Happy Tuesday everyone! I hope you're having a great week so far. Today, I wanted to share with you a little bit about how I organize my life... schedules, to do lists, blog calendar, idea lists, etc. I've always been the hopeless notebook type. I love buying new calendars and notebooks, but I'm h.o.r.r.i.b.l.e. at at keeping it up. Absolutely horrible. I can't tell you how many half-used calendars and little schedule notebooks I've thrown away. I start off great and then just give up. Anyone else like that? Erin Condren still tempts me though.
Here's my new bff...
Recently, I forced myself to get into the habit of using iCloud to do everything. Let me tell ya... I'm in love. It was a little tough at first to get into the routine, but I'm golden now. I have been able to get (and STAY) organized over the past two months. It's so nice. No, you don't need a Mac. Just an Apple id. The purpose of iCloud is to sync all of your Apple devices (iPhone, Mac, iPad, etc.) and allow content to be accessed from any device. So, all my stuff is on my computer, iPad, and phone. However, you don't have to have any of these devices to take advantage. All you need is an iTunes account.... which you probably do. (If not, google it. It's easy to do.)
Once you have an Apple id, go to icloud.com and log in. You'll see this screen: You've got a lot of great tools to keep you organized! | | Mail You can sync all of your various email accounts. I've got four... yowza. So with one click, I can access any messages! Yay!!! | | | Contacts Family, friends, colleagues, and blogging buddies... all in one place! I can even sync up their birthdays to the calendar. I like that I don't have to mess with one of those little tabbed notebooks. :) | | | Calendar This is my FAVORITE part. The Calendar. I have so many different calendars that I need to keep track of... school, grad school, blogging, birthdays, personal stuff, etc. Apple's calendar allows you to have lots of different calendars, view days/weeks/months at a time, color code events, set them to repeat, and lots of other fun features... including attaching documents to dates (like a class agenda). It's kept my butt nice and organized recently. | | | Notes Wishlists, ideas, clipart requests, project ideas.... all in one place. I can have as many different notes as I want! When I'm done, I just erase a line or completely delete the note. Coolest part? I can email it to myself or a friend! | | | Reminders This little beauty allows you to make little checklists, to do lists, or set reminders that can sync to your calendar. Need to remember to order flowers before Grandma's birthday? Voila. Never disappoint grandma again... like I did. | | | Find My iPhone/iPad Leave your iPad laying on a chair in the Chicago airport? No? That's just me? Thanks to this little app, you have a little more hope of finding your device. You can make it beep (so you can find it under the couch), locate it on a map, or wipe the data in case it gets jacked. | | | iWork I don't use this one because I don't have a Mac, but this allows you to use Pages (Word), Keynote (PPT), and Numbers (Excel) on your devices... and syncs your work. Kind of like the Dropbox concept. | I LOVE having everything in one place and the fact that it updates on each device. No more notebooks, stupid notes everywhere, or feeling so disorganized.
I just wanted to share a little techy organization tip with ya! I hope you enjoyed! Let me know if you're inspired to try it out. I definitely haven't found anything that I like using more than this. It's simple, everything's in one place, and it works.
Happy Tuesday everyone!
| Something that I LOVE having is a collection of easy-to-use signs and labels. I have always kept a file for all of those random things I need to make quickly... word wall cards, birthday signs, book covers, student name tags, center signs, address labels, and on... and on... and on. I keep them all together in one place so I know where to find them and can whip something up fast.
However, it's become a hot mess. Big time.
See Exhibit A to the right.
So, I decided this folder needed some organizing. I despise having to look through all of the file names and trying to guess how big the label/sign is... or what it's used for.
I went with a simple system. 4 sub-folders:
Small
Medium
Large
Random | | I then sorted all of those files into their appropriate folder. I used my own sizing method to determine if something is small, medium, or large. Address labels? Small. Student name tags? Medium. Signs for the door? Large. CD labels? Random. If you do this, you might have different criteria. I went with the concept of....
Small = smaller than 1/4 of a page
Medium = 1/4 to 1/2 of a page
Large = bigger than 1/2 a page
Random = weird shapes
I also went through and renamed some of the files that were a little too 'general.' Like 'Student Names'. Does that mean sticky Avery labels or desk tags? I needed to get a little bit more specific. Renaming it to 'Student Names_Address Label Size' helps.
It works for me now and I don't have to open eighteen files to find the right one! Yay!
This literally took me 7 minutes (got through 2 songs on iTunes).
The moral of the story? Be specific with your file names. I know my computer is out of control with files and I find that spending a little time to organize, sort, and name files (with lots of detail) goes a long way.
Hopefully if you don't already have your files organized, this will give you a little inspiration. Throw on some Bieber (or not) and go to town. Don't try to get it all done at one time if you need an entire 'system clean'. It took me a while to do my whole computer. It's also a good time to do some Spring cleaning and recycle some of those files you'll never use. Let me know if you're interested in how I organize everything. I'll do a post on it.
On a similar note... I just finished something that I'm in love with. I can be in love with my own stuff right? Maybe it's just my love for chevron.
... or does everyone have a soft spot for chevron in their heart?
Rabbit trail.
We recently took a friend to Montreaux, Switzerland while he was visiting. There is a famous castle there called Chateau de Chillon. Construction began in the 10th century.
Yes. The 10th. Like 1000 years ago.
One of the things I appreciate over here is history. A lot of places we visit are incredibly old. Most are even older than the US itself... which blows my mind. While visiting this amazing castle, I noticed two things. Can you believe it? This was apparently painted in medieval times. THEY even loved chevron. I really need to know how they painted it back then. I know Pinterest, leveling lasers, and painters tape didn't exist back then. Maybe they were just extremely patient? Both of theses rooms were huge by the way. Bigger-than-any-classroom-huge. Impressive.
Here's the castle itself. If your ever in Switzerland, I suggest a tour. It's so cool and sits right on lake Geneva.
Cosette Bruhns Photo
My less impressive photo.
I will definitely miss the views of the Alps when we move back. Breathtaking and great skiing.
Ok. Onto more chevron. The thing that I love so much... You've figured out I'm a sucker for labels, signs, and chevron right? I decided to mix them. Voila! Editable chevron signs and labels! What you get: - 8 different sizes
- 11 fun colors
- chevron
- a .ZIP file containing 8 editable PowerPoint files (each size has it's own file)
- more chevron
- a PDF with previews, directions (with photos), and terms or use
- and some more chevron
- a grand total of 88 pages of editable signs/labels... 96 pages when you include the PDF
You can seriously make anything with them. Word wall cards, signs, labels, desk names, etc. The borders are locked, so all you need to do is just edit the text, add photos/clipart, and print! Easy. There are also gray and black versions for those of you who are limited with color printing. Just print on colorful paper! :) Here's a sample for you to try out below. It's the black pattern so you don't need to use colored ink. Click the 'Download File' link under the picture. Google Docs is giving me a hard time with uploading a ppt, so I just attached the file to the site. Promise it's not spam or anything weird. Hope you like it! There may or may not be a little giveaway of this set over on my Facebook page. Hurry! It ends 8.24.12 at 11:59pm.
My printer may put in it's resignation after I get done with printing things for this year. Yikes.
I hope everyone is having a great week! Especially those of you who have started back already.
I've posted a few sets of adaptable labels over the past few days. I use these guys for everything! Labeling... - supplies
- student cubbies
- notebooks
- word wall words
- card games
- little mini vocabulary lists for students
- little notes
- center signs
- steps in a series of directions
- library tub labels
- ... and more.
Here's an example of what you can do with them. So far there are 3 different styles (border style) and they all come in the different sizes. You open the document, customize the labels, and print. There's none of that 'shifting box' mess that I hate. The boxes stay the same size and you can edit whatever is inside of them. Pretty easy and quick. You can 'Save As' each set you make to use again if you need to.
Here are the ones I've posted so far. Click the picture to get them on TPT for $1.50 each.
I'll be posting some more soon! Have a great day!
Ashley
So, I'm sort of a calendar nut. I love having a large one (whether printed or in a book form) that I can write all over. I love my iPad calendar, but after recently losing it in Chicago (at the airport) and waiting an agonizing 14 days to retrieve it, I've decided to just do the paper one and add to the iPad if needed. I think I'll eventually be in the 21st century again. I used to do everything by Outlook, but I don't have it anymore with this new computer... too cheap to spend $100 on just Outlook.
Here are some calendars I've had on my computer for a while... I didn't just decide to make a bunch of calendars. That's been done before... but I do love the cute colors. :) I use this one pictured below (picture of June because the months prior are already written all over and you don't need to know my birthday or travel plans). I love Monday start calendars because it makes the weekend more exciting for some reason... gray boxes together give the illusion of a longer break? I don't know.
Below are six calendar sets you can download for FREE. There are colored ones (my favorite) and black and white versions too. Three different styles: Blank Monday Start, Blank Sunday Start, and 2012. Click the picture to download a set on TPT. Colored Calendars | Black & White Calendars |
Hopefully they come in handy! Happy Monday! Or is it?
Ashley
Oh my gosh! This is genius. Ribbon and string were impossible to keep organized in my room (and in my scrapbooking box). There aren't many words needed for this post. I love this.
Source: Spunky Junky
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I'm thinking yarn too? I can't wait to organize all my ribbons. It's ridiculous... the things that excite me sometimes.
Ashley
I love this:
 Another idea I found on Pinterest. The original source is MeckMom. My board game boxes use to last no more than two weeks in the room. They got beat up. Quickly. I like how she put all the pieces in little plastic storage bins and labeled the boards. So nice! And it saves space.
I usually put game pieces in these little clear pencil case/bags. Walmart sells them for like a dollar each. I have about 300 (not kidding) in several different colors. I love them.
Either way you go, plastic bin or bag, it saves space and is super organized.
Ashley
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