Valentine's Gifts for him (and a STAPLES CANADA GIVEAWAY!)

My husband is awfully difficult to buy a gift for.

AWFULLY DIFFICULT.

He never needs anything, he rarely wants anything, and frankly it's a pain in the butt to try to shop for him! 

(I, of course, am a dream to buy gifts for. Diamonds and roses, for the win!)

The catch? I really LIKE buying him gifts. Especially for Valentine's day.

Yes, it's a "Hallmark holiday" - I know - but I love Valentine's day and I love trying to find the perfect (unexpected) gift...sometimes from the most "unexpected" of places.

This year, he's getting a gift from Staples.

Yes, you heard me... Staples. I know, I thought the same thing too. Paper and toner for Valentines?

But look what Staples has for the man in your life!:

1. HP Slate Tablet | 2. Laptop Briefcase | 3. Kindle eReader | 4. Memory Foam Pillow | 5. SmartWatch | 6. Telescope | 7. Cooler Rack | 8. Samsung Galaxy Tablet

Yes- all that is available from Staples. 

We're not talking paper, pencils and toner for your printer anymore folks. 

We are talking "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU GOT ME THAT FOR VALENTINES DAY YOU WONDERFUL HUMAN BEING!" gifts.

Staples isn't just an office supply store after all.

And, while I won't tell you what I am getting my husband off of that list (or what I'm hinting for him to purchase for me!), I will tell you that Staples Canada is giving away one item  from the above list (winner's choice!) to a lucky Sleeping Is For Losers reader. 

Contest time:

Want to win a tablet? A telescope? A SmartWatch? An e-reader? A cooler rack (so genius!)?

Canadian residents only- enter below (using Rafflecopter) for your chance to win! Don't forget to leave a comment on the blog (mandatory), telling me what item you would choose if you were the winner!

Good luck:)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Home Office Makeover (and a HUGE GIVEAWAY)

I'm not sure if a Staples employee visited my home recently, but they certainly have good timing. Because, the day my Staples home office makeover gift card arrived, my office looked like THIS:

Yup, like that. 

I have worked at home for over two years and my office looks like a hurricane hit it pretty much every day. Paper, some toys, and a mishmash of pens and whatever else my kids were able to steal away from me when I'm not looking. The reason? Other than the need to keep them busy while I answer emails or work on something for a client, I have NO STORAGE. 

We bought a cheap desk over 8 years ago and that is what I have used ever since.

So, when the aforementioned saviour of my home office, Staples, offered to provide me with $150 to makeover my office, I JUMPED. I needed a way to get the crap paper off the floor of my office and away from interested, little hands.


So this cutie to the right and I headed out to the store, armed with a gift card and a dream (and a sucker because bribery works!).

And I just have to say that I scored, big time.

First, I already have an affinity for Staples. 
Row upon row of organizational tools, pencils, paper, and everything in between appeals to the teacher in me. Truth? The best time of the school year (when I was teaching) was the week that all the supplies I had ordered the year before arrived in my classroom! Nothing better than everything feeling fresh, cleaned and organized.

After a thorough search of the store, Will and I settled in what I like to call the "Martha Stewart aisle". 
Everything in this aisle is beautiful and functional and (according to the packaging) easy to assemble.

Upon in depth conferencing with my two year old, we agreed to purchase the Wall Manager system in black and picked up the following:

• cork board;
• white board;
• shelf;
• drawer & shelf combo;
• two Wall Manager boards;
• two hooks and clips;
• a wall caddy; and
• two clips

But of course, this wasn't enough. In addition to the Wall Manager system, I picked up:

• one HUGE package of paper;
• one HUGE spiral of coloured sticky notes;
• a box of small clips
• two banker boxes to store all my unnecessary to use but necessary to keep files; and
• a desk-sized filing system for all those files I need AT HAND.

All of this for less than $150. 
AMAZING, right?

On a Sunday morning, I sent my husband up to my office to install my new Wall Manager system. I expected him to be gone for the rest of the morning…instead, he was gone 10 minutes. 

That's it. 

When the box says "easy to install" apparently it's right. 

I, on the other hand, spent the next 1.5 hours working on re-organinzing my disaster of a home office. 

And here are the results:

My fully assembled (in 10 minutes!!!) wall organizer - it is the perfect size for all those important papers and notes that need to be kept in sight but away from little hands!

My clips and pushpins, safely stored in my Wall Manger system and away from the kids.

Paper, banker boxes, a desktop filing system and more sticky notes than I could dream of!

My new and improved, organized office space. Important notes, papers, stickies and pens are away from little hands. My files are safely stored in the closet, with the essential (working on right now) files in my desk for easy access. I actually feel like I can WORK now!

Thank you so much Staples, for allowing me to get my workspace back! 

Now for the stuff you're really interested in...

THE GIVEAWAY!

So what are you waiting for? I want you to enjoy a home office as amazing as mine…and to help you get started, Staples is going to give away a free router (worth up to $100!!!!) to one lucky Sleeping Is For Losers reader (Canada only). Check out this link for your choices...

How to Enter:

Leave a comment below (about anything you like- tell me about your home office woes, why you could use a router, or just say hi!). Make sure you include an email address for me to email you at if you are the winner:) 

Extra Entry:

If you would like a second entry, tweet out the following:

Win a router (worth up to $100) from Sleeping Is For Losers and @sarahnewk. Enter at http://sleepingisforlosers.blogspot.ca/2013/10/home-office-makeover.html 


Contest closes November 1, 2013 at midnight. ENTER NOW and Good Luck:)


*Full disclosure- I received a $150 gift card from Staples to use for the purposes of remaking my home office. Of course, you know I don't speak anything but the truth and, in this case, the truth is that Staples had great products at great prices!