I can't believe it's the end of July already! Summer is half over and flying by! But what a summer it's been so far. Overall this month we've had incredibly warm and dry weather here (although we had quite a storm today). I LOVE summer so I'm really enjoying it (although we've been indoors a lot more than I would have liked because it's been so humid).
It's been another exciting month for the blog. I'm still learning new things but I have been so excited to get to know so many great people this month.
Here's a quick recap of the month.
Most Read Post:
The most read post in July was Gifts In A Jar. It was posted near the end of June but was featured on The Happy Housewife's Christmas In July series which brought a lot of traffic to my blog. Thanks Happy Housewife! Thanks also to all the commenters who mentioned some great variations on these jars that I hadn't seen before (soups and brownies... mmm!). Now I have a whole new set of gifts I can make :)
Most Commented On Post:
This title goes to Kids' Games Cupboard. I guess a lot of people find kids games tough to keep organized. I love all the comments and always check out the blogs of people who comment. It's a great way to get to know other bloggers!
My Favourite Post:
This month my favourite post is Our New Craft and Activity Area. It's just so exciting to even have this area because we've never had a craft area before AND the reason we have the space at all is because I purged so much a few months ago! Our basement is so crowded and cluttered but it's getting better and better as I work away at it. This craft area is a reward for some of that hard work :)
Other Posts From This Month:
1. June Review
2. Basement Entertainment Area
3. Summer Reading Club and Journal Writing
4. Summer Reading Club at the Library
5. Liebster Blog Award
6. Sunshine Award
7. Organizing My Kids' Activity Drawers
8. One Lovely Blog and Very Inspiring Blogger Award
Previous Months' Posts That Were Popular This Month:
1. Organizing Gifts (free printable) was still well-read this month. There were lots of comments on pros and cons of buying gifts in advance as well. A lot of the interest in this post was due to it being featured on Org Junkie's Favorite Organizing Links post. If you like organizing blogs (which I assume you do if you're reading mine!) then this is a great post to check out. So many great organizing tips and before & after pictures.
2. Organizing Our Hall Closet was popular too. A lot of people liked the BBQ tools in a basket. I'm happy to say the hall closet still looks pretty organized and I know a lot of it is because of how it is organized and labeled, so everything is easily found and (more importantly!) returned to the proper place after it's been used.
3. The Purging and Storing Leftover Paint post was also viewed quite a bit this month. It's been pinned and repinned a lot on Pinterest. So many comments about how much space this would save in people's basements, garages, and storage areas. I'm still trying to decide what I will use all my empty space for :)
Highlights This Month:
1. I was awarded 3 blog awards this month! For a relatively new blogger, this is such an honour. I really enjoyed giving these awards to other bloggers and getting to know people better through these awards. Thanks again to each of the ladies who gave me these awards!
2. 73 people like the From Overwhelmed To Organized Facebook page (plus a few organizations/blogs/companies that don't get included for some reason)! This is a 281% increase over last month! {yep I used to be a math teacher :)}. If you haven't "liked" the From Overwhelmed To Organized page yet, I'd love for you to do so. I share organizing tips and articles as well as share some of the projects I'm working on before they turn up on the blog. I'm really enjoying interacting with people here. Thanks for all the "likes" and comments this month!
3. I hit a few milestones on the blog this month in terms of pageviews. I reached over 1000 pageviews for Garage Cleanout Part 2 earlier in the month and Gifts In A Jar later in the month. Also, I recently surpassed over 15,000 total pageviews for the blog. These may not seem like a lot compared to some of the superstar blogs out there {you know the ones where the pageview counter rolls over every second?!}, but for me it's huge! I'm amazed that so many people are interested in what's going on in my little part of the world. Thank you to all of you for reading and commenting!
Goals From Last Month:
1. Start a From Overwhelmed To Organized Pinterest page. I actually didn't start this. I decided to start a Google+ page first but I haven't done it yet. {Shasta from In The Old Road has been teaching me a lot through her What Can Google+ Do For You series this month.}
2. Write more consistently (my goal is 3 times per week). That will depend partly on how much work my hubby gets (when he's home and can take care of the kiddos then I can organize more and write more!) as well as on how our summer goes (see the Organizing Our Summer post if you haven't read it yet for more on that). I'm still trying to find the balance between organizing my house and writing about it! Well, I wrote slightly more than I did in June but not as much as I'd planned. I started strong but slowed down a lot the last week and a half. I could use the fact that my hubby has been working all month as an excuse {yay for our pocketbook!}, but I am loving being a full-time mommy! I am intentionally choosing to spend time with my kids and not just work on projects or posts all day. I've never had a summer at home with them and I may never have it again, so I don't want to look back on this summer with any regrets. I hope all of you understand if my posts aren't very consistent right now!
3. Incorporate more tips for readers to help you move from overwhelmed to organized too! Hmm...well this is somewhat dependent on the previous goal...it's hard to show I gave more tips when I didn't write as many posts. I will continue this month to give tips in my posts and also share them on Facebook.
Goals For Next Month:
1. Start a From Overwhelmed To Organized Google+ page.
2. Spend time building up my "circles" on Google+ {Sounds like I know what I'm talking about doesn't it?! I'm learning :) Thanks Shasta!}.
3. Incorporate tips for readers to help you move from overwhelmed to organized too!
So that's my look back on the month of July. It's been another exciting month for the blog and I am so thankful that you have taken the time to join me on this journey from overwhelmed to organized!
Happy organizing!
