Such Little Things Can Make Me So Happy
I’ve been trying (fruitlessly, for months) to get a particular Amazon service tied into my website. Now, I love computers, don’t get me wrong, and I love geeking out on all the new bells and whistles everyone makes available. But as a one-woman business I don’t have the luxury of sitting around and reading the masses of detail sent every day to help me “market” my business–if I want to get any writing done that is. What goes through quickly gets read and used. What makes me sigh in frustration gets set aside for when I have more time (you know what that means). So, when everyone kept talking about how authors could access the Amazon samples, tying early chapters of our books back to our websites so readers simply clicked from my webpage to start reading the first few chapters before they bought, I thought, “How cool!” Especially when I saw Read more…
Organizing Cheap and Easy — Part 1
Spring has officially hit the calendar, and that means we’re all ready to dig out from more than just snow under the windows. While some people like to take their Spring Cleaning & Organizing in one big bite, I prefer little nibbles myself, so I don’t get off-track on all of the other to-do lists I have every day. If’ you’re like me, I offer my room-by-room spring cleaning and organizing ideas–but best of all, I don’t bring in anything new and costly to do the job. Look around the house and find amazing ways to re-purpose items for organization by thinking outside of the box. I’m starting today with the Living Room with a Baker’s Dozen of tips, and I will be moving through other rooms in the house throughout the next week or so. So come back in the days ahead, and leave any springtime ideas you already Read more…
Save Those Things You Could Use for Years
We get so busy that sometimes we forget to hang on to things we should–things that could help us avoid stressful situation, buy additional items we shouldn’t, or even keep family members from serious medical issues. Without getting into some of the first arguments hubby and I had, here’s a couple of tips that could save your life and definitely save budget and your relationship. Anytime you buy anything with a manual or a written warranty, file it. Stapling the receipt that shows where and when it was purchased helps even more, but definitely file the item’s paperwork. Here’s why — it will break. Your spouse may be able to fix it, or you can order replacement parts, or one of you realize the kids shoved a plastic piece of toy where it doesn’t belong because the schematic in the manual doesn’t show that piece of plastic ever being a part Read more…
Launch Week of Organized for Murder
It’s been several days since I’ve had time to blog on organization tips because I’ve been blogging so much on the new release. Anyone reading this who purchased ORGANIZED FOR MURDER, read & reviewed it, and/or blogged about it to share the news, thank you so very much. I cannot begin to put into words how much it has meant to see people like this book and help spread the news about it. Early reviews and sales have been overwhelming. More than a hundred 5-star reviews on the online bookseller sites, and the book hit #1 on Amazon’s Cozy Crafts & Hobbies category on the first day. Right now, it’s still #4 as an Amazon Cozy, #1 on their Top Rated books, #2 in Hot New Cozy Releases, and #13 for Women Sleuths, which means that my amateur sleuth is measured against the popularity of all the other women sleuths in all the Read more…
Kate McKenzie’s Down To Earth Organization Style
The main character in ORGANIZED FOR MURDER is Kate McKenzie, wife, mother of twins, and small business owner. While her daily focus is on keeping her family’s and clients’ lives running efficiently and well-organized, she’s a pretty easygoing person and doesn’t feel one must go to heroic (or expensive) measures to keep life running smoothly. In the book, she speaks at an organization workshop in the local bookstore. This is a little taste of her common sense approach to keeping a household on-track, and may give you some ideas, too. Kate’s Notes: How to Keep a Happily Organized Home (for the organization presentation) Unless you live alone, don’t try to organize your home by yourself. Involve the same people who helped get your disordered abode in its present state. Teamwork isn’t just more efficient time-wise, it’s critical if you want to make permanent organizational changes. Learn as a team to clean as Read more…
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