How This Blogger Stays Organized: Meet Benita from Chez Larsson

Since I started blogging, I’ve loved Chez Larsson. It’s author, Benita, brings such a great mix of content and gives us some gorgeous photography. I especially love that she often writes about things related to organization.

Benita also interacts regularly with her readers, which makes her seem accessible and human, even though she’s a Rock Star Blogger. You don’t see this often, but it’s made me a huge fan. So, I was excited when she said she’d let me interview her for this series.

Benita’s got some great strategies for blogging and blog organization here. And, if you’re loving the photos of her workspace (you are, right?), you can read more about it in this post.

After you’ve read this, be sure to pop over to her site and dig into her archives if you’ve never been there before. I bet you’ll like Benita as much as I do.

When did you start your blog?

I started blogging in May 2008. Gosh, it’s almost two years ago, I didn’t realize!

Why did you start blogging?

I had no intention to start one, but Flickr friends and other bloggers who had been borrowing my photos kept telling me I should and in the end I decided to go for it.

Are you a “list” person? If so, what kinds of lists do you find yourself making most?

I love lists. If I look around me right now there are four lists within reach. There are two with post ideas, one with next week’s post and one to-do list. I write my lists on narrow pieces of paper with black pen, never blue… Aside from making the lists I also love when I can toss one that’s been checked off completely.

What do you look for in a perfect notebook?

I’m not a notebook person. Actually I love them, there are so many nice ones available but since I don’t use them I’ve finally stopped buying them. I used to have all these notebooks with a couple of notes on the first page and then nothing. I prefer loose papers that I can recycle after I’m done with them.

Where/how do you store ideas you get for content?

Aside from the lists of posts on the notice board I also keep a list with post requests from my readers. It’s in my blog binder which also holds the rest of the paperwork such as ad info, hosting info etc. I keep a folder on my laptop with photos for future posts. As I go along, I take photos of my day and the projects I do around the house but I might not post about them immediately. I add them to folders within my blog folder. Some folders have photos in them from one occasion while others have photos from several months because they are for a project that took longer to accomplish. This way I can always find all the photos immediately when I do decide to post.

Mac or PC? PC

What application(s) do you use to organize/deal with your images?

I just use regular folders on my laptop. I usually open the images in Windows Photo Gallery where I choose which ones I want to use and immediately delete duplicates and blurred ones. I make a note (on paper) of which ones I want for a post and then open those in Photoshop to edit them. My plan is to start using Adobe Bridge to open the images in the future but I’ve just realised I have this and haven’t checked it out properly yet.

How many hours a week do you spend on your blog?

About 15 -20 hours, plus the time it takes for the projects I blog about themselves which varies depending on what they are.

There are a lot of tasks involved with successful blogging: writing content, guest blogging, commenting on other blogs. How do you organize your time?

I try to prepare at least a couple of posts over the weekend. During the dark months I also take as many photos I can on the weekend because after work it’s usually too dark. When I get home from work I usually go straight to my laptop and write or finish the post for the day after. That usually takes a couple of hours.

I always schedule my posts to be published at 7 am my time. I stick to that time because it allows me to quickly check that it published when I get to work in the morning. I also know that a lot of my readers like that they know at what time my blog is being updated.

As for reading and commenting other blogs, I do that in the morning. I’m lucky to be able to read blogs during work hours as of late because I’m involved with blogging and social media at work so it kind of falls into my tasks to keep myself updated on what’s going on and as I follow quite a few blogs for work they appear in my reader along with the ones I read for private reasons. I’m really happy about this because it saves me a lot of time at home.

Describe your work space currently.

It’s a self-built unit that sits in the hallway of our home. There was (is) no room for a proper home office so we built it in a corner. Had I known I would spend this much time there I might have reconsidered because there’s no door to close and not much elbow room but at the same time I like the location because it’s in the centre of the house and I can see Wille in his room, I can watch TV while uploading photos etc.

Describe your dream work space.

I would love a room which would have a really long desk with several seats and each seat and desk area would indicate a separate use. One seat with the laptop, one seat in front of a clean desk top for paper work, one seat in front of a sewing machine, one in front of a craft area etc. And loads of storage!

What about your blog work makes you most anxious and how do you deal with it?

The fact that I spend way too much time on it that I should probably spend on Wille. He’s sixteen now and doesn’t mind but sometimes I wish I could be cloned and one part of me could blog and the other part could watch Friends with her son. The way I deal with it is to do take time away from the laptop and play a board game or do watch Friends. I feel I don’t do it often enough though.

What’s the one piece of advice you’d give to a new blogger?

Find a niche for your blog. Write about something that you’re passionate about and stick to it as your core content. It doesn’t mean you can’t stray away sometimes (I know, I do) but your readers will want to feel comfortable about where they are at when they visit. Also try to update consistently. That can mean every day or once a week but if you start out updating often in the beginning your readers will expect frequent updates later on too.

What’s your favorite book (or books) of all time?

I don’t have one specific favorite, but I love crime novels.

Do you own any pets? If so, what kind?

Yes we do, two cats, Mini and Bonus.

What’s your guilty pleasure?

Candy and everything else that’s sweet and unhealthy for you.

What’s your favorite way to wind down after a hard day?

On a week night a cup of tea in front of the TV and on the weekend I trade the tea for some wine.

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