Tag: CrateJoy

why you should support small businesses

Why you should support small businesses

Lori @ Touch of Organized1 Comment

Have you been asking yourself why you should support small businesses? Because small businesses keep us connected!

How much impact do small businesses really have?  Well, I’m glad you asked!  By 2021, there were approximately 32.5 million small businesses in the US – that accounts for 99.9% of all US businesses.  That’s just incredible to me!

Whether I’m shopping at a farmer’s market or on someone’s website, I love the idea of supporting the people who are doing it on their own; who are coming up with these ideas and products and services and then providing them to their clients and customers.

I suspect that in the last two years since March 2020, these numbers have changed dramatically.  With the shifts taking place in the workforce and in the homeplace, more people are starting their own businesses. Or at least side businesses. I think the pandemic and the corresponding quarantine(s) have changed how people view the workplace and their work-life balance.

Not only does running your own business open the possibilities of being more connected to your own family because of the potential for more flexible work demands, but I feel like it connects us to each other.  When I buy a photograph from an Etsy shop, it warms my heart to think that the photographer took and developed the picture and then carefully packed it up and mailed it to me.  I feel connected to that photographer in a way that just doesn’t happen when you buy a picture form a big box store.

My favorite places can show you exactly why you should support small businesses!

Why you should support small businesses

Creative Market sells beautiful digital products, so you have access to them immediately upon purchase.  No waiting on the postal service!  But they aren’t made by Creative Market, they are made by wonderful creative people!  Personally, I have quite a few files and collections from different independent creators such as fonts, graphics, and templates.  And a secret between you and me?  Every Monday they offer six free products for you to download and use.

Personally, I’ve bought so many beautiful things from Etsy that it’s hard to know where to start!  But I love that the shops that are owned by the people making and selling their own creations. A few of my faves are:

  • Phoenix Botanicals and Green Beauty Cosmetics
  • Country Creek Seeds and Valley Variegations
  • Sunshine Sticker Co and Planner Kate
  • Smoldering Creations and GRN House of Glass
crafting subscription boxes

I just love a good subscription box.  I have tried so many over the years but some of my favorites have come from Cratejoy. It’s time to discover 1,000’s of subscription boxes as unique as you are! Whether you want fun coloring books or tasty coffee or pretty soaps or even planner stickers (yay!), there is a subscription box for that.  And the best thing about Cratejoy, you get one of these wonderful packages created and sent to you on schedule from these amazing creative geniuses!

When I think about why you should support small businesses, it comes back to being connected. When I buy a plant from an Etsy shop, it’s amazing to me that the same person who grew the beautiful little plant in their own greenhouse is the same person who put him in his pot of soil, carefully boxed him up, and took him to the post office. I feel connected to that plant and that gardener so much more than if I just bought the same plant from a massive home-and-garden store. And I feel so much more excited when that plant grows because it feels like that connection with the gardener is thriving along with the plant.

Frequently Asked Questions

3 reasons why you should support small businesses

  1. You can make an impact in someone’s life. You will be directly affecting someone’s livelihood.
  2. You can make an impact in your community. Your community farmers at the market appreciate your business in a much different way than the mass market grocery store does.
  3. You can make an impact in your own life. Many times, the products and services are more customizable, more personal, and more cultivated with you in mind.

Why are small businesses so important to the economy?

In addition to creating millions of jobs all over the country, small businesses create growth and innovation to almost any industry. And small businesses support each other. Owners of small businesses tend to support other small business owners and freelance entrepreneurs.

gift planner

Do you plan out your gifting – for the holidays and for the year?

Lori @ Touch of OrganizedLeave a comment

Is it just me, or does everyone plan gifts in advance?  Not every gift is planned out; every so often I come across something that I just have to get for someone.  But I love my gift tracker pages!  It comes in so handy for planning when I need to get the nephews’ gift cards or the mother-in-law’s scarf.  Not to mention how wonderful it is during the holiday season.  Especially if you tend to buy gifts throughout the year, it’s terrific for keeping up with what you’ve already bought.  You can also take advantage of sales when they happen throughout the year and just mark down what you’ve stashed away.  (Erin Condren seasonal surprise boxes, Paper Me Pretty stationery subscription, and Current Catalog card sets, I’m looking at you!)  Whether you are planning for birthdays at any time during the year or the holiday season specifically, the whole process is so much easier when you plan ahead!

Within the first five pages of my planner, I always include these Year at a Glance and Year in Color pages.

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2022 Year at a Glance and Year in Color
is your planner ready

Is your 2022 planner ready to go?

Lori @ Touch of OrganizedLeave a comment

It’s October and 2022 is right around the corner.  I’ve already started next year’s planner!  I love checking out what options are available from my favorite places like Erin Condren but I also like to shop around for other items.  Some of my favorites include Sunshine Sticker Company, Planner Kate, Coco and Opal, and Paper Planner Club.  It’s always so much fun to decorate with the tabs and stickers!

But the first thing you should do is sketch out what you want your planner to look like for 2022.  Do you want to focus on your financial goals?  Do you need to improve your calendar system?  Do you want to keep better track of birthdays?  Do you want to start journaling?  Do you need to focus on project planning?  Do you want to start a home business?  Once you decide a path for 2022, you can fill in the pages that you will need.

If you want a full printable planner, check out this beautiful 2022 dated planner!  So much easier than dating or making your own!  It includes a full annual calendar, Year at a Glance, dated monthly pages, a weekly planner page, a project planner page, a bill payment page, and two different notes pages.  You’ll be ready for the entire year!

Get your printable calendar today!
Get your printable calendar today!

Within the first five pages of my planner, I always include these Year at a Glance and Year in Color pages.

2022 Year at a Glance and Year in Color
planner supplies

So many planner supplies!

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There is something about that blank planner page that makes me want to pull out my entire sticker collection!

Some pages are better off with a minimalist design, but some just beg for decoration and stickers and gel pens.

CrateJoy subscription stickers

Left to right: Coco and Opal from CrateJoy, Erin Condren, Planner Kate from Etsy

  • I fell in love with the Coco and Opal Design Planner Stickers as soon as I opened my first packet! They are a reasonably priced monthly subscription from CrateJoy. The above stickers are from the month of July with a delicious lemonade theme, and I actually laughed out loud at the text stickers on the bottom section of the picture — “Stupid To Do List”.
  • One of the biggest names in personal planners and planner stickers is Erin Condren, and with very good reason. I have not tried her actual planners yet (truthfully, I didn’t want to switch styles mid-year) but I had to try out some of her stickers and accessories. My favorite feature is that a majority of the stickers are customizable. The larger sheets pictures above (the watercolor and the lacy ones) are in colors that I selected. I love that you can coordinate them to your existing color scheme or to the season! The little hexagon ones above are brilliant – they are page markers that wrap around the paper so you can find something quickly!
  • In all honesty, PlannerKate1 is one of the most successful shops on Etsy. I don’t mean the most successful sticker store or planner accessory seller, I mean one of the most successful shops PERIOD. Remarkable! And I just had to try them out. They are mostly designed for the Erin Condren planners (in sticker shape and size) but could be used in just about any planner you have on hand. I tend to use more functional stickers and these certainly fit the bill.

Behold the Erin Condren seasonal surprise box! It seems to have already sold out so I don’t think I am spilling any secrets….

There was so much in this beautiful box that I could barely fit it all in the picture. The fall color scheme is gorgeous shades of navy, purple, and teal with silver highlights. I always appreciate silver highlights over gold but that’s just a personal preference.

  • Padfolio Set *sneak peek* – navy vegan leather containing two to-do list pads and one weekly calendar pad
  • 2-pack of folded paper ornaments *sneak peek* – haven’t opened them just yet but can’t wait to hang them in my home office
  • Hexagon Sticky Note pack *sneak peek* – who can’t use pretty sticky notes in their planner, on their calendar, on the fridge at home, anywhere really
  • 3-piece ballpoint pen set *sneak peek* – three pens in purple, navy, and teal (please note that the ink is a smooth black ballpoint)
  • 2 sticker sheets *exclusive* – I love the fact that these fall leaves aren’t the normal fall colors of orange and yellow
  • Interchangable covers *exclusive* – snap into the EC planners but they might fit other spiral notebooks too
  • Large eraser *exclusive* – because life is about learning from your mistakes
  • Asterisk decorative tape dispenser *sneak peek* – roll out the sparkly stars to decorate your fall calendars
  • Stationery set *exclusive* – gorgeous notecards with silver envelopes