{inter}National Scrapbook Day is quickly approaching, and it’s a day that is always full of excitement. With freebies, chats, challenges, sales, and so much going on, it’s easy to get a little lost in the frenzy, lose track of your day, and not take advantage of all that is available to you. Taking a little time now to get organized and focused will save time and money down the road and allow you to do that thing we’re celebrating—scrapbooking! So to help you prepare, I’ve put together this list of 5 Tips to Help You Get Organized.

• Review What You Need

Make some notes about your stash now so that you can be ready to get what you really need! Do you need new templates to boost your stash, more kits for future projects, or element packs to jazz up your pages? Knowing what you need now will help you shop smarter later!

• Connect with Favorite Stores & Designers

This week, take some time to be sure that you are on the mailing lists, connected on Facebook, and following the blogs of your favorite stores and designers. This way, you’ll be in the know on all that they have going on, and it will be easier to plan your day!

• Get in the Express Line
  

Did you know that many stores have a Wish List feature on their shopping carts? You can go shopping now, while the store isn’t crowded, and put everything that your heart desires in your Wish List. Then, when the sale day comes, get past that whole crowd of customers still browsing the shelves, transfer the items to your cart, and move right in to the express lane—even if you have more than 15 items!

• Download & Organize
  

Be sure to immediately download any purchases that you make. Not only does this keep you from forgetting what you’ve purchased, but you can get help quickly if there is an issue. Then unzip and organize as soon as you can. This will make your life much easier when you move on to our next tip!

• Make Some Time for Yourself
  

In all the hoopla and fanfare of the weekend, make sure that you actually spend some time scrapping for yourself! You can take advantage of all the new swag you bought during the day and apply the tips you’ve learned in the challenges to help you create gorgeous layouts. Then come post them in the Digital Scrapper Gallery—we would love to see your work!

Bonus Organizing Tip: When I find those precious few minutes for scrapping, I tend to get lost trying to find photos and kits that work together. So I’ve begun creating “working” folders. When I unzip a kit, I add the photos that I intend to use with the kit to the kit folder (along with any other templates or embellishments I plan on using). This way, when I’m ready to actually scrap, I’m not spending time trying to match up kits to photos. As I unzip, I can create that working folder immediately and give myself a great head start! Give it a try this weekend and let me know how it worked for you!

Be sure to visit us at Digital Scrapper this week, starting May 1, as we celebrate our favorite hobby! We’ll have freebies on the Facebook page and blog, challenges in the forum, a sale (shh . . . I hope I’m not letting the cat out of the bag on that one), and a free class! Plus we’re giving away copies of Photoshop Elements 11 to four lucky winners during the week!