Mission: Organization

I like to be organized. I have good intentions when I start getting organized. Then entropy sets in, and all efforts go down the drain. However, with planning a wedding, I knew that organization just to stay sane was key.

There were so many blogs to sift through, pictures to save, articles to clip, and so forth. I knew that if I were to actually cut things out of magazines, I would end up with a stack up to the ceiling, easy. I love magazines. How do I take care of this madness?! Without going mad?!

I'm online all the time at work, so the most logical and useful things to me have been web-based. My new best friend has been Google Reader. I've subscribed to a ton of feeds from wedding blogs to photography blogs and even my friends' blogs. Every morning, I log in and catch up on all the blogging that has gone one. Everything neat and tidy thanks to Google Reader.

Next, I've started using Google Notebook for pages that I like or have been inspired by, but don't have a blog or feed. I've kept potential vendors including florists, bakeries, and DJs. It makes it easier to organize since I can create multiple notebooks and sections and not crowd my regular bookmarks.

I'm also a heavy Firefox user. I think the option of having multiple tabs is awesome. I always have at least 10 tabs open and I hate to close them because I don't want to lose the page that I was on. Thank goodness for a history window!

Finally, to synchronize appointments and visits with the fiance, we've employed Google Calendar. Google Calendar allows us to share our appointments with each other easily and instantly. When I was making appointments to visit reception venues, I would key it into my calendar and then he knew what was coming up. I also shared these with my mom since she came along for the visit as well. So great!

Simply said, Google has been a lifesaver in keeping me sane. (No, I'm not a paid Google endorser, and I do think they are taking over the world.) You do what you gotta do.

A great new way to collect addresses!

I've been trying to figure out the most efficient and convenient way to collect the addresses and information of our family and friends. Sending around an Excel spreadsheet seems cumbersome and even with Google Documents, not everyone is signed up for Google (as prolific as it is). I thought about just collecting addresses from my mom's address book, but that would take forever to type. Data entry? No thanks! Plus into today's digital world, everyone (almost) is at a computer/blackberry/iPhone/etc at all times.



Then I came upon Mrs. Eggplant's suggestion and the lovely form building website Wufoo.com. Wufoo is the answer to my quandary. It allows to to build a custom form and deliver it to your audience. And even embed it in your website or blog. Talk about a simple solution!

3 basic forms and 3 basic reports are free, and even with what seems "basic" should be more than enough to fit a bride's needs. You can customize the look of the form to a degree and add color. You can definitely add your personality into the form. In addition, you can get reports of information that has been submitted. So great! And of course, if that's not enough, Wufoo has some affordable options if more space is needed.

Try it out if you're looking for a convenient and efficient way of collecting information!