From the Kitchen to the Web - The Family Bulletin Board

Google is full of surprises! I discovered how easy it is to start a blog here with Blog Spot. Now I recently discovered you can create your own website. I have experimented with other site-making venues and by far, Google is the friendliest.

I recently created our family command central webpage and I love it. I REQUIRED my kids to have it as their homepage. I must say, I had a lot of fun putting it together and they actually enjoy checking it. I put a joke of the day and put it on the task list to find it somewhere on the site.

On the homepage I have our Google Calendar in agenda form. I am a list person so the agenda form is the best for me visually. On the Google Calendar, the boys will enter any upcoming school events and assignment due dates and I enter appointments. I also have the date, clock, weather and task list. The task list is a dynamite tool! I use it as a grocery list, reminders, etc. Finally, I have a countdown for special events/holidays.

I have a links page. There I have links from the kids' school sites to shopping and banking sites. I even have a shortcut to my blog on this page. Sweet!

Try Google Sites now!

Not Quite Paperless Yet

It seems to me that the more I try to go paperless, the more paper there is to sort out and the incoming stream never slows down.

I have done at least this much...

Kept a spreadsheet record of my gas expenses. Then toss the receipt.

Paid my everyday items with either my debit card or charge card. That way I can

Monitor my expenses on Mint.

Mint is a wonderful online tool that tracks your accounts and debts. You can now view your investment progress and soon will feature mortgage and student loan tracking. It is free to subscribe and use and Clark Howard raves about it on his radio show. For the LAZY person, it is the perfect tracking tool for me.

However, I will continue to strive with my receipt organizing. I will keep you posted.

8 Ways to go Quasi-Paperless

If you are like I am, you keep every receipt you ever get. Somehow, some fall through the cracks. For example, any receipt that I need when I have to make a return to the store somehow is unfindable! Why? Because I have run out of space to keep the receipts that matter and they get lost in the meaningless ones. After awhile that huge pile becomes overwhelming and I cannot find.

The same goes for mail. a lot is absolutely junk, but there is some with information I want to refer to later. Later, that piece of information is all but forgotten and still lingering under a huge pile of other "useful" information I will eventually get to later. The higher that pile gets, the more I procrastinate in dealing with it all.

I have had some thoughts on how to manage all of this "paper gone wild" in my house. Here is a list of what I am considering:


Receipts. This may work for me since my office is literally inside a closet (clothes hanger bar and all). Use the clotheshangers with the clips and clip the receipts I KNOW I need to keep. I have purchased a package of those clips that you can attach to the plastic clothes hangers and they fit pretty well. I will "file" if you will, according to the merchant. I will update you on how this new system of mine will work.

As for the mail...

Make a vow to myself, right away, to go as paperless as I can. Two or three days of mail piles up really fast.

Take action on any paper items right away, such as permission slips for the kids, all that lovely fundraising stuff from school, and even their beautiful artwork they bring home from school.

Shred junk mail as soon as I receive it.

Scan to my PC whatever "useful" information I will eventually get to but not necessary to keep the original. Come up with a label and a file category for easy retrieval. The artwork, depending on the size, can also be scanned to keep for posterity without the clutter!

Set a reminder with myself on my online calendar for 5 or 10 minutes on my online calendar to open that week's mail.

Decide to delete or keep after reading my mail, right then and there (don't want to clutter up my PC with old stuff.)

Continue that mindset. If I do it each day, the clutter wont pile up.

In about a month, I will let you know how I'm doing. In the meantime, I love reading tips on how to organize. Please feel free to leave a tip or two on what organizing technique works for you!

Happy Mothers Day!

To all you mothers and mothers to be, I wish you all a blessed day. Count all your little blessings and find those blessings well disguised. Enjoy!

The Best Place to Shop during a Recession

I made this discovery about a year ago. Nearly all the things that I needed were in one spot. Small appliances, software, clothes, shoes, accessories, even cosmetics. Best of all, these items were free! Where is this magical store? Closer than you think.

My secret store...inside my own house. If you look hard enough, you will find your secret store in your own house too.

Think of buried treasure. Rediscovering all those things you bought over the years and stored away is a treasure box of savings or income possibilities. The beauty is, if you can't use it anymore, someone else certainly could. Put your personal inventory on display by having a yard sale. If you don't have the luxury of spending an entire day of your life waiting for browsers consider listing on eBay, Craig's List, or Amazon.

Another way to earn cash is to take your clothes to a consignment shop. Consumers are rediscovering consignment stores, especially now while the economy continues to hover over uncertainty. Baby and children's clothes are high-demand items. Be sure your clothes are gently used meaning they are clean and stain-free, hems are mended and all buttons are attached and there are no holes or tears. For unneeded furniture, there are consignment furniture stores. If you have not visited such a store, you would do yourself a service by stopping in to browse.

Donating your goods to charity, the Salvation Army , Goodwill and Vietnam Veterans are excellent repositories for used items and your donations are tax deductible. Vietnam Vetarans will also pick up your items from your home.

Shopping from home will give you a boost in your income by reducing duplication (buying what you already have), saving fuel (no need to drive to the stores), credit card debt management (no spending), giving to those in need, earn some extra cash or simply revamp your current wardrobe.

Happy Shopping!

Weight Loss Tools are Wonderful (If Used as Designed)

I have been on more weight-loss journeys than I care to admit, even to myself. I have tried the best of the best. Weight Watchers has everything you need for successful weight reduction and they are constantly researching new methods to simplify their program in order to keep pace with the everchanging modern lifestyle. There is no reason to fail. Then I wondered why I only lost a quarter pound here and a sixth of a pound there, when everyone else was melting away their fat virtually right before my eyes.

Everyone I knew who used Weight Watchers met their weight loss goals. They lost LOTS of weight and looked great! It didn't even take them a long time. It wasn't fair! Why was I struggling so much? I rationalized that Weight Watchers was flawed and not everyone succeeds. But after years of denial, I realized it wasn't their fault, it was mine! What was my problem? The tools were there and there were plenty of them. The instructions were simple. Only one reason Weight Watchers has not worked for me. Because I modified its excellent tools. Why pay for a membership in a group with decades of proven results and change it? Maybe it is a reluctance to accept help, even though I am seeking it. Maybe I think I know enough to lose weight my own way when really I only know enough to be dangerous.

So what did all those LOSERS have in common? They accepted help and they followed instructions. Duh! How simple! Like any other tool, theirs is the right tool for the right job, I just have to use the tools the right way to get the right results.

He/She Who Spins Best Wins the Election

I'm sticking my toes in some very murky water here. Discussing politics is so taboo because it is such a hot button subject, however, I can't resist. I'm an avid Fox News viewer. Last night, Hillary Clinton "The Brave" faced the No-Spin Zone man himself, Bill O'Reilly. I thoroughly love Bill's show. I really never expected Clinton or Obama to ever appear on Fox and actually answer the tough questions but I really have to give credit where credit is due. Clinton impressed me just by being there and appeared quite prepared. I wish I really paid attention to what she was saying but I was still in shocked disbelief that she and Bill O'Reilly were in the same room. Tonight is the second part of the interview, in fact, in 3 minutes. I don't want to miss a moment. Get the real answers Bill, I'm counting on you!

Common Direction

Here at Population Segment, you will find blogs, forums and information regarding daily life. The mission is to help all folks with practical advice and to break down the barriers of the unknown so to create a greater awareness and understanding of the world "outside" of our own world at home. The basic truths, commonalities, misconceptions/myths, and guidance that can be applied to most people. There are similarities we all share, so here at Population Segment, I will strive to make this an enjoyable site for every segment of the population. I will also add features and articles. My site is currently under development but will have form very soon. I look forward to all of us getting to know each other.

Moody Moon

Have you ever noticed feeling more tense during a few days of the month that usual? Not only women during the lunar cycle, but most people seem particularly touchy, show less patience, become abrupt. As an experiment, mark your calendar on the full moon days for the next couple of months. If you notice that you and those around you feel "out of the norm", check the calendar. You will be surprised! Once you know that the full moon is behind all the moodiness, you can remind yourself that you are not yourself and to not act hastily.Full Moon Dates: April 20, May 19, June 18, July 18, August 16. Check out the Farmers Almanac for the remainder of the year.

April is Autism Awareness Month

Understanding Autism. A very difficult concept. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a range from high-functioning to low-functioning (mild to severe). It is not easy to explain what it is because no two children or adults with ASD are the same. In under two election cycles from now, the majority of the young adults will have some diagnosed form of ASD and will be entering college, trade school, the workforce and society. Remember the statistic (1 in 150). THAT is something we all need to be acutely aware of today.

Economic Savvy: New Yahoo Group

This group open to anyone and is designed for sharing tips, advice, and answers regarding successful ways to save money, wise investing, budgeting, sensible shopping and frugal living, especially in the current economic climate. Time management tips,and the like are also helpful since time is $ money $.It is perfect for everyone seeking to keep their lives running as smoothly as possible. Let us help each other keep the economy alive in a smart way and there is more than one way of doing it. Professional Financial Planners are welcome to provide input as well as those who have been successful in pulling up their bootstraps in tough economic times.
Here are the details on EconomicSavvy:Group home page: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EconomicSavvy Group email address: EconomicSavvy@yahoogroups.com

Using Blogger

It took me no more than 90 seconds to create a blog in Blogger. I wish I found this one sooner!