Take a look at what I use over and over again in my daily personal and business life to simplify and organize things!
I’ve listed below what my top favorites are and will add to it and update accordingly!
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cooking/appliances
I’ve been using the Ninja Coffee Bar for about 4 years now and I never want to live without it. Put it this way… when we moved across country with only what would fit in our SUV, THIS made the cut.
I’ll admit, when the craze first started about the Instant Pot I didn’t want to be just like everyone else. Until I heard what it could do for hard boiled eggs and then I was HOOKED and still am.
Another appliance? I know it… but if it didn’t make that big of a difference, it wouldn’t have made this list. I use it EVERY day. For bacon, fries, burgers, brats, and so much more! It’s a MUST in my kitchen.
I was intimidated with cast-iron until one day I said “heck with it” and gave it a whirl. The way it seasons & cooks my favorite dishes though… it’s now a MUST. It creates a texture/flavor that regular ole non-stick skillets can’t give.
home decorating/Organization
Joanna, I tried for so long to resist your style because everyone loved it. (I like to be different.) But each time I walk through the aisles at Target, I can barely resist the urge to get affordable home decor!
I’ll never forget when I realized H&M had home decor. It was like the gates opened and the heavens parted. SUPER cute decor/organization goodies and it’s AFFORDABLE!
When you love to organize, shopping at The Container Store is like being a kid in candy store.
Baskets, drawer organizers, files, labels, oh my!! It’d a must when needing to tackle a big or small area!
Fashion
Sure, we all own a good pair of yoga pants. But what about the days when you want to dress up for date night, or heck… when you just want to look snazzy at the grocery store?
Modcloth is my favorite place to get dresses for any ocassion.
When LOFT runs a good sale, you’ll typically find me shopping online for denim or tops (with ruffle shoulders of course)!
The only thing I pay full-price for at LOFT though is the denim. Talk about some good jeans… oh my.
Who DOESN’T need a flamingo dress? Ok so I’ve found other, not-so-wild patterns at Chicwish but they have all kinds of adorable fashion finds!
Kind of like LOFT, you’ll typically only find me shopping J.Crew when there’s a good sale. I love shopping there for tops (like this green one) and adorable flats, like these leopard print shoes that I found, ahem, 5 years ago and STILL wear. GASP!
Need I say more? I mean, Target for the home decor, the $5 bargain finds and the adorable and affordable clothes!
My favorite fashion items to get from Target are swimsuits and cardigans!
Personal Software/Online Tools
If it weren’t for Quickbooks you’d find me keeping track of our finances in a spreadsheet or checkbook register… but who wants to do that!? Quickbooks is a game-changer for my business and home finances!
I use Trello to organize my personal AND business life. From notes to “to-do’s” and so much more!
When and if my computer ever crashes, I know I’ll be safe because I have Dropbox to save ALL of my goodies to the cloud!
BLogging/Business Tools
Sure, iphones take great photos these days but there is NOTHING like taking photos of my food for the blog with my Nikon camera.
I use the Nikon D7200 but starting out it’s absolutely ok to use a more affordable camera!
Starting in photography can feel overwhelming but when I got the 50mm lens to go with my camera when I was first starting out, it made a HUGE difference. Beautiful close-up shots (you know, the ones with the blurry-backgrounds, etc.)… this lens made it easy!
Wondering how to put “text” on photos or make collages? PicMonkey is one of my favorites to use for blogging and personal photo creations!
Like PicMonkey, you can use Canva to edit and create images/printables and so much more for your blog/business and/or personal life!
Even taking photos in the middle of the day, sometimes it’s just nice to have a lighting kit to shed some light on the situation. (Usually a plate of food in my situation.)
No matter if you’re using your phone or a DSLR camera to take photos, sometimes you just need an extra special touch to bring some life to you photos!
Lightroom is what I’ve always used over photoshop and it’s my favorite photo editing program!
After having a few different themes on my blog over the last few years, I’ve fallen in love with Feast Themes. They’re easy to use, created with bloggers in mind and affordable!
My tech guru recommended them when I was looking for a change and I can’t thank him enough. Speaking of… see who that “tech guru” is. If you have a blog, you’ll want him on your blogging team asap!
Talk about a lifesaver… Grayson has come to my rescue more times than I can count. He and his team are tech geniuses!
I recommend Siteground hosting to ALL of my newer bloggers and those wanting to create a website. The first year is affordable and they’re a dream to work with!
In blogging and online business, keyword research is SO important. SEMRush is my platform of choice to help me figure out what to focus on!
Did you know that having an email in your business is one of the most important things you can have? ActiveCampaign isn’t the most affordable email platform but it’s robust and it does so much FOR ME, that I don’t have to and that saves this busy momma time.
Did you know that having an email in your business is one of the most important things you can have? ActiveCampaign isn’t the most affordable email platform but it’s robust and it does so much FOR ME, that I don’t have to and that saves this busy momma time.
I use Trello to organize my personal AND business life. From notes to “to-do’s” and so much more!
When and if my computer ever crashes, I know I’ll be safe because I have Dropbox to save ALL of my goodies to the cloud!
As someone who LOVES to create printables, sometimes it’s nice to have a template to get me started with customizing! I LOVE using The Template Shop for this!