Photo a Day July Challenge

Have you ever participated in a Photo a Day challenge?  I tried to do it in May and did most of the days but didn't even try for June.  Fat Mum Slim is the creator of the challenge.  It's just something to do for fun so don't stress out over it, create some fun memories you can look back on.  

Where to share your photo a day pictures

INSTAGRAM: Upload your photo to Instagram, add a sweet filter and put #photoadayjuly in the caption so others can see your photos {share to Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Flickr etc from Instagram if you like}

TWITTER: Upload your photo to Instagram, add some words to describe it and use the hashtag #photoadayJuly so others can see your photos

FACEBOOK: Create an album titled something like, Photo a Day July, and make the album public, then upload your photos. It’s a good idea to upload the list too so you can refer to it and others can see what you’re doing. You can also share your photos on Fat Mum Slim Facebook page. Don’t add them to the comments, but instead upload the photo or share a link on here page. To see everyone’s photos just select ‘posts by others’ in the drop-down menu underneath the cover photo.

PINTEREST: Upload your photos to a board, and use the hashtag #photoadayJuly so that others can search for them.

BLOGS & TUMBLR: Upload your photos to your blog or Tumblr and share with the world.

FLICKR: Share your photos in the Photo a day group.

Where do you plan to share your photos?

Office Decor Tips

I am very fortunate to have my own office and decorate it however I please. In past jobs I would do my best to make my cubicle or desk "mine" but it's been awhile since I have had my own personal office. Whether you have your own office, share an office or have a cubicle/desk you could use these tips to make your office reflect you.

Tips to making your office feel like "you": 

• If it's time to reorganize your house or get rid of some clutter this is a great way to find nice items for your office. Everything in my office except for the rug, I pulled from my house. I wasn't really into the pink/black/off white theme once we moved into our house so I had items that I could use to decorate.

• Family or scenery photos are a great way to get a relaxing home feel. I must admit my office is probably on overload from pics of my daughter, but it makes me smile throughout the day and really thats all that matters to me. I'm sure it makes me a better employee.

• Florescent lights are a killer of office mood. I brought in two old lamps from home and use them along with my window as my main source of lighting. I no longer turn on my ceilngs lights... EVER!
• Our offices used to have old ORANGE carpet but a year ago they installed tiles. Another way to make an office feel like home is to put a decorative rug in it. I didn't want to spend a lot so I searched and found a $20 rug at IKEA. I get more compliments on that rug than you would imagine.

• Scent is sometimes controversial in work places. Some people are allergic or sensitive to smell, so you have to be careful.  I find a pleasant smell makes the environment more inviting. For a awhile I had a vanilla scent and people always asked where the cookies were. I never had anyone complain. Recently I've had a light lavendar scent and it isn't overpowering. Just enough to take the stale air away.

Toy Organization

As our daughter started getting older she was accumulating more toys.  We had bins, and more bins, and overflowing piles of toys and books. I do not like clutter and I don't like my house to look like it is getting taken over by toys. As you can see in the pictures below she could climb the mountains of her toys and reach all of the electronics, which wasn't safe either.

I started looking for alternatives to store what we had. After searching for something reasonably priced that would do the job, I found this gem at IKEA.  We already had a smaller one for another room and thought a larger one would work perfect in our family room. I purchased my bins from Target, but you can find bins this size at many stores. This holds all of Q's toys and books and keeps them organized by bin.  It makes cleaning up so easy! We just throw all of the items into the correct bin and slide it back in and we are done. I love it!

What storage solutions have you come up with for your home?

Cleaning Essentials

After Q was born 15 months ago I really started to look at what was in all of the products we use (cleaning supplies, food, produce, vitamins, medicines, beauty products, etc). It was then my goal to make our home as natural as possible. Since we use cleaning supplies daily that was a large area to tackle. I am big into saving money and had a large supply of cleaning products that were toxic for my family. As hard as it was to do, I got rid of them and started to research for a natural and affordable cleaning line. That's when I found Shaklee's Get Clean products. They are All natural, Green, Non-toxic, cost effective and SAFE!

I LOVE their products. I love them so much, that I decided to become a Shaklee member to save 15% on all orders for life, and then I decided to become a distributor so I could tell others about the amazing products that will help keep their families healthy.

Below you can see a cost comparison and how you can save money using Shaklee products.  Before I ordered the products I assumed it would cost much more for natural products that would be shipped to me, but I was pleasantly surprised.

If you are interested in checking Shaklee out for your family, you can do so by going to healthyfamily.myshaklee.com or click on the Shaklee tab above.

Dirty Dozen Cheat Sheet

The next time you go grocery shopping this will be a handy guide to remind you what products are important to buy organic.  Although it does normally cost a bit more for organic, it gives me peace of mind knowing I am feeding my family healthy produce.  Remember, you don't have to switch over all at once, just take it a step at a time to incorporate changes into your family's life. 

Taking the First Step

After you realize what chemicals are in your food, cleaning products, plastics, soaps, children's toys, etc., you want to throw it all out and start over, at least I did.  My money doesn't grow on trees so I couldn't realistically do that. What I did do, is turn to the many great deal sites that are available now. There are many companies who have eco friendly, natural and organic products that offer deals on these sites. 

Before you pay full price to move your family onto a healthier path, check out these sites for a deal:

• Groupon
• Plum District
• Moolala
• Eco Buys
• Eversave
• Living Social
• Juice in the City
• Zulily
• Totsy
• Kids Woot!
• HauteLook
• Gilt
• Mama Bargains

Whenever I see online deals that would help with our healthy journey I will post them on here.

Our Healthy Family Journey

I didn't officially get on this journey until my daughter Q was born.  I watched what I ate while I was pregnant but I didn't really take a hard look at what we ate and what we used to clean our house until I had a helpless baby that we were now responsible for.  I would never want anything bad to happen to her and I want to give her the best start I can while I can control what she comes into contact with. I hope you will continue this journey with me as I take a deeper look into our every day lives and figure out one step at a time how we can better our family and give them a healthy future.