The Weekly Clog

My coworker recently declared war on "e-mail pollution," a plan I very much endorse – especially since I'm often the victim of it (and not just from her). And I'm not just referring to the goofy jokes and unnecessary forwards – I'm also talking about my glut of weekly and daily electronic newsletters.

This genre has a completely different focus within my in-box, especially since, in most cases, I have of (mostly) sound mind signed up on my own accord to receive them. These regular e-mails fall into categories ranging from "I can't wait to open this one" to "This one is for the 'unsubscribe' bin." So I spent a few minutes of my work day, fresh from the long Turkey Day weekend, to look at this pollutant and separate the ones I really relish from the plastic bottles on the beach. And while you might be doing your own cyber culling, I thought I'd share my short list of electronic newsletters that serve me well in the parenting world:

1. Jen's List: Created by Jen Levinson, an L.A. mom of five boys (including two sets of twins!), this daily dose of parenting news, tips and various tidbits about local happenings and cool kid- and parenting-focused businesses is pretty indispensable. From nanny news and stuff for sale to parenting classes and play groups, a resourceful mom can find just about anything she needs in this fairly straight-forward newsletter (with no pesky graphics to slow the flow). The only down side, really, is that it comes out daily, so it's easy to let this one overpower your in-box. As a remedy, you can opt not to subscribe and just check out her Web site, where you'll find archives and her blog.
   


2. Hungry Girl Newsletter: I often find myself staring at the yogurt section at my grocery store, wondering whether the Yoplait banana cream pie flavor is as good as it sounds and/or whether it quite possibly is destined to become a blob of fat on my thighs. Enter the Hungry Girl, a well-written Web site that also churns out a weekly newsletter with the latest news on foods that a girl can eat without the guilt (and well-documented warnings about those to avoid). L.A. Hungry Girl founder Lisa Lillien's weekly newsletter offers survival strategies for the holidays as well as breakdowns on how to navigate the grocery store aisles for food finds that will work for a variety of diets (although it's based on the Weight Watchers model). The newsletter isn't overpowering and has nice graphics and a kitschy, fun writing style that is as entertaining as it is enlightening.


3. Kids Off the Couch: This unusual weekly newsletter takes a movie (both recent and from the cinematic archives) and cleverly pairs it with a local outing to provide cultural relevance for just about any media venture. L.A. moms Sarah Bowman and Diane Phillips Shakin created the concept and have built quite the unique little Web-based business. The weekly newsletter is free, well-researched, easy to navigate and geared for parents with children of all ages and interests. Incidentally, they also write a special version each month for L.A. Parent, the editors of which obviously know how to spot a good thing when they see it.


4. Doing Business While Female: With topics that range from how to promote yourself without feeling "slimy" to basic but helpful tips on how to stop wasting time, this newsletter/blog/Web site/consulting business founded by L.A. mom Roberta Lachman Jacobs is a great resource for women. The newsletter is understated and designed not to overwhelm you with too much information but most of all is a gentle reminder for moms in the business world that we need to stay empowered and organized. Jacobs, a former executive for a marketing research firm, offers solid and insightful advice, making the newsletter well worth the extra "You've Got Mail" ding.


5. What's Happening?: OK, I would be remiss if I didn't mention L.A. Parent's own newsletter, compiled by our intrepid and well-informed calendar editor, Michael Berick. It contains about three to five suggestions for cool things to check out for the weekend as well as a health tip and occasional information about contests and other good-to-know facts. Believe it or not, I often use Michael's suggestions to plan my weekends, especially since he finds some great stuff that often doesn't make our monthly print deadline (so they're exclusives!).