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Tips for Building & Organizing Your Own eBook Library

Building an eLibrary is easy when you take advantage of eBook bundle sales. The benefits of eBooks are that they’re generally more economical than traditional printed books, are easily stored and transportable, and they can be printed in their entirety or in portions. (For example, printing out a recipe from an eBook and placing it in your recipe keeper.)

Yet, if you’re like me, you may have downloaded many an eBook and it’s floating around somewhere in your downloads folder or worse yet, cluttering up your computer desktop. The good news is I’ve found a simple way to organize my eBooks thanks to the inspiration of a few friends. Their suggestion … create a library-style filing system for your eBooks, so here’s what I did. And can I just say, “whew!” It’s so incredibly wonderful to have all of my eBooks now organized in easy-to-reference folders on my computer!

Five Simple Steps for Creating an eLibrary:

1. Create a folder called “eBooks” and place it in a logical place on your computer.

2. Within your eBooks folder, create separate folders based on topics. For instance, I have folders for: Godly Womanhood, Homemaking, Cookbooks, Parenting, etc. Just be sure to select titles that make sense to you and represent the various categories of books you’ll be filing.

3. If necessary, create subfolders within your topic folders. For example, since I have a wide variety of eCookbooks, I’ve created subfolders to help me better organize them by category.

4. Once you have your folders set-up, move any eBooks you already have into your new electronic library filing system. Then, as you purchase new eBooks, simply download the eBooks directly into the appropriate topic folder. Now you can easily locate your eBooks and enjoy their many benefits without the stress of having to search all over your hard drive for them.

5. Finally, be sure to back-up your eBook collection (to a flash drive or other external source), just incase! In fact, backing up your hard drive is a very important habit to get into to protect all of the important files on your computer. Regular back-ups will ensure you don’t lose anything in the event of a major crash, computer virus attack, etc.

So whether or not you have one eBook or one hundred, having a library-style system in place to easily store and locate your collection, will really help save time, and also help you to protect your investment! (And if you’ve organized your eBooks and have some tips to share, we’d love to hear them!)

Joyfully Serving HIM, Kelly

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Fun Family Dinner Ideas {Backwards Night & More!}

By Kelly · 1 Comment

In a quest to make mealtimes more fun, I’ve collected quite a few entertaining ideas to bring a little pizzazz to the table, like Backwards Dinner Night – a fun and whimsical way to do dinner in reverse!

This is just one of the many ideas that I’m sharing over at Keeper of the Home in my special guest post – Making Mealtimes FUN!

Backwards Dinner Night!
So, what’s up with Backwards Dinner Night? It’s simply a fun way to bring a little humor and excitement to the table by doing everything in reverse!

As shown in the photo above, set the table by turning your tablecloth upside down, as well as your dishes and silverware too. (You may even want to wear your clothes inside out and backwards?) Then, start dinner with dessert first! (Of course, a perfect option is my apple streusel upside down cake.) Then move on to the main course, followed by salad or an appetizer served last. It may sound silly (and it is), but it’s so much fun!

More FUN Dinner Themes & Ideas!
Looking for more great ideas for putting a little fun into your mealtime routines? Then please pop over to Keeper of the Home to check out my special post – Making Mealtimes FUN! It’s chock full of inspiring ideas your whole family will enjoy –especially the kiddos!

P.S. An easy way to ensure you remember all of the nifty ideas I’m sharing over at Keeper of the Home is to simply pin (or FB share) the post, so you can always refer back to it when you’re in the mood for a little extra mealtime FUN!

We’d love to hear from YOU!
Do you have some fun and creative ways to make mealtimes more fun? Please pop over to Keeper of the Home and share them with us. Thanks, friends!

Joyfully serving HIM, Kelly

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Healthy Homemade Gifts-in-a-Jar {7 Recipes & Tips for Using Your Own Favorite Recipes}

By Kelly · 17 Comments

One of my family’s favorite Christmas traditions is to make homemade gifts in a jar. And the wonderful thing is, they’re as much fun to make together, as they are to give to others! Simply layer the ingredients of a favorite recipe in a jar, then add a festive ribbon and tag, and there you have it – a thoughtful gift made with love.

There are certainly a ton of gifts-in-a-jar recipes out there, but unfortunately, many rely on unhealthy ingredients. So I thought it would be fun to share just a few of my favorites with the hope that this may help you to create some healthy homemade gifts of your own! And certainly, if you have some whole food based gift-jar recipes, please share a link to them in the comments below.

My Top 7 Favorite GF Whole Food Gifts-in-Jar Recipes

1. Fruit-in-Nut Bars in a Jar – These mock KIND Fruit-n-Nut Bars have been one of the most popular recipes I’ve posted this year. I modified the recipe a bit so it makes a beautiful and delicious gift-in-a-jar.

2. Slow Cooker Spiced Holiday Nuts – This year, we’ll be spreading holiday cheer with this delightful Spiced Holiday Nuts Gift-in-a-Jar recipe. These tasty nuts capture the aroma and flavor of the holiday season with just a hint of cayenne, giving them an extra kick of flavor. Honestly, it’s almost impossible to stop eating them!

3. Raw Cookie Dough Bites Mix in a Jar – My popular Raw Cookie Dough Bites recipe also works beautifully as a gift in a jar. Bet you can’t eat just one!

4. Pumpkin Pie Muffins Mix in a Jar – A much requested favorite, my GF pumpkin muffin recipe makes a beautiful and tasty gift in a jar!

5. Jumbleberry Jam in a Jar – You can use any whole food jam recipe to create a delicious holiday gift. I especially love to give my family’s favorite – Jumbleberry Jam – it’s secret ingredient allows the jam to set without the use of pectin powders!

6. Slow Cooker Apple Butter in a Jar – This traditional fall-inspired spread is so easy to make! And it’s so delicious – your friends and family will love it!

7. Healthy Homemade Granola Gifts-in-a-Jar – whether it’s my soaked oat granola or grain-free granola – the delicious versatility of homemade granola makes it a thoughtful and welcomed gift!

BONUS: Looking for even more great grain-free gift in a jar ideas? Check out “The Best Homemade Holiday Gifts-in-a-Jar” – my special guest post at Keeper of the Home.

Tips for Creating Your Own Homemade Gifts from the Heart!
When thinking about which of your favorite recipes will work well as a gift-in-the-jar, it’s important to consider the following:
• Will the recipe ingredients fit in a standard size mason jar, such as a half-pint, pint or quart?
• How easy is the recipe to assemble? Are the additional items needed to complete the recipe standard ingredients that most people have on hand?
• How will you include instructions for making the recipe? (My preferred option is to include the instructions inside a card and place the card and gift jar into a recycled gift bag.)
• What are the storage requirements for the gift jar – should it be refrigerated or stored at room temp? And for how long? (Be sure these are explained to the recipient.)

I hope these ideas inspire you to create some healthy homemade holiday gifts of your own! Wishing you and your family many blessings for a joyful and Merry Christmas!

Joyfully Serving Him, Kelly