Jacksonville Area Women’s Conference 2011

October 22 we held the first ever FREE Jacksonville Area Women’s Conference. It was quite an exciting day!  And took a lot of preparation.  We had a great time putting together all the little goodie bags for all of the participants.

And by great time, what I really mean is LONG time.  It took forever to get all those bags put together!

On the morning of the conference, all the women showed up at our cute little registration desk,

and received a bag plus one of these adorable name tags.  They really are adorable aren’t they?  And if you don’t think so, please don’t tell me because I spent a ridiculous amount of time on them!

After registering, everyone attend their classes.  Subjects included interior design, gardening, hair/skin care, identity theft, estate planning, financial organization, genealogy, organizing your home, being frugal, yoga, healthy eating, and many others.

I know I personally learned, or was reminded of, some really great tips in the classes that I attended.  Here are a jumbled few from the classes I went to:

1. When organizing an area, plan manageable blocks of time for all the different steps of the process.

2.  Decide on what organizing containers you want to use only after you have completely gone through the purging step and have gotten rid of everything that is no longer “relevant” to your current life situation. 

3.  If you haven’t needed to use it in the last 6 months, you probably don’t need it.

4.  Go through all your bills every 6 months to see what can be reduced or eliminated.

5.  Try using homemade cleaners to save money – like vinegar and baking soda.

6.  Get a timer for the water heater or turn it off when not in use.

7.  Do a freezer meal swap party! (I’ve already started planning this one!!!!)

8.  Use the 30-day purchase rule – keep a list of items that you “want” to purchase and leave it on the list for at least 30 days before making the purchase.  You’ll be surprised at what you might find you don’t really “need” after all.

9.  E-mail companies of products that you like and tell them how much you enjoy their product.  Sometimes they will e-mail back coupons in return!

10.  Design your home to suit your personal style – don’t let anyone else dictate your style for you!  Just because you see something you like in someone else’s home doesn’t mean that it would be perfect for your home.

After all the great classes, we headed over to the church building for a nice lunch

And then settled in to enjoy the musical presentations and speakers.

Then we came to our last speaker, Meg Johnson.  She was amazing.

Everyone fell in love with her.  She shared her story of overcoming her hardships.  We all laughed and cried, and laughed and cried a little more.  She truly is an inspiration.

She even has a CD available where you can listen to her inspiring words.  I HIGHLY recommend it.

I am now one her biggest fans!