We are starting a new tradition at the España household, and it involves a very sneaky elf! That’s right a tiny little guy most of you have heard of by now… his name is Buddy, and he has brought so much joy to my household in the past two days!

I highly suggest a elf on a shelf if you haven’t already added one to your family traditions! I got mine at Target!

What kind of traditions do you have at home?

FOLLOW BUDDYS ADVENTURES ON PINTEREST AND INSTAGRAM!

Hey everyone, now that the elections are over only one thing come’s to mind… the holiday’s!! Yes they tend to creep up on us when we least expect it! How about a Santa Letter Freebie to get you in the spirit?

With Thanksgiving around the corner, it is a perfect time to get these passed out and plan this years Christmas shopping early.

Click the download button below for your free Santa Letter, for your kiddos and the young at heart.

I have been looking to start new Christmas traditions. Actually Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year. It just brings me so much warmth in my heart and I really do reflect on my blessings and my family.

Do you have any special traditions?? Please do share!

When do you start Christmas shopping?

Remember to follow me on Facebook for more printable freebies coming soon!

Hey everyone I am back today with another project I just completed. If you ever looked under the kitchen sink at my house you would be in for a disappointment. I mean seriously, I never had thought much this area is often looked at. Especially if you store your trash can in there as I do.

Here I keep all of my reusable bags, dishwashing soap, kitchen sanitizer, trash bags and even some other cleaning supplies. Unfortunately I tend to just throw the bags in there under the sink, since they don’t have a place of their own.

Ofcourse I had the option to buy myself one of those handy under the sink storage trays that can cost you anywhere between $25.00 and $80.00. They look like they would work great but, some of them do require you to screw them down so they won’t tip over, and since I live in a rental, I had to come up with something else.

My solution: a box that previously contained pre-packaged gold fish covered with wrapping paper and used as a plastic bag storage container. I made sure to cut around the little tab opening that came already cut out on the box.

Then I used an open paper bag to place all the other un-used paper bags into and placed on top of that box.

Finally I used a regular gift bag ( mine is from Nordstrom ) and placed my rolled up trash bags and packaged sponges in to keep them in one place.

Presto….

Easy, cheap, possibly free if you have everything already as I did. Most importantly effective and organized.

Anything you have tried on the cheap?

The question that is on everyone’s mind. How do I get Organized?

I must admit, I ask myself quite often how I can improve my organization but how to get organized actually depends on what works for you.

Before anything you need to come up with a plan and prioritize. Tackle the biggest problems first, and get it out of the way.

• Cleaning List & Schedule
• Organize
  -Bedrooms
  -Kitchen
  -Bathrooms
  -Home Office
  -Living Spaces
  -Dining Space
  -Garage
  -Closets
  -Playrooms
  -Vehicles
  -Additional Spaces
• Budget
• Home Inventory
• Meal Plan
• Time Management - Schedule
• Home & Vehicle Maintenance

(Many printables coming soon!)

As you can see there is a whole lot of aspects of your life you can get organized.

“For every hour spent organizing, an hour is earned.”

Benjamin Franklin

An average American will spend about 16 minutes a day looking for lost items—which adds up to an entire year during a lifetime.

One thing at a time:

Today we are going to take on the home office paper clutter.

I don’t know about you, but at my house there is a whole lot of paper clutter that comes in the mail daily. So I came up with a little desk filing system for all incoming and outgoing mail.

My key to organization is my planner ( shown right in front) . I write everything down. I know, I know, there is this little thing we call a smart phone where you can input everything. I tried that and it just does not work for me. It gets put away never to be seen again unless I input reminders, which then cause my phone to work overtime in reminding me every minute of my day what to do next. With my planner I can check it a few times a day and paper clip papers in that need to be completed that day and see the full months to-do list in one place. (check my planner out in detail)

Naming the file folders:

Call. Ask . Cancel - I got this idea from Alejandra Costello It’s exactly as you can imagine. I place here any papers that I need to inquire about.

Bills to Pay - Yes you guessed it.

Papers to File - So what do you file? Anything that you can not get online. Why keep paper files that can be accessed by logging in to your account online.

Receipts Home - Any receipts shopping, gas, groceries, etc… this will come in handy when getting your budget and finances organized.

Business - This is any paper work that comes in that needs to be later filed into my husbands file box for his business.

Ideas - I often have ideas on a project or blog post or even a magazine cut out as inspiration… So I place all of those items in this cozy file.

Luisito - My oldest son! He has his own hanging file at my desk because he attends school and comes back weekly with paperwork that needs attention, which I place here.

Fun - left the best for last! In here I place coupons for fun outings or sale info, as well as recipes I get on-line. I also place local activity calendars I find online and print for quick reference!

Organizing Business Paperwork

As long as we are organized my husband does not mind the pop of color in his business file box.

Our hanging files include:

Marketing - Here I place ideas in marketing as well as copies of previous ads we have run.

Open Accts - Is just that. Accounts that are being currently worked on.

Closed Accts - These are accounts that are done and are ready to be filed.

Accts Receivable - These are accounts where money is owed to the business by our clients.

Accts Payable - This is money owed by our business to our suppliers.

General Ledger - Here is a complete record of financial transactions.

Sales Collected - Sales collected for the month.

Employee Record - All information on employees.

Bank Records - Monthly Bank Records.

Corporate - Permits, licenses, insurance information.

Accounting - Receipts, and anything you might need for your accounting.

A - Z Client Filing - Client Files.

Inside every hanging file folder is a 3×5 card with what paperwork each individual file should have. This way if my husband is ever looking for something he can check these out for less confusion.

This box is a work in progress. As my husbands company grows this will be the foundation of how everything will be organized. Later I will move on to a file cabinet but keep the same foundation. This box is for the current year only. That way when tax season comes around, everything is in one place. Last years paper work is all filed away in a separate file cabinet.

I hope this all gives you a idea of how to get your paper work uncluttered and organized. I am sure you might have a few extra hanging files or less, just make sure you dont over do it in categories.

Final Tips:

1. Don’t add too many categories.
2. Don’t store uneccesary items that can be accessed online
3. Make it easy for others to navigate if needed.

How do you organize your paper work?

And the winner is:

Our pin it to win it contest winner is . . . . Clarissa —- you have 30 days from today to claim your prize Thanks ( October 31, 2012 ) !!

I will get in contact with you shortly!