Get Organized Now! Weblog

ICE Could Save a Life

Most everyone carries a cell phone these days. It's a good thing, especially when it comes to emergencies.

Stranded on the road? You can now get emergency services to help you out. Get in a fender-bender? Police can be called immediately.

But what happens when there is a more serious emergency and you are unable to dial your cell phone? In this case, it's very important that emergency contact information be stored in your cell phone address book. The first listing emergency personnel will look for is ICE.

ICE, in the medical field, stands for 'In Case of Emergency.' In the event of an emergency, an EMS (Emergency Medical Service) person can skim through your cell phone's address book and locate an emergency contact quickly. This way, one of your loved ones, or someone who can help, can be contacted.

ICE is programmed into both Joe's (my husband) cell phone and my cell phone, and I also have it in our paper address book at home. In Joe's cell phone, I programmed our home number, my cell number and a neighbor's number. In my cell phone, I programmed our home number, Joe's cell number and a neighbor's number.

All of these are listed under the ICE heading. If you can't program several numbers under one heading, you can always title your two or three emergency contact numbers, ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3.

These emergency numbers are also indicated on a paper attached to my fridge, along with our family medications (which are also stored in our wallets).

Nobody ever wants anything bad to happen, and hopefully it never does. But in the case of an emergency, it's always best to be both organized and prepared.

Something is Fishy Around Here

Mike, a neighbor of ours, went on a smelt fishing trip with his friends in Northern Wisconsin. The guys all stayed in a cabin together and had to fend for themselves for their meals.

Tom, one of the men on the trip, volunteered to prepare the smelt for dinner. Everyone agreed. Later that evening, a big, deep bowl of smelt was brought to the table for everyone to enjoy.

When Mike took his first bite he thought it tasted strange. When he looked around the table he could see that everyone else was thinking the same thing. Not wanting to insult their friend and his cooking, and seeing that the beer was flowing pretty freely, they shrugged their shoulders and finished off the whole bowl.

Tom, glad to see that the first round of smelt was gone, proceeded to bring another full bowl to the table.

A few of the guys exchanged glances and finally Mike, who couldn't contain himself any longer, said, "Tom, I appreciate you making this meal. But I have to tell you-- this is the WORST tasting smelt I've ever eaten!" All the others around the table agreed.

Perplexed, Tom said, "I can't understand it. I used to watch my mom make this all the time when I was growing up. I'm sure I did what she always does. First I rinsed the smelt, then I dipped them in the buttermilk. I then coated them in the flour. And finally, I fried them up."

After a brief pause, Jack, the owner of the cabin said, "Wait a minute! We don't have any flour!"

Tom said, "Sure you do. It's in the cabinet above the kitchen sink."

Jack said, "Show me."

All the guys followed Tom into the kitchen. He opened the kitchen cabinet door and said, "Look, it's right there in that white bag."

Jack, suddenly getting a sickening look on his face, exclaimed "Tom, that's NOT flour -- that's TILE GROUT!"

Mike related this true story to us one night at a neighborhood party. As you can imagine, everyone in the room nearly fell off their chairs laughing. Thank goodness, nobody got sick and Mike now has a very funny story to tell.

Now, as you know, I have to relate everything back to organizing, because it's just in my nature.

First, I wondered why the tile grout was being stored in a kitchen cabinet in the first place. It should have been stored with other household repair items.

Second, because the tile grout was not properly labeled, it was mistaken for flour. Thank goodness this story didn't end tragically with someone getting seriously ill.

Household compounds, when taken out of their original packaging and put into canisters, containers or bags, could easily be mistaken for something else--like food.

When storing something, always keep safety in mind. For instance, you may have to store something you would normally keep in a lower cabinet such as detergent, a bit higher when you have young children in the house. Be wary of storing very heavy items on top shelves. If they fall off the shelf, they may injure someone. Take the time to think of the best place to store.

Most important -- CLEARLY LABEL anything that may be mistaken for something else, or just so you know what it is in the future. It's always better to be safe, than sorry.

Have You Backed Up Your Computer Lately?

Even when you take precautions, sometimes negative things still happen. To help prevent problems on my computer, I back up regularly, keep my files up to date, upgrade my software as needed, have a good firewall and virus protection software installed.

Still, with all this, I lost use of my computer last week.

While responding to a new global threat to Windows PCs that attacks critical operating system components, McAfee (my virus protection program) send their users a faulty file, which in turn caused my computer (and thousands of other people's computers who use McAfee) to shut down and block performance of vital functions.

Since what I do for a living is mainly dependent on having my computer up and running, most things business-related came to a standstill. We could not fix the error using the 'file fix' that McAfee sent out. We actually had to call a technician to repair the computer--and it wasn't a 5-minute fix by any means.

Chris, the computer guy, was a lifesaver. He managed to get my computer up and running within a little over a day. He had to perform a number of fixes, including formatting my hard drive.

I then spent the next day and a half re-installing programs and adjusting program commands for ease of use.

Frustrating as this was, preventative measures taken prior to this situation helped me get back up and running sooner, rather than later.

1) I back up daily. Chris was able to recover my files, but if he hadn't, it would have been OK. I back up my files on an external hard drive daily.

2) All my computer programs were easy to find. Any software I had to re-install was in a handy-dandy CD holder, along with product registration numbers. Information relating to my downloaded computer programs were saved in a virtual folder on my external hard drive.

3) We had easy access to alternate computers. We have two older computers in our basement, plus a fairly new laptop. Even though I couldn't access my important files while my main computer was under repair, I was able to check email and some web sites I access regularly from the alternate computers. If this happens to you, and you need to check email or visit certain sites, you may be able to do so at your local library or a friend's computer. This helped ensure my work didn't get too back-logged.

4) I have a printed, hard-copy list of all folders (computer directories) that were imperative to keep, in the event the computer needs to be reformatted. I was able to give this list to the computer tech without any effort, and all my files were restored.

5) I have a printed, hard-copy list of all important web sites that includes user names and passwords, and important email addresses. This is under lock and key, but was very easy to access during this computer crisis.

Don't ever be under the impression that your computer will never crash or be compromised. It often happens without warning and sometimes the results can be detrimental.

I know you hear it every day. Take preventative measures. Back up. Keep accurate notes. Store important information in an organized manner.

It's so easy to dismiss or put off.

Very often, the only way these things become important to many people is for them to experience the situation themselves.

But for you--a person obviously interested in being organized or becoming more organized--let this note be a gentle reminder to heed the computer-related preventative advice you receive.

It's meant to save you time, money and stress.

Shorten Phone Conversations

Are your phone conversations too lengthy? If so, here are 3 simple ways to shorten them:

1. Warm them about your time limits.

Sometimes you just don't have the time for long-winded conversations. Next time she calls, right at the start of the conversation, tell her you've only got 5 minutes to spare right now. When those 5 minutes have passed, tell her it was wonderful talking, but you've got to hang up for now.

2. Set an egg timer.

Many phone calls get lengthy because you get so involved with the conversation that you lose track of the time. This can be both time-consuming and expensive. Set an egg timer for a specified amount of time (5-15 minutes serve most conversations well), and politely end the call when the timer goes off.

3. Prepare ahead of time.

Before you make your calls, make a list of the items you want to cover. This way, you're not wasting your time, or the time of the person on the other line, trying to remember things during the conversation. Check off each item as you go, and when you get to the last one you're done!

Facebook -- the Ultimate Waste of Time, or Not?

So, I've been hearing about this thing called Facebook for quite some time now. Each day, I get at least 10-15 'be my friend' requests from both people I know, and people I don't. This weekend, I finally said to myself, 'Self, get with the program and check this thing out.'

In a nutshell, Facebook is a free-access social networking website in which users can join networks organized by city, workplace, school, and region to connect and interact with other people.

A typical 'newsfeed' goes like this...

Maria is just sitting down to work, after an awesome Perkins breakfast with . 34 minutes ago

Sue is happy to be back from New Orleans. It's fun to travel, but better to be back home. about an hour ago

Kathie is thinking this is going to be a great week! about an hour ago

Adriana added music by David Cook to her Songs iLike.

Laurie said, Yep, I'm a fan of his, too. We were sure glad he won American Idol last year!

You get the picture.

So, is it a complete waste of time? In some senses, yes! It's addictive and most of the information you read is completely irrelevant to reaching any goals or doing anything productive.

Am I totally against it? No, it's a nice diversion to use as a reward for doing something productive--as long as the reward is a short 10-15 minutes, and not hours long. It's like a little peek into your friends and family members lives.

You can also use it as a forum for sharing something useful. One of my friends last week posted a crafty project she worked on (which is something I may want to do sometime). Another friend posted a recipe, which turned into a tasty dinner last week--without the need to plow through a recipe book. Yet, another friend posted a web site that I was able to use to promote my business.

If you do decide to join this craze, I have five tips to help ensure you're not 'wasting' your entire day and to also ensure you're staying safe:

1) Limit your Facebook access to once or twice a day for no more than 10-15 minutes at scheduled times. If you go on more than that, and you can't get anything else done during the day, that's one of the reasons why. (Smile) If you find the need to check more often, limit your time there to no more than 1-2 minutes at a time. If you're shooting at all, shoot for no more than 15-30 minutes time TOTAL per day--and that's probably still too much.

2) Never post anything too personal, and you may consider restricting access to your Facebook page to only family and friends, rather than the general public. (Note: Facebook has been compromised in the past, so please take heed not to post anything you'd prefer the general public not to know.)

3) Use Facebook as a relaxing reward after you accomplish your priority work. Don't use it as a substitute for working on your goals.

4) Try to post something useful once in awhile. You'll make the world a better place.

5) Remember, it's all about quality, not quantity. Make your 'network' consist of people you have a genuine interest in; not everyone that comes along that wants to be your 'friend.'

So, what about Twitter? My Space? The same applies.

It's worth it to ask

Thanks so much to all of you who have graciously offered suggestions and ideas on hotels and activities for my upcoming Philadelphia family trip. Your input has been so helpful.

Speaking of input, wow, the Internet has done wonders for being able to get honest-to-goodness, real-life information.

As a consumer, I always want to make the right choice-- especially when it comes to big purchases.

For instance, I want this trip that we're taking to Philadelphia to be a pleasant one. Who better to ask advice, than those who live in Philly or who have vacationed in Philly?

We're currently in the market for buying a new camera. My husband, Joe, has been diligently researching high speed cameras that have the ability to take great shots, even in low light. While we can learn about the features from the camera companies, who better to ask advice than people who have purchased the cameras we're looking into buying?

What so many of us are always looking for is 'information.'

Yes, there is lots of information to sift through on the Internet, but I feel that since it's come along, with diligent research, we've been able to come up with good answers for many of our purchases.

It's worth it to ask around, rather than just taking your chances.

Making Time for Others

Every other Friday morning my husband Joe and I accompany our daughter, Amanda, to a local assisted living facility called The Highland House to participate in a program set up by Amanda's preschool teacher. Basically, the 3 to 4 year old kids and their parent(s) from the preschool class visit with the residents at this facility on a voluntary basis.

When this idea was originally presented to us, the first thing that went through my head was, "I'd love to do this, but can't imagine how we'll fit it into our schedule."

However, after thinking about it a bit, we really felt this would not only be a wonderful opportunity for Amanda to learn about the lives of people who are in their late 80's and 90's, but it would also be a fantastic way to bring joy to these people who don't get a chance to have young visitors very often.

So, Joe and I re-arranged our schedules a bit and made a decision to say Yes to this opportunity, and we're both so glad we did. We paid four visits so far over the past two months. Each time, we had the pleasure of visiting with a different resident, while talking and making crafts.

This week, we made Gingerbread Houses together. The resident we sat with told Amanda some very old nursery rhymes that even I never heard of. Amanda was amused and spent a lot of time smiling and laughing, which brought great pleasure to the woman we were sitting with.

During this season of hustle, bustle and bitterly cold weather, just sitting down for an hour and experiencing the facility residents interacting with the young kids is so heartwarming. It's truly in the spirit of the holidays and worth every moment of the time we spend there.

Online Photo Storage and Sharing

We take lots of photos of our daily life, our family, our friends, our vacations, local events and more. It's easy to do so with a digital camera.

Once the photos are taken, we immediately delete any we don't want, and save the rest digitally. Our photos are important to us. Therefore, we keep three backups--one set on an external hard drive, another set on flash drives, and yet a third set online.

We use phanfare for our online storage. They offer unlimited storage and fast uploads. They also give us the ability to share our photos with our family and friends, using an awesome slideshow utility that includes our photos panning in and out, plus music in the background.

Although it's a paid service, the price is reasonable. I highly recommend phanfare, and I'm not getting anything for telling you so. If you've been looking for a service to store and share your digital photos, this one is definitely worth looking into.

Lots of Holiday Newsletters This Year

I'm just amazed at how many holiday newsletters I've received tucked inside Christmas cards this year. I feel they have really made this holiday season fun.

Although it's always nice to receive holiday cards no matter what, we have especially enjoyed getting updates on what a particular person or family has been up to this past year.

Joe and I began writing holiday newsletters last year and we often hear from family members and friends after the holidays following up on something we wrote. We often do the same with people who send us holiday newsletters.

I hope this starts to become a trend, as it's just another great, organized, time-efficient way to stay in touch.

Cell Phones--In with the New and Out with the Old

This week, I ordered new cell phones for Joe and I. Our other ones were getting pretty old and our cell phone company offered us a good deal if we renewed our contract with them. So, we took the plunge.

We just received the phones yesterday. We like them, but can you imagine they came with these instruction booklets that are over a 100 pages long?

Since I'm the gadget person in the house, I took the instructions and began setting our ring tones, address book, speed dials, voice dials and a bunch of other stuff while I was relaxing on the sofa after dinner. It took about 3 hours to get everything programmed and of course, it will take a bit more time getting used to the new buttons and interesting features.

I'm not the type of person you'll see with a cell phone attached to my ear for hours each day, but I like having a cell phone for both emergencies and quick calls to get or give information. I feel that the few hours it took me to program it to my liking were well spent, as my cell phone always saves me time, energy and stress in one way or another.

I then wondered what to do with our old cell phones, which were still working. Lo and behold, when I took my daughter to our town's Health and Wellness Center for an open gym session, I saw a flyer asking people to donate their old cell phones. These will be used for 911 emergency calls for people who are living in unsafe circumstances, but can't afford their own cell phones.

All in all, I feel good about the new phones, and even better about the old phones now that I know they're going to be put to good use.