App Alert: Our Groceries

I first heard of this app over on Pretty Organized and at the time I didn't give it much thought. But with my head full of parasites and bacteria (not literally, no need to worry) everytime I pop out to the supermarket I seem to forget at least 3 items. There began my search for some way to make my life simpler (and avoid going to the shop 3 times in one day). 

So meet Our Groceries App

The great thing about using an app as a shopping list is that you always have it with you (I have my phone on me 24h a day). If you remember something you need to pick up, in just a few seconds you can add it to your list (without rummaging around a drawer or your handbag looking for a pen). 

This app has loads of features. The items you add to your list can be sorted into categories, which makes your trip to the supermarket that much easier. For example, milk and cheese can be put into the "Dairy" category. That way, when you walk past this section/aisle at the supermarket you can pick both things up at the same time, without having to walk in circles. 

You can also input your favourtite recipes and add a shopping list for each. That way if you decide to make a certain meal, you'll know all the things you need to pick up from the shop. 

Another great thing about this app is you can keep several lists, one for each shop. Say you buy your milk at Tesco's buy prefer Morrinsons' bread, you can just keep each item on a several list. You could also have a list for your local craft, book or even furniture store. 

And last but not least, this app allows you to share your list with anyone in your home. That way when one persons crosses off an item on one list, it disappears from everyone else's, avoiding two people purchasing the same item. And if one person adds an item, it will be visible on both lists. 

You can find more information clicking on the links below^^

http://www.ourgroceries.com/overview

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.headcode.ourgroceries&hl=es

So, to wrap it up, I truly recommend using this app (or any other app) to do your weekly shopping. It saves you time (and probably money), that you'll appreciate having when finals are knocking on your door!!

What other apps have changed the way you live? What apps do you use the most? Please share with us in the comments below!!

One Step At A Time

When I started this blog last year, I was inspired by bloggers who had (and still have) a husband, house and/or kids to look after. Though I would love to write about how to run a home or how to organize kids toys, I'm not quite there yet (understatement!).

So where am I right now? At uni. College. Whatever you call it, but it's just me in my room with 3 other roommates.

So what do I know about the most? Well, uni. So I should talk about notes and exams, right? NO (well, maybe a little). Let's talk about one-bedroom decoration.

My first year at uni I lived in a hall of residence (called Colegio Mayor, here in España). I had a tiny room, blank walls and we weren't even allowed to put posters up. What we did have was a huge corkboard on one wall to decorate as we pleased. But you couldn't underestimate the part bedding and pretty storage boxes played in making that tiny room feel more "me" and less "blank". Unfortunately, I have to photos from that room, but I can talk about where I'm living now.

What's my room like today? Well, an apartment certainly has it's upgrades, especially when it comes to space.  But the blank walls...well, they're a bit trickier to get rid of.

Now I know what I'd like to concentrate on, let's see what topics I can share with you guys:

• Small space storage. Make the most of that space under your bed. 
• Desks. Pretty folders, boxes, pencil cups all play in a part in keeping your room organized. 
• Notes. Yup, organizing notes that is (files, colour coding, planners). 
• Time management. 
• Setting up a chore chart. 
• Cooking for one. 
• Dealing with scrap paper. 
• Etc. 

Yes, I think I have quite a few things to share with you. So, where do I begin...?

Are you in college at the moment? Younger, perhaps? Older, maybe? Would you like to hear about a certain topic in particular? Let me know via email or in the comments below!!

Filing box

Happy Thursday, everyone!! Do you wanna see what organizing madness I've been up to this week? Let's take a look. 

My last post was all about organizing receipts,so sticking with the paper clutter theme, I'd like to introduce you to...my filing box. 

There are so many creative, original and fun ideas out there to get all your paperwork under control, whether is original copies of documents, bills, taxes, etc. I've tried quite a few in the past, from binders to acordeon files, but I must say this is my favourite by far: hanging files. 

As it's just me at the moment, I don't have a lot of paper to organize, but I still have the basics: photocopies of ID papers, bills, medical papers...Instead of buying a cabinet to hold only a few hanging folders, I opted for this blue box, made of hard plastic that's so much easier to transport from one space to another. 

As you can see in the pictures above and below I have chosen 5 categories (and 5 colours) for my folders: 

• PERSONAL: for orginal copies, photocopies of birth certificates, baptism certificates, passports. 
• UNIVERSITY: grant papers, course papers. 
• BILLS: electricity, water, phone, mobile.
• MEDICAL: doctor and dentist
• FORMS: any other copies of forms and cards

Each category also has subfolders: orginals and photocopies in personal, for example. You can see this better in the picture below. 

What I love about this system is that is has room to grow in the future, as I gather more papers, and at the same time doesn't take up a lot of space. Plus it fits perfectly on my new desk (I hope to be sharing this project with you soon).

So, let's go over why I LOVE my hanging folder box: 

• Easy to file and find papers when I need them (no lid makes it easier to put away)
• Easy to transport from one room to another. 
• Has room to grow.
• Can change categories as I please, if needs change.
• Can add as many subfolders as needed.
• Love colour-coding!!

Whay system do you use to keep paper clutter at bay? Have you starting tackling the paper in your home? Like to share your project with us? Please leave your comment below!!

Organizing Paper Clutter: Receipts

Okay. So after my breakdown post last Thursday and sticking with the Spring Organizing theme, I thought I'd start organizing the paper clutter, you know, to make life a little more simpler.

I spend hours a day among different types of paper: notes, books, photocopies, forms, lists, receipts, bills...the list is endless. So I thought it wise to set a place for each piece of paper and design a system that would stop it invading my desk surface.

Today, I'm going to start small: receipts. That little piece of paper they give you that usually gets stuck in the bag with your purchase or in your handbag (or even inside your wallet). I don't like throwing receipts away because you never know when you're going to have to give something back. Plus, they help you calculate how much you're spending and on what.

I picked up this expandible file, with 12 pockets (blue and white, like everything on my desk). Note: it's actually quite small, though it looks bigger in the pic.

It came with some lettered and blank stickers to label each pocket. 

So far I have 5 categories for my receipts (I'm sure I'll think of others soon enough):

1. Groceries
2. Clothes/Shoes/Make-up
3. Books/Uni
4. Electronic
5. Home/Furniture

As soon as I get home when I empty out my handbag, I put all the receipts in the right pocket. At the end of the month, when I'm adding up my "out cash" I can easily see how much I've spent and on what, and adjust my budget to fit my needs. 

That's one less piece of paper to worry about!!! 

How do you organize your receipts? Do you just throw them away? Is your handbag always a dumpster for pieces of paper? Can you think of any other categories I need to include? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!!

Breakdown Alert!!!

Last week was...well, I have no words to describe last week. "Crazy" doesn't even come close. "Hectic", closer. "Too-many-things-to-do-at-once-and-no-time-to-do-them" is more like it. Honestly, I don't know what happened. The previous week was sort of like a week off, I didn't have many tasks to take care of and I pretty much chilled for most of it. But last week I was suddenly showered with a never-ending to-do list: I lost my passport (that means paperwork and reporting it missing to the police), I have grant papers to fill in, tax papers to fill in, phone companies to talk to, lab practice, TWO exams (the same day!!) etc etc. I felt my head was about to explode. So it was time to take control again and break out the time management skills.

Before my disappearing act in December I posted an entry on time management (read here) and it was going really well...until exams started. January and February were without a doubt the worst months. Exams every week, plus the move, the adjusting to the new flat, I was ill for 2 weeks in January etc. It was wild. And this is just a repeat of it all.

So, what to do in these situations? I find it helpful to write down everything I need to get done to get a visual image of how many tasks I need to complete. Next, I prioritize. You know, make lunch before organizing photos or emails. Some things just have to wait. I find that if I try to do more than one thing at once, either one or both turns out horribly. This said, I do believe in multitasking when possible: reading emails while the water boils, clean one room while the washing maching is on, make phone calls while picking up clutter... Because the worst thing about not having enough time is that something has to be left for later, and I can't possibly study when the room looks like the aftermath of a nuclear attack. So these little tips and tricks help keep things under control:

• Give everything a place. First things first, when you have time, before your schedule gets crazy and wild again, try to organize your house giving every item it's own place: the blender in that cupboard in the corner, the remotes in the organizer on the coffee table, magazines on the rack, clothes in the cupboard, etc. You get the pic. That way, once you've finished using something, you'll know where to put it back. 
• Put things back where they belong once you've finished using them. Don't be tempted to leave it somewhere else to put away later (later hardly ever comes!!)
• Pick up clutter while doing other tasks. No matter how hard you try not to, that jacket was left on a chair and those shoes were left on the floor. While talking on the phone or waiting for the water to boil, do a quick pick up of everything that doesn't belong where it's been left. You can put all of it in a "clutter basket" for later, if you're short on time (but at least it's out of the way).
• Put a load of laundry on in the morning, before doing anything else and hang it out as soon as possible. Clean, read, check emails, while the machine's running.  
• Make a calendar and check it regulary: this way you won't forget that appointment you booked three months ago or to give back those library books. If you're really up for it, you can colour coordinate your tasks and appointments!
• Take care of yourself. Eat, exercise and sleep. You stay on top of it all if you're low on power!!

These are just a few tips to get you started. I'm sure you all have so many others to keep things on track (and stop any brains from exploding over the kitchen floor...too graphic?) Please share any other time management tips you may have in the comments below!! 

Stenciled labels

If you're anything like me, your printer NEVER has ink when you need it (or you might not have a printer at all). This has forced me to be a little creative when it comes round to labeling and making printables. Today, I'd like to share with you my latest labeling method.

I'm sure you all have one of those rulers at home, the ones with the letter stencils (either because you have kids or because, simply, you do). Well, I'd like you to grab that ruler and a piece of paper (any colour, I'm going to use white here).

Choose the colours you'd like your letters to be (that's right, you can use more than one colour!!). Now the fun part: enjoy being a kid again =) Just fill in the letters, making sure they're about the same width and height. Tah-dah!!

And the best part: no printer necessary!! (great if you don't own a printer)

What other labeling methods have you used lately? Do you always print your labels? Do you have your own label maker? Please share in the comments below!!

When To Toss: Cosmetics

Springtime is a great moment to go through everything in your home and decide what you really need to keep and what may not really be that necessary. With my recent move I discovered I had a lot of...well, rubbish. Useless, most of it. And in with the lot were loads of bottles of creams, lotions, old makeup, shampoo, etc etc.

Here is where I stand back, look at the enormous pile and think: do I really need all this? The answer is obviously no. Not only because I don't really want to be putting all this stuff on my skin (studying Pharmacy and all the chemicals they put into everything sort of opens your eyes) but I just simply don't need it.

And now the fun part!! I made a list of all the things I really wanted to keep (and use!! Only keep it if you'll use it!!):

• 1 bottle shampoo
• 1 tub of hair conditioner
• 1 bottle of shower gel
• 1 bottle body oil 
• 1 or 2 bottles hand and feet moisturizing cream
• 1 tube toothpaste (2 if you're likely to run out pretty quickly)
• 1 bottle mouthwash
• Dental floss
• 1 bottle of face cleanser
• Cotton buds (Q-tips)
• Cotton wool 

And I think that's it, as far as bathroom products go. When it comes to make up that's a bit more complicated, because I still haven't discovered how much is enough, but with what I'm gonna tell you know that problem will probably disappear. 

Once I had my list, I had to decide which bottles were going to stay and which were going to be asked to leave. So here's the important part. Do you know when you have to throw out cosmetics? I'm sure you've all seen a symbol similar to the following on your everyday moisturizing cream: 

Well, the cosmetic lifespan is designated in months (M), i.e. 12M, and may appear inside or outside the jar symbol above. In this case, this particular product should be tossed 12 months after opening (this symbol is referred to as PAO, Period After Opening). 

Back to my pile of old cosmetic products. Those you don't want or won't use, just directly throw them out. Go through the remaining products and toss any open bottles or jars that have been opened for longer than their PAO states. Do the same with all your make-up. If your case is anything like mine, then you'll find you may not even have a problem anymore because most of it is in the bin. 

Now that the pile has been considerably reduced, my next task is to find some pretty and functional bathroom storage for what's left. A new post for y'all coming soon!!!

Do you seem to accumulate creams and powders at home too? What about those pesky/cool sample bottles? Did you already know when to toss your products? Please share in the comments below!!