….I am on the lookout for a project!
Come one, come all! If you would like to be a part of the video, then please send me an email! Im thinking a contest here — submit picture(s) and ideas of how 3M Command Hooks would be perfect for <insert project here>. The most creative and possibly the most unorganized room with the greatest potential will be chosen! Email me: jennifer{at}pureandsimpleorganizing{dot}com.
I cannot wait to see what we can create together {video & organizing mastermind project}! Bahahaha — not sure where the Dr. Evil laugh came from…. oh well back to my website project!
Until next time….
I have another surprise in store for you today…dont you just love Monday surprises! Another guest blogger! I asked my very dear friend, Lauren Nix, if she would guest blog for me today…the topic is coupons. Lauren is a whiz at couponing and finding deals. Im not too bad myself, but she is much better than I! Since our economy decided to take a dip in the cool money pool a few years back, coupons have become hot and popular again. They take time and effort to keep track of sales and deals, but can save you money in the long run. Therefore, I dont mind spending some quality time with my paper and coupon organizer to save hard earned dollars in the end!
Thank you Lauren! Be sure to check out her blog too!
GOODBYE COUPON CHAOS
Pure & Simple Organizing Brings Great Organizing Tips & Techniques to Local Clubs & Groups
Yep, you read it here first folks! Pure & Simple is hitting the road with great tips and ideas on how to gain more control over our lives! Are you tired of just surviving your life? Are you ready to get on with the business of living it? {If you said no, then please email with your secret sauce recipe, you could come on the road with us!}
Know of any groups and clubs looking for an energetic speaker to book for their next meeting? We talk on a variety of topics but our most popular ones are:
If you know of anyone, we would love an introduction! Look for a schedule of events {coming soon}!
I am so thrilled to bring you a guest post today by a great photographer and friend, Matthew Martin of MRM Photography. Read on for some great tips on how to take great family portaits!
Hey! I am Matthew Martin from MRM Photography and Jennifer asked me to guest blog for her today so that I could give you guys some awesome photography tips! I wanted to make this a pretty quick and dirty article to help you all get better family portraits on those occasions when a professional photographer isn’t around. Sometimes things just happen and you want a group photo to remember it, and honestly, nobody can afford to hire a professional for every single get together. These tips will hopefully help you during those times you have to do it on your own!
The first thing you have to decide is if it will be outside or inside. This is often determined by the weather, but should also be determined by the time! Many people don’t think about this as thoroughly as they should. Many people will just assume that if it is daytime, then that’s a good time to be outside and nighttime is a good time for indoor photographs. That’s generally correct, but there is one caveat, you really don’t want to be shooting outside around lunch time. This will give you the harshest light and will create shadows that you don’t want, cause people to be squinting, or create problems for your camera to focus or eliminate lens flares. The ideal time for outdoor photographs is early morning or late afternoon. You want the times just after sunrise, or just before sunset. This sunlight is often referred to as the golden hours (because the light has a warm golden glow) and will produce the softest and warmest light. Not only does this help out with shadows and squinting, but it makes your skin look softer! This same principle can be applied during the middle of the day if it is an overcast day. The clouds will act as a natural diffuser and give you a nice soft light to work with. In addition to utilizing the correct time, you always want the sun to be behind your subject, and this is mainly to reduce any squinting.
If you decide to shoot indoors, one major thing to think about is opening up your windows to let in some natural light, if it’s during the day. You want to be aware of any shadows going across people’s faces and you want to make sure there are no shadows being cast onto a wall behind them. One trick to eliminating shadows on the wall behind your family is to move them in front of the wall by a few feet. Many people will push their families up against the wall to create more space, but this will often lead to unpleasant shadows on the wall.
One final tip, be creative and have fun! The last thing you want is an image where everyone is stiff as a board and looks uncomfortable. Try taking a goofy picture first and then squeeze in a more classic portrait last. This will have everyone relaxed and laughing / smiling. These make for the best photographs. {Love this tip!}
If you enjoyed these tips and would like to hear more of what I ramble on about, head on over to my blog at http://blog.mrmphoto.com, or check me out on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/mrmphoto.
A great friend and wonderful photographer, Matthew Martin of MRM Photography, asked me to guest blog for him today. Thank you Matt for the invite and opportunity to share my organizing thoughts on what to do with all of those pictures!
Head on over to MRM’s website to read the tips and ideas!
http://blog.mrmphoto.com/2012/01/09/what-do-i-do-with-all-these-pictures/
Happy Monday!
