A+ Notes!

Now that I am a sophomore in college I have found the technique that works for me so I decided to share how I write my notes.

There are many different methods to take notes and to organize them. I like to keep a 1 subject notebook for each class. I also color code my classes so it is easy to find the notebook I need. Here is an example of a how I would take notes in a notebook. I like to put a label on the notebook instead of writing on the notebook itself so for any reason I could take of the label if I needed to. I also prefer college ruled than wide ruled notebooks.

The first page of the notebook I dedicate it to a Contents page. This is were I can see what chapter notes are on what pages (this is an example that is why I only have Chapter 1). I would also write below the Chapter 1 what exam these notes will be useful for.

This the way I set up my notes. I put the chapter in the right hand corner. I put the main title at the top of the page. I then put the section tile and highlight that in yellow. Subsections are highlighted in pink. Vocab words are underlined.

At the end of the page on the right hand corner mark what page number it is. So when you are finished taking note from the chapter and you end on page 4 of your notebook you would go to your contents page and write that in. So then you would know Chapter 1 notes are on pages 1-4.

I hope this gave you some inspiration. It definitely keeps me organized and it also keeps me interested in studying since it is easy to read.

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What I got for Christmas? (Vanity Organizer)

My family celebrates Christmas so since its over now and most of my stuff came in the mail I would like to share what I got. Now that I'm older holidays became more of a family time for me. The past few holidays weren't the best due to family issues but this year thankfully went very well. This Christmas I got a couple gifts to open along with gift cards and money to spend. The first gift I got was from my grandmother. I was so surprised when I opened the box because it was such a perfect gift! I've been wanting one and I never even mentioned to her that I wanted to get one (or to anyone).

Here it is!

Since it is a gift I can't tell you where she got it from. I'm sure you can find a similar one if you dig around online. PBteen sells very nice ones but they cost a bit of money. The one I have has many compartments for all your beauty supplies or you could use it for your desk which would be just as nice! I happen to have some new makeup brushes arriving in the mail soon that is why I still have some open spots on the left. There a three drawer on the bottom. From left to right I have some tweezers in the first drawer, in the second I have my small earrings, the third is empty at the moment. I really enjoy that it has a big open compartment in the middle so I can put my moisturizers and foundations. It's very easy to grab what you need. I'm very satisfied with this organizer and I still have empty compartments to use!

Here are some more photos!

This is how my "vanity" is set up. It is actually a desk I bought from Walmart for only $49. Yes very affordable but you have to be very careful setting them up because the wood can split. But it does the job and I love the way it looks and works for me. I'd highly recommend just looking for an affordable desk to use as a vanity.
The mirror I got from a family friend.
The thing I have my necklaces on was my grandmothers that she let me have. It used to be brown so I just painted it over with some black paint.


Disclaimer: I am not trying to brag about what I have or got for Christmas. All opinions are my own honest opinions. I'm not affiliated with the mentioned companies.

College Budget $$

Now that I am 18 years old...almost 19. I've become very cautious of what I buy. I was reading some of the blogs I follow and stumbled upon A Bowl Full of Lemons Budget Binder. After reading through the post I decided to make my own! Our binders are very different from each other because of our age difference and she owns a home + she's a mother. So with hers in mind I created my Budget Binder to my needs.
What you'll need to create a budget binder:

• 1" Binder (or whatever you prefer)
• Binder dividers (I used 5)
• A poly envelope
• Labeler or something to label the tabs
• Something to label the binder (I used stickers!)

For my budget binder I used a black 1" binder which I purchased at a Dollar Tree. The only downside to this binder is that it has no pockets. Still does the job though! I have a lot of binders in my room so I labeled my binder with stickers so I know what binder it is. My mom had these stickers with all of her craft stuff so I'm not sure where they are from. My best guess would be Micheal's Craft Store.

I decided to use 5 binder dividers. You can use as much as you need but 5 works best for me. I labeled them 1. Accounts, 2. Income, 3. Spending, 4. Monthly Budget, 5. Annual Expenses. 

The first tab, Accounts, has all my information for my bank and other money related accounts. The Income tab has all my hour logs which tells me how much I made that week. In spending I have a paper for each month. Every time I purchase something I write it down (the date, how I purchased it, what store, how much). The monthly budget tab doesn't have anything in their since I don't have any bills to pay for at the moment. But I would have a calender to mark when a bill would be due and when I paid it. The last tab has all of my loan information. Keeping that information handy really helps so I don't forget about it. 

Behind the tabs I have a poly envelope where I put deposit slips and things of that sort so they don't get lost. You can purchase a ploy envelope at the Container Store for only $4. I'm not sure if the Dollar Tree still sells them but you can always go check though they are not as nice as the Container Store brand. 

For receipts I use a plastic filing coupon organizer which I think purchased at Walmart. You can probably find one where office supplies are sold. I file my receipts by month and then once the new year comes around I go through and discard the ones that don't need to be saved. I keep the majority of receipts I receive just in case. 

Back To School! (Agenda)

Its that time of year...

     Many of us are heading back to school. I fortunately enjoy school and happen to be attending my freshman year of college! My first day is on September 5th and I couldn't be more excited.  I will be sharing the supplies I will be using throughout the year. Since this is my first year of college I am not certain that everything will have the purpose I attend to use it for. That being said I'll be sure to update everyone. 

   The first item that I could never live without would be my agenda. I've used an agenda throughout high school. I could not explain how much a agenda helps! I got this agenda at Walmart for $7.97. It is by the brand Blue Sky. My favorite planners are the Lilly Pulitzer agendas but this agenda is just as great! It's a much better price...talk about a $20.03 difference if you get the Lilly Pulitzer large agenda! In the photo you can see that there are two tabs that I put there to make it easy to find the month and week I am on.

 

On the inside of the front cover I have some long post-it's (not name brand Post-its) I found at the Dollar Tree. I use these to write down important things that I need to know or get done. On the bottom of the front cover I made myself to little keys that I laminated. The key on the left tells me what the color of a pen represents. On the right the key tells me what the highlighted color represents. This is useful to distinguish between subjects as well as make your agenda a whole lot prettier! 

With the color keys in mind I write all of the things that goes into the month view with the color it should be. So if I have an appointment then I write it in green, work = blue, holiday = orange and so on.  I also have these little stickers that say doctors, no school, dentist, those type of things.  The stickers make it easier to see when I have an important day coming up. When the day is over I put a line through the box. On the right side there is a "note" column where I write some of the things I need to pick up at the store. When I pick an item up I check it off with a red pen.  

The week by week section is where I write down things that need to be done. When I do the task I check it off with a red pen. I find that writing a To Do list really helps stop procrastinating! When school starts I will be writing assignments/exams as well.

 Stay tuned for useful tips and the rest of my supplies that I will be using throughout the school year! Post will be up later or tomorrow.