Personally, I work well at the last minute. Working to make the deadline keeps me motivated on tasks that I might not ever get around to otherwise. This works to my detriment when it comes to housework, because unless someone is coming over there is no deadline for housework.

Until now. Last year, Laura “The Organizing Junkie” (check out her new digs on WordPress!) gave us an awesome deadline – the “30 Day Organizational Challenge.” And I totally participated (read all about my great closet adventures from last year – it’s a doozy of a post, lots of crazy pictures). And since I took the time to truly sort through things and get my closet under control, it stuck. Like, really stuck . . . the closet truly stayed that organized until I moved in July, and when I moved I carried over the organization to my new apartment. And it’s still organized the same way!!! I am in total shock people, and if you knew me at all in real life you would be too.

So, since this CLEARLY worked for me last year, I’m taking it a step further with this year’s 30 day Organizational Challenge. How am I doing that? You’ll have to come back tomorrow, cause that’s when the challenge begins! Plus side – since the challenge runs the entirety of November, I’ll have my big organizational nightmare taken care of by the time December rolls around . . . I may actually try to get done in time for Thanksgiving, but I do reserve the right to use up my entire November !

You should participate too! The first day is tomorrow, so post up your goal and make sure to visit I’m an Organizing Junkie to link to your post!

The awesomeness of the 30 Day Organizational Challenge? Works for me!

• 12/1/2007 -- Storage Solutions
• 11/1/2007 -- It’s time to get ORGANIZED!
• 12/5/2006 -- The Closet Caper!

In an effort to get a better handle on my finances, I’ve started to learn about credit . . . specifically, the magical credit score that determines all of your financial future. It influences your ability to obtain a credit card (and the card’s interest rate and credit limit), mortgage, loan, or any other number of things that I may or may not need to do in the future. Poor financial decisions will create bad credit which limits what you can and cannot do in the future.

One of the best things you can do for your personal financial health is to regularly check your credit report. It is now FREE to obtain a copy of your credit report once a year from each of the three credit reporting bureaus. Because of this, many financial advisers are now recommending that every four months you check your credit report.

What exactly is this credit report, and why do you need to check it so often? It is a listing of all the accounts that you have on record. Remember that credit card that you opened at the mall one day three years ago and only used once? It’s on your credit report, and every time an employer/lender/bank/etc. checks your credit, they see this card. You forgot to pay your cable bill when you moved to a new state? You’ve got a missed payment on your credit report that shows up and detracts from your credit! Or perhaps you thought you paid off that outstanding rent payment, but for some reason it’s still there . . . four years later, giving you bad credit. It’s important to keep tabs on your credit report so that you know what is happening in your life. This can also be VERY useful if you think you may have been a victim of identity theft, because if someone else has been doing things in your name that you don’t know of, this is where you can catch it.

However, there are scams out there trying to GET all your credit information by posing as “free credit report” websites. Don’t be fooled! THE website to go to is AnnualCreditReport.com. This one is not a scam and is safe to use. You can go to this site to get your report from Equifax, TransUnion, or Experian (the three reporting bureaus). They also make it available to get your actual credit score, but this costs a little money (I got mine from TransUnion for $7.95). From what I’ve researched, it’s recommended that you get your credit REPORT every four months (since it’s free) and your credit SCORE once a year, just so you know where you stand.

I was quite pleasantly surprised when I checked mine. I figured since I’ve only been building my credit for about 18 months that it would not be very good, and there wouldn’t be much information, but there was quite a bit on there, including an account that I had forgotten about. The report also gave me some thoughts as to why my score isn’t higher (accounts haven’t been open really long and I don’t have any involvement with real estate).

You can find way more information on credit by reading any good personal finance blog (check out the links in my sidebar). For more specific information about this topic, read How to Obtain Your Free Credit Report @ Get Rich Slowly.

Taking control of your financial situation by keeping tabs on your credit? Works for me!

• 9/14/2006 -- Thursday Thirteen #27
• 12/18/2005 -- 101 in 1001 – 67.33% Complete
• 9/5/2007 -- Works for Me: Brand Loyal Edition

This week is the backwards WFMW – I get to collect all your tips, muhahaha!

I sooooo want to get a couple of kittens – I have been wanting a pet for years, and I’ve decided that two little kittens to be with me for the next 20 years or so is just perfect ! However, my family has always had dogs, so I am just now learning all the things about cat ownership (AJ has two kittens).

I want all your tips – feeding, training, litter boxes, toys, love . . . anything you think a new cat owner should know! I am hoping to get my little babies at some point in the near future, and I want to be as prepared as possible! Got any cat tips? Let me know what works for you!

And don’t forget to take a look at my post about Breast Cancer Awareness!

• 10/2/2007 -- Breast Cancer Awareness Month
• 1/3/2007 -- Works for Me: Get Rid of Junk Main AND Help the Environment!
• 11/15/2006 -- Works for Me: Christmas Organizer

A simple little tip that I have found makes my life SOOOOO much easier! If you have a laptop computer and are anything like me, you take your laptop EVERYWHERE . . . to your bedroom, to your living room, on vacation, to a friend’s house – it’s all fair game. However, you probably have a desk (or desk area) that is the “home” of the laptop, where all your stuff plugs into it. And the most important thing that plugs in is the power cord.

However, it’s reeeeeeeeeally annoying to have to crawl under your desk in the unflattering and uncomfortable effort to unplug that power cord so that you can take it with you. But you have to have the power cord when you’re on the go!

Here’s my solution, and it’s so simple it sounds stupid. Buy a second power cord. They’re usually not that expensive, and the time and effort it saves you is immeasurable! Have one that is permanently located at the laptop’s “home” and one that you leave bundled up in your computer bag. Any time you go somewhere, take the one that is bundled up. When you come back home, your other cord is still plugged in and you’re ready to go.

Saving some time and still being addicted to my laptop (LOL)? Works for me!

• 6/15/2006 -- Thursday Thirteen #45
• 12/1/2007 -- Storage Solutions
• 10/3/2007 -- Tipping Etiquette

Everyone has heard of the Internet phenomenon known as Digg. However, have you ever noticed just how techno-centric Digg tends to be? There’s also a lot of junk that winds up on there. I’ve never really been attracted to Digg, though the concept has intrigued me.

Well, lately I’ve been seeing a lot of little links to something called sk*rt, and I finally got curious enough to click through and see what was up. sk*rt is Digg for women!!! How cool is that?! The topics include things like arts, crafts, parenting, fashion, food, mind and body . . . things that WOMEN are interested in! I’ve already signed up and started voting on some awesome articles that I’ve found that I KNOW I wouldn’t have read otherwise.

I’m so fascinated by this great new resource (well, it started in May)! Fantastic info for women? Works for me!

• 1/23/2007 -- Works for Me: Bookcrossing.com
• 10/31/2007 -- Works for Me: 30 Day Organizational Challenge!
• 10/24/2007 -- Works for Me: Get Your Credit Report – Free!

Ever needed a way to catalog all your books just so you knew what you had? There is an EASY way to do this now – and it’s free! It’s called LibraryThing, and it’s a website that allows you to completely manage your personal library. You enter in the ISBN for your book and it looks up all the information for you from either the Library of Congress or Amazon (your pick). Then it adds it to your collection! If you want, you can add tags to your books, label them with their Bookcrossing BCID numbers, and even see who else owns that book! There’s a feature to connect you with popular book swapping sites if you decide you want to swap for something else, and there are places to discuss books, authors, anything “library” related!

I’ve got my library started, though I have quite a long way to go to get everything added. I like how the call numbers are a part of the book info because that is how I have arranged my personal library. It’s easy to find any book now!!!

Easily cataloging my books online so I can access them anywhere? Works for me!

• 7/26/2008 -- Library Thing (Day of Blogs ’08 #22)
• 9/5/2007 -- Works for Me: Brand Loyal Edition
• 12/18/2005 -- 101 in 1001 – 67.33% Complete

Wow, it really has been a while since I did a WFMW! I thought I’d jump back in with this week’s theme – the “Brand Loyal Edition.” We’re supposed to post about what brands/products we can’t live without. So, here are a few of my favorites!

Starbucks – there’s a reason I love my job. Not only do they make quality products, but they are becoming more socially responsible and they are an AWESOME company to work for (that is not marketing hype – all the rumors you hear about them being a great employer are true).

E. Webscapes – there’s a reason I love my other job too, LOL! I was a very loyal customer for E. Webscapes before I joined them this past spring, and now that I get to work for them every day I see just how much hard work and personal care goes into each design project. Most definitely worth the money!!!

WordPress – it is so freakin’ versatile! If you haven’t experimented with WordPress as a blogging platform (or just a site management too) I SERIOUSLY recommend that you do so. I’ve tried many different platforms, and WP by far outshines them all. You can do so many things with it, and it is super crazy user-friendly. I have 2 blogs run on it, plus I’ve set up blogs for 4 or 5 friends on WP as well. And they are people who don’t know HTML from PHP from voodoo . . . and they love using WP.

Bookcrossing – this site has revolutionized the way that I think about books. I was always taught to hold on to your books since they are such a precious item. I still have great respect from books, and if a book holds special meaning for me or if I REALLY enjoyed it, I will still hold onto it. However, I’ve also learned the joy of sharing books. It’s so awesome to read journal entries as your books travel around and are enjoyed by countless others. And, if that’s not enough incentive, think about how many trees you could save by not printing new books!

Amazon.com – speaking of books, LOL! Amazon is almost ALWAYS my first stop when I’m buying something new. The prices are almost always the cheapest (plus, within 30 days if the price changes you can get back the money you would have saved by using Price Protectr), the reviews are EXTREMELY helpful, and if you join Amazon Prime you get EVERYTHING with free 2 day shipping (yes, there is an upfront fee, but I’ve found that I save way more than that by not paying for shipping or having to bump my order up to $25 for free shipping, and there is the benefit of not waiting a week). I even applied for the Amazon.com credit card, and I use that as my primary card. I get 1 point for every dollar I spend, and once I get to 2,500 points, I get a $25 gift certificate to Amazon.com! Since I keep track of my spending like a debit card, it’s not rare for me to see one of these almost every month. AWESOME. Books? Check! DVDs? Check! Canvas grocery bags? Check! New external hard drive? Check! All things I’ve bought (for less) on Amazon.com!

Finding awesome brands that I trust and have proven themselves to me time and again? Works for me!

• 12/18/2005 -- 101 in 1001 – 67.33% Complete
• 8/10/2006 -- Thursday Thirteen #23
• 9/14/2006 -- Thursday Thirteen #27

OK, so there have been rumors going around that Netflix was going to launch a way to watch movies online for its members, and this week it finally launched! Click here to read on Lifehacker how to activate this feature in your Netflix account.

I gave this service a try this weekend and all I’ve got to say is AMAZING! The movies are available 24/7, you can pause, fast forward, all that . . . and since Netflix is doing it, you get the amazing Netflix recommendations as well as a list of what movies are available to “Watch Now” from your Queue.

The only thing that isn’t perfect is the fact that the selection isn’t massive, but with my past experiences with Netflix, I know this won’t be the case for long. Yet one more reason why Netflix rocks my socks!

Movies available IMMEDIATELY, no wait time necessary! Already included in your membership! No wasted paper, gasoline, or money for mailing DVDs back and forth! Right on Netflix, this sooooooooo works for me!

By the way, in case there was any suspicion, I am NOT getting paid to say this – I just really like Netflix!

• 9/5/2007 -- Works for Me: Brand Loyal Edition
• 10/24/2007 -- Works for Me: Get Your Credit Report – Free!
• 12/18/2005 -- 101 in 1001 – 67.33% Complete

The other day in my travels around Bloggityville I found this post extolling the virtues of The Starbucks Refill. Yes, you heard right. This is not an urban myth. As an employee at Starbucks, I can vouch for our refill policy. If you come in and order a cup of brewed coffee, you can bring your cup back as many times and you want for a refill of about $0.50! Even if you get 10 refills . . . still only half a buck! Not only does that save YOU money, but it also cuts down on allllllll those paper cups going to the trash!

Another tidbit – you get a discount if you bring in your own personal cup for your cup of coffee, whether it’s just brewed coffee or your venti triple nonfat wet three Splenda cappuccino. Yay for not using the cups!

Saving money on high quality coffee and helping the environment? Works for me!

• 9/5/2007 -- Works for Me: Brand Loyal Edition
• 1/17/2007 -- Works for Me: AMAZING Lightbulbs
• 1/3/2007 -- Works for Me: Get Rid of Junk Main AND Help the Environment!

As I looked back on my previous WFMW posts, I realized that I had not posted one of my absolutely favorite things on the internet – Bookcrossing.com!

Bookcrossing is a wonderful site, especially for book lovers like me (and many of my blog readers )! I’ll try to explain it as best I can, but you really should pop on over to the site and check it out yourself.

Let’s say I have a book (haha, understatement). I finished reading this book, and I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t completely earth-shattering, so I don’t necessarily want to keep it here on my bookshelf taking up precious real estate. I register the book on Bookcrossing.com. In doing this, the book is assigned a number (which I either write into the cover, or use a sticker to put it in – this seems more effective), and I write up my opinion of the book on the website, rating it with 1-10 stars. This book is now added to my virtual bookshelf. I can do several things with it. If I give it to a friend, then they can go online, see what I wrote, and make their own review. Now it’s on their bookshelf. Or, I could take the book and place it strategically on a table in Starbucks. By doing this, I’ve released the book into the wild, and whoever happens to pick it up becomes the new owner. Or I could go to an online trading site like PaperBackSwap.com and trade my book for another book, thereby passing my journaled book on to a new owner. There are tons of possibilities!

Why do this? Why not! You’re recycling books, and it’s really interesting to see where your books have gone. Some of my books are floating around in other countries, and I’m seeing lots of people with different opinions of the books that I read. I released a lot of books when we were on vacation in Europe, so that was really cool.

Bookcrossing also has a big community online. There are forums, groups, all sorts of ways to participate and communicate with other book lovers. There are lots of books that I have read that I never would have read had it not been for Bookcrossing, and I’ve found some great new authors!

I’m more than happy to answer any questions – I joined about a year before I actually started participating because it seemed like too much work, but once I got going, it has snowballed into something I have enjoyed so much.

Bookcrossing.com? Works for me!

• 9/5/2007 -- Works for Me: Brand Loyal Edition
• 7/19/2006 -- About
• 12/18/2005 -- 101 in 1001 – 67.33% Complete