Peace of Mind Organizing

Getting rid of my landline

9 July 2012

I’m giving serious thought to ditching my landline telephone. This feels like a very big deal to me. But these days it seems like the only calls I get are from solicitors (I don’t answer) and prospective clients, who get my number from my website. The latter group can just as easily get my cell number from my website. I’m paying over $65 a month for my landline.

Last year, I bit the bullet and ditched cable TV and I haven’t looked back.

I never would have considered this before I got my iPhone in March. But now that I have a cell phone I adore, I always have it with me. (The last ones always languished in my purse.) I’m lucky in that I get excellent reception in my house on my iPhone from AT&T.

My biggest consideration is a great headset. I spend a lot of time on the phone and a comfortable headset is a must. I’ve found one, the
Blue Parrot Road Warrior that I want to try out for use in the house.

The other consideration is getting new business cards and getting my cell phone number out there.

So these are the steps I’ve identified to make this transition:

• Find a good headset that’s comfortable and sounds good and will work well with my iPhone. Once I’ve done that, I can move on to the following steps.

• Change the phone number on my website and newsletter template

• Add my cell phone number in my email signature line

• Get new business cards printed

• Let clients (past, present, and future), family and friends know

• Call the phone company and do the deed

When I spell it out like that, it doesn’t seem like such a big deal. I’m very close. And kind of excited! If you have any suggestions or cautions, please feel free to comment!

Do you have four-legged friends?

6 July 2012

If you love dogs and cats, you won’t want to miss this opportunity to purchase really special t-shirts (and hoodies and bags) created by my friend, Sally Brown, of Roll Over Rover Threads.

Sally is one of the most animal-loving people I know and when she created ROR Threads five years ago she melded her great passion (dogs) and great talent (illustration). The result is an ethical, fair-trade t-shirt company that makes clever, sophisticated apparel for people who love dogs (and cats).

Every year, I help Sally tend her booth at a big pet-supply-industry trade show. This year, I’m helping her at three different shows. That’s how much I love Sally and how much I believe in the life-enhancing quality of her shirts.

Sally doesn’t sell direct to the public and while some designs can be found in the In the Company of Dogs catalog, mostly you have to go through pet boutiques to buy her shirts.

Except this week.

Until Thursday, July 12, you can buy a selection of Sally’s shirts—at practically wholesale prices—at the fabulous, design-centric website, fab.com.

You’ll have to register in order to see Sally’s (or anyone else’) wares, but registration is free and worth it: the whole fab.com website is a feast for the eyes. They sell beautiful, innovative products, at great prices.

Remember, the fab.com sale on Sally’s pet-related t-shirts, hoodies and bags ends next Thursday. It’s really a great opportunity to buy some great shirts for yourself or for others. I have a whole wardrobe of them myself!

Two ways to learn from me about habits and routines

5 July 2012

I think creating great habits and routines is the key to the good life. I tell clients that I can help them declutter, but unless they change their behavior—and that typically encompasses establishing new habits and routines—disorder will once again reign.

I offer my clients lots of information about habits and routines when I work with them one on one. Right now I’m offering two opportunities to learn from me without being a client.

In person

I’ll be teaching an in-person workshop, Create Freedom and Ease with Habits and Routines, with my friend and collaborator, Shannon Wilkinson on August 3 in Portland, Oregon. Go to Perception Studios’s website for more details and to register. We had a fantastic time teaching this in St. Louis and decided to teach it again in Portland, where Shannon lives. The cost is $85, but you can get $20 off if you sign up by July 17. And there are a limited number of slots to work with Shannon or me, in person, after the workshop.

Online

For the third time, I’m teaching Simplify Your Life with Habits+Routines, the online workshop I created for my friends at Simplify 101. This session runs from July 19 through August 16.

When you sign up for this workshop, you’ll get three lessons, released a week apart. Each lesson is available to be read on the website, or as a pdf, or listened to as an mp3. Your choice. And you also get access to the glorious forums where you’ll not only have the chance to ask me questions but also gain encouragement and wisdom from your classmates. It’s a very special arrangement, if you ask me. Go to Simplify 101’s website to get more details and to register. The cost is $59.

For your enjoyment

4 July 2012

It’s a holiday here in the U.S. and I wasn’t going to post a blog post today, but this morning I had an email from Playing for Change (whose tagline is Connecting the World Through Music) with a link to this fantastic video of a live performance of A Change is Gonna Come, the beautiful Civil Rights anthem by Sam Cooke. Somehow it seemed appropriate to share with you on Independence Day.

This performance features musicians from around the world, led by Grandpa Elliott, from New Orleans, Louisiana, and Clarence Bekker, from Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Enjoy!

If you enjoyed that, check out this wonderful video of Stand By Me, featuring musicians performing this classic song all over the world, in a beautiful blend of voices and instruments. This video launched Playing for Change as an international music phenomenon. (You’ll see Grandpa Elliott and Clarence Bekker in there among a variety of other musicians.)

You can see more videos at Playing for Change’s website. Don’t miss reading about the Playing for Change Foundation.

Happy Independence Day!

Update on the cable-free life

3 July 2012

Back in December, I wrote a long post about life without cable TV. I watch a lot of TV, since I love the combination of TV + knitting. It was a big deal for me to cut the cord on cable.

Now that it’s been about eight months since we canceled cable TV (and eliminated the $135 cable bill), I thought I’d give you an update on how it’s going.

I still watch plenty of TV, through a combination of Hulu Plus, Netflix, and Amazon Instant Video. I view those on my TV through my Roku box. (And sometimes on my computer.) I also watch live over-the-air broadcast TV from time to time.

During the regular TV season, I watched more current TV. Some shows, like American Idol and CBS shows that aren’t available on Hulu, I’d try to watch live. That meant I had to sit through commercials. And it also meant I had to follow the network’s schedule. So 1990s. But perfectly acceptable. And free.

Mostly, I’d watch current shows on Hulu Plus ($7.99 a month). The whole season of shows on Hulu Plus is available with my subscription, so I could be less regimented about watching. And Hulu Plus actually has original programming, like the election-workplace drama Battleground that’s really very good.

Now that there aren’t many new shows I want to watch, I’m digging into the TV archives on Netflix. I’ve been watching Felicity every day. (That’s the turn-of-the-milennium college show, starring Keri Russell, created by JJ Abrams of Lost fame.) I didn’t watch it when it was new, but I’m really enjoying it. When I’m finished with that, I think I’ll turn my attention to either rewatching early seasons of Mad Men on Netflix or perhaps watching Pushing Daisies on Amazon Instant Video.

I really didn’t want to miss out on this past season of Mad Men, so I spent just under $40 to download the season via Amazon Instant Video. That was great and had the advantage of no commercials. I could see doing that with other cable shows that I don’t have access to otherwise. I wish I could watch current HBO shows, but as far as I can determine, they’re available only to folks who subscribe to HBO through a cable or dish service.

Hands down, the thing I miss most is having a DVR. I’m getting used to it, but that was a hard adjustment. As I mentioned in my other post, if I had it to do over again, I probably would purchase a Tivo Premiere, rather than a Roku device, and perhaps pony up the extra $15 a month for DVR service. In fact, I’m still considering getting a Tivo.

We’re lucky that we’re not big sports fans. If we were, the decision might have been more difficult. But we watch so little sports that it wasn’t even a consideration.

All in all, while I regret missing out on a few things, cutting the cord on cable has been fantastic. I have plenty of TV to watch. I’m saving money. And I feel virtuous!

Are you prepared?

2 July 2012

There’s a heat wave sweeping much of the U.S. and I see on Facebook that many of my friends in the east coast are facing power outages after a big storm. Power outages are tough at any time, but during blistering heat they make you feel especially desperate.

We had a taste of that yesterday about 6 p.m. when our power went out. There was no storm; I suspect that the electrical grid was overtaxed after five days in a row of 100+ degree temps.

Luckily, it wasn’t a widespread outage and we were able to go to a friend’s house for the night. And, as it turns out, the power came back on about 10 p.m.

But it brought something into stark relief for me: we are not prepared for a power outage, or any other disaster. At the very least, we should have multiple flashlights at the ready.

The Red Cross has a Power Outage Checklist that you can download that includes information on what belongs in an emergency kit.

The list includes:

• Water
• Non-perishable food
• Battery operated or hand crank radio
• Flashlights
• Extra batteries
• More stuff

It’s a good starting point. And this little dabble in high-temperature power outage has me resolved to get my act together.

Another great resource is my friend Margaret Lukens’ website, Preparation Nation. I’d better get reading (and acting).

App of the Week: Reminders

29 June 2012

One of the built-in apps of my beloved iPhone 4S that I have taken most advantage of is the Reminders app. Since my phone has Siri, all I have to do is activate Siri and dictate a reminder.

About a half hour ago, I put a load of laundry in the wash and said to Siri, “Remind me in an hour to change out the laundry.” After that hour is up, I’ll get a reminder on my phone and on my computer screen telling me to deal with the laundry. I won’t have to give it another thought during that hour.

Prior to my March 2012 purchase of my iPhone, I relied on my sports watch to do that. That worked well (though it was more laborious to set the alarm). But you know what? I prefer my pretty analog watch to my ugly sports watch. So the pretty watch is now my default watch; Siri has taken the place of the sports watch’s timer and alarm functions.

While I was walking my dog yesterday, I saw some yard signs for the upcoming primary election. I remembered that I was going to be out of town on election day, so I pulled my phone out of my back pocket, pressed and held the Home button to activate Siri and said, “Remind me at 1:00 to look into ordering an absentee ballot.” Come 1:00, I was reminded and I downloaded the application. It’s filled out and waiting for the mailman.

When I eat breakfast, I read. Sometimes I lose track of time if I’m reading something interesting. Since I always have my iPhone with me, I just ask Siri to remind me in 10 minutes to finish breakfast. Then I don’t have to keep checking my watch.

The list goes on and on.

I can also use the reminder system in iCal, on my MacBook, and request an alert come up on my phone.

I don’t know if I didn’t have Siri whether I’d use the Reminders as much. But since I do, it’s an app I use at least once a day (usually many times a day). If you have an iPhone (especially if it’s a 4S) and you haven’t been using Reminders, I urge you to give it a try!