Get Prepared for Winter – Car emergency kit essentials

December 14th, 2009

Do you have a “winter car-emergency kit“? Many of these items are good to have in your car year round but now is the time to check your supplies.  This is a must before you hit the roads for the holidays.

Your kit could include

  • jumper cables - no one wants to get stuck with a dead battery in the fridged temps.

    • kitty litter or sand - stop spinning your wheels, sprinkle some kitty litter/sand for tire traction on snow and ice

    a shovel or at minimum an ice scraper- there are some great fold-up shovels and gloves with scrapers built-in

    Warm clothes – they call it a glove box for a reason.  No room in there? Grab a sturdy plastic container and toss in a spare set of gloves, a hat, sturdy boots, and a warm jacket.

    Blankets to keep warm inside the vehicle (I keep one in my car year round, comes in handy for a picnic or to watch the kids baseball game).

    Flashlights and extra batteries – if your battery dies at night, you have no interior or head lights

    First aid kit - toss in a few of your necessary medications in case you are stuck on the road

    Food – I  keep a few packs of nuts and some Luna bars, vacuum packed ready to eat tuna salad, snack sized apple sauce.  If you get stuck, you don’t know how long you may have to wait for help.

    Water- bring enough for each person in your car and any pets

  • AM/FM radio – rechargeable or battery-operated to listen to traffic reports and emergency messages
  • Charged cell phone – charge your cell phone before hitting the road.  Don’t rely on your car charger to charge while you are driving.  If your battery dies, you have no way to charge your cell phone.

Here’s wishing you safe and happy travels!

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Get Prepared for the 2009 Holiday Season – Tip 3

December 6th, 2009

On December 8, 2005 I was fortunate enough to be featured in the Home Section of The Washington Post. The article highlighted my tips for an organized celebration. Four years later as I re-read my tips, I am happy to say that my tips are still relevant. So here are my tips on being prepared for the holidays.

Stock up on the basics the sooner the better, before lines get longer and parking lots fill up.

  • Batteries - Consider what batteries are necessary all of your needs.  Think of which size is needed for everything from the games the children are receiving and the digital camera to the flashlights, mp3 player, remote controls and hearing aids.  Consider using rechargeable batteries whenever possible.  Reminder to charge them before the holidays.  (BTW-  do not store batteries in the fridge.  According to Energizer, To maximize performance and shelf life, store batteries at normal room temperatures with moderate humidity levels.)

  • Food storage – Pick up inexpensive food storage containers (like Rubbermaid TakeAlongs, Ziploc or Gladware) for freezing and sharing leftovers.  By having inexpensive containers on hand you won’t have to worry about someone taking home your good Rubbermaid or Tupperware.  Also – grab zip top bags in multiple sizes while at the store.  They come in very handy when sending home leftovers and take up little space.
    • Decor storage- Get wreath, ornament and artificial tree storage now!  They tend to sell out quickly.  This year especially, stores can’t afford to get stuck with seasonal items so they are keeping a lower than normal inventory.  (Don’t want to spend money on these uni-taskers or trying to preserve the environment?  Stop by the local liquor store and pick-up liquor or wine bottle boxes.  The dividers help protect your ornaments and the stores are happy to share the boxes.  Another option – Did you receive a gift of fruit?  Hang on to the shipping box, they usually come with padding which helps protect your decor.)

    • Last Minute Gifts- Have you ever been in a situation when some unexpected fives you a present?  Be ready to reciprocate with a unisex and consumable gift.  Think scented candles, a bottle of wine, fancy maple syrup, gourmet olive oil or vinegar, or a gift card to Starbucks.  I buy generic wrap in one solid color (white or silver) and have ribbons in many colors.   I customize the gift wrap for specific holidays, gender or individual by using a different color ribbons.  I buy clear cellophane wrap for odd shaped gifts.  Attach a blank tag and keep a pen nearby for quick inscribing.

    I hope this preparation helps you have a more enjoyable holiday season!

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    America Recycles Day – November 15

    November 13th, 2009

    What are you doing to celebrate America Recycles Day? The DC area has embraced the celebration with events throughout the area, throughout the weekend.

    from the National Recycling Coalition
    “America Recycles Day (ARD), November 15, is the only nationally recognized day dedicated to encouraging Americans to recycle and to buy recycled products. Celebrating its 11th year, it has grown to include millions of Americans pledging to increase their recycling habits at home and work and to buy products made with recycled materials. Through America Recycles Day, the National Recycling Coalition supports local communities and raises awareness by educating citizens about the benefits of recycling. Volunteer America Recycles Day coordinators are positioned throughout the country and work to organize recycling awareness events in their schools and communities, and in conjunction with their local municipalities.

    On November 15 each year, millions of people become better informed about the importance of daily recycling and buying recycled products. The purpose of America Recycles Day is to continue to promote the social, environmental and economic benefits of recycling and encourage more people to join the movement toward creating a better natural environment.”


    Montgomery County, Maryland events

    Paper Shredding, Household Goods & Clothing Recycling
    Shred and recycle your personal papers and donate usable clothing and household goods at these locations for FREE (Montgomery County residents only). (Rain or shine)

    Saturday, November 14, 10 am – 2 pm

    Eastern Montgomery Regional Services Center (map)
     3300 Briggs Chaney Road
    Silver Spring, Maryland 20904

    Upcounty Regional Services Center (map)
    12900 Middlebrook Road
    Germantown, MD  20874

    Sunday, November 15, 8 am to 12 pm

    John F. Kennedy High School (map)
    1901 Randolph Road
    Silver Spring, Maryland 20902

    Sunday, November 15, 1 pm to 5 pm

    Walt Whitman High School (map)
    7100 Whittier Boulevard
    Bethesda, Maryland 20817

    Please review the guidelines and specifics before heading to the events. Montgomery County Maryland America Recycles Day


    District of Columbia event

    Shoe and Bike Drive
    Bring your unwanted shoes & bikes.  Benefiting Soles4Soles and Bikes for the World.  Soles4Souls takes new or used shoes of any style or size.  Bikes for the World suggests a $10 per bike donation to defray the cost of shipping to those in need.  This event is open to anyone. Organized by Junk In The Trunk Removal Services

    Saturday, November 14, 9 am to 1 pm

    Broad Branch Market(map)
    5608 Broad Branch Rd. NW
    Washington, DC

    Fairfax County, Virginia event

    Electronics, television and computer recycling event
     Free safe destruction and recycling of peripheral electronic devices, computers and televisions.  (Fairfax County residents only).

    Sunday, November 15, 10 am to 3 pm

    I-66 Transfer Station (map)
    4618 West Ox Road
    Fairfax, Virginia

    Alexandria, Virginia event

    America Recycles Day celebration
    Join the City of Alexandria recycling staff, Robbie the Recycling Squirrel and Whole Foods Market to Celebrate America Recycles Day! Bring your plastic bags to be recycled, and receive a free reusable bag.

    Sunday, November 15, 11 am to 3 pm

    Whole Foods(map)
    1700 Duke Street
    Alexandria, Virginia

    Prince George’s, Maryland event

    Free e-cycling and Document Shredding Event
    Shred your personal papers and recycle unwanted computer equipment and accessories, printers, copiers, cell phones and televisions for FREE (Prince George’s County residents only)

    Saturday, November 14, 8 am to 1 pm

    High Point High School (map)
    3601 Powder Mill Rd
    Beltsville, MD 20705

    Please review the guidelines and specifics before heading to the event. Prince George’s County Maryland America Recycles Day

    I’d love to hear about any other events happening in the DC area or wherever you live.  Please leave them in the comments below.  Thanks.  I hope you find solace in purging and the recycling process.  Have a great weekend.

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    Need a contractor? Where to start?

    September 11th, 2009

    How many of you have relied on AAA (formerly known as the American Automobile Association)?  AAA has become synonymous with the name of the company who bails you out if your car conks out or you get a flat.

    Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel Toll Booth
    Image by jimmywayne via Flickr

    As a child I remember my mom’s old Pontiac overheating while we waited at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge toll plaza.  Somehow (pre cellphone days), we managed to contact AAA. I was terrified, the 3 BIG A’s were going to come.

    Nooooooo!  Not the 3 BIG A’s.  While this was a service who was going to help, as a child I pictured 3 BIG A’s.  We were going to get attacked by the alphabet!!!  Needless to say, AAA sent a service individual to come help us and we were sent on our way. As an adult AAA customer, I learned that AAA does not always have it’s own service trucks. Honestly, I don’t know if they have any of their own trucks anymore. Their service and reputation is handled by contractors who they screen to represent them. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had one stop shopping for all things that cause hiccups in our lives? Boy, wouldn’t that simplify your life?

    I recently learned friends had launched a AAA-like home repair service called HOCOA - Home Owners Club of America. Like AAA offers pre-screened automobile repair contractors to their members, HOCOA offers pre-screened home repair/maintenance contractors to their members. You make one phone call to HOCOA. They document your problem and set you up with the contractor who can repair your problem. Members pay a minimal fee to have access to their pre-screened contractors saving members time and aggravation.  While there are other home repair companies who sell memberships, there are some definite differences.

    I have invited my friends Michelle and Andy Katon, owners of HOCOA Metro DC to guest post about how a home repair network can simplify your life.

    Wouldn’t it be great if you could simplify your life when it comes to home repair.  We discovered a home repair network that can do that, HOCOA. We were so impressed, that we choose to purchase a franchise in the Washington, DC Metro area so we could share this benefit with Washingtonians. Here is how it started….

    We noticed an odor in the kitchen.  We did not realize that our dishwasher had broke mid-cycle.  The following day, Sunday we discovered the odor was from the dishwasher.  Once we noticed it was a broken dishwasher causing the odor, we did not know who to call.  We did what most people would do: opened the Yellow Pages, and started making calls, more calls and even more calls.  After 11 calls and a lot of frustration, we knew there must be a better way. We did finally get our dishwasher fixed but decided that it was time to find a universal solution to the household headache of home repair.  After a lot of research, we found a home repair network called HOCOA.  HOCOA had a proven track record of making the process of finding a contractor/service provider easier.  Further investigation showed that all HOCOA contractors are licensed, bonded/insured and pre-screened.  Best of all, they do all of the  leg work for you.

    Upon moving to the DC area, we discovered there was no HOCOA location in the area.  In an area like DC where people are always on the go, we knew that there was a need for HOCOA.  Most Washingtonians don’t have the time to make all the calls and screen contractors before hiring them.  Yes, you may have your favorite plumber or electrician but who do you call when the roof leaks, the attic fan dies, or you discover mold in the basement.

    So we brought the HOCOA Home Repair Network to DC!  Below are success stories from your DC neighbors.

    WorkerCleaningGuttedDownstairs
    Image via Wikipedia

    A family in Rockville was in the middle of a renovation project. They ran into problems with their contractor, who could not finish the job. What should they do? A friend suggested they call HOCOA. Within an hour, we figured out what type of contractors they needed.  By the next morning, they were back in business and work reconvened using HOCOA contractors. HOCOA was not only able to save them the time and energy of re-interviewing contractors after previously being burned, but the project became stress free because of HOCOA.

    Another family had a light that was going in and out. They called an electrician on their own. He came, fixed the light and did what appeared to be a good job. A week later, the light was giving them the same problem. They called the electrician again, and again, and again. They never received a return call. So much time was spent trying to resolve this issue. The problem was that their electrician had already done the job and had been paid. They were no longer on his “priority” list.

    Through HOCOA, the contractors are held “accountable” because of the way jobs are dispatched. Since the contractors want referrals, they respond almost immediately when called by a HOCOA representative. If the family had called HOCOA for this project, ONE call would have taken care of this problem with NO frustration.

    Joining HOCOA is the way to save time and energy and be able to simplify your life when it comes to home repair.  The value of piece of mind is so much greater than the small yearly HOCOA membership fee.   In addition to the home repair contractors participating with HOCOA, your membership also gives you access to additional resources at wholesale prices.

    If you know of anyone moving to the DC area, a HOCOA membership is an incredible gift.  Know a good reliable contractor you feel would benefit from being part of the HOCOA Metro DC network, please pass our information along.  Feel free to give us a call or send us an email with any questions.  We look forward to helping you simplify your life.

    Michelle and Andy Katon
    Owners, HOCOA Metro DC
    240-683-HOME(4663)
    info@hocoametrodc.com


    Michelle and Andy are extending all Need Another You readers a 15% discount on any HOCOA Metro DC membership.  Use code ORGANIZE when purchasing your membership.   Need to simplify your life?   Be prepared, contact Michelle and Andy today.


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    Organize your exercise

    August 27th, 2009

    So we all know that exercise and proper diet can contribute to better physical fitness.  Right?  If you were not already aware, exercise can also contribute to better mental health.  Exercise and stress management have a close link.  According to researchers at the Mayo Clinic, exercise relieves stress by decreasing cortisol (stress hormones) and increasing endorphins (runner’s high). Note: chocolate also helps the body produce endorphins but does not have the same effect on cortisol. Unfortunately chocolate does not produce the full desired effect. Sorry. Many regular exercisers claim they feel mentally fatigued when the miss workouts.  Regular exercise has been shown to increase self-confidence  and energy while  lowering the symptoms of anxiety and depression.

    I believe we all will agree that we are not as energetic nor can we think as clearly when we are suffering a bout of anxiety or depression.  Here in lies the vicious cycle.  We make excuses “I don’t have the energy to workout”, “I don’t have the people walkingtime to workout” or “I don’t have the money to join a gym.”  So how do you break the cycle, when will you finally understand what someone means by runner’s high?  Below are some suggestions how to make time to exercise and how to get started.  I will preface, like anything else it takes 2 weeks to create (or break) a habit so don’t expect miracles overnight.

    1. Schedule time in your calendar.  No actually write or type it in your calendar.  What, you don’t have a calendar?  Organizing 101 – get a calendar (paper or electronic) and use it.  Take it with you everywhere and write down all of your commitments.We all have the same 24 hours in our day.  What is different is how we choose to use those 24 hours.  No one says you have to exercise for 1 hour or more.  Try getting up 30 minutes earlier or after dinner grab the family and go for a walk.  It’s something, something more than you did the day before.
    2. Find an exercise buddy.  If you have no friends or family members available to join you, check out sites like http://exercisefriends.com, http://fitlink.com or http://readytosweat.com.  These sites have you complete a profile then match you with a compatible exercise buddy.  Be completely honest when filling out the profile, highlight your strengths and weaknesses.  Not your style?  Try putting the leash on the dog and head out. Remember if they are not conditioned for long walks, they need to work up to it too. See if your local place of worship has a physical or virtual bulletin board where you can post that your are looking for an exercise partner.  Also, check to see if your local shopping mall has an organized mall walking group.  Many times this is organized by the mall or a local hospital.  Often they will have a particular day a month that they offer blood pressure checks and provide health education.  The benefits of an exercise buddy/mall walking group include accountability, companionship and security.  The mall also protects you from the elements. If you know someone is counting on you or will be waiting for you to show, you are more likely to drag yourself to meet them.  Time passes faster when you have a companion.  This goes for most anything in life.   Like anything else, there is safety in numbers.  I suggest meeting your exercise buddy at a public place the first time.  If you get an uncomfortable feeling, don’t leave.    Always carry ID, your cell phone and the name and number of an emergency contact.  You never know if you will need this.  An undesirable person is less likely to approach a group exercising than an individual.  The cell phone is also useful if you get caught in an unexpected storm.
    3. Check out sites by http://mapmyfitness.com like http://mapmywalk.com, http://mapmyrun.com, http://mapmyride.com.  They provide tools for you to measure walking/running or biking routes.  They also sharing tools so you can see routes other users have created.  The site tells you the distance and have a rating system for users to rate a route.  You can add stops to the route.   You can email the route to friends to see if anyone is interested in meeting you along the route or post to your friends via Facebook.  I email the route to myself so I can pick it up on my phone.   I also leave the route up on my computer screen.  If for any reason, I do not make it home, there is a map of my intended location.  Another benefit built-in to these site is the My Training Log.  It allows you to track your distance, # of calorie burned, your weight change, average # of hours of sleep and your average morale.  These sites allow you to mix up your route by location, elevation and distance adding variety to your workout and preventing boredom.

    So now you have some basic tools to help you start an organized workout plan.  Hopefully you will be able to draw from one or two of these tips and create time for exercise in your day.  If you stick with it, you will notice that your are able to think more clearly, sleep better and have more energy to focus on the important things in your life.

    P.S.  Did I mention, all of the basic services of sites I listed are free?  No excuses.  Get to it!  Good luck!

    Kim Oser, Certified Professional Organizer ®

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    Need Inspiration?

    May 13th, 2009

    “If you want to get somewhere you have to know where you want to go and how to get there. Then never, never, never give up.“  Norman Vincent Peale

    Want to organize your life? Organize your space? Remember appointments and be on time? Find things when you are looking for them? Improve your credit rating and lower interest rates by paying your bills on time? Find the dining room/kitchen table and the tools to prepare and serve a meal on the table?

    The first step is envisioning your life or your space in your best case scenario. Then set goals to help you get there. It may be getting up one-half hour earlier or cleaning out one shelf or drawer at a time or it may be hiring a professional to help you through the process. If plan A does not work, go with plan B. Look at road blocks as challenges and opportunities. You may find your initial plan was not the optimal plan. The process of setting your goals and following through to get there will help you achieve self-satisfaction and a more rewarding life.

    kim-signature-small-angle2

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    Productivity Tip: JOTT

    April 26th, 2009

    Check out http://jott.com. Jott makes sure you stay on top of everything. With a simple phone call to 866-JOTT-123, you can capture notes, set reminders and calendar appointments, stay in touch with friends and family, and interact with your favorite web sites and services…all with your voice!

    JottIt is so cool! Their voice recognition software translates your voice into messages. Send messages to your email Inbox or text messages. They offer limited FREE service and inexpensive more elaborate services.

    The other day I was in the car for 30 minutes. Using my Bluetooth and JOTT, I added appointments to my Outlook calendar, reminders to my Outlook tasks, and created emails in my Outlook draft folder. My eyes never left the road and I didn’t have to type a word. It was all through one phone call. I didn’t even mind that I was in traffic since I was getting so much done.

    One of my other favorite JOTT functions is calling in a text message to remind me that my meter may expire. They send a text message to my phone to remind me to either move my car or fill my meter.

    There are a lot of other cool features. Check it out to see if JOTT can help you be more productive.

    kim-signature-small-angle2

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