Strange & Charmed

Blogging 101: Why Should I Blog?

So You Want to Be a Blogger?

If you are considering or have already begun the process of creating a blog, CONGRATULATIONS! I love blogs, bloggers, and blogging personally! Heck, I must love it if I have been doing it since 2008! Blogging isn’t exactly what it used to be back then, today, it’s a much more serious and competitive environment than it was when I began, but that really shouldn’t deter you from following your passion and giving it a try! So, that is where I come in! I have picked up a few tips and tricks along the way that I thought I would share with any of you who are interesting in (a) starting a blog; (b) improving your own blog; or (c) learning more about blogs and how they work! Unfortunately, what I cannot tell you is the magic secret to becoming a professional blogger, because, heck, I am still trying to figure that one out (spoiler, I don’t think there is any quick or sure-fire way to become a full-time pro blogger) but, I can give you some tips that I find work for many of the professional bloggers out there! Sound good? Great! Then let’s get started!

In order to dispense all my blogger knowledge to you in easy to understand and bite sized pieces, I have decided it best to make this a 10 part series that will publish every Monday starting today! In addition to that, I am hoping to post some little extra’s throughout the week that may supplement that week’s post or just be helpful for anyone who wants to blog, so make sure you check back to my blog everyday to see what other goodies I have for you on the subject! Follow me on Bloglovin to make keeping up with my feed easy for you!

Now, since I know many of you will want to keep up with this series, I am also going to list out each of the 10 lessons here in this post so that you can bookmark this post specifically, and each week that I post a new entry I am going to link it in this post so you can use this as a reference to keep track of everything I have published! The 10 lessons are:

So, without further ado, let’s get started!

Why Should I Blog?

If you are reading this, I can only assume that you are either one of my regular readers or you have been searching online looking for information on blogging! If you identify with the latter, you most likely have been thinking about starting a blog or have done so, and hopefully I can help you find some sort of inspiration or direction if you want it! Blogs are a wonderful form of media that many people enjoy both writing and reading. What you may not know is that the history of blogs is actually rooted in a very simple notion. The word blog itself actually stands for web log, in other words, blogs were initially created to be places where people basically kept or shared information. That’s it! The earliest blogs were really more like online journals, where people would just write diary style entries about whatever they wanted. Today, blogs are usually a little more complex, with the most popular blogs actually diving into specific topics or niches and posts are often filled with pictures and videos to supplement the written content. But let’s go back to the concept of the web log as a place for people to simply chronicle their lives and/or interests. Blogs are a wonderful form of expression. For many they are a creative outlet or hobby that allows them to impart their knowledge, expertise or opinions on the internet. Although many blogs are ran as hobbies, others are ran as or to support businesses, helping people develop skills and network with customers, clients or colleagues.

Now, I understand the hesitation that some people have for starting a blog. I know there are so many blogs out there that it may seem like such a saturated market, and of course, having your thoughts and opinions out there on the internet is something of a daunting thought. You have to remember, though, that your blog can be whatever you want it to be and you can talk about or not talk about anything you want. Don’t let the number of blogs out there in the world discourage you from sharing your unique point of view and interests with others. I for one read many blogs and am always on the lookout for new, interesting ones to read, so the more the merrier in my opinion!

So, should you start a blog? That part’s up to you, but I can give you a few words of advice as someone who has been blogging for nearly six years now. I suggest that if you want to start a blog, you figure out what you want to blog about and how you are going to express yourself, either by written posts alone, or with the support of images and video content to best express your message to the internet. I suggest you keep a regular and consistent schedule for your posts, so if you start, make sure you are committed enough to see your blog through. Finally, I suggest that if you start a blog that you fill it with posts that you love and things you are interested in. Write posts that you would want to read and discuss things that you love with a passion! Above all else, have fun with your blog and it will shine through! Whatever happens with it, whether you develop a small, intimate following or become the next million page view success story, as long as you had fun in the process and stayed true to yourself and your interests, you will regret nothing!

It’s really as simple as that! So start thinking about your interests and passions and if you would want to turn those into a topic for a blog. Next week I am going to dive into some of the more technical aspects of starting a blog so that you can get your ideas up and running in no time!

If you have started a blog recently or are planning to start one in the near future, please leave me a comment below telling me all about your blog and even leave a link if you can! I love discovering new blogs and yours could very well become my next must read!

lifestyle Productivity

Blogshop vs. Blogcademy

In the last year, I have had the opportunity to experience both the Blogcademy and Blogshop (online) courses. These two day, in person (or online as the case may be for Blogshop only) workshops are geared towards bloggers and web connected business owners who are looking for the skills and know how to stand out in the ever growing entity which is the internet! As a blogger, I was very interested in taking both of these courses, but at $750* a pop, these workshops aren’t cheap and many of you have been asking me to break down Blogshop vs Blogcademy based on my own personal experience and decide which course is the more useful one to take if you only have the money for one!

So, what are Blogshop and Blogcademy exactly? Let me break each workshop down for you in my own terms! Blogshop is a course for bloggers and business owners to learn important basic and advanced skills in the popular Adobe Photoshop software. Photoshop is a program used by many to create and manipulate images and photographs that are used for web and print, and a firm foundation in Photoshop can help both bloggers and business owners create compelling visual content for their blogs or business sites. You don’t have to own a domain to benefit from the Blogshop course, as owners of Etsy shops and other online or brick and mortar retailers will learn tips and tricks for editing product images and creating advertisements that can help their business compete in the online market place. The course mainly focuses on designing for web, however, the topic of print is brought up and one could take the skills they learn in Blogshop and apply it to print projects as well!

Now, Blogcademy on the other hand is a course for bloggers and business owners to learn the basics of blogging. In the workshop, you learn the best blogging platforms, tips on choosing a blog and domain name, how to navigate and use social media to help support your blog, tips for designing your site and creating content, and how to monetize. You don’t have to have a blog to join Blogcademy, but it is preferred that you already have a blog set up in order to use your own site as a basis for examples and exercises throughout the course. When I attended, there was a mix of all sorts of bloggers ranging from mommy blogs, to religious blogs, to health and fitness, lifestyle and fashion blogs! There were also many business owners present who were using the blogging platform to help advertise and sell their products! During the course and lessons, the Blogcademy Headmistresses (as they are known in the class) go around and give personal one to one feedback to the students to help them apply lessons to their own sites and circumstances.

So, now that you know a little bit about the two workshops, you probably want to know which one I found to be a better value for the money in terms of the skills you learn for the dollars spent? That would be Blogshop! Surprised? Not surprised? Let me break down my decision for you guys. Blogcademy is a course designed to teach bloggers how to set up, maintain and grow a blog. The thing is, this topic is one that saturates the web. There are many, many places you can find this information if you want to start a blog. Now, of course it is easier to learn this information in an organized and fun way in the format of Blogcademy, but its a much more expensive learning experience. That expense isn’t something I think most bloggers can justify if you are just starting out, and the content of the workshop seems geared to people just starting out (or at least, I thought so since I have been blogging for a while and I didn’t learn much new information). The networking aspect of the Blogcademy experience, however, was definitely the most valuable part of the workshop for me since I spent two solid days in a room with nearly 30 other bloggers with various backgrounds, interest and knowledge levels when it comes to blogging. Now, just so you understand, I wasn’t the only person in my class or who has taken Blogcademy that thought it was underwhelming for people who have been blogging for a while. I have met some awesome bloggers through the course that have expressed the same thoughts to me, so I know I am not alone. I do appreciate the fact that Blogcademy brought me together with some wonderful other ladies that I keep in contact with and bounce ideas off of, but, like I said, other than the networking, there wasn’t much there that you couldn’t learn from reading Blog Inc, 4 Hour Work Week or The $100 Startup! My second, minor gripe about Blogcademy is that the Headmistresses are only teaching you their version of blogging. I sort of figured this out on my own months after my Blogcademy experience was over, but a lot of the content of the workshop was based on their own experiences of what worked and what didn’t work, but what worked for them may not work for me. The ladies who teach the course are all amazing and popular bloggers who have been around for a long time, but the style of blogging that was innovative years ago that helped their blogs grow, isn’t necessarily innovative now that more and more people have followed that lead. I don’t want my blog to feel repetitive, I want people to know what I’m about and feel like they find something new from me every time they stop by!

Now, what made Blogshop so great? Look, I only took the online version of the class and I got so much out of Blogshop that I wish I had taken the in person class for the networking aspect! The thing that I think made Blogshop great was that it actually taught you trade skills! I learned things about Photoshop that I never knew before and I had been using the program for years! Now, I think that applying the skills is something of a personal motivation which some people may or may not have, but I feel like my blog images are improving daily because of the skills I have been putting to use. I am saving time on my blog posts, not because of the repetition and shortcuts that the Blogcademy suggests, but because of quick time savers and templates I have been utilizing in Photoshop! What I actually found pretty interesting was that Blogshop did teach you how to blog, but in such a way that you were inspired to want to create beautiful and interesting things! Even in my online course, the instructors gave you tips constantly on applying certain techniques to your blogs and creating new and exciting content.

Look, I am no pro blogger, but taking either or both of these workshops won’t make you one either. When it comes down to it, the success of your blog is determined by your ability to innovate your content and make it unique. Innovate or Evaporate! When you boil it down that is what both classes preached as the method to a successful blog or business. One workshop gave you information and examples on how to do that by using the methods they had used to get to success and the other gave you the skills to create your own. The better method is really up to you!

As usual, leave me a comment on your opinions of either or both of these popular workshops or leave me a question if you have one!

*The Blogshop Online courses are available for about $300, but the in-person courses are around the $750 mark!

organization Solutions

Bag Makeover | How to Organize a Messy Bag

Today, I thought I would give you guys a peek into my very large and very disorganized bag! This isn’t a what’s in my bag, that may come later, but for now, I just wanted to show you guys how I like to organize my bag! This is a great method for anyone who has a large purse or tote that they use on a daily basis that does not have very many interior pockets!

As you can see from this before shot, my Kate Spade Beau bag has one large bucket style compartment, flanked on one side by some small accessory pockets and a large “iPad” pocket on the other! This bag is great because it holds so much stuff, but it’s not great at keeping organized (and this shot shows the bag without my work stuff inside)! This sort of set up can be a dangerous one for people like me who tend to just drop things into my bag like it’s a bottomless pit, but that behavior can ultimately lead to issues with the stuff in your bag. When things are just free-floating, chords can tangle or break, papers can become crushed, lip products can melt into wallets and onto cell phones– it can be a disaster!

So, to contain the mess in this bag, I have to institute the use of extra pouches to wrangle my loose items together! Once I pulled everything out of my bag, I found that I really didn’t have as much stuff as I thought, but there were just a lot of little items hanging out at the bottom of the bag. Using some extra makeup bags, I was able to put like items together– toilettes and beauty products in one, and extra wires and gadget goodies in another. This way I have a system!

Now, when you look in my bag, you can see everything laid out neatly! To save space in the main compartment of the bag, I tucked away my larger pouch with toiletries and beauty products into the large zip pocket in the back, this way I can just pull the whole thing out when I need it, instead of digging through the whole section. Everything else in the main compartment is either large enough to be seen and grabbed easily, or housed in one of the two accessory pockets. So much better, right?!?

What other tips and tricks do you use to organize your bag? Have you given your bag a makeover recently? Let us know in the comments below!

lifestyle

Lemony Kale Salad

I am definitely one of those people who are constantly on an on-again, off-again health kick! I feel like kale got really big as a popular health food item in the last few years so I am always trying to find new ways to use it! Kale, if you have ever tried it, is not the most inciting green in the garden. If cooked improperly, it can get… gross! Then again, if handled properly, it can be pretty tasty and very filling! Whole Foods sells a delicious Kale Salad (I cannot remember what they call it!) in their prepared foods section and it costs something ridiculous per pound, but its super easy and very inexpensive to make it yourself! I call it Lemony Kale Salad (original, eh?) because thats what it tastes like to me!

Here are the ingredients you will need if you want to give this a try!

1 Head of Kale
3 Tsp of Olive Oil
1/4 cup Lemon Juice
1/4 cup Pine Nuts
1/2 cup dried cranberries
S & P to taste

Directions: The first part of making this salad is to remove the kale leaves from the stalks. This is probably the most time consuming part of the whole recipe, but its not that hard to do! I literally take one stalk of kale at a time and pull the leafy greens off. You can cut them off if you want to with a knife, but thats probably more time consuming. When doing this, try to make sure you don’t take any large branch pieces of the stems with you, because those are particularly bitter. Next, I wash the leafy parts using a salad spinner, but you can use whatever means you have available to you!

Then, you need to steam the kale for a few minutes. I fill a pasta pot a third of the way with water and sprinkle in some salt and cover it, cooking the water on medium to high heat until the water boils. Once you see that the water has started to boil, toss in your clean leafy kale greens and cover again. Let this steam for about 3 minutes until the kale turns a bright, vibrant shade of green! Next, strain the kale and put it into a large bowl to mix. Finally, add the rest of the ingredients listed above and mix! Sometimes, to be fancy, I like to mix the liquid ingredients together in a separate bowl before adding it to the kale, but I don’t think it actually changes the end result!

I store this salad in a plastic storage container and eat about half a cup at a time as a side salad or snack! As the salad sits, the acidity in the lemon juice will mix with the cranberries, resulting in a vinaigrette-like dressing. It’s great fresh from the bowl, but will last about a week in the refrigerator as well!

Let me know if you guys try this recipe and how you like it! Its one of my favorite healthy dishes because I can prepare it in advance and eat it all week!

lifestyle organization Productivity Solutions

Digital vs Analog Time Management

So, in case you haven’t noticed or you don’t read here that often, I finally caved and bought a Filofax! I feel like this decision was an inevitable one as I have been eyeing them for quite a while and actually used to use one before the age of the Palm Pilot (I swear I am not that old, but I did have a Palm Pilot at age 14)! Back then I had a Franklin Covey binder, and before that I had whatever cute ring-bound planners were available from Fashion Bug (if you are my age, I think you know what I am talking about… faux animal fur and psychedelic rainbow prints were my thing). It took me a while to feel like it was time to return to a full-blown paper planner system, though. I had been seriously testing the waters last year with a variety of different paper planners ranging from inexpensive Target planners, to Gallery Leather planners to a more stylish and coveted Kate Spade planner! All of these were nice, but inevitably only helped organize one area of my life; my schedule! I really needed something that would keep my calendar, to-do’s, random notes, my blog’s editorial calendar and so on! Truthfully, all these other planners were fated for extinction because they all had one thing in common, a binding, which meant I couldn’t move things around or add pages or sections as needed.

Now, I get it, I didn’t really have to get a Filofax to get that sort of customization. I could have used any number of apps that I already own to keep track of everything in one place, my phone! The problem with a digital system like a phone, however, is that it seriously lacks a sense of accomplishment. This is totally a personal opinion, but no matter how many lists I would make on my iPhone, or how many events I scheduled, or how many to-do boxes I tapped, I never felt like I did anything. Once you tap those check boxes and close the app, those old items go away, you can’t see them anymore! Yes, your calendar events usually stick around (unless you have to wipe your phone and you failed to back up or sync) and you can still read your old notes, but it’s just not as gratifying! The endless digital paper doesn’t feel like it amounts to much because it’s all inside your phone. It doesn’t matter if you have 1 list or 10 lists, 100 to-dos or 0, it’s all equal inside the phone!

Don’t get me wrong, I do love my iPhone and I think it does some very important things very well and things that my Filofax could never do! For instance, my iPhone is great at reminding me! It dings, vibrates, and does everything in its power to let me know when an event it coming up or to remind me about something I have to do! My Filofax, for all its wonderful goodness, will never be able to get my attention when I have lost track of time! My iPhone is also great for taking notes while I am driving through dictation which I do often! Wow, to think how wonderful the world would be if my Filofax could do that, it would be like having my own personal secretary! My iPhone also is the place I like to take quick notes when I am out and about and either (a) did not bring my Filofax, or (b) cannot pull out my Filofax because of the situation. IPhone’s are nice and discreet like this, but if the note I took is something that belongs in my Filofax, I will eventually transcribe it to its proper place!

Look, the advantages and disadvantages of digital and paper planning systems are really endless and to each their own when it comes to managing your own time. For me, for now, my Filofax and its trusty friend, my iPhone will be living and working together in tandem to help keep me and my life together!

What sort of planning system do you use? Do you use a mix of digital and analog like me, or are you all one or the other? Let me know in the comments and feel free to share any apps or planner tips that you find especially helpful!

lifestyle

My Current Face of Makeup

My daily makeup routine is one that I always seem to be tweaking on a regular basis. I blame YouTube beauty guru’s for this mostly, as they always seem to have a new awesome product that I need to buy or a great dupe for this, that or the other! Recently, I have been trying really hard to stick to one set of makeup that works on a daily basis for work and life in general. Although I have a bunch of products that I like, right now these are the select few that I have been repeatedly using for the last few weeks!

Maybelline Baby Skin Primer
Bourjois Color Correcting Concealer Stick (for blemishes)
L’Oreal Magic Lumi Concealer (for under eye)
Borjois Healthy Mix Foundation
Hourglass Lighting Palette
NARs Desire Blush
Mabelline Color Tattoo in Barely Branded
Maybelline Lavender Lights Eyeshadow Quad
Covergirl Lash Blast Mascara
Revlon Colorstay Ultimate Suede Lipstick in Silhouette
And my makeup bag is from Ted Baker!

Which products are part of your daily makeup routine? Do you have any favorites that you care to share with us? Leave a comment and let us know your must have makeup!

lifestyle Solutions

Valentine’s Day Date Ideas for 1

I know Valentine’s Day gets a lot of slack for being a couples only type of holiday. I never really had a problem with the holiday because I always sort of thought of it as a time to celebrate those you love, romantically and even platonically! But I get it, not everyone has a significant other and not everyone goes out with a group of single friends to mock the holiday. For many, I’m sure its just another day. If this sounds like you, I suggest celebrating the holiday by yourself and for yourself! So, show yourself a little self love and try one of these Valentine’s Day date ideas for 1!

Order our your favorite meal from your favorite restaurant and eat it at home in the comfiest pajamas you own!
Take a seriously luxurious bubble bath, including Lush Bath Bombs, bath salts, bubbles and champagne!
Schedule yourself a message!
Take yourself out to your favorite store and buy yourself a splurge worthy gift, and make sure they wrap it up with all the trimmings!
Order yourself a bouquet of flowers or an edible arrangement and have it delivered to your work or home. Tell no one who it’s from and just enjoy a beautiful treat to yourself!

So, how will you be spending your Valentine’s Day? Let me know in the comments!

Career Productivity Solutions

How to Organize your Rolodex like a Savvy Professional

Okay, so I know Rolodex is a really dated term, but I think you still get the idea of the post! Since I interact with a large number of people in my day-to-day work, it is really crucial for me to set up my contacts list on my phone in a way that will help me remember everyone in a professional way! People love it when you truly recognize and remember them, even if you have only met once a month or two ago! It really helps develop strong ties with your customers, colleges and basically any other person in your life that you may run into regularly! So, I thought I would review with you all my process for setting up my contacts list that helps me to be more of a savvy business professional!

1. Confirm the spelling of all names, never assume: You have no idea how many ways a name can be spelt, and after meeting with someone briefly you may not know that their name is spelt with an “i” instead of a “y” and so on! I try to make it a point to have my contacts spell their names out for me (or to give me a business card with their info) so that I can track them properly. It may not mean much to you, but think about how annoying it can be to deal with someone who can’t spell your name right! Bonus points if you can also include a phonetic spelling if the name is a harder one to pronounce!

2. Take a picture or grab one-off Facebook or LinkedIn: Since most of us store contacts in our phones and have the ability to assign a picture to a contact, USE THAT FEATURE! It may feel awkward the first few times you have to ask for a photo, but get over that and get it put into your phone! Most people won’t mind that your taking their pic after you explain that it helps you associate names to faces to have the picture in your contacts. Heck! They might even ask the same of you! If worse comes to worse and you miss the opportunity to snap a pic, do a quick google search and see if you can grab one from Facebook or LinkedIn. You have no idea how helpful it can be to have photos of people you interact with on an infrequent basis. It can save you from an embarrassing moment in the future!

3. Make a personal note: Most contact lists include a section for extra notes. Use it! Store 2-3 personal facts about your contact in this area so that the next time you meet with them, you have something personal you can refer back to. This may be your contacts favorite sports team, the college their kid goes to, or the name of their dog, but remembering these facts can help you look really organized and thoughtful to others!

4. Edit and Update: Contacts change frequently in any business! Make sure you keep the most up to date information and contacts in your Rolodex to ensure you are organized. Remove old contacts that have moved on, update personal facts in your notes section, and edit emails or phone numbers that may have changed on a frequent basis!

5. Use it or lose it: The most important part of having a contacts list or Rolodex is that you actually make use of it! If you aren’t referring back to the information you have stored, there is really no reason to keep the info to begin with. Your contacts list can be a treasure trove of information and a professionals dream or nightmare! Decide how you want to use yours and get to it!

What other tips and tricks to you use in your contacts list or Rolodex? Do you use a digital list on your phone or do you prefer a paper system of business cards and hand written contacts? Let us know in the comments below!

Productivity Solutions

Zen and the Art of Filofax Maintenance

The thing that will never cease to amaze me about my Filofax, is the sheer size and scope of the community that revolves around planners. Weeks ago, when my curiosity was piqued yet again by Filofax and planner systems, I fell head first down the proverbial rabbit hole which is the universe of Filofax. Worldwide, these planners are a phenomena with endless websites, forums, Pinterest boards, Instagram accounts and even Facebook interest groups, all revolving around the topic of planners! The more I dug into the planners themselves, the array of inserts, accessories and yes, even planner charms (!), the more I felt an uncontrollable urge to join the club. So, I fell in love with a planner, and the rest as they say is history.

Since my planner arrived, and admittedly, even before it shipped, I was knee-deep in these sites and forums learning about the available means to customize my Filofax experience to my own needs and desires. I searched through hundreds (if not thousands) of pictures of Filofax set ups, analyzing how people arranged their tabs, how they set up their “dashboard” and how they decorated their planner. Remember, this isn’t just any leather-bound book filled with scribbles and scraps, this is MY LIFE inside these pages, so it was important that my Filofax reflect me and my tastes!

As my planner itself, I ended up buying the Large 2014 Kikki K Time Planner which is the equivalent of an A5 Filofax. It’s a beautiful mint/aqua color with gold polka dots. What drew me to this planner, other than the beautiful color and design, is that the planner closes via an elastic band which I really liked! I have a problem with planners that close with a zipper or have a button/magnetic closure because I feel like you have to be mindful of what you stuff inside or else the planner won’t close! With this elastic strap, I am confident that my planner will always be secure no matter how thick I stuff it! Now, I also went ahead and purchased some different supplies like stickers, page flags, a new matching pen (the Pilot Coleto 4 color pen in Mint with Black, Aqua, Pink, and Violet ink refills), washi tape, cute post-its, journaling cards, and pretty paper to make some new dividers! I also decided that I was crafty enough to try to create my own custom inserts and since my Kikki K didn’t come with a traditional fly-leaf, I made my own with some screen printed acrylic scrapbook paper! I recently also purchased a A5 6 Hole Punch from a seller overseas, and once that comes in, I won’t have to use my single hole punch that I am currently using! It does the job right now, but lining up the holes is a challenging task that I hope the 6 Hole Punch will simplify for me!

To give you an overview of my Filofax and how I choose to use it, let’s start with the different sections. I have my Filofax broken down by 6 dividers. The first is for my blog because my blog is probably the most important project in my life. I used to keep a loose printed editorial calendar, but now I have moved this into my planner. I use a month on 2 day spread that came with my Kikki K planner because I like the way it looks!

The next section is for my day job, and for this I use a week on two pages spread that came with the planner. Here I am able to list out meetings, events and reminders for work as well as other general life tasks. I also keep a few Expense and Address sheets within this section (marked off by Target page flags) for work!

The third divider is for my Blog Posts and Youtube Videos and those are divided once more by a Project Life card that I punched and inserted between the two sections. Here I list out ideas and keep track of the progress I have made for each with some inserts I designed specifically for this purpose!

The fourth divider is called my “Capture” section, and here I am using some more custom-made inserts that help me keep track of my Thoughts, Wish Lists, Plans and any Information I may need to keep. I love these pages because I have a Date section and can circle the type of note I am entering so I can keep a variety of info in this section without it feeling out-of-place! This section also has another vertical divider that I got from Project Life and cut to size for my planner. It separates my custom capture pages from my person To Do lists (these pages came with the planner).

The fifth divider is for all my Inspiration! Here I keep any printed bits that keep me motivated, including my 2014 Goals, some Bible verses, prayers and even a Mini Workout!

The final divided section is for miscellaneous items and right now it just has a punched pocket that holds all my decoration stickers! More items may find their way here eventually so this section is meant to grow!

So, now that you have a general idea as to how I organize my Filofax, let’s get into the accessories and juicy details that I know you are all dying to hear! The front inner cover of my planner has a bunch of slots and pockets where I like to keep post its, paper clips, as well as some frequently used stickers. I love the interior zippered pocket of my planner because this is a great place to store page flags and anything that is loose and I don’t want to fall out!

Also in the front of the planner, other than my custom fly-leaf, I have added a paper pocket where I keep my iPhone sticky notes. It came in a pack with the other pocket I mentioned above that stores my decoration stickers and I just love the personal touch these add to the planner. I originally wanted to use a zippered clear pocket, but the one I purchased from Staples did not fit my binder (so sad). So, these pockets are simple and custom punched and definitely hold all the bits that I need!

Finally, in the rear inner cover, my planner came with a nice sized notebook where I can jot quick notes and such. I ended up swapping this simple notepaper for my “iPad” style note tablet from Wal-Mart and I love the look of this so much! Of course, there is also a pen loop where I keep my mint Pilot Coleto 4 color pen as I mentioned above. I bought this from JetPens as it came highly recommended by other Filofax users. The 4 colors of ink that I chose make it easy for me to do a bit of color coding in my planner without having to carry lots of pens with me!

And, the final personal touch in my planner is my little planner charm which I love! Through my research online, I found that it was very common for people to put charms and such on their planners to decorate them and give them more personality. I decorated my Filofax with this custom charm I made using a Hand of Hamsa charm as well as a little laptop charm that I think screams ME!

Outside of my planner itself, I also have a few rolls of cute washi tape, more stickers and extra journaling cards that I keep at home in a bin filled with extra goodies for my Filofax. As you can see, I have quite a bit of extras, some of which I purchased for my planner and some of which I have had in my personal stock for a while, but I find that having everything in one place makes finding refills and such much easier for me!

I hope you all enjoyed this post, that should do it for now! I also made a video about my Filofax setup in case you want a more in-depth look! I have a few other planner related videos up on my YouTube channel right now, so make sure to stop by and check those out if you want more!! Also, be sure to check out my shop for more of my awesome custom printables!

If any of you, my lovely readers, have a Filofax set up post or video or pictures out there on the internet, please please PLEASE link it below! I am obsessed with these things now (and if you’re here, I bet you are too) and I want this post to be almost like a reference of sorts for those who read it! Thanks!

organization Productivity

5 Quirky Uses for Notebooks

5 Quirky Uses is a new periodic feature for Strange & Charmed. For each post, I will select an everyday item and suggest five alternate uses or ways to upcycle the item in a fun or unusual way. Keep up with these posts with the Quirky Uses category!

I have a ridiculous amount of notebooks laying around my home and for some reason I still feel the need to buy more every once in a while. If its cute and inexpensive, I pick it up! I blame Target dollar bins! Anywho, with zoo many notebooks just sitting there empty, I decided it was time to think of ways I can put them to good use. Here are 5 Quirky Uses for Notebooks that you may not have considered before!

Food and/or Workout Diary
Track Oil Changes and/or Car Maintenance
Gratitude Journal
Track major items in your home and their value in case of emergency
Keep track of children’s milestones or important life/relationship events