Protect Your Kids Online With Back to School Safety Tips

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It’s that time of the year when we have to think about getting our children organized for back to school.  Not only does this mean back to school shopping for clothing items and school accessories, but it also means thinking of your child’s needs for mobile technology

With the purchase of mobile technology and the use of the Internet, getting your ground rules organized for mobile/Internet safety is critical.  Cyber bullying is on the rise and with most children social networking and media sharing are common every day events.  As such its important get some ground rules organized with your children to keep them safe. 

infographic-back-to-school-guide_0This Infographic, courtesy of Kaspersky.com provides you with a way to organize your talk with your children to keep them safe in this world of technology.  These are great tips for back to school safety.  Have the talk and keep your children safe!

3 Psychological Reasons For Clutter

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Do you struggle with clutter?

Are there one or more rooms that you simply dread walking into? Or avoid all together?

Hi there, I’m Vanessa Long and I’m guest blogging for my good friend, Linda. She’s asked me here to talk about the psychological reasons that we clutter our houses and our lives from my perspective as a transformational coach and trainer.

In the early 1900s, the famous psychologist Dr. Carl Jung drew a connection between your external life and your internal mind and the impact that each has on the other.

Did you know that you have both an unconscious and a conscious mind? 

Your unconscious mind is everything you aren’t aware of right now – that’s about 98% of your power and your mind.

Your conscious mind is about 2% of your mind and power and is everything that you are aware that you’re thinking right now.

For instance, if I asked you what your best friends name was in Grade 4… a name will probably pop up. You weren’t thinking about it before so it must have come from your unconscious mind. Really, that’s all the unconscious is: everything you’re not aware of right now – and it’s running your life.

What’s important to know is that your conscious mind can only handle a very few thoughts at one time, somewhere between 4 and 9. If your conscious mind can only hold a few thoughts at any one time, what happens to the rest of the thoughts that you have? They go unconscious! They get stuffed down into that part of your mind where you don’t have to deal with them.

And that brings us to your basement. Or garage. Or whatever area of your house has clutter that you just don’t want to deal with – or can’t bring yourself to face.

How you do anything is how you do everything.

One of my favorite sayings is ‘How you do anything is how you do everything’. That means that if you’re holding clutter in one physical space of your life then you are probably holding clutter in other places as well – energetically, at work, emotionally, relationally.

If you have a cluttered basement, then you have clutter elsewhere that you don’t want to deal with. If you look around and think ‘Ugh!’ then you are doing that internally as well with one or more issues. It can be pretty depressing, and, in fact, clutter, unfinished projects, and other holes in our energy field actually do have a significant impact on our emotional and mental health.

There is very good news, though! You have the power to change whatever it is that is dragging you down. You do! You have 100% power to change your life for the better – or to ignore it and watch it get worse.

So here’s where it gets really cool. If you want to get unstuck, if you want to get moving on something in your life, I have found that one of the best ways to do so is by cleaning up a physical mess. When you have successfully tackled a mess in or around your home it frees up a tonne of stagnant energy and that energy can then be used to finish other projects.

Each time you clean up a physical mess you’ll find that other messes want to clean themselves up – that a situation that has been dragging on with no end in sight suddenly changes. There will be shifts in unexpected places.

What mess can I clean up?

In fact, when I feel stuck on a project my first thought is ‘What mess can I clean up?’ Even if it’s just doing the dishes, it gets things moving. And, if I want to see a big change, I clean up a big mess. I tackle something in the basement or rip down a wall that has been vexing me.

You can change your world. You have that power. And if you take just a baby step you’ll find that the power of the universe is waiting to help you on your way. Your unconscious mind knows exactly what is keeping you stuck and it will tell you if you ask.

If your physical messes are just too much for you to handle, call Linda, she’s amazing. She brings her background in social work, as well as her compassion and uber-efficiency to get your project moving in a powerful way.

Author’s Note: Vanessa Long is a Board-Certified Master Coach and one of Canada’s top NLP and Hypnotherapy Trainers. She works with super-busy people to help them break through their stuckedness and blow past their stuff to live the passionate life that they dream of. If you’d like to learn more about the unconscious mind and how it is impacting your ability to get stuff done, you can visit her site at http://vanessalong.ca/takecharge-lvk-thankyou for a complimentary training on the unconscious mind. It’s her gift to you.

Photo by Tomwsulcer (Own work) [CC0], via Wikimedia Commons

Organizing Your Car For Spring

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messy carA car would be typically described as a passenger vehicle that is self-propelled with four wheels and an engine.  With that in mind let’s consider what state of organization your car is actually in.  Don’t be fooled into thinking that that you don’t need to have your car organized. Remember that your car is an extension of yourself and in fact tells others about you, your character, style and personality. As a result you want to keep its contents organized, functional and accessible.

10 things to keep in your car

There are certain items everyone should keep organized in their vehicle for safety purposes.  These include:

  • Owner’s manual
  • Tire pressure gauge
  • First aid kit
  • Flashlight
  • Jumper cables
  • Jack
  • Motor oil
  • Spare tire
  • Tire iron
  • Flares

It’s not recommended that you keep your insurance card or your vehicle registration in your glove compartment.  They should be kept on your person only as these are not items you would want a thief to get their hands on.

Also remember to keep all your invoices and receipts from any repairs and maintenance you have done on your vehicle and store them in a clear plastic sleeve or envelope inside your glove compartment.  Its good practice to also scan and keep a copy of these papers in an electronic folder on your computer as well.

Starting the car organizing process

Spring is a great time to do this project.  Pick a good weather day and roll out a small tarp or blanket on your lawn or driveway.

You then begin by removing everything out of your car (don’t forget the trunk, behind the visors and all compartments throughout your vehicle) and place it out on the tarp or blanket.  Keep an open trash bag on hand so that you can place any trash you come across immediately in the bag.  Also have on hand an empty bin that you can label “Put back in the house” in which you will place any items that originated from there and should be returned.  This would include coffee mugs, food containers, etc. Once everything is out on the tarp take a photo. You will likely be amazed at how much “stuff” was living in your vehicle without your knowledge.

Categories are cool

This next stage of organizing your car is like a game of Match as you will be sorting like items with like items.  For instance, place all tools together, DVD’s in another pile, paper in yet another and continue this process until you have put everything in a category, like items with like items.

If you find any maps I suggest you check the dates for relevancy.  My rule of thumb is that any map over 3 years old has likely changed and may not be worth using on your next road trip unless you are looking to take an unscheduled detour. This is also a good time to update your GPS system.

Once everything is in a category begin to revisit your piles and start purging. Think about the essential items you need in your vehicle all the time. For instance if your work requires your car to be your office as well, you may need certain office supplies. If you regularly drive kids to and from school, perhaps you may want to carry a supply of wet wipes or snacks.

Remove items that are obsolete and out dated, broken or damaged. Multiples of items should be addressed and should not be kept unless there is something special or unique about them in terms of size or shape.

Organize and corral

Now it’s time to corral all your piles.  Using separate bins and crates, load your categories of items into the best sized container. Corralling items in your trunk will save you time and frustration scrounging around in there when you are looking for something. An orderly car is less frustrating and more efficient than disorganized chaos.

Don’t forget to plan a regular schedule for cleaning out your vehicle to maintain the state of organization.

Drive organized!

Organizing And Tracking Inventory For Businesses

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messy inventory room

If your business involves stock, whether it is products for sale or for manufacturing, keeping track of stock inventory is critical to know what you have, where it’s located and the value of the inventory you have on hand.

Not only is organizing and tracking your inventory important for customer service (to have inventory when you need it), but it’s also important from a financial perspective so you know the value of your inventory. Keeping track of your inventory will alert you to when you need to re order and give you an accurate snapshot of your inventory at any given time.

Maintenance Requires Discipline

Maintaining any inventory system requires discipline in entering all of your transactions and staying current with them. It is recommended that you set aside a few minutes each day for this critical clerical task. Of course, all stock requires a part or stock number with each transaction being posted to your system. If, even just once, you forget to enter stock coming in or going out, the entire system fails.

Inventory Software

Anyone who owns or manages a business that has inventory should consider using inventory software. The best products will allow you to enter and view items using part numbers, let you attach important notes to each item, and help you manage recurring orders that you may have.

What to Look For

If your company keeps an inventory you definitely need to have inventory software to help you stay organized and on top of your stock of products. Inventory software can provide the basics of just keeping track of your inventory, but it can also help you manage customer relationships and even provide you with a calendar for purchasing goods.

Some of the best inventory management software is equipped with a low-level warning system that will alert you when your stock is getting low so you don’t run out of something that is selling well. You also have the ability to see, in real time, what stock you have on hand at another location and keep track of it.  If you offer item kits it’s important to use a program that will allow you to keep an eye on your sales and inventory so that your kits are all accounted for.

Other Features

When searching the for the best inventory program you should consider looking for one that will allow you to build and save your customer and supplier databases. In addition, you should have the ability to set user access rights for employees who need access to the database but don’t need to see sensitive information.

Another important feature is the ability to create and print customized reports, and you should be able to import and export inventory files and reports.

Ease of Use

Your inventory program should be easy for anyone to use. The best inventory software will offer tutorials and on-screen setup guides that will help you to incorporate all of your important information. You should also be able to find help on the manufacturer’s website with ease. Products that offer support without forcing you to buy a separate support package are also something to consider.

Options

There are many affordable software systems available for small businesses. A manual system is one option (the old Kardex system comes to mind) but with software costs being what they are today they are not recommended. Following are three options available to organize and track your inventory.

Inventory Pro ($150.00), rated 5/10, covers all the basics including PDF capability for sending invoices, but does not handle bar codes which is generally not an issue for small business.

In Flow is another option, priced at approximately $300.00, is rated 10/10 for small business but will not run on a Mac.  It does have kitting and financial options available.

Lastly, there is Small Business Inventory Control.  Priced at an affordable $100.00 this program is rated 7/10 and allows for planning as well as lets you know what item or items are slow moving so you can adjust your purchase orders.

So now you have a few ideas to organize and track your inventory.  Ultimately the one you decide to go with depends largely on the volume of your stock and your budget.  Do your research and get the best inventory management system to organize your business inventory.

 

Organizing Your Golf Bag

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golf bag

This latest blog is courtesy of my guest blogger, Doug Ward.  Enjoy!

I recently went away for a week down south with my wife and another couple. One of the reasons for the destination of choice was the amazing golf course situated beside the resort. The first 9 holes of the course are not all that great however the back 9 follow the scenic ocean.  Every hole was a challenge and the scenery was spectacular with huge ocean waves smashing into the rocks as you took a shot.

Upon our arrival for our first game I was a bit embarrassed as I was searching my various golf bag compartments for the things I would need for the game.  All the while my playing partner had already calmly retrieved his glove, tools and ball like an organized professional. Here I was tossing out Kleenex, mints, sunscreen etc. looking for what I needed and all the while becoming more and more frustrated while my blood level rose. Not a good way to start what was supposed to be a relaxing game of golf.

Golf bag manufacturers give you a lot of pockets on a golf bag for a reason.  There are many types of golf bags out there and mine is a mid-range bag with a good amount of pockets.  After my embarrassing ordeal I decided it was finally time to put those compartments to good use and get my bag organized.

Right after the game (which was played in record time of 3 hours), I emptied everything out of the bag.  You’d be surprised what I actually found in there. There were of course golf balls, tees, gloves, ball markers, as well as Kleenex (used and unused), sunscreen, wrappers, a screwdriver (!?), rain coat, old gloves, etc.

To get the golf bag organized I placed all the golf balls in one of the largest compartments at the front of the bag.  The tees went in a smaller compartment and the golf glove I use every game was placed in one of the small side compartments. All these items are used every game so they were all in the upper compartments of the bag and easily accessible during the game. Most bags also have an insulated compartment on the side for water and a large side compartment is a great place to keep rain gear if and when needed. If you wear a watch and normally remove it for the game like I do, make sure you put it in a safe zippered compartment and don’t forget to take it back out when you’re finished your round.

Sunscreen (a must for every golf bag) was placed in one of the small side pockets together with clean tissue. All garbage, wrappers, old gloves and broken tees were tossed out.  For those of you that are truly disorganized in your golf game don’t forget to put your clubs back in proper order in your bag for easy retrieval when you need them next. Golf clubs and shoes should be cleaned after each round to remove any dirt and protect your investment.  Shoes should be kept in a special shoe storage bag.

Somebody once said that the game of golf is played between the ears so why add to the stress of an already mentally challenging game by having a disorganized bag? Play smart and take 15 minutes to get your golf bag organized. It’ll be worth it.  I promise.

 

Organizing Tips For Travelling

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I have a tendency to panic when getting ready for a trip.  It’s not the process of getting organized for the trip that gets me feeling panicky, it’s the actual trip itself, getting from one location to another without losing anything along the way.  My husband finds humor in this but it is an issue I have in not fully trusting that my luggage and belongings won’t disappear somewhere along the way, never to be found again. It doesn’t help matters that I know quite a few people that this has happened to.

Getting ready for a vacation I recently faced this panic again so I decided that through organizing for the trip I could actually avoid the panic for the most part.

I think I’m pretty good when it comes to organizing my clothes and everything I need to bring for me and my husband.  I make sure I have things that will match but never want to carry an excessive amount on vacations. Many things can do double duty.

My major panic, believe it or not, is around my skincare items, prescriptions and bathing suits. Certain things I can replace if they get lost when in another country.  However some things are irreplaceable to me and would cause me undue grief, frustration and fear if I was without them.

Skincare for example is major as I have sensitive skin and the products I use are not easily found and are fairly expensive in my mind.  Prescriptions are of course vital when on vacation so no one would want to go without those and who knows how difficult it would be to replace.  Going to a doctor in a foreign country and explaining why I need a replacement for lost medication could prove to be futile.  Lastly, when it comes to bathing suits, and I know most women would agree, it’s one of the most difficult shopping excursions we women make.  So to lose them en route and have to subsequently replace them during the trip could prove to be excruciatingly painful and frustrating as most women find it very difficult to find a bathing suit in which they feel comfortable and that is in fact flattering.

So what’s the solution to organizing for the trip keeping these 3 issues in mind? It’s as simple as packing all those items in your carry-on bag so in case you do lose your suitcase en route, you can at least enjoy the vacation with the few essentials that are in your carry-on. Keeping in mind the liquid volume limitations, I ensure I have my essentials in my carry-on and if the original size of the product is too large for the restriction for carry-ons I simply purchase a few small size travel containers and put the product in those instead. 

So if you see me in the airport and I have a smile on my face (which I usually do by the way), it will be because I feel relaxed and calm knowing that, if anything were to happen to my luggage en route, when I do arrive at my destination I will be able to jump into my bathing suit, use my skin care, take any prescriptions I need to stay healthy and also be able to lounge around enjoying my vacation until either my luggage arrives or I feel energized enough to shop, whichever comes first.

Process Of Organizing For Your Pet

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Dog toys

Have you ever thought that maybe you need to sort through and organize all the toys and “stuff” that you have in your home for your pet?

On December 6th   (St. Nicolas Day, Sinterklaas for us Dutchies) I realized this was my reality.   Now that I have Tess, a little 10 pound Maltipoo, I find myself buying little Sinterklaas gifts for her. I rarely buy Tess any toys that contain stuffing because within 5 minutes of having one she will literally tear a hole in it and pull out all the stuffing she can reach with her snout.  She can even tear into those “tough” toys that are supposedly indestructible.

This year I decided to buy her a “stuffy” so she could have fun tearing it open and making a mess.  She did just that and of course, put a smile on my face at the same time.  Pets are great like that. After she was all done and I was picking up all the while fluffy stuff she had so insistently pulled out, I began putting her toys back in her toy basket that I keep in the living room.  In doing so I realized that there were quite a few things in there that she either rarely played with, had completely destroyed or that she never even touched. It made me realize that even with our pets we need to organize their stuff because they can’t do it themselves.

Starting the process of organizing I proceeded to empty the entire basket and displayed all of the items on the floor, sorting everything into categories, balls with balls, stuffy type things with like items, etc.  It’s also important to remember to inspect your pet’s toys on a regular basis because the squeakers in toys can come loose and become a choking hazard for your pet as well as other items that may be inside of toys that your pet chews.  Therefore this periodic de-cluttering of your pet’s toys will help to avoid any hazards to their health.

While you’re at it, it’s also good practice to take a look at the pet care items you have in your home, sorting those and tossing anything that is broken or not used or tolerated by your pet. I suggest you keep your pet care items, such as shampoos, conditioners, brushes, etc. in the place where they are actually used by you and keep them all contained in one bin or basket that fits all the items.  Pet’s toys should also be contained in a bin or basket that matches your décor.

Don’t forget to also check your pet’s coats and leashes.  I found an old dog coat I had bought Tess when she was 6 months old.  The coat was in great condition but certainly didn’t fit her any longer.  That went straight to the vet for donation as I knew it would come in handy there.

Take care of your pets because you know they take care of you and put a smile on your face every day!

Getting Your Emergency Kit Organized

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SnowstormProcrastination.  We’ve all been guilty of this obstacle to organization at one point or time in our lives.  My husband is a prime example. Yesterday morning as he was making toast I noticed that there was a ton of bread crumbs under our toaster which shouldn’t have been there.  I mentioned to him that perhaps the crumb tray was not inserted properly.  He said he’d take at a look at it later. I dislike the word “later” and I encourage everyone to remove it from your vocabulary.  The reason is that “later” often doesn’t come and can often be an obstacle to getting organized.  For the record, my husband still has not gotten around to checking that crumb tray and at this point in time has likely forgotten.

One thing no one should procrastinate about is emergency preparedness. Although living in Canada we are relatively free of hurricane’s, earthquakes and floods, we do have our share of snowstorms, ice storms and have experienced tornadoes in the past couple of years that resulted in devastation and families stranded.

With winter almost upon us, there’s no time better than the present to get your home emergency kits ready for whatever hits. I’m sure many of you haven’t even put one together but it’s relatively easy to do.

First you’ll need to get yourselves a couple of easy to carry, air tight bins in which to store the emergency items needed.  It’s also a good idea to have a large knapsack or duffel bag kept with your bins in which you keep a sleeping bags, coat, pants, long sleeve shirt, hat, mittens, scarves and blanket (one per person).

FEMA has put together a great list that should be in your emergency kit and I have replicated it below for your reference:

1.            Three day supply of non-perishable food and water.  One gallon of water per person per day is required.

2.            Portable battery-powered radio or television with extra batteries.

3.            First aid kit and a first aid manual.

4.            Hygiene and sanitation items such as moist toilettes and toilet paper.

5.            Matches in a water proof container.

6.            Extra clothing.

7.            Whistle.

8.            Small kitchen accessories and utensils, including a can opener.

9.            Copies of identification and credit cards.

10.         Cash and coins.

11.         Prescriptions if needed.

12.         Eyeglasses, contact lens and hearing aids.

13.         Infant items such as diapers, formula and bottles.

14.         Non-perishable food items your family typically eats such as cans of tuna, peanut butter, protein bars, canned beans, canned soup and pasta.

Another tip to keep your emergency kit well-organized is to label all food containers with the date you stored them and every January revisit and rethink your kit in case your unique needs have changed. It may never happen to you but if an emergency does hit, at least you’ll be prepared.  Don’t let the word “later” take over your life.  Take action now, avoid procrastination and get your kit organized.

How To Organize Your Bag or Knapsack

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Looking for a way to organize your bag or knapsack?  The GRID IT! system by Cocoon Innovations is a versatile and functional organizing system. Made of rubberized women elastic, it firmly holds most digital devices and personal items in place.

With endless configurations you can customize to your needs. Plus, there are a variety of sizes and designs to choose from.  Great for laptops, notebooks, IPADS, travel cases, knapsacks and handbags.  Many of them also have zippered pouches on the back to contain even more items. Google it and check it out – you won’t be disappointed.

Organizing Your Apps

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Apps drive me crazy.  Every time I open my IPAD it seems there are a bunch of app updates I need to take care of.  The problem is that my husband, as helpful as he is, can’t resist the temptation to get any new app that comes along that is free, so he takes the liberty of loading them on my IPAD without my knowledge.  If you’re one of those people that can’t resist to install “just one more” read on to see how you can strap a harness on the overabundance of apps and retain your productivity and sanity.

First of all you need to figure out what apps you actually use before you actually start to de-clutter your technology.   Any apps that you have downloaded and only used a couple of times should be removed.  Then rather than having pages and pages of apps to swipe through to find the app you want,  organize your apps into categories or groups such as “news”, “travel”, “fitness”, etc. Think of it as putting your apps into filing cabinets. This way you can stay organized and easily find them when you need them.

To do this with your IPAD, simply press and hold the first app icon until it begins to shake.  Then let go and you will notice that all app icons will now be shaking. Press the app you want to move and slide it over another app that belongs in the same category.  Once you let go, these two apps will now be combined into one “file”.  From there you will be asked to name this file.  Use the suggested file name or type your own file name that makes sense for that grouping of apps.

Once you have all your apps organized remember to perform regular maintenance to keep them under control.  Don’t feel pressured to download every new and trendy app that you hear about.  Think about what you really need and will use and let your better judgement prevail.