organize

You know the scene.
You’re surfing the web.
You find the perfect recipe/decorating idea/craft project.
Your heart skips a beat.
You squeal with joy and dance in your chair a little.
Where have you been all my life? you think to yourself…

Then your cell phone rings.
It’s your mother.
And by the time you get back to the computer you have forgotten all about your favorite thing.
Until a few days later…when it has disappeared into thin air.

You search.
You use Google Images.
You check your history.
Its. Just. Gone.

Ring a bell?
It sure does for me!
I have wasted more time looking for a lost online resource than I care to recall. But luckily I have picked up a few tricks along the way.

Here are my favorite four resources for keeping track of the ideas I find online.

#1: Vi.sualize.us

Vi.sualize.us is a social bookmarking site for visual content.  It’s perfect for saving my favorite decorating ideas!  When I come across a rockin’ kitchen remodel, cool wall art arrangement or a unique window treatment, I can save it to my account and refer to it in the future when I need it.

I use the nifty Firefox extension which allows me to right click on most any pic on the web and instantly save it to my Vi.sualize account without even leaving the site.  Cooool.

#2: Springpad

Springpad is the bomb.  Really.  It is.
I happen to be completely addicted to crafty blogs…and also moderately addicted to home decorating blogs.  Oh, and mildly addiction to foodie blogs too.  With all those subscriptions, I needed to find an easy way to save all my favorite projects for future reference!

Using the Springpad Web Clipper, I can save my faves with the click of a mouse into any of the categories I have set up.  It appears as a button at the top of my browser:

When I click it, I get a pop-up screen that allows me quickly save the page without interrupting my surfing mojo.  Done deal.

#3 Plan to Eat

Plan to Eat is the only site I actually pay for.   And the reason I’m willing to pay for it when I am unwilling to pay for toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo, body wash and about 27 other things?  Because it saves me time and effort in the kitchen.  Big time.

I save all my favorite recipes from across the web in one collective, organized spot.  Then I can drag and drop them into a calendar for an easy menu plan, and even print a shopping list for the whole dog-gone thing.  You can also print the recipes without leaving the site!  Mmm-Hmm!  It’s $4.95 per month or $39 per year, but you can take it for a 30 day test drive for free.

#4 Recipe Nut

RecipeNut.com is the free alternative to Plan to Eat.  You can save and organize links to all your favorite recipes from across the web.  Categorize by ingredient, cuisine, meal or occasion for easy recall.  This is strictly a site for organizing recipe links.  You won’t be able to create a menu plan, shopping list or print a recipe directly from here.  But if you can do without all that, this is the place to get your online recipes in order.

How about you?  Do you have any tips for organizing your online resources?

Posted in: organize

{ 0 comments }