Peace-of-Mind Vacation Check List - What to Do Before You Leave

In order to insure that your time away on vacation is relaxing and refreshing, make sure to take care of a few things before you leave.

- Make arrangement for your mail and packages. One option is to stop your mail through the post office (you can do it online at www.usps.com). If you do this, you may want to ask a neighbor to watch for packages, as well. We have a weekly paper that is delivered whether we want it or not - it's a sure sign that we're not home if it's sitting on our front porch for days.

Another option is to get a neighbor or friend to pick up your mail and watch for packages. Sometimes we hire a neighbor kid to pick up the mail and walk around the house to look for packages. UPS sometimes delivers to our front porch and sometimes to our back porch!

- Put your lights on timers. We have some that are programmable to go on at different times each night. It makes it look like you are home and there is activity in different parts of the house. We actually leave them on all the time, so if we're out for the evening, it doesn't look like it.

- Stop your newspapers. Most newspapers give you the option to donate your unused days to schools, etc. It's still helpful to have someone watch, though, as we've had newspapers delivered even when we've requested a stop.

- Make arrangements for your pets - a kennel, someone to come over and feed and play with your cat, feed your fish or birds, etc. There are all sorts of pet-sitting services these days, too.

- Make arrangement for your plants - either have someone water them or use a long-term watering system.

- Make arrangments for your lawn. A shaggy yard with yellow newspapers sitting around is an invitation to thieves.

- Pay your bills that will be due while you are gone and soon after you arrive home. You don't want to have to face bills as soon as you come home!

- Remove perishable items from your fridge and pantry. You may want to make a list of items you'll need when you return while it's fresh on your mind, so you don't have to think about it when you come home. Both milk and bread are freezable - just remember to buy milk with the screw-on lids and empty a little so it doesn't explode all over your freezer!

- Adjust your thermostats to save energy while you're away. If you have a programmable thermostat, set it to reflect your absence.

- Give a neighbor your cell phone number or contact number - just in case they notice water pouring out of your house, or some other such emergency!

- Look back at your house as you leave. We almost left our front door open once. And you certainly don't want to be wondering if you left your garage door open!

- While you're away, you may want to pick up a souvenir or gift for anyone watching your house, pets, or plants.

With all these details taken care of, you'll have peace of mind while you're away and can enjoy being refreshed and rejuvenated!

The Best Teriyaki Sauce in the World

It's time to make a big batch of teriyaki sauce - I usually make a bunch at the beginning of grilling season. It keeps forever, well maybe not that long, but I never keep it around long enough to find out. I make it for teriyaki chicken (marinate for 2-6 hours - in a pinch none at all!), london broil (marinate for three days) and for fajitas (just add onions and peppers to chicken or beef while cooking).

Today I'm making it in order to celebrate a milestone in the life of one of our foster daughters - she has been off drugs for a year. So we're celebrating! She got to choose her celebration dinner, which is teriyaki chicken, fried rice, strawberries, watermelon, a veggie platter and chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream. We'll have balloons and a card signed by all of us, too.

Here's the recipe. A quadrupled amount is in parentheses.

Teriyaki Marinade

3/4 c. oil (3.c.)

1 T. garlic powder (1/4 c.)
1/4 c. soy sauce (1 c.)

1 1/2 t.ground ginger (1/8 c.)
1/4 c. honey (1 c.)

2 T. chopped dried onion or to taste (1/2 c.)
2 T. vinegar (1/2 c.)

Check Out MultiTasking Mama's Giveaway

MultiTasking Mama is offering a giveaway of some of my books. She will be reviewing a different book each day, and you can enter each day for the giveaway at http://multitaskingmama.wordpress.com/. Her reviews start tomorrow, Monday, May 5th, so drop by her blog. You'll want to visit often - she has lots of great stuff, including loads of bargains and coupons.

Organizing Your Fun Time

We received a houseful of four teenage girls yesterday who will stay until next Thursday. They are part of our Shelter Care residential program (my other job) and usually reside with a permanent set of house parents. But once a month they come to our house for a week, as do two other houses of girls.

I try to offer some fun things for us to do together, so I do research. I look at a couple of websites that list activities to do in our area, the website for our park system, current movies, and a craft store that offers classes.

Then I make a list of things we would be willing to take them to, considering both location and price. I also make another list on the same page of things to do around home - crafts, cooking, games, etc.

A third area includes possible exercise options: swimming, working out, walking in the neighborhood or at a track or at a park, frisbee golf, tennis, raquetball, basketball, hikes, etc.

And finally I give an option to go out for coke/coffee with either Bob or me (or both at different times).

I put all this on a list and let each girl vote for her top two or three favorites in each area. For each top choice I give it a numerical value of 5, the second place choice gets a 4, and third place gets a 3. I add up all the votes so we can see what the majority wants to do.

Then I try to schedule in as many activities as our schedule allows and as the weather permits, trying to provide variety. We usually throw in a house project that every one pitches in to do for an hour (washing walls or windows or cars, yard work, etc.). I also try to plan some down time for people to just chill if they want to do so.

Since we have a specific time when we have each house of girls, it lends itself to such a system. But you could institute something similar just to do something different than the normal routine. I know for myself, if I have a routine schedule, I can easily get in my rut, and don't always think about seeing what's out there to shake up my life a little.

This is also a great system to put into place for summer vacation. Tweak it to fit your family's needs and schedules - it makes life interesting and fun!

Looking for Some Creative Mother's Day, Graduation, and Wedding Gifts?

Mother's Day, Graduation, and Wedding season is upon us! We have created several interesting packages for each of these occasions so you can do all your gift buying in one location. There is something for every price range.

For Mother's Day, we're featuring three books written by Ann Champeau on writing your life story and writing a family cookbook. There are also beautiful notecards which I love and use all the time. Their envelopes are velum, so you can see the designs through them! And we have a package including my Planning Dinner Workbook plus Hassle Free Dinners for moms who want to streamline dinner yet serve great meals.

For Graduation, we're featuring combinations of my Time Management for the College Student, Planning Dinner, and an audio interview featuring Maria Pascucci from Campus Calm University and myself on the topics of procrastinating, time management, and other pertinent subjects.

For Wedding gifts, we offering packages of several of my books to help newlyweds set up an organized household. The same books will work for college graduates, too!

So, why buy a boring gift? Buy something unusual and useful and life-changing! www.1-2-3GetOrganized.com.

Wireless Etiquette

It's important to use your time well, but there are limits! Never do you want to cross the line from efficient to rude, showing a lack of appropriate boundaries.

Tom Musbach listed the results of a survey by Yahoo!HotJobs (www.hotjobs.com) in which respondents ranked wireless and work/life balance misbehavior from worst to least aggravating:

"1. Accepting a personal call while in a meeting or presentation
2. Answering the phone or emails while at a business dinner
3. Talking on the phone while in the bathroom
4. Talking on the phone while in close quarters (such as a train, plane, or bus)
5. Answering a work call or email during personal time after work hours."

By turning off your phone during a meeting or appointment, it shows respect and is actually more efficient. If you take a call, it wastes time by interrupting the flow of the meeting, not to mention the time of the person(s) waiting for you to finish or having to recap what was discussed in your absence.

How are your boundaries? Any wireless etiquette advice you'd like to offer?

National Association of Professional Organizer's Best Residential Product for 2008

NAPO announced its Best Residential Product at its 2008 Annual Conference in Reno Nevada this month. It’s a system of clear plastic stackable containers called Neat Containers (www.neatcontainers.com).

Even though the containers stack, you can remove one without the rest falling down. There are several different sizes and several packages. They can be used in the kitchen, closets, the garage - any place you need storage.

Organizing Your Herb Garden

Yesterday was a beautiful day here in Ohio – a good day to get my herb garden started. Because I want to give some of my friends and family my dried herbs for Christmas (don’t tell!), I decided to plant a lot.

I divided my herbs into perennials and annuals. I’m eventually going to plant the perennials in the ground so they can come back next year. The annuals will go into pots and long planters.

I started by mapping out the garden areas I want to use for perennials. In one plot, I’m going to put a row of thyme in the front because it’s the shortest. It has purple flowers. Behind the thyme I’ll put rosemary which is a little taller. And finally, I’ll have a row of lavender, which grows up to four feet tall and has purple flowers. Did you know that if you put lavender leaves in your bath, it will help you sleep?

In another plot, I’m going to put sage with a row of parsley behind it. Parsley is not a perennial, but a biennial. My parsley grew through the Ohio winter this year with several snows. But I think a cold winter helps it grow a second year, if I understand my research correctly. So if you live in a different part of the country, this may not happen for you. But you might try it – it can’t hurt. As you can tell, I’m learning as I go on this.

At the end of last summer, I cut the parsley but didn’t pull it up. Some grew back, and there were times when I brushed the snow off my parsley this winter and picked some for dinner. I’m still going to plant some more parsley, though, as only some of it grew back.

A couple of other perennials I already have growing are chives and mint. Both of these will take over everything around it, so you have to trim them back or pull out the excess. I grow a couple of types of mint, spearmint and peppermint.

One of the most refreshing summer drinks I’ve ever had is mint tea (without the tea!). To make a half gallon of mint tea, I pick a very generous handful of mint leaves (both kinds). If I have several hours, I’ll put them in a half gallon of water with about ½ cup or less of sugar. If I need it quickly, I pour a little boiling water over the mint leaves, let it steep for a bit and then add the sugar and cold water

But I digress!

The annuals I chose to grow this year include dill, marjoram, oregano, cilantro, and basil.

I’ve started both the perennials and annuals from seeds, planting them in planters. I’ll thin them according to package instructions. When it’s time to separate them and transplant them, I’ll put the perennials in the ground and the annuals in pots and planters. The cilantro doesn’t last very long, so I’ll start some now and some in a couple of weeks and some a couple of weeks later.

If you don’t want to go to the trouble of starting from seeds, you can always buy herb plants from a nursery or similar store. It’s easier but more expensive.

Poor Planning Humor

This has been around for years, and I was reminded of it when my daughter Sara sent it to me. Hope you get a laugh out of this, and your planning turns out better than this man's did.

Dear Sir,

I am writing in response to your request for addition information in block #3 of the accident reporting form. I put "Poor Planning" as the cause of my accident. You asked for a fuller explanation and I trust the following details will be sufficient.

I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a new six-story building. When I completed my work, I found I had some bricks left over which later were found to weigh 240 lbs. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley which was attached to the side of the building at the sixth floor.

Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went down and untied the rope, holding it tightly to insure a slow descent of the 240 lbs of bricks.

You will note on the accident reporting form that my weight is 135 lbs. Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rapid rate up the side of the building.

In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel which was now proceeding downward at an equally impressive speed. The explains the fractured skull, minor abrasions, and the broken collarbone, as listed in Section 3 of the accident reporting form.

Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley which I mentioned in Paragraph 2 of this correspondence. Fortunately by this time I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope, in spite of the excruciating pain I was now beginning to experience.

At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground, and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Now devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel weighed approximately 50 lbs. I refer you again to my weight. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building.

In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles, broken tooth, and severe lacerations of my legs and lower body. Here my luck began to change slightly. The encounter with the barrel seemed to slow me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell into the pile of bricks and fortunately only three vertebrae were cracked.

I am sorry to report, however, as I lay there on the pile of bricks, in pain, unable to move and watching the empty barrel six stories above me, I again lost my composure and presence of mind and let go of the rope.

Free Local Shredding

Neoshred (www.neoshred.com) is offering free shredding tomorrow, Saturday, April 26 from 9 to noon at their business location, 621 E. Tallmadge Avenue in Akron. You will be able to drive up and actually watch them shred your sensitive information. You are limited to 7 file boxes of paper.

Nice timing, isn't it, right after taxes? They said they will be offering this service 2-3 times a year, so watch the Akron Beacon Journal (www.ohio.com) for future free shredding announcements, or give Neoshred a call.

Tip on Daffodils from my Master Gardener

Isn't it wonderful to have spring flowers coming up? I love it!! What a lovely reward for our hard work months ago. :-)

My Master Gardener friend has a tip on daffodils and narcissuses (or narcissi - I looked it up!). When they stop blooming, you may separate them if they are too crowded. You don't have to wait until the fall.

Thank you, Gerry!

Life Lock - Protecting Your Identity

My husband and I just signed up for Life Lock (www.LifeLock.com) to protect our identities. We were impressed by what Life Lock had to offer for only $10 per month: proactive identify theft protection with up to $1 million service guarantee. They even help you reduce your junk mail and credit card offers.

Each time you or someone else tries to open a credit card account in your name, you will be notified. And if your wallet is stolen, they will walk you through the process of of notifying your credit card companies and others.

Here's a quote from their website, "Our unique service enables individuals to strike back against identity thieves by helping them prevent identity fraud before it costs them thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours to restore their identity. "

Decluttering in 5 - Check out the Shelf Life of Your Spices

I heard recently that if you have McCormick spices or herbs (other than black pepper) in the red and white tins, they are more than 15 years old!! So obviously, the decluttering task for the day is to check out your spices and toss those old ones. They can't be very bright after all this time. :-)

Before you toss those spices and herbs, add them to your grocery list so you're not caught without.

Earth Day Energy Tips

Happy Earth Day! Doesn't it seem there is a lot more buzz about Earth Day this year than previous years?


In honor of Earth Day, USA Today listed the following energy-saving tips:

" Replace regular light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs.

Replace outdoor lighting with a bulb or fixture equipped with a motion detector.

Buy appliances that have the ENERGY STAR label from the Environmental Protection Agency, because they use less energy and water than standard models.

Insulate walls and ceilings.

Add insulation to the water heater.

Lower water heater to 120 degrees and drain any sediment.

Install low-flow shower heads and toilets.

Check for and seal any cracks or gaps in walls particularly common in older homes with caulking and weather stripping.

Lower home thermostat.

Install a programmable thermostat to heat and cool rooms only when necessary.

Sources: Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Fund"


For more such information from USA Today go to: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/environment/2008-03-23-green-behavior_N.htm

Product Review of Organizers - PDAs

Today I’ll review PDAs (personal digital assistants) – generically. It would be too complicated to review them all and there are plenty of websites that will do that for you.

The pros:
- PDAs are small, compact and convenient.
- You can store an enormous amount of information in a small space – addresses, phone numbers, calendar, files, and to-do lists.
- Some PDAs have the capacity to be used as a phone and can connect to the internet.
- A calculator is part of the menu.
- An alarm reminds you of important events or appointments, if you choose to use it.
- It interfaces with your computer and allows you to keep your information in both places.
- Information can be imported and exported to and from other PDAs.
- You can play games on it.

The cons:
- The calendar screen is small, making it hard to view the details of more than a couple of days.
- You must remember to charge it. If you don’t and your power dies, you must reprogram your settings – just happened to me today!! You can sync back all the information from your computer, but if you have entered anything onto your handheld and haven’t synced it to your computer, it is lost.
- They are more expensive than most paper or computer organizers.
- You must enter information using a stylus, which can be slower than writing. You can also write on the screen, but you must learn “graffiti” which is the handwriting the PDA can scan.

I especially love the fact that all my important information is with me at all times in a small place. The only major inconvenience I experience is not being able to see a week or month at a glance on my handheld. But whenever I’m working at my home office, I can see these on my computer.