While writing to you today, I’m trying to tidy my world up a little to give myself more me time. AND I HATE TIDYING! Why can’t our lives be like commercials, sweet moments of girly beauty bliss? If you’ve ever cursed loudly at a disorganized drawer crammed full of beauty products then you’re my new best friend and this is for you.

Until recently, I liked using a bit of everything in my beauty routine in the morning. But who has the time??? Yep! I figured before I became a G-Rex, I should at least do something more Godessy first thing in the morning other than fiddling about for ages trying to find different bottles and tubes and things.

So with that in mind, I decided to add a few time-saving solutions to my morning beauty routine. After lots of testing, I found that the transparent stacking system (see above) worked best, here’s why:

Transparent acrylic boxes. The minute you look in them you can see what’s what. I love just being able to pull out a drawer and quickly grab a Shu Uemura petal make-up sponge, a cotton wool pad or a cotton bud.

Clear bottles with labels – yes labels are fiddly and take a bit of time to create and stick on but in the long run it saves tons of time and instantly looks neat and tidy. Decant make-up remover, mouthwash and other liquids from bulky bottles into small, clearly labeled clear containers. Large unsightly bottles can then be stored anywhere and won’t clog up your shelf space. Woooo!
And this is why I…:

…ended up with bathroom shelves that accidentally look tidy like this. The acrylic drawers and plastic bottles keep my products water and dust free and on top of that, they’re incredibly minimalist.

Also I keep a covered toothbrush, nail clippers, files and cuticle scissors in a transparent glass (easier to spot).

If my tweezers and scissors are scattered around the house, I waste loads of time gathering them so I keep them in this glass.

I keep jars that I use regularly in just two rows because if I have to move more than two jars or bottles to reach something, I’m less likely to use it. Does that ever happen to you?

Also I’ve downsized my products so all are easy to see and aren’t crowded on the shelves. Oh and it’s helped me minimalise my beauty routine…. (but that’s a whole other story).

Okay, I’ve gotta let you go now. I’ll remind you that I’m on my couch and that I’ve completed my bathroom blitz, and that I’VE LOADS OF SPARE TIME… And so yeah, for the moment, I’m moving ahead with finding some more time saving ideas… ;-)

This shot made me think about the hours I spend daily consuming digital content. How may hours do you realistically spend reading things online? I seem to be spending more and more time of late climbing down the rabbit hole and am seduced creatively by so much new (and not so new) content. People are just so brilliant! Recently has been particularly inspiring online to me and as people are asking in passing “What are you up to G, you haven’t been out and about?” Shrugging my shoulders and typing “um glued to The National Geographic Channel while trying to write three manuscripts and double screening stuff and um watching reruns of the speakers at Internet Week New York” is I think a slightly too nerdy answer. To be honest to get loads of writing done, I have to close a door on life for a few weeks and in moments of block I virtually hug things online where people can use five words to make a beautiful message. Something like this….. (see 5.41)

Although I have never been to the Webby Awards which take place during Internet Week New York (yet) to see how it all goes down in person, I am rather tempted (does thinking about all the joys of packing for a trip next year constitute an actual plan?) I love New York and The Webby Awards or “The Webby’s” as they’re called is the highlight of Internet Week New York and the people who run it seem to have relentless bundles of energy to keep coming up with new and cool ideas. It’s a beast of an awards ceremony (the Oscars of the internet, one that navigates and honours the biggest names online. Anyway I (we) have months to think about New York but only hours to think about Europe (and I don’t mean the lead up to the Olympics next week. Eeeeek!). The Webby Awards have a European sister called The Lovie Awards which take place in London (specifically created to embrace the entire breadth of content created for the European Internet– from websites and mobile apps to online video and interactive advertising) and they are accepting entires for their awards ceremony TODAY!!! BY MIDNIGHT TONIGHT!!!RIGHT NOW!!!

I’m telling you this because last year The Goddess Guide was lucky enough to win two Lovie Award. (Two heavy gongs from The International Academy of Digital Arts and Science (IADAS)). They are kind of special to me because in a way the whole Lovie Awards were named in honour of Ada Lovelace, the first computer programmer (and she was a ladeeeee!). See told you I was a nerd-ette! This year I’ll be joining a long list of WAY MORE IMPORTANT INTERNET PEOPLE to judge your entries. Twitter folk and Henry Holland and the like… So before we get our judge on, here’s what you probably need to know. This happened last year…. (Yup Björk)

And this year marks the second year of the awards. Plus this year categories are divided into four key areas: Websites, Mobile Apps, Online Film & Video and Interactive Advertising and Media. Woven into these are permutations which cover all bases, from gaming to creative work to technical excellence. There will be 11 new categories added to the mix this year, ranging from more technically minded awards like Best Home/Welcome Page to creative accolades like Best Copywriting and the Experimental and Innovation awards for mobile platforms. Social Media will play a larger part in this year’s awards, with categories added including Social Media Campaign, Social Games and Social Media for Good Campaign. While there are no cash prizes, winners do get a very attractive Gold, Silver or Bronze award and a huge amount of publicity for their site or mobile app. Plus the chance to get their name in front of an influential panel of judges (and um me).

P.S. Everyone can actually submit their website, blog, app, here and if you win a gong we gat to party together (the best bet). Tonight midnight is the final entry deadline. Here are the details you’ll need.

Friday, July 20, 2012: Final Entry Deadline
Tuesday, October 16, 2012: Winners Announced
Entries can be submitted online through The Lovie Awards platform: