Leaving For College And Making It Work + $300 #Giveaway

Sponsored by Staples.com

The time has finally arrived--the son is a college freshman. The days of worrying about whether or not he will actually graduate from high school are over. It was a bumpy ride and maybe I worried more than I should have, because in the end, it was he and he alone who motivated himself, made sure all his papers were in and completed, tests were passed and forms filled out. No one could have been more proud than I was when he walked out in his cap and gown and received that diploma. 

And now, he's going to college and doing the same thing! But it's a whole new arena, this college gig. There is absolutely no one to hold his hand, giving him an extra break if his paper is late or if he doesn't make class because he is just too tired to get up. Will he make it? New stats give some interesting facts. 

• It will most likely take longer than 6 years to get that degree. Only 56% of students earn a degree within 6 years. Life takes over and adulthood is more than going to class and doing homework!

• Tuition costs are higher than ever. And I won't even go into how much money it will take to graduate.

• Even though it is harder than ever for college graduates to find a good job, they still out-earn those without degrees. (source)

With all the hustle and bustle of getting into classes and moving, here are some tips to make moving to a new area and living without the parents a little easier!

1.  Time to start organizing yourself! Alas, mom won't be there to wake you up, remind you of appointments and other things you took for granted in high school. A great resource is Google Calendar because you can sync it to your phone, computer, tablet, or watch (if you're fortunate enough to own a smart watch!) You can color coordinate, add alarms and notifications, and make notes. It will be a lifesaver!

2. Make a great checklist and make it over time so that when you have an idea you can jot it down. Moving is a huge job, so making that checklist will cut down on the head slaps!

3. Get sturdy moving boxes. Whether you’re schlepping or shipping your room, box it up. Staples even bundles the boxes for you. Start out with an 8 pack of SmoothMove medium sized boxes. Then pick up a wardrobe box to save you the tedium of transferring your entire closet hanger by hanger. For packing ninjas, the Bankers Box SmoothMove Kraft Moving Box doesn’t even need tape—it’s magic!

4. Get Label Crazy. Your bathroom supplies box and late-night snack box look identical. You think you’ll remember what went where, but you won’t. Cue the labels. And if you’re shipping your boxes, you can label and ship all at once at Staples.

Lastly, if you want to make your new space unique and something that reflects you, check out
Staples.com/backtoschool 

They have weekly specials and deals to make your space functional and comfortable. Also, Staples Copy and Print Center can personalize products to create one-of-a-kind decor with custom photo canvases, photo panels, phone covers and more!

With that being said, it is time to bring on the giveaway! Mom Buzz Media bloggers have partnered with Staples to bring you this $300 gift card Multi-Winner giveaway! 5 lucky readers will each get a gift card from Staples! One will get a $100 gift card and the other 4 will get $50 gift cards!

Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway Disclaimer: This post was created in partnership with Mom Buzz Media. I received promotional items to assist with my post and promotions. This giveaway is in no way associated with any social media website and is Facebook compliant. 5 winners will be chosen at random and emailed. These winners will have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will have to be chosen. US Residents only please. Ends 11:59 CST on 8/27.

Getting Back On Track

I'm dipping my big toe into the water again. I've re-located to another city, but same state.  We did it the hard way, borrowing two different friends' vehicles at two different times and an open trailer to haul away the 12-year accumulation of possessions we had.  I'm not quite qualified to audition for 'Hoarders' yet, but there was certainly a healthy accumulation of items. We had some help to move several things but most of it was accomplished by myself and my husband. We hauled so much stuff to the local thrift shop here and another big trailer full of random stuff to the dump or 'Transfer Station' as it is called.  I'd never done that before and my gosh, it was gross. For a fee, the trash that is dumped there is loaded onto trucks and taken to the land fill somewhere else.  The smell was horrible and my favorite tennis shoes stunk afterwards because we had to off-load the junk ourselves and the ground where we had to step was filthy.  But it was quite interesting and those shoes will be fine after a good washing. I think everyone should have the chance to see what it's like at the dump.  I feel the same way about Greyhound bus trips.  Everyone should do it just once for the experience!
So after 2 weeks, I'm back again.  But why is it so hard to get back into something after you've been away for awhile?  I seem to have that problem here and I figure I will start writing something, just so I can say I'm doing it.  I have had such a great experience blogging about the things I blog about.  However, I don't follow some of the rules that are recommended to be a successful blogger.  To me, it's the consistency that counts.  For instance, I have yet to enter my blog into 'Picket Fence' or 'Top Mommy Blogs.' , therefore you don't see me asking for your vote on those sites.  Mistake?  Maybe.  But I am so happy to not have to look at those sites and monitor yet another influence tracker.  Another thing I've sadly neglected to do is register on Alexa.  Now I know that is a huge no-no, and even the fact that I'm admitting it here may hurt me.  And it took me forever to get myself a page on Facebook.  I knew I probably would do a terrible job at updating it, because my love affair with Facebook waned long ago and it turned out to be true, I'm horrible at updating.  But I do check in on Twitter more regularly, and some other influence sites, just because I know I should.  But it sure eats into my time doing the thing I like and think is the most productive, and that is blogging or writing. 
I know that to be a good brand ambassador one needs to do other things regularly that don't include writing.  You need to put yourself out there as much as possible so companies will see your blog as one that can be counted on to put out an article when you say you'll do it.  And I do apologize to the couple of companies that I flaked out on because of this move.  I will get your reviews up as soon as I possibly can, say by the end of next week? 

I think a lot of bloggers are so much better than I am, but the trap they fall into is that they feel like they have to do all the things that everyone else seems to be doing so that they will be highly rated.  That starts to feel like a lot of pressure!  And who needs pressure? Everyone has times when they can't be at their computer much at all. Remember, you're not chained to it! 
 
It's liberating to know that you can choose which social networking sites you  particularly like and are interested in and the others can wait until another time.  I think that the thing I need to do and love to do is to write and be consistent with it.  Now why am I saying this now, after a 2-week hiatus?  Because I am actually scared of blogging again.  It's like I have lost my edge and don't feel like I can sharpen it again.  But I know I want to and it's like getting back on the horse.  Once I start up again, it'll come back!