Carolina Pad Review and Giveaway :: CLOSED

Thursday, October 8, 2009

I've discussed my OCD tendencies before. Mat has had the misfortune of falling victim to my lists many times...but for better or worse, right? In sickness and in health. My lists have gotten me through lapses in memory, scatterbrained moments, and days where I feel like I'm pretty close to losing it completely. I love my lists. I dream of ultimate organization! So when I find a company like Carolina Pad, I start to salivate a little.  Here's a little about how Carolina Pad started:

The Carolina Pad story begins in 1945 in Charlotte, North Carolina. That’s when Joseph K. Hall Jr. and several business associates managed to scrape up enough money and equipment to start up a school supply manufacturing company. Joe had been operating Hall & Morris, a school supply wholesale business in Belmont, North Carolina. The new company offered composition books, notebook paper, primary tablets, pencils, crayons, and other school supplies. A former teacher, principal, and coach, Joe was excited by the new company’s offerings.

What started out with simple school supplies has grown and evolved over time. Carolina Pad has merged fashion and design with otherwise boring office and school supplies. So not only can your organized desk help you function, it will look amazing too! Perfectly coordinated designs to compliment just about anyone's personal style. Gotta love it!

I received Carolina Pad products to review, and when I first opened the box I got a little weak in the knees. The OCD in me was in deep smit already! I began thinking of ways I could use each item, the possibilities were endless. Allow me to go over each product that I received.

1 :: Notebook- 80 pages perfect for taking notes, writing poetry, short stories, or jotting down blog post ideas ;)
2 :: 19 Month Planner - this honestly couldn't have come at a better time. While I was in the midst of Fall Festival planning, after receiving this planner I quickly put it to good use. I'll go into more detail about this later. Coil bound, durable and keeps me on track.
3 :: File Folders - 3 designs make up for 12 beautiful file folders. I'm using these to organize a magazine box on my desk. Right now these are keeping my tax information, insurance/medical documents, warranties, and other important documents organized and within reach.
4 :: Stick-On Notes and Flags - I love using sticky notes. I use them in my planner, on my monitor stand, even to jot down a quick grocery list for the mister {much to his protest}. I did notice that when peeling the note off, it causes the sticky part to curl slightly. Which makes for unruly notes. But I found that if I really press the sticky part down and  slightly bend the note, it lays flat.

5 and 6 :: Three Ring Binder and Tab Dividers - I'll be using this to organize my blog contacts, any press release information for both of my blogs. The tab dividers will help me to keep Slice o' Heaven and Snafood information separate, but easily accessible for whatever I need to look up.
7 :: Three Subject "Ideal" Notebook - This would be perfect for school work. But since I am not a student, I'd probably use it to organize meal plans for our family. Write down recipes to test out before I add them to my menu planner. Maybe stash grocery lists in the front pocket. I wasn't able to find this particular notebook on the website, though I did find similar one here.
8 :: Personal Book - 80 pages, with a mini pocket on the inside cover. This could literally be used for anything! I'm actually using it to keep track of my reviews that are in queue.
9 :: Accordion Folder - with 12 tabs, this 13 pocket folder is perfect to use as a monthly greeting card holder. Each month has its own section, I'd simply pull out the birthday and/or anniversary cards for the month and send them off! Perfect for when I get back into making cards too, I can make them ahead of time and stash them until closer to the date!

10 :: Thirteen Pocket Expandable File - Perfect for coupons! Organize it by the month that your coups expire so you can be sure to take advantage of them in time. Magnetic closure, small enough to take with you to the store, or stash on top of your fridge. Sadly, I wasn't able to find it on the site, but the suggested retail price is $3.99.

And now, let me go back to my saving grace, the 19 Month Planner. Again, it couldn't have come at a better time. I have a method to my madness when it comes to planning out my review or giveaway posts. A big part of it stems back from when I was working in the restaurant. Managers would have to write daily log notes about the shift, things that needed to be done, team members that struggled or excelled, etc. As a bookkeeper and mid-manager I also wrote notes in the manager's log book. For any tasks I had to do I'd draw an empty triangle and once the task was done I'd fill it in. Always. That has carried over into my blogging tasks. Take a look at my planner for the first week of the Fall Festival event.

Forgive my long-winded review, I obviously have a thing for organizational tools. *snicker* Carolina Pad products are available at many retail locations {Target, Walmart, etc.} and on their online store.

They've offered up a coupon code to my readers that will score you a free coupon expandable file folder with every online order until October 31st!! Just use the code HC_Coupon

AND the wonderful folks at Carolina Pad are offering my readers the same items I reviewed! All 10!

About a $38 value

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This review was written strictly based on my opinion, take it or leave it. I merely received product to review, no other compensation. You can read more about my reviews in my Acknowledgment Policy.