Getting Organized with Free Software

I read lots of blogs- LOTS. Most are about home design on the cheap, but I also follow ones that include recipes and hints for organizing your life. Well, I am so happy I found a post from one of them talking about some free software/websites that can help.

Have you ever found a recipe or some other article online, printed it out to save it, and then lost it or eventually threw it away to get rid of clutter before you even used it? I have done this many times.

Have you ever used your email account as your own personal storage space by emailing yourself these said articles and recipes? I do this quite often so I can access them from our laptop, home desktop, and work laptop, too. But most of the time, it gets lost in the 1000 other messages in my inbox only never to be found again!

If you're like me, you'll be happy to use these 2 things: Evernote and Dropbox.

Evernote is a free program that you access from signing up for a free account on their website. It is a free storage program for articles, webpages, recipes, and even your own notes you create (like to-do lists). You can organize them into different folders, search your mailboxes, and even have it "capture" all the text and images from a webpage you are viewing! It's really, really cool.
Here's a screen shot of my notes:

Dropbox is a really neat thing as well. You sign up for an account and for free can get 2 GB of free storage space. For this one, you download some software and automatically a folder called "Dropbox" appears on your computer as a choice whenever you save something. I dragged a bunch of photos and Cayenne Paper things I'm working on to it. Then, I can access it from any computer and even your smartphone. I love their slogan "It's like a magic pocket"! You consolidate everything there and can even share it with others. So, if I download a whole bunch of photos that I want to share with family, I can do that easily. You can buy more storage space, but I'll be fine with the 2 GB right now since it's free. I'm excited because it will be so easy to backup my work laptop because I'm getting a brand new one next week!

Here's my Dropbox:

Meeska, Mooska!

That's right- Libby and Drew have decided on a birthday party theme that suits both of them - Mickey and Minnie! I am happy b/c it will be really cute, but also because they were previously choosing Princess and Pirates. Not that those themes aren't fine- just that it would require a lot more planning on my craftiness part. ;)

We're going to have the party at Burke Lake Park this year. We went there when Libby and Drew were still babies and had a great time (unfortunately, they don't remember). But it is a nice place with a train and carousel right next to a nice playground. They have a cute little gazebo to rent out near the ice cream parlor. So, we're going to have lots of fun! Plus, being at the park, it really isn't that expensive at all.

Ok, so I'm so excited to start the planning! I just love this part!!! I'm ordering some cute Mickey and Minnie shirts from one of my vendors, Patty. Libby is going back and forth between a swing top and a regular t-shirt. She is so opinionated funny. Luckily, Drew just wants a t-shirt with Mickey. So, here's what I'm planning.. going back and forth between a cake or cupcakes. But I think blowing out candles on a cake is more fun, right? Plus I'll just order one from the bakery b/c I'm sure they have something Mickey. Well, the big mistake was looking on my favorite site, www.etsy.com It's a site for all things handmade. And there are some seriously crafty people on there!!! I just searched for "mickey party" and got all kinds of options ideas. I have a Cricut machine, which cuts different shapes and words out of paper. It's really cool. I found the Mickey cartridges for really cheap and can't wait for them to arrive.

More details to come...