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Kraft Foods Gift Basket Giveaway
November 19, 2009 | Filed Under Giveaway | 128 Comments
Wheee, did you read that? I’m giving away a basket! Okay not just a basket (although just that would delight me to no end 
) but a basket filled with great stuff too. Yup Kraft Food products and a basket, did I mention the basket?
This giveaway was a no brainer for me. I heart Kraft Foods. I use their recipes in my menu planning all the time. The recipes are simple and easy to prepare with usually minimal, not so fancy I can’t buy it in a normal grocery store ingredients. I like that, it makes me happy and it saves my family $$. I like that a lot!
Here are some of our family favorite recipes from Krafts Foods. These are all off the Kraft Canada site (because that’s where I live) but the US site is very similar.
Smarter Fettuccinie Alfredo with Chicken
Okay now that I’m super hungry, how about a giveaway! Check out the beautiful gift basket that one of you lucky ladies (men?) will win.
Okay that basket makes me drool almost more than the recipes do. Just think of the organizing possibilities of it! What? You want to know about what’s inside? Oh alright.
This basket includes:
4 delicious holiday recipes from the Kraft Foods Kitchens, a Zak Designs garlic peeler, an HA Mack olivewood mixing spoon, NEW Velveeta Rotini and Cheese Whole Grain, Planters cocktail peanuts, Planters pecans, Baker’s semi-sweet chocolate, Stove Top, Honey Maid cinnamon crackers, Jet Puffed marshmallows, Oreos, Kraft salad dressing, NEW Maxwell House Blend coffee, NEW Ritz Brown Sugar Cinnamon crackers and NEW Wheat Thin Flatbread crackers.
Kraft Foods recently re-launched their Facebook Fan Page and The Kraft Foods Channel on YouTube. Both sites have delicious recipes and seasonal tips…just in time for the holidays! They also provide a forum to exchange ideas and recipes, ask questions and provide feedback. Also Kraft Foods is on Twitter as well.
I personally had no idea about the YouTube channel and can’t get enough of it now. As you know cooking doesn’t come naturally for me so watching how it’s done is a huge help.
Kraft Foods would love your feedback on these new channels and as a thank you is giving away a gift basket to one lucky commenter for doing so. In order to be entered into the giveaway just leave a comment answering the following question:
“What do you think of the new Kraft channels (Youtube and Facebook) that Kraft Foods has added to their family of resources?”
For an additional entry you can also Tweet the giveaway by tweeting the following phrase:
Win a Kraft Foods Gift Basket from @orgjunkie and @Kraftfoods http://tiny.cc/uzO3c
(don’t forget to leave a separate comment telling me you have done so)
Giveaway ends on Tuesday, November 24th at 9:00 pm PST.
Disclosure: Kraft Foods made two gift baskets available. One for me and my family as well as one to give away to a reader. The opinions listed above are my own and not just something I made up because they are sending me a basket. Honest.
Molly’s Money-Saving Digest Giveaway
November 11, 2009 | Filed Under Books | 92 Comments
Updated to add: This giveaway is now closed. The winner is #31 Jessica!
Earlier this year I told you about a terrific 40 page menu planning e-book that you can receive for FREE when you sign up for the e-newsletter at Econobusters.
Today I’d like to tell you a little bit more about the Econobusters site and their fabulous monthly digests. Econobusters is a fairly new blog that started this past January by a group of women whose purpose and passion is to empower and encourage keepers at home during this tough economic downturn. They provide tips on ways to save, frugal ideas, do-it-yourself projects, meals that save time AND money, and so much more. What makes this site unique though is that it is hosted by a fictional character named Molly Green. “Molly” is one smart gal too. My goodness you just have to check out the site to get plenty of ideas and tips on everything from organization to decor to shopping and crafts.
In addition to daily posts on the blog, each month Molly also writes and publishes an e-digest that she offers for sale at the low price of $4.95 each. These money-saving digests include more in depth discussions and articles on topics regarding frugal living. Molly (and her helpful team of course) were kind enough to send me the September 2009 issue so I could see for myself how great these digests are and you know I have to say I was not disappointed.
Each month has a theme and September’s theme was all about frugal decorating. Let me quote Molly herself:
“A lovingly decorated home is not about high price tags, debt, or keeping a set of design rules. It’s about pulling together pieces that work for your family, at a price you can afford, in a way that makes you smile . . .”
—Molly Green
I told you she was a smart girl
In this 33 page digest I enjoyed reading a variety of articles on many great money saving topics. Here is a sample of what’s included:
- Begin with the Basics: Are you couponing yet? Maybe you’re not convinced that it’s worth the hassle. Listen up with a sensible, step-by-step introduction to why and how coupons really can help your family’s budget. This is the first part in a series by Amy Howard that takes a good, close look at how a real family uses coupons for real savings. If you are tempted to shy away, you need to read this!
- On Sale This Month: Every little bit adds up! What items are usually discounted? What should you stock up on? Find out now.
- Keeping it All Together: Creating a Home Décor Binder—Learn from Kris how to create and maintain your own three-ring binder that will save you time and money, and keep all of your pertinent decorating information in one place! Get organized to ensure that you have what you want when you need it and go on to acquire the fabulous results you envision.
- Feather Your Nest Frugally: How did Virginia help her son find and refurbish a solid wood dining room set for only $135? See this photo transformation!
- Pull up a Chair: There are plenty of interesting reasons to celebrate in September! What should you put on the menu? Get the recipes for Black Bean and Sausage Soup, Paul’s Cornbread, and easy-but-tasty 1-2-3 Cheesecake!
- Parenting that Pays: Todd Wilson, the funnyman of Familyman Ministries, shares a cartoon, and Molly shares some brief, but sound, advice on keeping your family’s decibel level lower. You can have a more peaceful home—within minutes! This advice alone is worth the price of this E-Book!
- Something Old-Something New: What do you have in your home right now that’s just screaming for a li’l update? One of Molly’s favorite bloggers, Tracey Buxton from A Cottage Industry, takes an old calendar frame and gives it a charmingly new 2009 look. Sometimes it’s all in the paint!
- Monthly Feature: Frugal Decorating—With the word count down and the picture count high, you’ll hear from three special guests then go on a “blog walking tour” visiting a dozen additional favorite décor bloggers. These are real women with real families living in real houses and creating lovely home environments on a realistic budget.
My favorite feature was the Something Old-Something New column. I love love love to take something intended for one purpose and turn it into something new and fresh and totally functional. That’s exactly what writer Tracey Buxton did with an old calendar frame. I never would have thought to do this and kick myself now for not having picked one up at the thrift store the other day. What did she do? Well I guess you’ll just have to read the monthly digest to find out
One of you will get a chance to do just that if you win today’s giveaway though. Molly is giving away a copy of the fabulous September issue in e-book format to one lucky reader. Just leave a comment on this post answering the following question:
What’s your favorite part of Thanksgiving?
The question totally has nothing to do with anything but I thought I’d give you something fun to say rather than just “pick me”
Giveaway closes on November 14th at 9:00 pm PST.
PS: If you are interested, you can read about all the past and present digests here. You can also purchase digests through their Pick-a-Pack program which means you can select five digests for the price of four ~all five for $20.00!
Shutterfly Photobook Giveaway
November 4, 2009 | Filed Under Photos | 208 Comments
Updated to add: This giveaway is now closed. The winners are #158 Nikki and #186 Sophie!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Photobooks changed my life! I absolutely have converted over from printing individual digital pictures and filing them away in an uninteresting album to creating beautiful photobooks that are fun to look and way less work to produce than traditional scrapbooking. They also make stunning inexpensive gifts!
I recently had the pleasure of creating a photobook using Shutterfly. They sent me a coupon for a free photobook and I jumped at the chance to create an album of our summer camping trip because both my mom and sister have used Shutterfly in the past and told me what a great experience they had.
So easy to use!
I am happy to report that Shutterfly was very easy to use and I was super excited to find out that they have a Simple Path format for people like me who don’t have a lot of time and want to create beautiful photobooks fast. With Simple Path all you have to do is upload your photos, choose a photobook size and theme and then have Shutterfly auto-fill those photos for you in chronological order into your book, automatically selecting the photo layouts and backgrounds. I LOVE this feature so much because when it’s done I can quickly and easily make any necessary adjustments I want and be in and out with no fuss, no muss. It really couldn’t be any easier than that.
Of course you always have the option of doing a more custom photobook as well depending on the time you have available. It’s totally your choice, the cost is the same either way.
So many background options and picture layouts!
Choosing background wallpaper is what make photobooks so much fun. Shutterfly has many different coordinating varieties to choose from. You can use all the same one or be wild and crazy and mix and match them
Picture quality is superb!
Oh my goodness I was stunned by the first class picture quality. The photos are sharp and the colors true to live. Many of the pictures in my book fill an entire page and it feels like I could step right inside the photo it’s that clear.
Oh and I almost forgot to tell you about one of my very favorite features. Spine writing! You can write your title on the spine so that when your books are lined up on your shelf you can easily grab the one you need. Such great attention to detail!!
Want to try Shutterfly out for yourself?
I have TWO coupons available from Shutterfly for two free photobooks. One 5×7 book and one 7×9 book. Leave a comment on this post and I’ll select two random winners to each win one photobook to try out. Winners must use coupons before November 30, 2009.
Deadline to comment is November 7th at 9:00 pm PST.
Good luck and happy photobooking!!
Get Organized for the Holidays + giveaway!
October 27, 2009 | Filed Under Workshops | 129 Comments
Updated to add: This giveaway is now closed. The winner is #84 Carla!
Friends, it’s that time of the year again. That time of the year when we promise ourselves that this is the year we are finally going to get organized for the holidays. Well how would you like a little helping hand keeping that promise to yourself once and for all this year?
My friend Aby Garvey of Simplify 101 is once again offering her very popular 5-lesson/10-week online workshop Get Organized for the Holidays and this year I’m excited to announce that I’m going to be a part of it, yay! Aby has asked me to to contribute by offering a bonus handout to participants on Holiday Meal Planning Made Easy. I truly believe the holidays are about spending quality time with family and friends and not about spending hours in the kitchen missing out on all the fun. It’s definitely possible with some advance planning and during the workshop I’m going to show you how.
This fantastic holiday workshop is set to begin next week and there are many more highlights and benefits to signing up. Some of those include:
- Figuring out what’s most important to you and your family to have a joyful holiday season.
- Creating a holiday planner and filling it up with printable forms and worksheets that will organize all aspects of your holiday preparations.
- Creating a customized holiday plan so you can get it all done. You’ll be organized, prioritized and energized!
- Learning practical, doable strategies for simplifying the key areas of your holiday preparations…from cooking, baking and entertaining, to shopping, wrapping and sending out holiday cards.
Sharing gift ideas, recipes, holiday traditions, tips and more in the private workshop forum.
- Learning a simple process for getting your holiday gifts put away and your home put back together.
- Learning how to store your holiday décor efficiently and effectively.
- Getting tips and ideas for making next year’s holiday season even better than this year, and exchange ideas with your classmates.
- Sharing photos of your holiday decorations and storage solutions in the online photo gallery.
- Creating a simple and fun project to organize your holiday cards so you can enjoy them next year.
Today I am giving away ONE spot in this upcoming workshop. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post answering the following question:
Which one of the above workshop highlights interests you the most?
Last day to enter is Saturday, October 31st at 12:00 pm PST.
Happy holiday organizing everyone!
Avery and the DIY Organizational Campaign
October 22, 2009 | Filed Under Household | 10 Comments
A couple of weeks ago I let you know about the Avery DIY Organizational Campaign that allows you to take a quiz to find out your organization personality and enter a sweepstakes for a chance to win a $5,000 Dream Organization Makeover from Organizational Expert, Jodie Watson.
I just wanted to remind you that this is the last day to enter the sweepstakes as it ends October 23, 2009 at 11:59 pm ET. Don’t miss out on this exciting opportunity to get your home organized!
I also had the pleasure of trying out a few Avery products that were graciously sent to me as a thank you. I had no idea that there was a whole new line of removable, re-positionable products and I must say they are perfect for a girl like me who has commitment issues
I’m an organizer but no where in my house will you find labels that are impossible to remove. Oh you know the ones I’m talking about. The ones you have to pick at and scrape off and just be totally annoyed by. That doesn’t work for me because I’m always changing out my totes and baskets. I’m constantly shuffling them around (it’s the addict in me what can I say!) trying new arrangements and systems. For that reason I simply can’t use anything on my containers that is permanent. I couldn’t deface one of my precious beauties like that, nope just can’t do it! I love the Removable Label Pads because they are sticky over the entire back surface with a small non-stick perforated section that allows you to re-position the label if you need to before tearing that section off.
The other product I absolutely love and had never seen before are the Pocket Tabs. These nifty little storage pockets can be added, by way of a sticky backing, to any binder or surface where you could use a pocket for storing such stuff as notes, photos, business cards or receipts. They won’t damage documents and the best part is they remove easily and are totally re-positionable. So very handy indeed!
They even have a File Folder Label Pad so you don’t have to commit to how your folders are labeled. Use these removable ones and change your mind over and over and over again.
Thanks Avery for introducing me to these great products!
Now don’t forget to go on over and enter the sweepstakes (US only). I would be absolutely thrilled if one of my very own blog readers won such a cool prize!!
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