I Love Yarn Day Part 2

So yesterday being "I Love Yarn Day"---I decided this weekend would be a yarn weekend for me...because I didn't get a lot done yesterday.  I had wanted to organize my humongous pile of yarn and in the midst of the projects that I am in the middle of.  After looking at a variety of ways to organize my yarn on Pinterest....this was still my favorite option.

http://blog.lionbrand.com/2012/02/02/12-tips-on-how-to-organize-your-yarn-stash/

The next step was figuring out what to put the yarn in to make it look like this.  I saw that some people put them inside shoe organizers--and I didn't like that idea.  Others thought of liquor boxes that the ship the bottles in.  I thought that might be kind of cool, especially I could stain them and decorate them.

So I thought of these at Wal-mart...they are fabric drawers that can go inside a bookshelf type thing.

I only got four of these...two navy and two natural ones....and I didn't get a shelf thing because first I didn't know for sure if they would do what I wanted them to do...but also, I have that vent--smack dab in the middle of the where I am working.  And I don't want to cover it up. So I have two on either side. And they look pretty good with yarn in them.

But...as you can see I still have run out of space!  I have decided to get six more...a nice even 10 but I'm still not 100% sure that will be enough.....I might get 12--we'll see. But I can't stack them--tried that and you can see how they buckle a little even with the bags with yarn on top.  And then there is the huge bag of projects and these...which I thought looked cool in their little containers.

But I'm not quite sure how I am going to get a shelf thing in there....but I'll be back at Wal-mart Monday since I will be in Vernal anyway and see if I can't figure it out.  I might be able to even do a piece of wood all the way across and create my own shelf...but I'm not sure if they will support that.

Productivity...Part 2....Online

I read this interesting article here, that is actually a book review of a book about how to be smart with your time online.  As I mentioned previously (here), I don't know if productivity is helpful to all people.  This review says that the biggest advice that the Net Smart: How to Thrive Online by Howard Rheingold gives is to really plan out what you are going to do online when you get on.  This is hard to think about practically for me because I am influenced by what I see--I will go to someone's blog post because they posted and I happened to see it.  Or I will read an article that I happened to see on Twitter etc.  But I like the idea in theory. So...how would you go about planning your online adventures each day?

Thank you www.effective-time-management-strategies.com

My Love Affair with Pinterest

Seriously...it is kind of pathetic.  I first started hearing about Pinterest and thought that it was the silliest thing ever! Why would anyone virtually pin anything to a bulletin board? What purpose would it hold?  Then as the initial fervor died down....I began to see people getting craft ideas from Pinterest.  And I was like, "Sure,  that makes sense."  One day on a really big wim, my sister-in-law sent me an invite.  We were seriously sitting on my couch and she was like, "I barely use it but it's fun."  That was when the ridiculousness all started....one July day last year.  Now 20 boards and 1,938 pins later...I am officially hooked.

One of the things that I have known/learned about myself is that I am a SERIOUS pack rat. I save just about everything...esp if it has to do with teaching  There are still boxes at my mom's house full of high school work that I did that I thought I might use one day in my classroom.  I have saved all of my notebooks full of notes from college...in case I used them in my classroom.  I saved all the worksheets and articles and textbooks too...in case I used them in my classroom.  One problem that I kept running into was how to save stuff on my computer that I have seen.  I have many folders entitled "Possible Teaching Ideas".  But you know what the sad thing is?  I don't go to these sources as often as I know I should.

I think the reason why is because it takes forever to find something good, or what I am specifically looking for.  I am victim to the instantaneous search...and the fact that I will be going to bed about 5 hours after I get home from work so things need to be fast (how sad is that!...a post for a different day).  But now with my good friend Pinterest....I pin it to my board and then I can search my board. And sadly, I have a bit of a better memory of my Pinterest stuff.  I don't know if it is because it is recent, visual, or what.

Amongst all of this love affair with Pinterest...I have gained so many followers that I don't know but I know are fellow teachers.  That is just a cool thing to me :)  So if you want more ideas go to my Pinterest boards: http://pinterest.com/knh808/

My absolute favorite! Thank you so much Somecards.com
for the reminder that it has some sort of use :P

Thank you The Dynamic Duo for this soo true statement

Pinterest for Organization!

So I have a whole board on Pinterest just on organization.  One thing that I have always wanted to do is create a binder of organizational stuff,  like my own planner, a handy place for my important documents etc.  As I peruse Pinterest to see what there is to see, I sure found a lot of planning tools.  This made all of my thinking more of a reality.  With everything in my life being soo busy, I felt like I needed to get these ideas off of the computer and into my new fancy binder.

This binder is an all purpose binder to organize my life and is a work in progress.  At the moment, it includes these three sections: Cleaning To-Dos, Food Storage Inventory, and General Planning. Since all of these are from Pinterest, I am again enrolling in Trish's challenge.



Pin #3--Monthly To-Do Deep Cleaning List  Original Pin    Original Link
 I loved this idea, especially since we rent.  One of the things that I hate about moving is having to clean the place before we leave.  By the time I get to it, I am soo tired! And I know that some people will say, just leave it--but the last thing I need is the landlord to keep our security deposit. Never mind the fact that I judge the previous tenants when I move into a mess!

Pin #4--Weekly Cleaning Check-list  Original Pin     Original Link
I liked this one because of the blank spaces that it leaves to customize it.  And I feel like if I don't get something done on Monday, no big deal I can do it on Tuesday or Saturday.  It is a very doable list that I can customize!

Pin #5--My Own Planner  Original Pin    Original Link
I love this site!! Peaceful mom is where I stole so much to create my own planner.  I am VERY picky about my planner.  I have one that I use for work, but I needed some different options for home and I didn't want to spend a lot as I tried it out.  She gave me a great blank monthly calendar that isn't boring and colorless and an easy way to keep track of my time!


Pin #6--Chart Jungle.com
Food Storage Inventory  Original Pin  Original Link
Goals Chart  Original Link
This site has TONS of choices, but these were my favorites off of her site. First is the food storage inventory. I have been wanting a way to keep track of what we have bought and how close I am to my goals.  We buy Shelf Reliance (highly recommend) so when I do my monthly order, this will make it really easy for me to figure out what we still need. The second is the goals chart that I want to use in a variety of places!