I have a very slight obsession with lovely pens.

By lovely I don’t necessarily mean expensive or good-looking but I do mean the way the pen writes.

I’ve loved THICK gel pens for a good few years now but the problem with the standard ones is this: if those caps go missing, you have leaky ink all over your gorgeous handbag!

Enter these lovelies.

Oh my! They are delicious!

they’re all in one so no caps will go missing (big plus)

they write like a dream as they’re medium point (0.7) and

they come in yummy colours (pink, purple, sky blue, dark green, dark blue, dark red, etc.) as well as the standard (boring) blue and black

My favourite colours are the sky blue and pink.

They’re a bit more expensive than standard gel pens at R25 each (South African readers – I get them at CNA) but WELL worth every single rand.

As you see in the pic above, mine just never go missing and because I write with a whole variety of colours, they each last about a year!

If you’ve tried these pens, let me know in the comments. If you haven’t, what are you waiting for?! Let the pen love begin.

Seriously though, which are your favourite pens and why? Do you have any strange pen weirdness?

P.S. I’m not receiving a single cent for promoting these pens. The simple truth is that I LOVE them!

Look what I found – gorgeous, colourful cutlery caddies.

Of course, cutlery is really the last thing I thought of when I saw these as I immediately had other plans for them.

In the babies’ room this holds their sleep and classical CDs, nose drops (I’d never even HEARD of saline nose drops before the babies were born!) and other such medicinal stuff (lovely and vague, isn’t it?).

I’m not the only one who loves this gorgeous, bright caddy – Connor literally whirls that head of his around to look at this thing if he so much as catches a glance of it. LOL

That was my original purchase.

After a few days of looking at the loveliness, I couldn’t resist and I went back to get another one. Thank goodness they still had some left.

This time for my study/ home office.

I was all about simplifying and increasing space on the desk, especially now that I’ve added a plant.

A plant I received as a gift because, just in case you didn’t know this about me, I do NOT have the gift of growing plants. In fact, it’s more honest to say I kill them. Fortunately my friend bought me a plant that came with instructions so it’s already lasted 4 months which is a BIG record for me.

The caddy now holds a few pens, my camera cable and stapler (don’t you like the way the stapler hangs off the side) and a couple of notebooks I use on a daily/ weekly basis.

Which other uses can you think of for these beauties?

P.S. They’re R49,99 each at Mr Price Home.
P.P.S. Mr P is not paying me a single cent to write about the caddies.

This is Bongani’s sleeve. I had to take this picture because look! They’ve built pen holders into their uniforms.

Fun and functional!

Share in the comments - does this kind of work environment make you do the happy dance, or is it too minimalistic?

I love it! But mine is a LOT more colourful and happy.

I won’t mention the R word but since I know a lot of you are watching your pennies, let me share some frugal organising posts with you:

1. Frugal organising with cereal boxes
2. Frugal labelling

How else can you be organised yet frugal?

And while we’re talking free stuff, remember to download your free forms – menu planners, master to-do lists, shopping lists, etc.

So many forms; so little time

Look at this gorgeous beauty that now lives in my kitchen! Am I the only one who uses one of these every single day?

And now…my menu for the week

Monday
Stirfried veggies, noodles and beef

Tuesday
M – my year-end function
D – beef lasagne

Wednesday
Pineapple chicken, mashed potatoes and carrots

Thursday
Chicken steaks, rice and veggies

Friday
Hot dogs and chips

Don’t forget to visit on Friday to show off what you declutter this week. The Mr Linky will be up at 12am EST so get ready

Here it is – my new 2008 daily planner.

Isn’t it gorgeous?

Of course, I think it looks gorgeous because the colours match my website and my business cards.

But the best?

You have to feel it. I’m such a tangible person and I love feeling nice textures. This may or may not surprise you but I often buy things simply because of how they feel. And this planner is gorgeous. to. touch. Mmmmmm….

Why this makes me do the happy dance

1. It has a gorgeous soft cover.
2. I love the beautiful shades of green on the outside and inside.
3. It’s smaller than the other one! And thinner (more space in my handbag)!!
4. Space for appointments and space for to-do notes
5. Financial planner for the year
6. Monthly event planner

Funny – the scriptures don’t really make it for me. I always have a Christian daily planner but honestly, I look at the scripture reference maybe 2 – 3 times a month!

Now, if you’ve already bought your daily planner for 2008, I want to see it!

Please post your photos on your own blog or somewhere online (Picasa, etc.) and link up below so I can come see.

This definitely works for me. If you want to read about more cool tips, visit Shannon.

I am so excited to tell you about this favourite tool of mine – the Sunshine Organizer. This calendar really works for me.

I was given mine as a gift and I had hardly walked in the door when Dion put it up on our wall and started filling it in. I had a small one up already but we both love this one so much because there is A LOT of space. And it’s yellow/ orange so it makes me happy!!!

This is perfect for a family with kids, or any busy family (like ours). There’s enough space for Dion’s stuff and for my stuff and best of all, neither of us has to scrunch up our handwriting to make it all fit

The features of the calendar include:

1. 14 months (starts in Nov 2007 and runs through to Dec 2008)
2. Large blocks to write in
3. Lined blocks to write straight
4. See your month at a glance
5. Starts with Monday so you have Sat and Sunday together ( shaded)
6. Emergency Numbers

When you open it to hang on your wall, cupboard, etc, it looks like this. Look how much SPACE there is!!!

back of calendar with instructions for use, emergency numbers, space for telephone numbers, etc.

this is a page in use – see all the writing, stickers, etc. Lovely!

Because I love this Sunshine Organizer so much, I offerered to put a link in my store so that you, dear blog readers, can also get your own one. Scroll down the front page just a bit to view the details.

It only costs $18.95 or R130 which of course, includes packing and postage. Please note there are two buttons so please choose International or South African. International readers, it will get to you within 3 weeks and South Africans, it will get to you within a week. Or if you’re really desperate to get yours, you can collect from Debbie, the creator of this gorgeous product, in Randburg.

Buy your copy now.

Plastic envelopes must be one of my absolute favourite organising tools of all time.

1. They are transparent so you can see what you have in them.
2. They have a clip (don’t bother getting the ones with the string because they are just ANNOYING).
3. They are roomy so you can throw in any pens, clippings, envelopes, etc. you’re working on.
4. They are portable so you can take them with you to work or read through in the car, at the hairdresser, etc.

I use them mainly for my projects so I have a number of these on my desk, each with a different purpose.

I seem to have lots of ideas for e-books, courses, etc. so when I’m ready to work on something, I’ll prepare a plastic project envelope. I usually use a post-it note to label the project so that when I’m done, I can just throw it away and I still have a nice-looking envelope (like the green one above) without that horrible sticky stuff that most labels leave behind.

In the top one, you’ll see my latest product that I was working on – the Organise your Business system (this one is mainly to organise your home-based business). I have an e-book in the second one (you can just see the edge of the post-it) and some weekly tips ideas in the third one.

I usually only keep the plastic envelope until the project is complete. Then I toss my rough notes because everything is either in the e-book or on my website.

The coloured polypropylene ones come in a pack of two at Pick & Pay (most things I buy at P&P) for R6.99 (US$1).

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Now allow me the chance to rave about my new, best plastic folders.

These ones are called book bags, they’re made by Croxley and I bought mine at Pick & Pay for R12,99. They are lovely soft plastic, attach with velcro and have a little flap for a name tag/ subject insert.

I’ve been testing this one for the last month and it is lovely and durable. You can see there’s plenty of space for my gorgeous gel pens, flash drive and all the stuff I’m reading and working on.

I’m not getting commission for this, nor have I been asked to review them (why not, Croxley?) – I just really, really love them and they definitely make me do the happy dance!