The EASY way to Substitute Scrapbooking!

It's been a while since I last posted! I have been VERY busy! I've decided for the next few posts I will let you know some of my ways of making life easier! New Years come with changes to make life go smoother! Since the New Year I have tried to write down Resolutions and one of them is to keep up on the documentation of my family. This is normally a stressful subject for Moms! There's already SO MUCH to do to take care of your little ones, how can you keep up with pictures and even more stressful SCRAPBOOKS!!! I know there are people out there who LOVE to scrapbook but even those people have many books unfinished in their home....to constantly have that in the back of your mind can be stressful! Some women are reading this saying, "I have NO creative bone in my body so there is NO WAY I can Scrapbook!" I have the answer for ALL of you Moms and Grandmas who want to document but don't really have the time and energy (and/or creativity)! 

Even if you have never Scrapbooked in your life, everyone has a photo album that just sits around getting dusty and cost a mint to print ALL the pictures in it! This is my alternative to both! Make it one of your resolutions to try this!

Go online or to a bookstore and buy a simple lined 8X6 journal. One that you LOVE the cover! This is  small enough to keep by your favorite spot at home, where you sit everyday to have a cup of coffee or tea. Also small enough to carry with you on trips or to the coffee shop! Pictured here is my current Journal, which I have had since October 2009 and I still have A LOT of space left!

I know some of you are thinking, you are just journaling.... I really don't find myself going back and just reading things I've written over the years. I am a visual person and who doesn't love picture along with a story? Especially when its about the kids in your life! 

The other thing you will need is a camera.... which MOST people have and carry with them everywhere. Especially when you have a smartphone, a high quality camera is right in your pocket or purse! If your child says or is doing something really cute, simply take a picture. Later that day write about it in your journal or even more "busy mom" effective....write about it in the notes section of your phone (if you have a smartphone)!
I will tell you how I do it: I take the pictures, write the notes in my phone and sit down with my journal once a week or once every other week! SO SIMPLE!!!! There are options to print pictures in wallet size at most places now! This is what I do for MOST of the pictures in my scrapbook journal and then you can send the extra picture to grandma! Save large prints for extra special photos! Cut into your photos so more of them fit on one page! Alot of times I write in my journal and leave spaces for the pictures because I don't print that often!

Here is a sample page from my Scrapbook Journal. Yes, my writing is MESSY! You don't have time to write your best, as long as YOU can read it, that's all that really matters!

I save cute pictures my kids draw, which are small enough to fit in the journal!

 I also use my journal as a date book/planner when I go on trips! I draw out a calendar and tape it onto the book so it will fold out! I even write down flights just so I have everything in a different spot than my phone incase something happens to it! It helps keep me organized and it's fun to look back on, to see what we did on our trip!

 Lastly, I am going to share with you something really cute which I have waiting in my phone to be added to my scrapbook journal.

Here is the story I have written in my phone:

January 4th, 2012

Before school this morning Brenden says "I need to look fancy today!" I said "why?" He said "Because of Gwen!"(This is a girl in his class he has like for a while and his teacher moved their seats next to each other after the christmas break.) I said "What does FANCY mean to you? What will you wear?" He said "Like black sweats and a black wedding shirt!" 

so here he is looking "FANCY"!  =)

Such a sweet story which could be forgotten in a week by busy mom, but this is something I get to relive everytime I bring out my scrapbook journal! 

Here's to a great 2012 with MANY fun memories!!!!