...of Personal Growth and Development

CTC Readers' Poll:
Your Favorite Online Hangouts 

 In the May 12, 2007 issue of the newsletter, Counting the Cost editor 
Nancy Twigg asked readers this question:

"Where do you hang out online? What websites do you find yourself going back to again and again? What online communities do you consider yourself part of?"

Responses:

 
"I hang out at www.organizedhome.com and www.organizedchristmas.com. Both of these sites belong to the same lady. I figure between the two I have it all covered. Another great place to hang is www.apartmenttherapy.com. The site contains lots ideas for the small space, which I have, and it's fun to see the latest 'must have' in the design world. Of course I spend way to much time surfing and not enough organizing, but that's OK too." ~ J.L.R.

"I subscribe to the Freecycle list for my area, and also flylady.com. " ~ Sue in Canada

 

 

"I love to hang out at the forums on www.crosswalk.com and www.prairiehomemaker.com. I enjoy both of these so much. Crosswalk is much larger but I've found a space I like to hang out. PH is much smaller, but still big enough to really enjoy.

I also like the help I get from the forum at www.frugalvillage.com. I've learned many great things from them. From someone there I found www.hillbillyhousewife.com which led me to PH. Miss Maggie (the hillbilly housewife) has great recipes and tips. I found them very useful because living overseas makes it difficult to get things I'm used to finding cheap in the States. If I find them, they tend to be much more expensive. But 'real' food is much easier to find and generally cheaper, which is healthier anyway." ~ Anonymous


 
"My favorite web site that I got from our newspaper is www.stumbleon.com .  You can set the peramiters so that you only get pages that you want.  Each time you click it brings up a 'surprise' page because you never know what you'll get. Everything from cooking, education, crafts, Christian news, childrearing, gardening.  It can be addictive!" ~ Sassy in Gainesville, GA


"
The websites I visit each morning start with www.thehungersite.com. You can click to help provide food. The acknowledgement page then lists other sites that I go to: www.thechildhealthsite.com, www.therainforestsite.com, www.thebreastcancersite.com. Other than prayer, I don't know of a better way to start your day than with helping others and this is a very simple way to do it." ~ Chris


"One of the best sites that I have discovered is Parent Hacks: daily parenting tips from the real experts--actual parents ( found at http://www.parenthacks.com/ ).  According to the description on the site, 'Parent Hacks is a collaborative weblog that collects parents' tips, recommendations, workarounds, and bits of wisdom – their hacks – in a single pot so we can all partake. Here's the stuff that would have been left out of the instruction manual...if there were one. We're not experts in the pediatrician-, psychologist-, or teacher- sense. We're just out there, raising our kids, finding the little tweaks that make this crazy adventure go a little more smoothly.'

I originally found this site a little over a year ago when searching the web for ideas to keep my little ones busy during a 2-day car ride to visit my husband's family out east.  The website didn't disappoint and I found not only enough things to keep the kids busy during the car ride, but I also found enough good things to keep me coming back for over a year!  Now I am a (free) subscriber to the site, so I receive a daily e-mail digest that will show me all of the new hacks that have been posted!  In a flash, I can scan the e-mail to see if there are any new 'hacks' that catch my interest.  If so, I can click an embedded link to read more.  If not, I can simply hit delete (although it rarely happens that I don't find anything worth checking into).  Alternatively, if I am looking for something specific (such as potty training or vacation tips) I can go to the website and go through the list of categories  or do a quick search to find hacks.  Recently, Parent Hacks was nominated for 'Best Parenting Blog' at Blogger's Choice Awards -- a well deserved nomination!  Check it out!" ~ Mary   

 



 

~ suggested by Brenda


"One of my favorite online hangouts is Paperback Swap (PBS):  http://www.paperbackswap.com/
 
PBS was created to facilitate the exchange of used paperback books (through postal mail) among members.  It certainly does that, but it is also an uncommonly kind community of different types of people.  Joining is free, and once you are in you can decide the depth of participation you desire -- from simply exchanging books to making new online friends to engaging in thoughtful discussions in the forums.
 
 
Another place I like is Swap-bot:  http://www.swap-bot.com/
 
Joining is free here, too, and the 'action' takes place through the postal mail.  Members can organize swaps of many different things -- from used magazines to hand knit socks to artwork to postcards -- and other members sign up to participate.  Once the sign up deadline has been reached for a particular swap, each person involved is assigned one or more people to mail items to.  This site (and others similar to it) prove that 'snail mail' is far from dead; the Internet makes it easier than ever to organize postal mail exchanges with like-minded individuals." ~ Robin in Chicagoland


Editor's Note: Thanks to all these readers who took time to write!

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