ORGANIZATION IS BEAUTIFUL!

Can it get any "better???" Seriously,this site is such an improvement over the last and just gets better all the time...looking forward to being a part of whatever fabulous-ness is to come! Clutter causes stress: having said that I'll share that I'm a neat-freak married to a total (successful none the less...) slob and his mess causes me stress,LOL! I have leaned to only "see" what matters most on any given day in terms of organizing.I'm a HUGE list-maker and usually don't stop until all  my "ta-dos" are finished everyday.You can be mentally organized/in control and still have clutter...don't sweat it,hire someone to clean it up for you and focus on what you ARE so good it everyday! It will become less important to control...promise! What matters is that you're happy,healthy,and that your life is a place you enjoy being in!The rest is just...well....chit.I'd love to see something in terms of a weekly "Meeting of the Megs" where maybe we could virtually get together and chat about what we're reviewing and talking about...sort of an "open room" where there you could just go in and get whatever was on your mind chatted about without a specific "subject heading."Just a "clearinghouse" of sorts?Also a "Kick it to the Curb" section: seriously we're so nice here,LOL! Some of the chit that we buy/services we pay for,stuff that we hear about is pure garbage and wouldn't it be fun just to have a "dump pile" for products and info and whatever that we HATE without having to sugar coat it in a review or comment? Could be fun.I for one also LOVE the "drop in" comments from other beauty mavens such as Catherine Hickland...it's fun to get a pro's perspective on things!Meg...it just gets better all the time,honestly and you know I'm in it for keeps so bring it on girl and I've got your back! :)

Hi Meg!  I am a list-writer from way back.  Seriously I have kept a to-do list since I was in middle school and I never would have made it to grad school without this practice.  I usually keep 2 lists going at all times.  I have a reasonable list for every day.  This means I write down the 5 or so things I plan to accomplish that day (I usually record this in my medium sized date book: small enough to fit in my handbag but large enough to fit a list in each calendar day).  The second list is a loose collection of medium and long term goals.  As far as the daily list, I usually finish most of it and if something is left over I move it to the next feasible day.  The long term list is more for inspiration and reflection.  I write down bigger goals when I'm inspired and check in monthly to see if the small goals are getting me closer to the goals on the big list.Also at least once a week I write "RELAX" in big letters over a whole day, giving myself permission to unwind.

Well, Mjsred just stole all my good ideas!!  So now, I KNOW they were good, because "great minds" and all that...  So ditto from me, ok?Now about the makeup points:  YAY!  I love the idea, and loved it even more when I cashed in.  I did so at 50 points because I am not good at delayed gratification.  Not even just a little bit good at it.  So when my package from Meg's appeared at my door, I was ecstatic!  I started reviewing some of the stuff I got right away.  More points!  Anyway, I was expecting something like a little bitty gloss (which I would still have loved), but I got UD lipstick, a Mark palette, honking big Olay night moisturizer, and an Endurance lipbalm.  Everything was full size, not to mention wonderful.  So if you've been lurking, cut it out.  We want to hear what you have to say.  And you will be rewarded - not just by the sheer fabulousness of the Meg's gang, but also by products to make you even more beautiful.   

My only major issue with the site is that it loads really slowly for me. I have a pretty top-notch computer and cable internet so I know I can't be the only one! I can't think of any other features I would really like, except a special day to discuss handmade products and small e-tailers. My favorite in particular, Cocoa Pink is really struggling right now and I think all these ladies making fabulous products could use a little love! I would even volunteer to be a tester and writer for this section and write reviews of my own stash until we can get some samples sent in for testing. I love these ladies and would gladly write them some fabulous (and not so fabulous!) reviews. As far as organization goes- I am terribly unorganized. I'm messy and I would rather have a root canal than clean. My husband isn't exactly a clean freak, but he does push me to get things done. I make lists because I am a terrible procrastinator and if I don't write it all out it seems like too much and I just push it aside and forget about it. My lists are always on index cards and I put them by my monitor so I can see them clearly. I haven't cashed in yet- because I've been so busy I haven't had the chance to accumulate a lot of points!

Okay, Suze Orman can bite me. I am not personally organized and my house is a mess and I'm doing fine, financially. Whoops! Didn't make my bed this morning! Or...ever! Bankruptcy must be just around the corner! The last thing women need is something else to feel guilty about. Suze needs to shut the f up (nice job predicting the mortgage crisis, sweetie) and leave me to my squalor. I'm happy there. Counting my money.

I just started following your blog and LOVE this whole beauty points idea! Are the products sample sized? Deluxe sample sized? Full sized?Also, when I was reading that comment by Suze Orman, I also panicked. I am from a family of pack-rats--I'm third generation, at LEAST. And I have tons of STUFF. But I'm frequently prepared for any situation! (My friends scoff at my need to carry around a swiss army knife--"What, are we going camping?"--until they need to use it.) I do use a planner to organize my time and create to-do lists (although I tend to not consult it/feel compelled to complete the items on the list!) Anyways, everyone has their own MO for organizing and keeping things, so I'm not going to judge anyone else. :)

Oh Meg I love this site so much! I am often guilty of just being a lurker - not for lack of things to say, but because the only time I spend on the internet is while I'm working which means I only have enough time to read the reviews, not to comment... :-(Anyway, today is Saturday and I'm not working (although I should be) but I had to chime in because I LOVE organizing and lists. It's quite silly sometimes, but when I get everything done on my to-do list it's the best feeling in the world (my therapist tells me that that isn't too healthy). Anyway, I could never stay organized without lists. I have been a list maker all of my life! Recently though, I found something that makes it even better.I use Gmail for my personal email and I'm in love with their "tasks" function. It's just a little popout that is part of your email and you can create multiple lists and as many tasks as you want. A couple of months ago I got something I've wanted for a long time - an iPhone - and it has seriously changed my life. I could take all day to write about it but I'll stick to the topic! So I can access the Gmail tasks from my phone, edit and add tasks, and it syncs perfectly with my webmail. I highly recommend for getting organized. I find it a lot easier than trying to carry around a planner (I also use Google's Calendar and sync it with my phone) and a notebook. So yea,  but even if you don't have a smart phone it's an awesome thing.As for making this site better... I've had tons of ideas but most of them showed up when you upgraded the site. The biggest thing I wanted was the forums and we got them! Now I just need to post my millions of questions for all of these incredibly knowledgable Megheads!
I didn't even know about the Makeup Points thing until about a month ago! I'm excited! That is such a fantastic idea.
So my advice for the lists/getting organized is just don't try to completely change all at once! Take it slow, and find a way to make it fun! Once you start accomplishing those tasks and checking them off I think you will find it a lot easier than you think!

Oh!  I love etailers too!  Lemmingcentral, etsy, artfire.com.  Speaking of organizing I bought myself three Stanton carts from Homedecorators.com and recently added two more of the lower height ones for my bath and body collection. They look like beautiful furniture and have plenty of drawers.LOL! about Suzy Orman - if your not organized you will not be wealthy!

I just looked up Gloi and they look DELISH. I'll have ti order from them when I get a job. :( It's a tough market right now. I also like the idea of a book club. Usually the only person I have to discuss my reading with is my husband and he's not going to enjoy girly books. To be honest, they aren't may favorites either so my only hope is that is the book club takes off- don't make it all romance novels.

Although I once was organized, not anymore!  Life just got too busy.  I wasn't rich when organized, either, so Suze Orman can kiss my butt.  I'd much rather spend my free time doing something I love and just do routine clean-up, when needed.  Meg, I just love this site.  The few problems I had have been remedied. I can't wait to have enough points to get a surprise package, I'm just so impatient, I know I'll never make it to 250!  I think a book club-type section would be a lot of fun, as would a swap section.  Also, the e-tailer reviews would be so helpful, especially when someone finds great prices for great quality.

Oh I am a list maker, it's the only way I can keep track of all my daily tasks.  And I agree that organization is the key to success, granted I'm a total slob... but I always feel better & work more efficiently when my living spaces are organized.  Of course ALL of my good friends are uber neat freaks, so I get guilt tripped all the time.  I think organization reduces stress which enables you to make better decisions since you're less distracted by the mess.

I am always *trying* to be more organized.   I have a little notebook that I keep in my purse to write down my "to-do" list and grocery list.  I also use my email calendar to stay on track with bill due dates and social stuff.  It alerts me when I have something coming up.  Meg, I wouldn't worry about what Suze has to say about organization.  I think too much organization can stifle creativity.  Hmm - I think all the ladies here have wonderful ideas for feature enhancements on the site, although I think that it is wonderful as it as... :)

Yaaay! For the longest time I have wanted to be a reviewer here at Meg's but I simply haven't felt comfortable saying, "GIVE ME A CHANCE". I would love to write the occasional reviews, be a tester, or seek out companies to contact- or a combination of all three. I just LOVE e-tailers and I love spreading the word about their fabulous products. Great products don't have to clean out your account or be filled with exotic ingredients! Send me that email and whatever you need from me will be yours. I have enough products sitting in my bathroom and bedroom to be a few month's worth of reviews at least and I'm always thrilled to try new things.

As to organization, I am an ‘outside’ organization girl and my Harley man is the “inside’ behind the scenes organization guy, so we make a pretty good team.  I love everything in its place in my rooms, so I keep clutter put away and keep the house looking cute and organized (for all appearances).  My house looks happy, colorful and everything you see is in it’s special place in each room daily.  I always make my bed every day too – I love a room to look inviting, warm and cute as hell so I keep it all organized on the surface!  It’s peaceful to me to keep my rooms looking lovely!  However, what’s really super important is that my husband keeps the insides of the cupboards, fridge, storage areas etc. ORGANIZED!  When I use something like a container or even take out some milk from the fridge, I just toss the stuff back the area where it goes and in my mind, it’s in the ballpark of the area where it goes.  My husband on the other hand, puts everything back in the EXACT same spot time after time and will go in and reposition the things I just ‘tossed’ into the shelf etc.  The thing is though…my husband’s reason for doing this is….that when you are looking for something it WILL be exactly where you can find it time and again if you put it back in exactly the same spot!  It makes me laugh, but he’s so right on this!  He never has to say “Do you have any idea where the …….. is?” Where I am constantly asking him if he’s seen something or the other.  Organization really does make a huge difference. 
 
I make lists!  But I have too many lists!  Sometimes I can’t find my lists so I make more lists.  I love crossing stuff off of my lists but if you have too many lists like I do, it’s completely overwhelming and impossible to succeed in completing your list!  I tend to try to do 4-5 things on the list in the same day and am like a crazed pinpall machine ball as I go back and forth for hours never fully completing any task until I’m spent.  My husband will take the first item on the list, do it well, and then cross it off and then move on to task number two.  So much more efficient!   
 
As to the website, I’d like to see more of an update on WHO won any contests that are running on the site, like best story, funniest something…etc.  Unless I miss the review follow-up or something, I haven’t been able to figure out who won the last couple contests.  It’s so much fun to see who wins and to see if we at home would have picked the same story as a winner!  You could also have one of your contests and then have the people on the site vote and comment from time to time and pick the winner by at home voters.  Maybe if you ever have a blog on spa services, there could be some kind of universal spa card that could be a prize in any state.  So many of your fabulous contests involve living in L.A. which would of course be so cool to win but there are people all over the world reading here and who would love to win prizes!
 
I love the new updated website!  I think it looks great and works great! 
Also, I think it would be really good to have a ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ tab here.   There are so many things I wonder about such as:
Every time we review a product, does Meg call the product distributer and say “Your product is up for review today, be sure to check it out!”
How do the product distributors know when their items are up for review?
All of us who read this site can probably quote this revised take on an old saying...."A day without Meg's Makeup is like a day without sunshine!"

WOOHOO!!! This is gonna' be good peeps!!!Stylemama needs to be noticed,for sure,I love that girl...get better soongorgeous!

I've got an idea. It might be fun to periodically do a skeptic review. This might be where you take someone who is a total skeptic and doesn't believe in a million years that a product would work for them. It could provide some comical and or informative thoughts. For example I am super skeptical of lash regrowth products such as RevitaLash. Or I am even doubtful of the Clarisonic. Basically I am talking about items that are supposed miracle items and maybe not yet a typical part of most beauty routines. It might fun to prove someone like me wrong or right. Just a thought....

Good organizational skills will take you far in life. But I don't think you will poor if you don't organize well enough either. For me being organized does help a lot. It helps declutter my mind and allow me to focus on other stuff that is even more important, like long term goals and how to reach them. I just graduated from college. Let me tell you what 5 years living in a dorm+going to school full time+working long hours+working on my other career at the same time+homework+all nighters+having no time for myself=one gigantic messy catastrophe of a room. But it made me discouraged, and the few times that I totally cleaned my room it made me feel so much better. It made my life a lot more stressful living like that. I think that Mrs. Ormond may have meant well when she said that, but I guarantee there are poor people out there that have very clean houses, and wealthy people who have funky houses.

I didn't really see anything wrong with the website before. But it has been improved now, and I love it. I visited for the first time in a while about a month ago, and I was happy to see the new changes. I especially like how it seems like more people are participating in discussion. Also I really love the addition of the makeup point system. I have not cashed in my points yet, but that is because I'm waiting until I get until 250. I'm a unemployed college graduate, and so I'm trying to rack up all the points I can while I actually have time too. Hopefully I will get a job soon.

I have a few ideas to better the website. I really like the idea of having a person of the month, the week, or whatever. Just doing a drawing, putting all the active members into a hat, and then drawing one out every so often. I think it would be cool to do that. Then they could tell us some more about themselves, the beauty products that make them sing, tips, and so forth. I think it would also be cool to have a tip section. Like tips we have found to work great. I think that could be beneficial to the site. I also like the idea of adding a couple of more sections to the website. Like the handmade beauty products that were mentioned. There are a million and one small companies that offer great products, but are virtually unheard of. I'm sure that the majority of theses companies would be willing to send over some products, for the sake of product exposure. My mom and I have been making stuff like bath bombs, soap, and perfume for years, and a beauty site is a great place to donate a few products to get more exposure and valuable consumer feedback. I also agree with the idea of reviewing more products on the cheaper end of things. Some of us on here probably are rich, but I'm sure there are plenty of us that aren't. But regardless of your current economic standing, the economy is very bad. People from all classes are trying to save a buck or few these days. Not all cheap products are bad, and in fact some of them are of superb quality. For example there is a website called www.cherryculture.com. Some of you may have heard of this website or even purchased from it. The products at this site are anywhere from $0.50 to $40. Most products on this website are about $1-5. I had heard about this website forever, but was skeptical of the quality of the products. Well as a little graduation present to myself I finally caved in and ordered a few too many things from the website. I have found some new must have items. Thanks to this website I have learned that Amuse brand eyeshadow is one of the best eyeshadows I have ever tried, yet is usually cheaper then even drugstore eyeshadow. I have also learned that the NYX girls nail polish, the one with the rhinestone on the front, is the longest lasting best quality nail polish I have ever tried. It lasts and lasts and lasts. And thanks to the recent NYX sale I got it for like $0.75 a bottle. I volunteer to be a reviewer of cheaper brands. I have so much that I have ordered that I could review. I'm sure there are other ladies that would be happy to do that as well. But only if it would be helpful:D I also think the area meet up is cool. I definitely would love to see that happen. I also think that a before and after section could be very helpful. Because some products promise phenomenal results. So how awesome would it be to see actual pictures of the results. Like a before picture and a after picture. I also think it would be fun to have a contest to become one of your close circle Meg. Like you and all the other ladies who always review for the site. I also think it would be cool to have a section on the site for hair dos. We could submit pictures and an explanation of how to do the hairdos. I think a lot of people may like this, especially during the hot summer months, when everyone wants to do cute updos. And maybe...just maybe you could include a fashion spot here on the website. I'm sure a lot of us have some valuable knowledge regarding fashion. I for one went to school for fashion and I'm a fashion stylist at a company in Austin. I know tons of tips and tricks to making clothes last longer, to help pick the right colors, to fix almost any body flaw, and where to buy clothes offline and online from the cheapest price points all the way up to very expensive price points.

Sorry this was so long. But you should never ask for my insight and not expect to read a lot:D

Hope this info is at least a little bit helpful.

I am completely blown away and humbled by your comments.  Your support and feedback mean so much to me!  I can not wait to begin.  The underdog has always been my cause, so I feel especially blessed to be part of Meg's in such a fantastic way.  Your a one serious group of amazing women.  Love to all of you!

well I've been the travel gal for the last 5 days and missed this post... Thanks for the shout out roomie :) The odd couple prevails.

I'm terrible at organization..:(  I would LOVE to be neat, organized, and on top of things but whenever I do managed to get things cleaned up...it quickly deteriorates.  I try to keep to-do lists/calendars/reminders..but I get VERY good at ignoring them even if I intentionally make them very "in-your-face".  Not a good skill to have! (or should I say not have).   

I would love to be organized makes things run a lot smoother,but im not my house is a mess im either running after my toddler cleaning his mess or my husband who leaves trails of everything everywhere or my 2 dogs that chew up everything...ahhhhhh.....chaos

This sounds like the most ocd thing ever,but I even have a list of books I want to read and I tick them off as I go along,see embarrassing and obessive. 

Nachi - we all welcome your thoughts here at Meg's.  I understand why you might have felt a little reticent because of your age because I'm at the opposite end of the spectrum.  And hunny, we ALL have something to contribute!  Potionprincess - you slay me!  I am just as OCD, I have a book journal.  I list books I want to read.  I take notes on the books I have read and include them in the journal.