Home Your Way

Giveaway: Get Organized with a Set of Naked Binders

Mandi — Sat, 26 May 2012 16:33:53 +0000

source: Mandi Ehman

Binders can help organize pretty much anything, whether it’s around the house or for your kids.

And while there are tons of binders to choose from at any grocery, office supply or superstore, most of them end up being cheap — or expensive — plastic.

With the number of binders we use in our homes and our kids go through each year, wouldn’t it be great if there was a better choice? If you’ve been following my Naked Binder posts, you know there is!

Naked Binders are not only made from recycled materials, but they’re also 100% recyclable. They can also keep 60 million pounds of toxic material from landfills each year, improving air quality and preserving forests and wild spaces.

Here’s how:

Naked Binders are made in the USA from 100% recycled, 97-100% post-consumer waste board which means all Naked Binder products are 100% recyclable. They are proud to use FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified board when making their 3-ring binders and folders and are happy to be members of 1% For The Planet in which they donate part of proceeds to environmental organizations striving to preserve the wild spaces we all love.

A sustainable binder should also be strong and good looking, so Naked Binder designed them to be both. The Naked Binder is crafted from one piece of board with the hinge pressed directly into it. This leaves no weak spots on the binder and makes for a super strong 3-ring binder. An independent lab flexed the Naked Binder 250,000 times without failing which means if you use this binder 20 times a day for 34 years, you still will not break the hinge. Now that’s strong.

So, whether you’re buying a few to use as art binders or to organize your home, you can be sure that you’re investing in a quality product that will last and that doesn’t hurt the environment on either end of its lifecycle!Features:

Made in the USA
Round or square binder spines
1”, 1.5″, 2″, 2.5″ D-Ring
Completely recyclable
100% recycled board, 97% post-consumer waste
Independently tested to 250,000+ flexes

Choose from a variety of colors and sizes for all of your needs!

Enter to Win

This week, Naked Binder is giving one lucky Life Your Way reader a set to try for themselves, including: a Naked Binder, a Naked Notebook Binder, a Project Binder, a set of Naked Tabs and a set of Notebook Tabs!

To enter, fill out the form below:

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This giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. ET on 5/30. The winner will be selected randomly and notified by email, and this post will be updated with their name as well. Open to U.S. residents 18 years old and above.

Giveaway: Get Organized with a Set of Naked Binders is a post from Life Your Way

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10 Ways to Organize Clutter Hot Spots

Mandi — Mon, 21 May 2012 22:30:34 +0000

As part of my role as an Official Apartment Guide Organizing Blogger, I’ve had the opportunity to contribute to their Organize the Clutter Pinterest board.

Their entire Pinterest account is enough to make any organizer or decorator drool, but this board — with its nifty organizing solutions to corral and organize clutter — is my favorite.

Check out these cool solutions I found:

source: Classy Clutter

If you’re lacking in pantry space, this may just be the answer for you. ClassyClutter.com shows you how to build a skinny rolling shelf unit that sits next to your refrigerator for all of your cans and jars.

source: Erin's 2 Centz

Swapping seasonal clothes for growing kids is one of my least favorite activities. However, we use a system much like Erin’s, and it’s made a world of difference.

source: BHG.com

Whether they’re alphabetized or not, a shelf full of DVD cases can make a room or shelf feel cluttered. Try using pretty photo or storage boxes for your cases instead.

source: Random Thoughts of a Supermom

I love these labeled galvanized steel buckets for outdoor toy storage. My favorite label is “dirt”.

source: Mona Luna Design

Recycle an old frame for practical jewelry storage that looks pretty too!

surce: Unsophisticook

A little chalkboard paint and a few old baby food jars is all it takes to makeover your spice drawer. This setup is so much easier than the one I’ve got going on. How about you?

source: MSN

Add a few hooks and a bench to your entryway to keep it neat and organized through all of your comings and goings.

source: BHG.com

This is such a great idea, especially for younger children. Use garden baskets to hang toys on the wall where they can easily be gotten out — and put away!

source: beautyRIOT.com

Similar to the jewelry frame, this magnetic makeup frame is a great way to keep your makeup easily accessible and use vertical space rather than surface area.

source: iMOM

If you’re struggling to get your children on board with keeping your home clean, try setting up a “clutter jail”. Toys that are left out can be put into clutter jail and redeemed through various activities.

You can also follow Apartment Guide through your favorite social media networks (see above) for real-time tips and updates on making the most of your space and living on a budget!

What clutter hot spots are the biggest challenge in your home?

	Mandi Ehman is the founder and publisher behind Life Your Way and the co-author of All in Good Time, as well as a wife and the homeschooling mom to four beautiful girls. She lives with her family on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia and loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.

Apartment Guide and owner Consumer Source, Inc. have partnered with bloggers like me as Official Apartment Guide Bloggers. As part of this program, I have received compensation. They have not told me what to purchase or what to say about the products used, and believe that consumers and bloggers are free to form their own opinions and share them in their own words. Consumer Source’s policies align with WOMMA Ethics Code, FTC guidelines and social media engagement recommendations.

10 Ways to Organize Clutter Hot Spots is a post from Life Your Way

Doing More with Baking Soda {Summer Fun & Shiny Sinks}

Mandi — Thu, 17 May 2012 12:09:45 +0000

source: Mandi Ehman

In many ways, Arm & Hammer Baking Soda is the ultimate green, frugal and simple product. You can use it in a variety of ways, from your kitchen to your bathroom, from the nursery to the laundry room. And at under $1 a box – a box that stretches and stretches and stretches – the price can’t be beat either.

I already use Arm & Hammer Baking Soda fairly religiously at home…in my homemade deodorant, in the trash can to absorb odor, on bee stings and rashes, and – of course – for baking.

But those things are really just scratching the surface as far as possibilities. Last year I put together a list of 60 uses for baking soda, and I still need to try many of these for myself.

This month I’m going to attempt to cross a few off my bucket list:

My girls haven’t yet discovered the fun of baking soda, so I’m looking forward to doing some of the fun activities on this list, like a volcanic eruption and bath fizzies.

In addition, we’ve been struggling with hard water stains in our bathroom and kitchen sinks, and I had completely forgotten about the scouring power of baking soda, so I’m going to attempt to get those shiny and new looking with a little help from baking soda and its partner in crime, vinegar.

Giveaway

The maker of Arm & Hammer products challenged me to switch to Arm & Hammer Baking Soda this summer, and they are giving away $12,000 in the Arm & Hammer Switch & Save Challenge Sweepstakes. To be entered to win one (1) of twelve (12) $1,000 prizes, simply reply to the question below!

Remember to join other Arm & Hammer Switch & Save conversations for even more chances to win.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Arm & Hammer. The opinions and text are all mine. Official Sweepstakes Rules.

Doing More with Baking Soda {Summer Fun & Shiny Sinks} is a post from Life Your Way

9 Binder Benders for Kids

Mandi — Tue, 15 May 2012 22:30:37 +0000

source: Mandi Ehman

A couple months ago I talked about ways to use binders to get organized at home. Today I’m sharing more ideas specifically for kids. Binders not only help them organize but also archive and showcase their stuff, as seen below:

1. Art Binders: With four crafty girls in our home, we can only keep a fraction of their artwork or we’ll end up on Hoarders within just a few years, but I love the idea of storing the stuff we do keep in a special binder, one per child. Unlike the popular memory box option, which is how we’ve done it until now, using a binder makes it easier to actually flip through and appreciate their art. It also keeps it in order so you can see the progression of their skills over time!

2. School Binders: Use binders not just during the school year but also to archive your student’s best work after the school year ends. Use one color per child or a different color for each grade level.

3. Lego & Game Manuals, Puzzle Guides, etc.: Put manuals in page protectors and keep them in a binder. Not only will you avoid hunting for a missing manual, but the page protectors also, ahem, protect them so that they’ll last longer in better condition.

source: Shaina Olmanson

4. Homemade Books: Homemade books are a great way to teach colors & numbers, body parts, animals and more. Use pictures from magazines or your own collection and use page protectors to make the book more durable.

5. Baseball Card Collection: Besides school papers, this is probably the most obvious way to use a binder for kids, but I still had to add it to the list!

6. Activity Books: Print out activity pages (make your own or search Pinterest for tons of printables) and put them in page protectors to do with dry erase markers for reusable fun!

7. Scrapbooks: Create homemade scrapbooks for a fraction of the cost, a great way to introduce kids to documenting a season or trip with pictures and words!

8. Writing or Poetry Journal: Encourage your kids to write stories and poems and save them in a binder. Similar to an art journal, a writing journal not only showcases their best work but also lets them see their skills progress over time.

source: Mandi Ehman

9. Study Tools: We use a binder for studying our Classical Conversations memory work as part of our homeschooling, but you could use a binder to organize study notes and images for any subject as easy way to study and memorize information.

Naked Binder, a Life Your Way sponsor, makes a line of environmentally friendly binders that are perfect for kids. Not only are they completely recyclable and made from 97% post consumer waste, but they’ve also been independently tested to withstand more than 250,000 flexes. That’s a lot of use!

In addition, the project binders come with your choice of colorful spine wraps so that kids can choose a binder in their favorite color.

What other ways could your kids use these great binders?

	Mandi Ehman is the founder and publisher behind Life…Your Way and the co-author of All in Good Time, as well as a wife and the homeschooling mom to four beautiful girls. She lives with her family on a little slice of heaven in wild, wonderful West Virginia and loves coffee, chocolate, easy meals, beautiful things and minimalist spaces.

9 Binder Benders for Kids is a post from Life Your Way