What's Your Clutter Style?

The other day I came across an Oprah quiz on her website about clutter style, aka lack of some major organization.  I thought it'd be interesting to see what exactly I lack when it comes to organization, especially because I try to stay organized.

According to the article, there are 5 types of clutter styles:

(1) The Behind-Closed-Doors Clutterer - This type of person appears to be organized on the outside and has what appears to be a very clean house, but tends to hide things behind closed doors where others cannot see it.

(2) The Knowledge Clutterer - This type of person will collect lots of books, magazines, articles etc in order to "remember" the knowledge.

(3) The Techie Clutterer - This person collects or keeps old gadgets, cords, cell phones etc.

(4) The Sentimental Clutterer/Family Historian - This person hoards old papers, drawings, clothing because of the sentimental value attached to it.

(5) The Bargain Shopper/Coupon Clipper - This person stocks up unnecessarily on items because they are on sale and can be purchased at a great price.  
  
So after reading through the five types of clutterers, I realized I don't fit exactly into one of the categories, but rather am part of a couple of them.  I'm partially a Knowledge Clutterer and partially a Techie Clutterer.

I'm a Knowledge Clutterer because I love to collect books and magazine clippings.  I've always loved a good book... the touch, the smell.  There's nothing like it.  I'm not sure how all these people read on those electronic readers.  They're just so... boring.  I'm not sure I'll ever be able to transition over to that.  I also love my magazines.  Now, don't get me wrong, I do read a lot of blogs and have a ton of online subscriptions to stuff, but there is nothing like the feel of flipping through a book or magazine.  Am I right, or am I right? :)  I will say though, I've drastically improved with the magazines since I have Pinterest now.  I pin things like crazy because it's so convenient and saves all my stuff in one place, and of course it saves lots of paper.  

I'm also a Techie Clutter because we have more old electronics than I'd like to admit.  I mean, c'mon, I still have my old ORIGINAL Game Boy, "just in case" it's ever worth money someday.  Sometimes I find it ridiculous that I've kept it, because it probably doesn't even work, and really, when will I ever play it again.  But it's just so...cool.  And it was mine as a kid (oh boy, I must also be a bit on the sentimental side, too).  

My husband and I have a ton of old electronics cords still just in case we ever need them for another gadget.  I will say though, I've downsized a lot of it, and I've organized my clutter too.  It's all neatly in a box and each cord is bound with a ziptie.  That helps, right?  Ok ok, maybe I'm just trying to convince myself.

I guess when it comes down to it, it seems we have a little bit of each style.  I'm sure I buy too many cans of black beans when I go to the store, but why go to the store for such a simple thing every week when I can easily stock up on just a couple cans.  And aren't we all behind closed doors clutterers?  I never want my stuff just laying out, even as minimal as it seems.

If you'd like to read the full article, or learn how to manage your clutter style, go to Oprah's website directly for the full posting.  

So... What type of clutterer are you, and how do you manage it? 

30 Things Before 30

Back in college, I created my list of 30 things to do before age 30.  Now that I'm 28, I have t-minus 2 years to complete over half of them.

Here's the list....

(1) Go skydiving - 2005 with Krystle in Florida

(2) Go bungee jumping

(3) Get a tattoo

(4) Go parasailing

(5) Go to Canada

(6) Go to Mexico

(7) Go to California (can you tell at this point I had strong desire to travel?)

(8) Go on a cruise - Casino boat cruise with Krystle and CJ in 2007

(9) Fall in love - Married 5/8/10

(10) Take a self defense class - 2011 with Tiffany and Jen in Champaign, IL

(11) Read the bible cover to cover

(12) Learn to play guitar - already learned and forgot :)

(13) Learn to ballroom dance - learned prior to the wedding

(14) Learn to shoot a gun

(15) Go to Indy 500 race or similar

(16) Go to Mardi Gras - St Louis 2005

(17) Go water skiing

(18) Go snow skiing

(19) Go surfing

(20) Learn another language -  Took 4 years of Spanish in High School

(21) Attend mass of a different religion

(22) Drive a motorcycle - drove Uncle Glen's with assistance 

(23) Shave a guy

(24) Get a psychic reading

(25) Go scuba diving

(26) See a Broadway show

(27) Donate hair - Donated to Locks of Love 2007

(28) Learn to tie a tie - learned and forgot... again.

(29) Ride in a jet

(30) Have kids

As you can tell, I have a lot of traveling to do in the next couple of years, among other things... :)

Photo Post on McEinhart Photo

Good Morning!!  I'm home sick today (again), as there has been a bad flu going around Middle Tennessee, as well as my work office, and lucky me, I caught it (or something else fun).  So since I'm not much in the mood for writing a new post, I thought I'd refer ya'll back to my photography site [HERE] to check out our Christmas pictures.  I had a lot of fun with my new Canon remote, as you'll see....

http://mceinhartphotoblog.blogspot.com/

Where Has Time Gone?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!  

Cheers to 2012 and an even better 2013.  

Time and life has gotten the best of me the past year.  To be quite frank, I was pretty down for awhile and had a lot of trouble getting out of the funk of things.  Then time just got away from me and I got busy.  To give a brief overview of what's been going on, my husband and I were pretty unhappy living in small-town-Illinois and decided it was time for a change.   In May, I got a "new" job at the bank I used to work for in Nashville, TN.  Since it actually started out as a temp job, I moved by myself to live temporarily with a girl I found from Craigslist (more on that later).  I lived with her for almost 4 months, then finally got my own apartment and a permanent position.  My husband moved down a bit later once he got a job transfer allowing him to work from home.

I must say, it's been quite the ride the past few months.  We're back living in Nashville and loving life.  It's great getting to explore more and learn new areas of town that we didn't see the last time we lived here.  We also decided to drastically downgrade our apartment size, in order to save more for a house.  Unfortunately, we got locked into the lease before we knew the hubbs would be working from home.  But all in all, we're making it work.

Being that we're in a new city and have done a lot of exploring, keep your eye out for lots of Nashville pictures.  Also, since we downgraded our apartment, you'll definitely see more about small space living and how to stay organized even while living in such a small space.

Overall, I have to say, it's great to be back on here...  Keep your eyes open for many more to come, and thanks for your patience this past year.

We Paid Cash!!!

I always hear about how paying cash for goods can feel so freeing.  And truly, we don't carry cash, so I never really thought it was something we would do.  It's not that we use credit cards for everything.  We actually hardly use them.  We tend to pay with debit cards.  Which is still a card, and the realization of how much money is spent doesn't quite sink in, the way it does when you're writing a check out or handing over each bill for payment.

Before Christmas, my husband and I realized truly how bad of shape our bed was in.  The sagging was something we could no longer avoid... or try to fix with extra "egg crate" padding.  It was quite obvious that neither of us were sleeping at night, and we were both exhausted.

So we decided to throw in the towel and purchase a new bed!!!  Whooohoo!!

We started our search almost immediately and looked at nearly all the retailers in town.  We finally found a bed that we loved.  It's a plush top (oh yessss!) mattress, that's flippable, which most aren't anymore.  Being a flippable mattress we should get more time out of the mattress, since not only can we rotate end over end, we can flip.  Any place I can save a little bit of money, or buy some time, I love!

Anyways.... back to the point of this post..... CASH!

WE..... PAID..... CASH!!!!

We saved every spare cent we had for over a month.  Then, asked for ONLY money for Christmas.  Once we had enough money, the hubbs went to the store, and purchased it right out of pocket.  No credit card.  No interest rates.  No borrowed money.  I just have to say.... it's LIBERATING!!  We own our bed outright!  And we don't even miss the extra "stuff" we didn't get this year for Christmas..... probably because we're enjoying our bed so much, and enjoying all the ZzZzZ's!

Needless to say.... I was so worried that we'd have such a tight budget while trying to save that we'd feel strapped and like we were missing out on activities going on around us.  However, it was actually the opposite.  I was excited to be saving for something.  Happy to be paying for something out of pocket, instead of using a credit card for such a big purchase.

I definitely recommend saving money for a purchase, instead of slapping it on a credit card.  Start small with your next clothes purchase, then build up to bigger things, such as furniture, then even a car!  My goal is to pay cash for my next car!  I can only imagine how liberating I will feel after that kind of purchase!!

My question to you..... what will your next cash purchase be??

New Year, New Goals

*I just want to apologize ahead of time.  I'm home sick from work today and have medicine head.  If anything doesn't make sense, that's why* :)

I realized that I'm not going to make New Years "Resolutions" this year because in years past the resolutions are the things that get broken.  This year I'm simply going to make some goals towards different areas of my life.

Below are all my goals for this year.....

BE HEALTHIER.  Overall, I want to eat healthier and get healthier.  I want to lose weight and shape up.  Ideally, I'd like to work out 5 days a week, with many of those days being Zumba.  Unfortunately, the Zumba classes around this town suck.  Hopefully my DVD and Wii Zumba in combination with my elliptical and Jillian videos will help keep me on track.

EAT OUT LESS.  I want to get back to hardly ever eating out.  We've gotten away from this.  I'm really not even sure what our reasoning is.  There is no excuse other than laziness and lack of preparation.  We need to be prepared with food on hand so we don't eat out.  Not only is this healthier, but cheaper.

EAT FRESH FOODS.  We HAVE to eat better due to my husband's gluten intolerance.  With that, the easiest way to manage that is to eat healthier/fresh foods, rather than processed goods.  Ideally, I'd like to buy a food processor and make a lot of food from scratch, like peanut butter.  Some day, a food processor will help to make super cheap, healthy meals for our kids.  I also found a SUPER healthy pizza option on Pinterest.  It's a crust made from cauliflower!!  How cool is that!!  Has anyone tried anything like that before?  It's gluten free and much, much healthier than a regular pizza.

MAKE AND FOLLOW BUDGET.  I've always had a budget and always been very organized with my bills.  However, in the past year or so, I've gotten away from actually making a budget.  Maybe partially because I feel like I've not been very organized about it, and when the random things pop up it totally throws off my budget.  I'm not sure.  I hope to find a really good budget through Excel that I can just plug in my stuff.  I'd really like to create one, but that's been disastrous in the past (even though I'm great in Excel).  Maybe once I find one I really like, I'll tweak it to make it look better.   

DATE NIGHTS.  My husband and I have a really hard time deciphering date nights from regular everyday stuff.  I'd like to set aside one actual date night a month for us.  That way we can get dressed up, go out, and have a great time.  It doesn't have to be something fancy, just fun and meaningful.  Not just shopping or out to eat.

GREEN.  I want to continue on our green path.  Not everything we do is necessarily "eco-friendly," however we try to be conscious of the things we purchase and the things we throw away.  We try to sell things when we can, rather than pitching them in the trash.  Plus this makes us a little money, too.  I'd really like to try and recycle our everyday kitchen stuff, like cans and plastic containers, however it's quite costly to do it here.  I try and reuse containers when I can, whether it be using a can for a pen container, or re-using an old salad dressing container for homemade dressings. I also use green and/or homemade cleaners so they're better on the environment and our health. 

MEAL PLANNING.  I really want to try and create a menu for weekly meals.  We haven't been cooking much because we got so bored with eating the same things.  To help this problem, I want to make one new meal a week.  I also want to try and create our meals off of the sale ads, which will help keep our food costs down.

PHOTOGRAPHY.  I want to continue to grow in my photography.  I'm always learning new and better ways of shooting.  My husband bought me a telephoto lens for Christmas, along with a few other gadgets.  I can't wait to start playing with them more and more.  Maybe I'll even take a class at some point this year.

Well, those are my goals for this year.  What kinds of goals do you and your family have?  Similar things? 

Christmas

I finally found some daylight to take some pictures of the tree and presents, so even though it's after Christmas, I thought I'd still post it.  A little bit of Christmas after Christmas, is always good, right??? :)

Beach-themed tree this year.  The snowflakes are our stocking hangers :)

I purchased a cute little "M" for our tree!  Only a couple bucks at Hobby Lobby (have I mentioned how much I love that store??)

I found these ADORABLE Naughty or Nice Gift Tags through a blog and used them on all presents this year

Presents under the tree.

This year, I saw some inspiration for using craft paper as wrapping paper.  So the presents don't look cheap or boring, I added a section of wrapping paper to it and a bow or jute.  This was a WAY cheaper option than using wrapping paper.  I got rolls of craft paper for $1 each at the dollar store, then used hardly any wrapping paper.  I like this for two reasons: 1) craft paper is thicker and doesn't rip like the cheap, wrapping paper does, and 2) it was ridiculously cheaper than using all wrapping paper.

Here are additional inspirational pictures from Pinterest:

Pinterest

Pinterest

I think what I may do next year, is buy the nice, expensive wrapping paper to use like I did this year.  That way costs still stay down, but the presents are still beautified.  What do you guys think of this method?

DIY Christmas Wreath

Through one of the blogs that I read, I saw this AWESOME "S" hanging wreath, which can be purchased through etsy.com. 

Monogram Wreath

 

I decided that I could easily make this myself, rather than paying $35 plus shipping.  So... see below for my directions on how I did it.

Products used:

-Cardboard "M"

-Natural Jute (or other twine-like material)

-Hot glue gun

-Black ribbon

-Stapler

Total Cost: $5-10.  All goods purchased from Hobby Lobby

First, I started wrapping the jute around the M.  I glued a piece to the backside to be sure it stayed in place, then just continued to wind around.  I'd glue pieces down every so often, just to be sure they didn't slide around too much. 

Below is the M once all the jute has been wrapped around it.  The way I wrapped it was in 4 different sections.  By doing it this way I could wrap and not worry about the direction I was going or strands overlapping in the tight areas.

  

After I was done with the jute, I had to figure out a way to hang it, of which I hot glued and stapled a ribbon to the backside (staples in case the glue doesn't hold well).

Then I added a couple of pearl beads to the front and wa-la, it's done and hanging with the wreath on the front door.  I thought it added a bit to the traditional wreath.  Plus the great thing is that how I designed it, I CAN hang it year-round if I want to.  Whoot!

It's Getting to be That Time of Year

Here it is, already December 6th.  Christmas is only 19 days away!!  That's less than 3 weeks, folks!!  I can't believe it!!  I haven't even decorated this year!  I've had zero desire to decorate the apartment.  I'm not sure if it's the lack of cold and snow, or if I'm just not ready for Christmas.

I have GREAT decorating ideas, actually!  The problem is that I have NO IDEA how to decorate the apartment.  Last year we hung a garland and put up our small tree, but I love all the little extras, and we have NO SPACE to put those "extras."  I miss having a fireplace SO MUCH!  That was the easiest decorating piece in an apartment.  I have no place to set any of my cute candle holders or any idea where to put all my cute holiday stuff... for any holiday, not just Christmas.

I even bought this super cute manger candle scene off the internet for $25, but I have NO IDEA where to put it. 

ADORABLE right?!  You can buy it at Dayspring

Plus the great thing about this is that the silhouette's come off so you can use the candles year round.  Oh, and they're LED candles that go inside the little frosted hurricanes. 

How exactly does you decorate your house when there is NO fireplace to set stuff on??  Someone, please help me with this!!  And let me also say that I am not completely opposed of some wall hanging stuff, but I don't want to just change out all my pictures on the wall to make it Christmas-y in my house.

I also came up with using my "Summer" decor for the winter so it didn't feel so stuffy.  I plan on using extra ornaments and sticking them in my big lantern to showcase... but again, not sure WHERE to put it.  I found a picture someplace, but can't seem to find it anywhere.... who knows maybe I'll come across it and add it later.  I have a hard time finding stuff in my blog reader since I subscribe to so many blogs.

Oh.. and here is a cute "wreath" or front door idea:

Love this!  Found on etsy.com

See isn't that ADORABLE??  I thought it'd be super cute if I hang it IN a wreath on the front door at Christmas time.  Once I get around to making it, I'll definitely post my instructions and pictures :)  Hrmm... I think I may have to head to Hobby Lobby tomorrow.  Have I ever mentioned how much I ADORE that store?!? :))) 

Well, now that I've semi-inspired myself, I suppose I can at least get the basics done: wreath made and hung on the front door, along with the "M" above, tree and garland set up.  That's a good start, right?  Right.

I Know.... I've Been M.I.A. Lately

Hi, friends!!  Sorry I've been M.I.A. lately, but things have been so un-interesting around my house.  I've had very little motivation to do anything, let alone write a blog.  Sorry friends!  I just have nothing fun going on right now, and nobody wants to hear about the blahhh's in my life.

I think a lot of it goes back to this time of year.  It starts getting darker earlier, and by the time I leave work it's dark... at 5 o'clock!  That sucks!!  No daylight!  No walking or playing outdoors in the sun.  Aghh!  It's mildly depressing, don'tcha think?  Given, there are things I like this time of year, but overall, I could completely skip late Fall time and Winter.  Who wants to be in the cold all the time (other than Alaskians and my friend Denise)?!?!  lol!

Given there are things that do perk me up this time of year, such as fall decorations, wreaths, the smell and taste of pumpkin pie.  I LOVE the smell of fall.  I have a pumpkin spice oil thing that I'm using right now and sooo in love!  I love, love, love Fall and Winter scented stuff.  I love Spring/Summer stuff too, but don't usually use the candles and such as much during that time of year.  Part of that probably has to do with the fact that I'm hardly ever home, since there is so much to do outdoors.

In an effort to pull out of this funk I'm in, here is a list of my FAVORITE Fall/Winter Things:

Baking and eating Pumpkin Pie/Bread/Muffins/Cookies... yumm!!

Pumpkin candles and scents

Decorating with Leaves/Acorns/Pinecones

Decorating for Christmas

Visiting the reindeer ranch

Creating new traditions with my husband at Christmas time

Having a contest (this year) with my husband on who can SAVE the most for Christmas! :)

Playing in the snow with loved ones (not driving in it.. ick!)

Buying presents for others

Snowflakes

Going to the pumpkin patch

Dressing up my dog for christmas! :)

WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE ACTIVITIES THIS TIME OF YEAR?



GIVEAWAYS!!!!!!

Sandy Coughlin at the Reluctant Entertainer is giving away a FREE food processor!!  I REALLLLLY want to win this!  I'd be great to make healthier options at home (like peanut butter :)), and someday, homemade baby food. 

Click on the link below to get more information about her giveaway.

Reluctant Entertainer Processor Giveaway

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Geezees.com is also giving away a $75 credit towards one of their art canvases.  I'd LOVE to win one of these too!  You guys should all enter as well!!  Just click the link below.

Geezees Canvas Giveaway!!!

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There are many other giveaways going on.  You can check out the hub of information at the Nester's Site

Have fun!!!

Natural Dog Food

Healthy Food = Healthy, Happy Dog :)

Myrtle Beach, SC

As I've mentioned before, I try to eat healthier options and stay away from processed food as much as I can.  In addition to having healthy options for me, I've always purchased natural food for my dog.  There are many great natural dog foods out there.  We feed our dog, Nutro.  When we got Jake a few years ago, we went to the Petsmart down the road from us and they explained the differences between the different dog foods.  That's when we settled on Nutro.

The biggest thing when choosing a dog food is to be sure the first ingredients listed are whole foods, rather than by-products.  i.e. Chicken, Bison, etc

www.nutro.com

We chose Nutro because Jake seemed to like it the best.  Plus, he has a sensitive stomach and cannot tolerate some of the other foods.  Nutro also is about $45 for a 3 month supply, where the "unnatural" brands are only about $18, but I figure $45 is still not that much over a 3 month time frame.

www.bluebuffalo.com

My other top holistic dog food would be Blue.  We tried giving it to Jake, but his stomach didn't tolerate it.  The food has a ton of fresh ingredients, including blueberries.  Jake LOVED the taste of it!!  Sometimes we try and get Blue or other natural dog foods to give him a change in his diet.  We just give him a little less of the Nutro, and add a little bit of the other food.  It usually works out well and keeps him satisfied.  

I've also heard of people making their own dog food at home.  Of course this would be the best option if you want to be sure there are no preservatives or additives in it.  However, this could get costly and be time-consuming.

I've never personally made homemade dog food, but here is a recipe I found on one of my favorite organic websites, Organic Authority.  As the website states,"Roughly, you’ll want 1/3 of proteins to 2/3 of vegetables and carbs. "

     1/3 Organic Skinless Chicken Breast
     1/3 Organic Brown Rice
     1/3 Organic Green Beans

Do you give your dog natural food, make homemade food, or go the traditional food route??

Photo Session: Ben and Emily Engagement Session

Head on over to McEinhart Photo Blog and see some engagement pics I took a couple weeks ago of my Brother-in-law and his fiance.

Photo Session on McEinhart Photo

I recently had the opportunity to take some anniversary pictures for my good friend Jenni.  If you'd like to check them out, head over to my photo blog.  I always love getting feedback, so any given is greatly appreciated :)

Leadership Seminar - The Good, The Bad, The Ugly

I can't believe I haven't written a post in almost 3 weeks!!!!  The last couple of weeks have been so crazy, busy for me with work (and photography) I haven't done anything once home at night.

I just wanted to reflect on a leadership seminar I was in all of last week... 

First of all, I'm all about going to leadership events in an effort to better my professional attitude and life.  A lot of the times, personal development becomes part of the event as well, so I usually get something out of it one way or another. 

Day 1 of 5, we all walked in and the lady teaching the seminar was trying to teach us responsibility and commitment via tough love.  No.. actually.... tough love is an understatement.  I understand the idea of what tough love is, but she was brutal.  I went home the first day, mentally exhausted.  I just didn't understand how starting the week out that way, could lead to positive, and potentially life-changing events.

I went back on the second day, and immediately felt the teacher bringing down the hammer again.  Again, she was brutally honest.... and brutally tough.  I left that day discouraged again. I knew all I had to do was follow the rules to a T.  I couldn't be one second late... I had to be early.  I couldn't do my "homework" 95% of the way, it had to be 100% complete.  I had to be fully committed to the week, which in turn means I need to be fully committed to my friends, family, and goals in life.

On the third day, our teacher let up on being so tough.  I finally realized that she was only being so tough on us because she wanted us to get back to the basics.  We had to understand the basics in order to move forward and to understand how to lead a team. 

The fourth and fifth days consisted of pushing yourself to do things you may never have done before, such as rock climbing, zip lining, and climbing a rope wall.  All things that seem nearly impossible for some, but if you trust others, and put the faith in yourself, are POSSIBLE... even to those who think it's nearly impossible for whatever reason. 

All-in-all, I can say I took away a better understanding of MYSELF.  And how I want to be perceived and what I want to do to reach my goals.  This also can help me to lead and enable my team at work to do the same... and hopefully to inspire others to do the same.  This seminar is like beauty.  It's not always easy, but the pain is worth the gain.  And even if I suffered for a week, I am still happy that I got something out of this seminar. 

Thank you to everyone at work who backed me up while I was gone, and thank you to my small group for supporting me thoughout the week.  If it wasn't for you, I may not have made it to the other side. :)  And of course, my husband....  Thank you for questioning my reason for going.  And for doubting the seminar.  It made me check myself and my motive for going.  I now have a reason to be better because I want to do it for me.  For you.  For us.  For my career and my LIFE.  I love you all and couldn't thank you enough!!

And as I told myself at one point last week.................YOU ROCK!!