Organizing your digital photos

Growing up as a child my Mom took TONS of pictures! Those where the days when digital camera's didn't exist and you never took more then one photo of the same thing in hopes of getting the perfect shot b/c you had to develop every single picture on the film. Well, with all that developing my Mom collected quite the assortment of photos. Even with having the best of intentions, my Mom never got them all into photo albums and through the years made their way into a brown paper sack that stayed in the back of the closet.

Guess who organized them and put them into corresponding photo boxes labeled by year a couple of years ago? ME!

So when I gave birth to my son I resolved to never have my pictures unorganized.

Lucky me, we are in the digital age so keeping photos in order is a cinch, but still a little work.

I own one photo-card that holds about 500 pictures on it.
Guess who sometimes takes 500 pictures a month?

Needless to say I am always loading them onto my computer and then backing up the files. To make it easy and to keep everything in chronological order I neatly put the photos in corresponding files. That way when its time for me to scrapbook Joey's annual scrapbook I have the files in order. That way when I upload them to a photo printing site they come to me in order and ready to be put into a scrapbook.

Here is my digital file organization system.


My main page of "My Pictures" folder looks like this.
It's hard to tell but the files are labeled 2005-2010 and there is also some photo book files in with it along with digital scrapbooking files.



Then each picture (I typically organize photos into each folder on a weekly basis) goes into it's corresponding year and month.
Again the picture it too small to see the words, but in my 2009 file I have 12 folders, one for each month of the year and 2 extra folders with some misc. picture files.



I know this sounds kind of like a no brainer, but it is What Works For Me! I have seen other people's computers who have file names for pictures but there seems to be no rhyme or reason to it. By using this system it keeps me from having to individually label every single picture with the date, b/c we all know that the time stamp on our digital camera's don't work half the time!

Rewards Charts

My husband and I have been pretty diligent in correcting Joey's occasionally, not so awesome behavior. Part of the process has been creating rewards charts and him earning stickers when he meets our expectations of a desired behavior.

I wasn't exactly sure how to make a rewards chart or what to put on it. I brainstormed for awhile trying to make the expectations both helpful and a learning moment for Joey. I searched around Google and found a great website that offered free pdf documents of rewards charts. Find the website for the rewards chart here.

I started off by printing two rewards charts in different colors. I printed them onto white card stock to make them more durable.



I opted to make two different charts. One for Behavior and one for Chores.
I used scrapbooking stickers to decorate mine and it is completely up to you on how you want to design it.

For Behavior I chose 5 different task for Joey to achieve: Manners, Listening, Walking, Inside Voice, and Sharing.

For Chores I chose: Set the Table, Put away his Laundry, Pick up Toys, Brush Teeth, and Potty Time. I wanted to think of a better name besides chores, b/c obviously some of these task are not chore like, but oh well.

Once the chart has all the desired task labeled I put them in sheet protectors. I used sheet protectors because I have so many of them and that way I can reuse the paper once the charts are full. Just toss the sheet protector and put the chart in a new one.

I added some ribbon to it and called it good.


*It doesn't have manner stickers on it b/c we just started it the other day.

Joey loves the idea and we love that he is willing to modify his behavior to earn stickers. We hung the chart low on the wall so Joey can see his progress. We also award with tiny star stickers he can put on his hand for each task he perfoms. Once the entire chart is filled out Joey can choose one prize from the prize box. I haven't made the box yet but it most likely will be full of toy cars, stickers, a piece of candy, etc.; everything that Joey likes.

With the Rewards Charts I found it easier to make task that fit Joey's needs and personality. Joey loves setting the table, so he feels like he is being a big boy and helping out "Mommy". I try to incorporate the Rewards Chart through out the day and always give Joey chances to earn stickers. Occasionally he does task without me asking. I also reward him even when he is not doing the desired behavior just for the stickers, that way its unpredictable and he will strive more and more to have good behavior and responsibility. For example, this morning I handed him his sippy cup and he said "Thank You" without me reminding him too. For that he earned a sticker. And you can bet his manners were very good the rest of the day.

The end result of Rewards Charts use should be that Joey will complete the desired task and behaviors without being asked too.

Works for Me Wednesday

Keeping a clean, organized and functioning sink

Kitchens can get messy real quick!
Finding a balance has really helped me keep my kitchen clean and my clean-ups quick.
Part of the routine is functional sink/station.

I hate having to bend over and rummage through the sink cabinet to get out dish soap, sponges, etc. So I keep it all in one place.

Here is my sink.



Nice and Big right?
I have found that filling the hand soap dispenser with dish soap has saved me time and money. The dish soap is dual purposes (for dishes and hands). I also keep a bottle of lotion and sanitizer for good measure.



In the sink compartment itself I keep a scrubbing brush and a sponge. I use the scrubbing brush to quickly clean up dishes that can't go in the dishwasher by just pumping a little soap on to it. The sponge is readily available for any spills or quick clean ups. At night the scrubbing brush and sponge go in the dishwasher for sanitation.

Probably the best thing about my sink is that it can hold that really cool cutting board/strainer. Not only does it serve its intended purpose but it also hides dishes for when last minute company comes over. I like using this board over my sink b/c it saves time. I don't have to dig out a strainer and the board is big enough to cute multiple things. I've seen this board at Macy's, Target and Costco and come in a variety of colors.

See it in action!


To round out my sink organization I installed a towel rack right on the cabinet door. I keep dish washing detergent and kitchen spray underneath the sink and I never feel like my cabinet is overflowing with 1000 types of kitchen products.

Keeping my sink in this working order has helped me with keeping a clean kitchen and also cleaning as I go so there is never a big stock pile of dishes in the sink. This is what works for me!

Does anyone have anything to add to this organization either of the sink or the kitchen? I would love to hear it! Anything to make my life easier. =)

WFMW's

Kristen over at We Are That Family host a really awesome link up at her website on tips and advice on things that work well for her. Topics revolve around household tips, cooking, cleaning, raising children and crafts. She has an amazing blog that follows the life of their family. She has the strongest convictions and from what I read a SuperMom!

My WFMW!

Keeping your garbage can clean and organized.

Garbage cans tend to get sick and disgusting super quick, especially when you have a kid in diapers. Even after you take out the trash the smell tends to linger and with apartment living any smell is never a good smell.

I have a large garbage can but not the luxury of having a large kitchen so the can is placed underneath our lame excuse of a counter bar. This means that any unsightliness goes majorly noticed and Joey thinks that the garbage can is a toy. Not the kind of double bonus I like to brag about!

To keep things clean and organized I store the trash bag roll and a can of Lysol spray inside of the can itself. Just like this...


When I pull the liner out to take the garbage out I have everything in one place and I don't have to search for another bag in the deep abyss known as my under sink cabinet. The Lysol I use is also an air neutralizer so it disinfects and also kills odor in the surrounding area. A bonus to this method is that b/c the trash bag roll and the can take up a little bit of room on the bottom you can never overfill your trash and not be able to tie it shut.



And this is What Works For Me!

P.S. I never thought I would be taking a picture of my trash can!