Peace of Mind Organizing

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!

Create habits with DailyFeats

28 June 2012

I’ve been enjoying DailyFeats, a website that helps with habit creation. You select the habits you want to create from a whole bunch of options (there are 463 feats to choose from and the list is always growing). The individual feats are then put in your list. Every day you go to the website and click off the feats you’ve accomplished.

And here’s where it gets fun: You get points for accomplishing feats. After those points add up, you can redeem for charitable donations, for deals at participating vendors, or for gift cards.

So far, I’ve redeemed points for a free subscription to O Magazine and for a buy-one-get-one-free deal on Elements custom protein bars. I love that I get credit for things I’m already doing, like flossing my teeth, taking my calcium supplements, and attaining inbox zero. It also reminds me of other daily feats I aspire to—and it motivates me to do them.

There are feats in a variety of categories, like Home Care, Work, Health, Money, Learning, Family Relationships, and Community. The list is a bit eclectic. It includes feats such as “clean bathroom” and “include someone who’s left out” and “find money” and “listen to a kid” and “eat tofu” and “create art.” I think there’s probably something there for everyone.

There’s also an iPhone app that makes it easy to check in your feats.

I’m adding DailyFeats to my toolbox of habit-creation tools that have worked for me. (Others include Don’t Break the Chain and my Bingo board.)

Come back to my blog on Monday for a special announcement regarding DailyFeats. Hint: It involves Peace of Mind Organizing!

Giveaway winner!

27 June 2012

As usual, I used the Random Number Generator to select the winner of that fantastic resource, The ICD Guide to Challenging Disorganization: For Professional Organizers, which I reviewed last week.

And the winner is…

Linda Samuels, CPO-CD of Oh So Organized!

I’m delighted to send this book to Linda. She’s actually one of the contributors to the book and a fantastic organizer. I know she’ll put the book to good use.

Somehow this seems really appropriate because Linda was my predecessor as the Marketing Director of the Institute for Challenging Disorganization and my two-year term as Marketing Director ends on Saturday.

Congratulations, Linda! And a hearty thank you to everyone who entered. (I urge you to click the above link and purchase the book.)

Great shower caddy

26 June 2012

Sometimes I start using an organizing product that makes my life better. And when that happens, I like to tell you about it, in case it will make your life better too.

A couple of months ago, I purchased the “OXO three-tier shower caddy”: http://www.oxo.com/p-755-3-tier-shower-caddy.aspx at Bed, Bath and Beyond. My metal shower caddy had become rusty and full of soap scum.

We have an old-fashioned claw-footed tub in our 100+-year-old home and so we have to use a caddy to hold soaps and shampoos—there are no corners or ledges to place things on.

The great thing about this caddy is that it has removable plastic trays, so you can wash them. It is designed so that any liquid drains out of the soap dish. And there are holes in it so that you can place bottles in cap down when you’re running low on shampoo in a bottle. It’s such a smart design.

Here’s a photo of mine. The top shelf is usually empty, but the day I took this I had a houseguest, so there was room for her to put her shampoo and stuff. Isn’t that great?

Since I purchased it, every time I take a shower it makes me smile. Thirty dollars felt a little spendy at first glance, but I found this product to be well worth the money. (And, since I bought it at Bed, Bath and Beyond, I was able to use a 20 percent off coupon.)

Just had to share!

Going with the flow - part 2

25 June 2012

On May 2, life through me a little loop when I fell and sprained my ankle quite badly. That day I blogged about how such experiences make you go with the flow. I was out of commission for quite a few days and was just getting back to enjoying having natural-looking feet. (The foot swelled badly and turned purple.)

On Saturday, I had another foot injury. I was buying wine and stupidly put a bottle in the child seat area of the shopping cart. The wine bottle fell through the leg hole and landed squarely on my foot. The good news was that the bottle didn’t break. But it hurt as much as you probably imagine it would.

The toes turned quite purple almost immediately and today I had to take time out of my day to go to the doctor to have it checked. We decided not to x-ray it, because treatment of fractured toes is no different from non-fractured toes (unless the big toe is involved, which mine wasn’t). So I don’t know if they’re broken, but it doesn’t really matter.

I’d post a picture of my foot, but it might not be in good taste. If you want a peek, you can look at this twitter post. It features a photo that I took while I was waiting at the doctor’s office.

The point of this post? That it’s a good idea to build some buffer time in your life so that when you’re thrown a curveball like an injury, you can adapt. When every minute of your day is scheduled, this kind of thing can be disastrous. I know I feel more relaxed when I know I can be flexible. That kind of buffer can help make a painful situation turn into a majorly stressful one.