Interview with Peter Walsh

This morning I had the pleasure of interviewing organizational expert Peter Walsh, who appears on TLC's Clean Sweep and on the Oprah Winfrey show. Last year I did an OfficeMax blogcast with Peter about getting organized for school, so when I received the invitation, I didn't hesitate. After all, summer is coming up and the thought of the kids dumping all of this past schoolyear's garbage on our kitchen table is filling me with dread! Not to mention all the summer camp and travel scheduling. I thought it would be a great opportunity to pick Peter's brain for more organization tips.

You can check out my interview with Peter below. You can only see Peter because I was on the phone (although if there had been a video camera on me, you would have seen me waving to Peter's image on my computer screen like an idiot, because I totally forgot that I was calling in and that he couldn't see me!).




As usual, I got some great tips. For example, Peter suggested a wall-based, modular message center -- with some of the modules at kids' height, so they can get involved as well! I think that's a great approach and one I never considered. As always, Peter advocates maintaining flat surfaces free of clutter. Peter also talked about his own organizational challenges (yes, he does have some!) and about his new line of products with Office Max, called you.organized.

Thanks to Peter and Office Max for all the great tips!

Disclosure: I did not receive a sample or monetary compensation for this post. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Celebrating love, friendship, athleticism.... and great pens

I love planning and hosting parties. I try to make each party special, but I'm not Martha Stewart; my gatherings are simple, with more emphasis on friends than fuss. But with all the day-to-day things that need to get done, most of my great party ideas are just that: ideas. Sometimes I need an extra little nudge -- and on Friday, MomSelect and PaperMate kindly provided it by inviting me to host a PaperMate Moms party to celebrate their new television commercial. It debuted during the Vancouver 2010 opening ceremony, and featured three of their latest products: the Gel Pen, the Designer Pen, and the Biodegradable Pen. For those of you who weren't able to watch the opening ceremonies or the PaperMate commercial, here it is:



I love the way they incorporated the winter sports into the commercial!


PaperMate also provided some great goody bags for me and my guests, featuring two of their new pens, the Gel Pen and the Biodegradable Pen, other PaperMate pens, a notepad, some recipe cards, and red paper hearts galore! All my friends loved the way the Gel Pens glided smoothly over the paper (one mom declared, "This is one pen I'm not lending to my kids because I don't want to lose it!") , and agreed it was high time someone came up with an eco-friendly pen.


We put those PaperMate Gel Pens to use write right away, copying down the recipe I found for the chocolate shortbread hearts I served during the party. The hearts theme fit perfectly for this party, since it's Valentine's Day weekend, and I love these girlfriends like my sisters. Besides, there are two red hearts in the PaperMate logo! It was such a fun way to celebrate our friendship: laughing and chatting with friends, eating chocolate, and leaving with a fun goody bag. Thanks, PaperMate and MomSelect -- and Happy Valentine's Day to everyone!

Disclaimer: Thanks to PaperMate and MomSelect, I received sample products for goody bags, decorations and party ideas to aid in throwing this party. I did not receive monetary compensation for the party or post. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Last-minute Gift Ideas: Erin Condren Life Planners

Every holiday season my mom, an office manager, would receive all sorts of calendars and planners and organizers from clients. I hated them all because they were so ugly! Fortunately nowadays there's a much wider range of choices for organization tools. Case in point: the calendars and organizers on Erin Condren's online store look so stylish and chic, each one is practically a work of art. I was invited to choose from a Life Planner from her collection, and I fell in love with this one:
It's her classic "Taffy" design, and it's going to keep me organized in style all year long. I can't wait to receive it -- and once I do, I'll tell you all about it!

If you're looking for a last-minute holiday gift idea and can't wait for my review, the good news is that you can still order a Life Planner from ErinCondren.com -- along with an assortment of personalized calendars, gift labels, and other stationery -- in time for December 25. Orders placed today, December 16, will arrive by December 23 if you choose Priority Processing or Overnight Shipping.

I will be receiving a sample from this company for a future review. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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My custom Paper Culture cards have arrived!

About a month ago I ran a review and giveaway for Paper Culture, the hottest new premium stationery company focused on modern designs, quality eco-friendly papers, and time-saving conveniences. They sent me a sample pack of cards which I was so impressed with, I gave them a glowing review. After the giveaway ended, they were kind enough to send me another set of their cards -- and this time it was a set of cards that was personalized just for me! They turned out so well that I just had to share with everyone how much I love them.

To order cards from Paper Culture, you just choose from one of their cute-beyond-words designs, personalize it, and Paper Culture will get back to you with your personalized proof. Once you review and approve the proof, they print it out and mail your cards to you, or they'll mail each card to an individual recipient on your behalf -- for only the cost of the stamp (at least until the end of 2009)! Granted, I would have preferred automating the process (i.e. personalizing and reviewing the cards online), but the whole process was still easy as pie.

My cards turned out gorgeous beyond words. They've got those signature rounded corners that I love so much. And when they say they use thick cardstock, they mean it. I ordered 30 cards and they came in a box that looked like they should hold at least 50 cards. I swear, they're as thick as bar coasters, except you wouldn't want to sully these babies with stale beer stains.


The Paper Culture designs focus mostly on custom invitations, birth announcements, moving announcements and thank you cards, none of which I really needed at the moment. But they're very flexible, and went along readily with my desire to have some personalized children's birthday cards. I chose their Cupcake Mania birthday invitation design in Light Cyan and Brown. Instead of the What/When/Where/RSVP information, the card read "Have a wonderful birthday from Pea, 3Po and Jammy". They come with envelopes so we can slide the card into the envelope -- or we could punch a hole in one corner of the card, thread a ribbon through it and use it as a giant gift tag. It's the perfect custom-printed card for children's birthday party presents!


Here's a great incentive to try out Paper Culture's products: Until August 31 only, you'll get $15 off your order of $75 or more (excluding taxes, shipping and postage).

I received a product sample for this post, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Jazwares -- a Perfect Combination of Back-to-School Items

This summer my boys converted to the Church of Bakugan, so it's not surprising that they want everything in their universe to have a Bakugan on it -- their clothes, bags, sheets, curtains, lunchboxes, you name it. I'm not going that far, but getting them Bakugan notebooks and pencils and other small items is certainly within my budget. In June I searched far and wide for Bakugan stuff, but couldn't find any. So it was like the Church of Bakugan had performed a miracle when I found out about the Jazwares 2009 Back-to-School line -- it's all about Bakugan!

The Basics
We were sent the Bakugan Pencils with Case set and the Bakugan 11-Piece Value Set, along with a Hershey's Miniature USB drive. The rest of the Jazwares 2009 line of licensed stationery sets includes:

* Hershey's Miniatures Memory Sticks (shaped like Hershey's chocolate, Krackel, Mr. Goodbar, Twizzlers and Bubble Yum)
* Bakugan Musical Pen and Pad
* Bakugan 3D Eraser Set
* Bakugan Pencils with Toppers
* Bakugan Pencils with Case
* Bakugan Deluxe Stamper Set
* Bakugan 11 Piece Value Set



The Hershey USB drives can be purchased at Best Buy and the Bakugan stationary sets can be purchased at Toys R Us (in stores and online) and Rite-Aid.

The Bongga
It's all about the characters, baby! My boys are really into Bakugan -- just like most boys out there -- so this line of school supplies really hit the sweet spot. And speaking of the sweet spot, those Hershey's USB flash drives are SWEET. No, seriously. Litzky PR sent me one that looked like a Hershey's Miniature milk chocolate bar. It was stuck to a cardboard flyer, and I thought it was a real piece of chocolate! I was thinking nice, kind thoughts about the Litzky folks as I tried to unwrap the chocolate, only to discover to my disappointment -- and delight -- that it was a cleverly-disguised USB.

Now let's talk about quality and cost. At $7.99 for the 11-pc. Value Set and $4.99 for the pencil case set, this line is highly affordable (the rest of the line is similarly priced), which is great for cost-cutting parents like me. And the quality of the licensing is great. My kids love all the images emblazoned on the supplies. And unlike some licensed products, there are LOTS of images from the cartoon series, not just a lame old logo on the corner.


The Blah
First off, the pencils just don't sharpen properly! Talk about frustrating! I tried three different sharpeners, but the lead tip kept breaking off. Jammy and 3Po sat watching in dismay as I sharpened half of their beloved Bakugan design off the pencil -- so finally I took an Exacto knife and whittled off the rest of the wood to make a nice sharp pencil point. Also, I wish they had some sort of string or chain attached so the USB drive can be clipped onto a zipper pull; otherwise, they'll just fall to the bottom of the kids' backpacks.


The Bottom Line
Jazwares are an easy, affordable way to make back-to-school process a little more fun for young Bakugan Brawlers -- and because they love the licensed characters, you know they'll be taking extra-special care of their school supplies. I know my boys certainly will!

I received a product sample for this post, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Back to School with Mabels Labels

Mabels Labels, you are a mindreader! Remember when I reviewed your Classic Sticky Labels several months ago, and the only thing I could kvetch about regarding Mabels Labels was that we couldn't split an order between 2 names. Et voila, now they've come up with the Mabel's Labels Back to School Combo , which has samples of their best-selling labels in smaller amounts. You don't have to buy each product individually and end up with far too many labels, which means I don't even need to split an order.

Mabels' Labels was kind enough to send me Ultimate Back-to-School Combo pack for each of my 3 kids. Here's what we thought of them:

The Basics
Mabel's Labels Ultimate Back to School Combo Pack consists of:

50 Tag-Mates -- The ultimate in convenience, these are stick-on clothing labels.
40 Skinny-Minis -- These are like the Classic Sticky labels, but smaller, so you can stick them on spoons, pencils, scissors and other school supplies.
16 Shoe Labels -- extra-rugged labels with a protective overlay
2 Teeny Tags -- These are sturdy metal tags, like the Bag Tags, but smaller.

The pack costs $39.99, which is roughly the sum of the pro-rated cost of each of the individual items.

The Bongga
The Ultimate Back-to-School combo pack has just the right amount of everything -- enough for everything we need to label before school starts, with some left over to label the stuff they're sure to get as Christmas and birthday presents, and the stuff I'll be buying halfway through the schoolyear to replace the stuff they're sure to lose or break. All the labels in this pack have the same great quality that I loved in their Classic Labels:

* They're bright, colorful and sturdy;
* They're dishwasher / microwave-safe and UV resistant
* In addition, the clothing labels are laundry safe (BTW, here's a tip: the Tag-mates stay really well on clothing tags, so if the clothing item does have clothing tags, make sure that's where you stick the Tag-mates on).

Also, my kids love the labels! The shoe labels were surprisingly comfy; The Pea made of point of telling me that she couldn't feel them at all when wearing her shoes. They really enjoyed choosing the color schemes, and took ages selecting which icon they wanted on their labels (finally they settled on a sea star, skull and cow). The labels turned out so adorable, the've put my kids into a labelling frenzy. I had to work very hard to convince them that they did not need to put labels on the leather car seats. I swear, if we had a dog they'd probably slap a label on him too.

The Blah
Some of the shoe labels we received were not die-cut all the way through, so I had to cut them out myself with scissors. I assumed this was a fluke or one-off quality problem -- but the important thing is that when I emailed the company about it, they immediately offered to mail out a replacement. So in the end, it is really great to see that they stand by their satisfaction guarantee (a full exchange or refund if you are not satisfied with any part of your order).

Also, the Ultimate Back-to-School combo pack is available only until September 25, boo hoo, so make sure you get 'em while they're here. You can still buy either the Big Combo or Camp/School packs, of course, but in my mind neither of these are as good a deal as the Ultimate Back-to-School combo.

The Bottom Line
Mabels' Labels Ultimate Back-to-School combo pack is all you'll need to make sure everything you send off with your child to school comes safely back home again!

I received product samples for this review, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own.

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[IN]Place Rolling Case File

The [IN]Place Rolling Case File that OfficeMax gave me to try out has certainly travelled a lot of miles in two weeks! I took to BlogHer two weeks ago, and this week I was back in Chicago again to film the Peter Walsh-OfficeMax Back to School webcast in nearby Naperville. I took the Rolling Case File to show everyone from OfficeMax how I was using it and to give my feedback. And since it is from Peter Walsh's product line, after all, how could I resist asking him to sign my rolling case for me?

Peter, being a lover of pristine, neat surfaces and quite a humble guy to boot, looked understandably doubtful at the thought of desecrating this nice, sleek black case with his signature. But I promised not to sue him for vandalism of private property, so he gamely took my Sharpie and signed it.

The Basics
The Rolling Case File, from Office Max's [IN]Place System, designed by Peter Walsh, exemplifies some of Peter's organizational maxims: having a place for everything, having everything handy, keeping systems flexible. It's a portable file system with multiple compartments, handy organizational pockets, a separate laptop bag that stores in the front pocket, and a bag for power cords and peripherals that stores in one of the side pockets.

The Bongga
The [IN]Place Rolling Case File is sleek and sturdy and oh-so-well made. It rolls over sidewalksl and roads and airports with ease, and I'm not worried about the wheels falling off anytime soon.I love the way the telescoping handle goes up and down with a quiet, metallic whoosh at the push of a button. I used the middle area to pack my clothes and toiletries in, but if you're travelling on business, the attached bars make this the ideal case to carry all your files and folders in. I love all the separate compartments -- you don't have to rummage around in a bottomless pit to find things!

The Blah
The case is 1 inch wider than United Airlines' maximum thickness for carry-on baggage. I took it on board anyway because you can lose the extra inch by removing the laptop bag from the front compartment and squishing it in. I also figured people would cheat by way more than that (and I was right -- some people boarded the plane with what looked like steamer trunks and baby elephant cages). But still, I couldn't wheel it down the airplane aisle, and I had a nervous moment when I thought it wouldn't fit into the overhead compartment. After a couple of desperate shoves, the case managed to fit (this was a plane from San Francisco to Chicago, certainly not the smallest one out there). International flights? No problem. Smaller aircraft? Be prepared to check it in at the gate.

The Bottom Line
The [IN]Place Rolling Case File's separate compartments make it great for organization on-the-go. Just hope that on-the-go doesn't include a tiny propeller airplane! Whether your version has the designer's' signature on it or not, you'll appreciate the clean style and great quality.

I received a product sample for this post, but no monetary compensation. The views and opinions expressed here are my own.

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Rolling off to BlogHer with the [IN]Place Rolling Case File

I'm all set to go to BlogHer! Yesterday I received a nice surprise from Office Max: a Rolling Case File from their Peter Walsh [IN]Place line! They sent it to me so I could use it for an upcoming Office Max event that I'll be attending, so I could try it out and let everyone know what I think of it. I didn't think it would arrive in time for this BlogHer trip, but it did, so I'm using it. I threw all my clothes and toiletries into the section of the case that's normally reserved for hanging files. Everything else I'm packing fits into one or other of the other sections, so I'm good to go. I'll let you all know what I think of it once I get back from my trip.

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Paper Culture review and giveaway

Win one of 5 $50 gift certificates to Paper Culture! To enter, keep reading

To some people, a card is a card is a card. But many people want their stationery to reflect their personalities, lifestyle and culture. If you're one of those people, good news -- there's a new kid on the cardstock block! Paper Culture is a new premium stationery company focused on modern designs printed on quality, eco-friendly papers and envelopes and time-saving conveniences.

Paper culture sent me a sample pack of cards to try out, and I readily agreed because their cards look so cool. But even more important, they seem like a cool company. I like how they are committed to the environment with their eco-friendly materials. I like how they are committed to their local community via their Paper Culture Cares projects. And I like how they are committed to reaching out through online social media networks; they've got Twitter and Facebook accounts, they're reaching building relationships with bloggers like me, and they're offering giveaways to blog readers like you (Yup, a giveaway! Keep reading for more....)

I'm very impressed with the quality of their cardstock and envelopes. All of Paper Culture's cards are made of recycled paper, but these don't feel like recycled newsprint; they're heavy (130-lb. weight heavy stock paper versus the usual 80-110-lb.) and have a nice matte finish (I hate glossy cards). I love their clean, modern designs; for some reason, I've become fixated with the cards' rounded corners; I haven't seen cards with rounded corners before, and to me it just screams Originality.

Is this cute, or what? 3Po is really into skulls (skells, he calls them) these days, so I think he'd love to send these out on his birthday. Actually he might want to keep all the invitations for himself. You can see more of Paper Culture's designs at www.paperculture.com

Speaking of originality, their personalization features are truly personal. I'm not talking about adding photos or printing a generic message plus your kids' names. With Paper Culture, you can add a personal message to one, some or all of your cards. Making each card a true original. And here's another original feature -- Paper Culture will address and mail all your cards for you -- for only the cost of a stamp, until Jan 1, 2010. How convenient is that? It's like having your own social secretary who deals with holiday cards, invites to your annual summer barbecue, and other social correspondence. Makes me feel like Grace Kelly!

Want to see for yourself how great these cards are? Paper Culture is offering a 20% discount off your order (applied to cards only, before taxes, shipping and postage) until August 30, 2009 -- just use the code BONGGA20 when you check out.

Or you can try your luck here, because Paper Culture has generously offered to give away 5 gift certificates worth $50 each! Yes, five lucky Bonggamom Finds Reader will win a $50 Paper Culture gift certificate.

Required for entry: Go to the Paper Culture website, then come back here and leave a comment telling me which is your favorite design.

Extra entries:

1) Follow Paper Culture on twitter (leave a separate comment here saying you followed, with your twitter id).

2) Become a fan of Paper Culture on Facebook (leave a separate comment here saying you became a fan, with your Facebook user name)

3) Follow Finding Bonggamom on Blogger (leave a comment with your Blogger profile name).

4) Leave a comment on any of my blog posts on Finding Bonggamom (leave a separate comment here with the link to the post that you commented on).

5) Join any of the other giveaways currently running on Bonggamom Finds (leave a separate comment here with the name of the other giveaway you joined).

6) Tweet this giveaway (leave a separate comment with a link to your tweet). Here is a sample tweet you can copy and paste:

Win a $50 gift certificate from @bonggafinds and @paperculture FIVE winners! http://tinyurl.com/mjx55u please RT

This giveaway ends at midnight PST on July 27, 2009.; I will draw the 5 winners at random on July 28 and post the winners' name on the comments section soon after. For additional giveaway rules, click here. Good luck!

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Chic, classy stamps

I recently won a Three Designing Women self-inking stamp from chic online boutique Good for the Kids and the wild, wacky women at Room 704. Self-inking stamps have been around since forever, but TDW's stamps are so, soooooo chic. As in sophisticated chic. As in Martha Stewart chic. As in my-library-books-are-alphabetized-and-labeled chic. No more freebie return address labels with cheesy designs for my snail mail, oh no. All my envelopes -- and library books and paper napkins and gift tags and anything else I can find to stamp -- are going to look like I have a social secretary and a summer house in Maine. Ok, maybe not. But I can dream, can't I?

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Getting organized with Peter Walsh and Office Max

I love this billboard! It's Peter Walsh to a T!

Hoo Boy, organization (or the lack of it) sure did strike a chord with mombloggers. Last Thursday's webcast on workplace organization, sponsored by Office Max and featuring organizer Peter Walsh from the TLC hit series Clean Sweep, took Twitter by storm. Everyone was lamenting over the state of their desks and home offices and kids playrooms, and everyone was asking Peter questions. I was one of the lucky ones who got their questions answered live (what a thrill that was!). You can read about all of Peter Walsh's tips on building good organization habits , on my post at Silicon Valley Savvysource.

Here are some pearls of wisdom that Peter shared:

* Do not let flat surfaces get covered, keep them clear.

* Instead of Post-Its plastered all over your monitor, keep a journal to write your little notes and reminders.

* 80% of what goes into a file never sees the light of day again! So every 6 months or so, go through your files and purge what you no longer need.

* Establish an organizational routine (i.e. spend 10 minutes at the end of each day to clear up, file papers and mail as soon as you get them)

* Before buying any products to help you, consider first your vision of what you want your space to be, what functions you want it to perform. Then set limits on the amount of "stuff" you will permit to "live" in your space. Only then should you look into buying products to sort / organize / store that stuff.

Long after the Peter Walsh OfficeMax webcast ended, Twitter was still full of tweets about how inspired moms were to clean up their messes and get their offices and playrooms and files sorted, and how much they liked Peter's new workspace organization line, the OfficeMax InPlace System. The InPlace System embodies Peter's mantra for any successful organization system -- visibility (clear plastic products so you can see what's inside), accessibility (everything fits together and can be stored within arm's reach), portability (rolling files so that infrequently-used documents can roll out of the way, and rolling carts for workplaces-on-the-go), and reusability (using markers and Post-Its to label files).

I was given the opportunity to preview some of the products from his line, and I'm itching to buy a few more items and put them all to use. I've taken Peter's advice and given each of the kids one folder to store their drawings in. Any drawing that is left around on tables and floors gets put into the recycle bin. Now they choose which drawings they want to save, and it's limited to whatever fits into that folder. As Peter predicted, the kids LOVE having their own files and being responsible for what goes into them. GREAT idea, Peter!!!

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Mabels Labels Giveaway

It's The Pea's birthday today, and someone's getting a goody bag! Want to win some great clothing labels from Mabel's Labels? Keep reading.....

I recently had the opportunity to try out some Classic Sticky Labels from the awesome label company Mabel's Labels. They're sturdy, big, bright, eye-catching labels that no-one can miss (so you don't have to worry about some distracted mom packing away your kid's sippy cup), and they're microwave and dishwasher safe.

The Good
I love the label paper they use -- some kind of easy-to-peel, ultra-thin, glossy, high-tech, space-age material. Okay, I have no idea whether these labels use NASA-grade paper or whatever, but they sure look and feel a lot better than my home-printed paper labels. The labels colors are still as intense as the day I got them -- even after multiple visits to the dishwasher and microwave, they have not faded or chipped away. And the edges of the labels don't peel and curl up, so the label doesn't end up looking like an eyesore. Check out the difference between these two kinds of labels after numerous encounters with the dishwasher:

ORDINARY LABEL


MABEL's LABEL

The Bad
I can't really think of anything bad about these labels. Give me a minute and I'll come up with something.

(1 minute later...) Hmmm..... this is being ultra picky, but how about the ability to split orders, i.e. 2 or 3 names per order, you know, the way you can order a pizza with pepperoni on half of it and mushrooms on the other half? Since the kids share almost everything I've found it more convenient (and cost effective) to order labels with our surname. But I'd definitely be willing to pay a small surcharge to split an order.


The Bongga
I love, love the Ocean color combo! You can't get any more chic than those deep teal, purple and blue colors. Lucky me, I have 3 kids so even though none of the labels have their first names on them, we can still distinguish by color -- Pea gets the purple labels, Jammy gets the blue and 3Po gets the teal.


Want to try a set of Mabel's Labels yourself? We're giving away a set of peel-and-stick clothing labels! One lucky Bonggamom Finds reader will win a pack of 75 Tag-Mates labels. To enter, go to Mabel's Labels and take a look around. Then come back here and leave a comment on this post with your email address and tell me which kind of Mabel's Labels would help you out the most. This must be done

For extra entries, you can do any or all of the following:

1) Follow Mabels Labels on Twitter (leave a comment with your twitter id).
2) Follow Bonggamom Finds on Twitter (leave a comment with your twitter id).
3) Follow Bonggamom Finds on Blogger (leave a comment with your Blogger profile name).
4) Tweet about this giveaway (leave a commment with a link to your tweet).
5) Blog about this giveaway (leave a comment with a link to your blog post).
6) Subscribe to Bonggamom Finds (leave a comment with your Blogger profile name).
7) Anyone who left a comment on my April Fools Day Mabel's Labels post -- on April 1 only so only comments #1 thru #4 will count!! -- receives an extra entry to this giveaway.

For each extra entry, please leave a separate comment (don't list down all your extra entries in 1 comment!) . This giveaway ends at midnight PST on April 15, 2009.; I will draw a winner at random .on April 16 and post the winner's name on the same day. For additional giveaway rules, click here. Good luck!

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Mabel's Labels Invisible Sticky Labels -- Review and Giveaway!

Want to win some the most hi-tech labels EVER? Keep reading!

I tell you, humans are incredible beings. Humans invented the wheel. The airplane. Twitter. And now this -- Mabel's Labels new Invisible Sticky Labels. How cool is that? A label that's invisible to the human eye! It becomes visible only when you touch it. Don't ask me how -- they say it's some kind of laser technology -- all I know is that when I received my review sample of Invisible Sticky Labels to try out, they looked just like blank labels (note: make sure you don't accidentally print on them!). Yes, they're a bit difficult to peel and stick but they're just so COOL. They'd look great stuck on a row of nice, neat canisters, don't you think? So minimalist! And if you want to find out what's inside them, just touch the label to find out!



I was so lucky to have received sample of these hi-tech labels to try, but now someone else is going to get lucky too: Mabel's Labels is giving away a free pack of Invisible Sticky Labels to one lucky Bonggamom Finds reader. Here's how to enter:

Click here to see a photo of me showing off my new Mabel's Label's labels, then come back here and leave a comment telling me what you think. This must be completed in order to qualify for an extra entry.

You get one extra entry for tweeting this contest (leave a separate comment with the link to your tweet). Please use the following tweet:

Hi-tech Mabel's Labels giveaway from @bonggafinds and @mabelhood http://tw2.us/e0 pls RT!

Hurry, this giveaway ends April 7, 2009; I will pick a winner at random and announce the winner's name on April 8.

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Chic, Cheap Office Supplies

I've got the best home office in the world, really I do. Our computer desk sits at the top of the stairs in a cozy little nook, with a great view of our backyard and lots and lots of light. If only it were a bit more organized!

So in the spirit of cleaning up my clutter, I jumped at the chance to try out Office Max's recently-launched private label brand, DiVoga. They're priced comparably to other office supplies on the market, and do the job just as well -- but what gets me excited about them is that they are so darn cute! No more plain, boring old office supplies for me! They're such a cheap, chic way to add fashion and flair to your home office. Cheap and Chic.... Cheac, yes, that's the perfect word for them. Check out some of the Cheac products in the diVoga line:


The kids love playing with the magnetic paper clip dispenser because paper clips stick to the inside and outside of the rim.

I love the paisely inspired black-and-white design on their plastic filing envelopes.

Their pencils are almost too cute to sharpen! Thank goodness their binder clips are reusable because they're definitely too cute to throw away.

I imagine that Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada would throw any other binder except these croc binders out the window -- and heaven help the fashion assistant that dares to bring any other kind into her office! And these binders are made of 70% post consumer recycled paper so the Andy Sachs-es of the world can feel good about using them.

Form, function and frugality -- that's diVoga for you (hey, I should be writing their marketing slogans). Of course, we've got a lot more stuff to organize than just bills and statements :) At least we can organize it all in style!

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Disney Photo Calendar

Our Disney Photopass calendar has just arrived, and we couldn't be more excited! What a great way for our kids to remember their first Disneyland vacation, all throughout 2009.

The Good

These calendars are super easy to create. You choose which photos to include (from your own uploads, your Disney PhotoPass photos or Disney's collection of stock photos). You can choose from several layouts. You can choose which month you start your calendar. You can even input personal holidays. All of this takes time, so in case some inconvenient task pops up (like feeding your kids dinner or helping with homework), you can save your project and come back to it later.




The Bad

This is actually a replacement calendar: somehow they screwed up the first one they sent us. Someone else's order got mixed in with ours -- instead of a March calendar page, we got a photo of a green lizard lady, and the other side, which was supposed to our April photo, was blank.

Maybe that just a fluke, but surely even Disney knows that people like a wider variety of layouts (only 1 background design per month, and the 2-photo layouts only take portrait photos, not landscape). I also hate having no full-screen preview of the calendar. Does anyone else hate having to scroll up and down to see your calendar, or is it just me?


The Bongga

Their customer service is first rate, just like it is at the Disneyland parks. When I emailed them about the defective calendar they sent, I received a response within a day. They immediately reprinted the calendar and mailed it out, no questions asked. They didn't even ask me to return the defective calendar, or ask me to send a photo of the defective page to prove I wasn't scamming them for a free calendar. For those not so trusting, see Lizard Lady below:
I didn't even have to return the defective calendar. So thanks to Disney's generous customer service, I now have 2 calendars, 1 for us and 1 for the grandparents. I just have to give it to them after April so they don't wonder what Lizard Lady is doing there.

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Go, Go, GOShredder!

Out with the old, in with the new.... January is always a time to clean out old papers from our filing cabinet. With the risk of identity theft, we're very careful about shredding our personal documents, but I'm all torn up (pun intended) about our current shredder. It's a pain to take in and out of the storage box because the shredder keeps coming off the wastebasket part. It also overheats pretty quickly, after about 30 minutes of shredding, and we need to let it cool down before starting it up again. So when Office Max offered to let me have a go (pun intented) at their new portable GoShredder, I jumped at the chance.

The two words that come to mind when looking at the GoShredder are "cube" and "cute", so it definitely passes the coolness test. But would it perform? Surprisingly, it did!

The paper is shred into diamond-shaped bits, so there's no hope of anyone stealing the scraps from our recycling bin and pieceing the documents back together gether any of the documents (I believe that would be Security Level 3).

The shreds fall into a drawer beneath the shredding mechanism; when the drawer is full (it seems to hold about 70 sheets worth of shredded paper, a surprisingly large amount!) simply empty it into your recycling bin.

The good: Because of its compact size, light weight and carry handle, it's easy to take out of storage, use, and put back in place (important for lazy people like me).

The bad: Shredding capacity is closer to 6 sheets of paper at a time, not 8. Which is not a problem if you only use it for occasional shredding, not if you're trying to hide evidence of fraud or something.

The bongga: The boys and I shredded files like nobody's business (I emptied the bin 4 or 5 times over the course of about an hour), and the machine didn't overheat at all. And I love, love, love the carrying handle.

The final verdict: It's wonderful for light, occasional document shredding. I was impressed!

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