My Filing Heresy of putting things in one box rather than in nice neat folders has expanded.

I was in my office closet, looking at a pile of warranties to be filed, and looking at the mess that they had become. My eyes fell on my filing box, and I wondered if I could apply the one box principle. I think I can.

Filing Warranties with the One Box Filing Method

I grabbed a pile of clasp envelopes, an empty box, and the warranty pile.

I first went through the warranties, recycling anything we didn’t own any more. Then I sorted into three piles: household built-in, window treatments and other. In the household built-in pile went the warranties for the major appliances, heating systems and other large items that would convey if we moved and sold the house. Window treatments were in a separate pile because they would convey with the house, but might be changed.

I next labeled two envelopes: one for the built-ins, and one for the window treatments. I put the related warrantiesin these envelopes and put them at the bottom of the box. Next I tossed in the rest of the warranties.

All done!

I could have spent more time sorting and categorizing the warranties, but it is so rare that I have to go back into them that it seems pointless. Plus when it comes time to file new warranties, I just have to open up the box and toss the warranty in.

Photo by SuziJane

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So you’ve rented a self storage unit. You can easily figure out the basics of self storage — how to pack and label boxes and arrange things you need most often closest to the door — but having seen some super creative people maximize their storage units, I’ve realized that this simple investment can aid in productivity and stress relief by streamlining some of your most chaotic tasks:

• Organize your personal belongings with a logbook. I saw a tenant doing this one day and was amazed. She said that when she puts items into her self storage unit, or removes them, she enters it in her logbook. She kept the logbook in the self storage unit, near the door, so she could quickly assess the contents of her unit. The logbook was a three-ring binder, with categorized lists: seasonal clothing, yard work equipment, family photos and documents, financial files, personal files, and books. Some tenants use a similar strategy but with electronic organizers, and others use online photo accounts to hold pictures of all the items they keep in storage.
• Use rolling carts. I am a huge fan of rolling carts. (Personally, I think every piece of furniture should come with wheels!) Rolling carts work especially well in a storage unit because you can move everything around while simultaneously keeping it all organized. There are some tenants who use rolling carts with many small drawers to hold craft supplies, school supplies, and office supplies. Larger, heavy duty tool carts work well for holding heavy items, such as tools and appliances, but they are pricey, so you’ll want to use the lightweight rolling carts for whatever you can.
• Store presents for family members until their birthdays, holidays, or graduation. Another place rolling carts could also come in handy! One of my tenants is a single mom with three children. She had a large rolling cart with three huge plastic drawers each of which was labeled with the name of one of her children. During the year, she bought gifts she intended to save for a birthday or for Christmas — and then stored those in that child’s drawer, eliminating the chance that they might find it at home. She also kept wrapping paper, greeting cards, tape, ribbons, and scissors in the storage unit, so she could do her wrapping there. In fact, this particular mom moved on from storing presents for her own children, to storing extra presents for their friends, so when the kids were invited to birthday parties, all she had to do was stop in at the storage unit on the way to the party, quickly wrap a present, have her child sign a card, and be on her way!
• Store seasonal yard tools, such as snow blowers and lawn mowers, on a utility trailer. I am amazed to see how many of our tenants streamline the process of converting their garages from winter use to summer use — and vice versa. They do it by investing in a utility trailer, and loading it with all the heavy, bulky yard tools that they will not use for the duration of the season. Sometimes they have room left on the trailer to add the seasonal clothes or decorations that they want to put in storage as well. Then they simply roll the entire trailer into the storage unit and leave it there. When they bring it home at the beginning of the next season, they roll the snow blower and other equipment off the trailer, roll the lawnmower or other items on, and then drive the trailer back to the storage unit. With good planning, the whole changeover for the seasons can take an hour or less.
• Use metal utility shelves to store extra bulk purchases when you are stocking up from discount warehouse like Costco or Sam’s. I am always surprised when my tenants tell me how much money they save by buying in bulk. But buying in bulk means having a lot of bulk to store, and everyone seems to have their own system for keeping track of it. Some tenants use their self storage units as if they were their own personal commissary, keeping every household item there that you can imagine: toilet paper, diapers, baby wipes, paper towels, cleaning supplies, school and office supplies. Most of my tenants who do this invest in some utility shelving to keep in their storage units. Then they organize the bulk purchases on the utility shelves in much the same way that they were organized in the discount warehouse. In fact, discount warehouses will happily let you take their leftover boxes, which are often just the right size for organizing objects on utility shelves. Keep a few empty boxes on an upper shelf, so that you have a box ready to carry things home in whenever you go “shopping” at your storage unit.
• Stop in at your self storage facility on the way home from picking up a child at college. If you can convince your college student to pack his or her things in two batches — one batch to go home, and one batch to go into storage until fall — then you can make the process of moving back in for the summer much less painless. Stop at the self storage unit on the way, and unload the loft beds, computer desks, boxes of textbooks, and anything else that they can live without until fall. If you place all these items in the same corner of the unit, and leave them packed, then in the fall, all you will have to do is stop by the storage unit on the way back to college, and pick everything up again. This should save you a lot of time on both ends of the journey!

Do you have any tips for managing a self storage unit? Share below!

Art Decker is a division manager with Self Storage Company, which operates a group of websites, including a California self storage locator. Art leads a busy life and often travels between sites, like from Texas to the Illinois self storage site. As a result, Art has had the opportunity to witness many people’s excellent storage strategies.

Photo by jurvetson

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It is summer, the season of the grill. And grilling is great for preparing main dishes. But what about side dishes?

Before you reach for the standard coleslaw or potato salad, try these packets from my great-aunt Gladys that cook right on the grill:

Potato Packages

Ingredients:

• 4 potatoes, washed and thinly sliced
• 1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoon butter or margarine
• salt and pepper to taste
• aluminum foil
• olive oil in a pump sprayer (or cooking spray)

Spray the aluminum foil with olive oil to prevent sticking. Layer 1/4 of the potatoes, 1/4 of the onion, 1/4 of the butter on a sheet of aluminum foil. Repeat. Add salt and pepper, then seal up packet of potatoes. Repeat for the rest of the ingredients. Grill over the not-so-hot part of the heat until potatoes are soft.

Photo by smcgee

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Very few of us these days are dependent on a home garden for our food stock. But with food prices rising and so many people out of work, it is moving from the realm of hobby into the sphere of necessity.

Why You Should Consider Gardening

1. You control the pesticide application. Small-scale gardens do not need the pesticides that large farms do. Eliminating pesticides from our food intake means we consume fewer chemicals and leave fewer chemicals to get into the environment.
2. Garden produce is fresh. Supermarket produce is often picked before ripe and sprayed to preserve it. Garden produce is picked right before you eat it, after ripening naturally.
3. You can choose what to grow. Besides the obvious decisions of growing tomatoes versus not, you can also decide which type of tomato to grow. Some cultivars produce tomatoes of size or flavor you would never be able to find in the supermarket. Growing heirloom varieties also preserves genetic diversity, which is needed to fight plant diseases.
4. Fresh-from-the-garden produce has more nutrients. “Many vegetables lose delicate nutrients (vitamins E, C, B1, folate, and retinol) rapidly as soon as they are picked.” (WebMD)
5. Home-gardened food is cheaper. You can choose to pay $3.99 a pound for vine-fresh tomatoes in the grocery store, or $1.99 for six plants that will each produce three to four pounds of tomatoes.

Why You Should Simplify Gardening

Gardening requires ongoing work. It isn’t a matter of planting the seeds and coming back in a few weeks to harvest. (Believe me, this is from experience).

Gardens require ongoing weeding and watering. By simplifying the ongoing tasks, you automatically make gardening require less time.

How To Simplify Gardening

1. Consider containers or raised beds. Putting a barrier around your plants keeps weeds from invading wholesale. What weeds make their way in are easily dealt with because the soil in contained spaces is never packed down from walking. New types of containers are also self-watering, cutting down on time needed for watering, and providing consistent moisture for healthier plants.
2. Limit the garden space. Start small, and you increase your chance of success without overwhelming yourself at harvest time. New planting techniques can also increase the output from very small spaces.
3. Plant what you need. Traditional gardening has you sow many hundreds of seeds and then thinning the sprouts. Planting what you want and need eliminates the task of thinning.
4. Time the planting. If you plant all your plants at once, your harvest will all come in at once. Staggering planting by weeks extends your harvest season.
5. Choose non-fussy plants. Some plants require ongoing maintenance: staking, routing, or pruning. Avoiding those types of plants cuts down on your maintenance time.
6. Consider buying plants. Plants already started are easy to work with. While this limits your choice on varieties in most cases, you will not have to fuss with starting seeds in the house.

After five years of dismal failures in my gardening attempts, I decided on the above actions after research and thought. I planted two 3 foot square beds (one for veggies, one for herbs) and part of my side garden will be given over to edible plants. Since I am apparently the only person in North America unable to grow zucchini, I chose to plant tomatoes, peppers, root veggies and herbs this year. I bought all plants instead of starting from seed, after losing the battles for seeds with the birds.

So far I have harvested many tomatoes, fresh herbs, radishes, turnips, and green peppers. While not replacing my fresh vegetable purchases from the store, it is a welcome budget helper.

Resources:

• Square Foot Gardening. All New Square Foot Gardening (book), Square Foot Gardening Website. This method shows you how to build gardens in containers and/or raised beds to maximize harvest and minimize thinning and weeding.
• Gardener’s Supply Company. Gardeners.Com. A source for containers, quality raised beds and innovative planting and watering solutions.
• Your state agriculture cooperative. A good source of information about native plants, climate and soils.

Photo by Jason Sandeman

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A lot of personal development advice seems to revolve around the concept of improving areas of your life that are completely messed up. If you are incredibly disorganized, stressed out, and unhealthy then it makes sense to try to improve these areas.

However, focusing solely on those trouble spots ignores what I think has the greatest potential for amazing progress.

When you’ve started improving those trouble spots in your life, how do you act? If you’re anything like me, chances are you begin to backslide.

I’m in the middle of a training program in preparation for a half-marathon race. I’ve been sticking to the program very well for the past couple weeks and everything is progressing nicely. Instead of redoubling my efforts and staying focused, I realized that I’m letting a very dangerous mindset take over.

Where’s That Killer Instinct?

Let me know if this sounds familiar, “I’ve been running a lot this week so it doesn’t really matter if I eat ice cream for the third day in a row.” Or this: “I’ve been so productive at work recently it doesn’t matter if I let my organizational system fall apart.”

I’m sure you have an area in your own life where you’ve made impressive improvement and, as a consequence, have let something else slide.

My own realization came as I tried to run a 5K training run this morning. This is one of the shortest runs I do and it shouldn’t pose too much of a problem. My running has been going well so I decided to run this distance much faster than I have in the past. That all makes sense, except for the fact that I drank a Coke and ate two doughnuts for breakfast while not drinking any water. In my mind, I figured that since the distance was short and I had been doing so well with longer runs, it didn’t matter that I hadn’t taken care of myself properly.

I was wrong.

The Difference Between Pretty Good and World Class

What sets world-class athletes, CEO’s of huge companies, the best teacher in your school or the most productive person apart from us “mere mortals” is how they approach success. Success is not something they attain once and then lock up in a closet. Success is a never-ending journey that is constantly evolving and growing as they evolve and grow.

If you’ve found yourself stuck on one speed or even regressing in some aspect of your life that is important to you, try one of these tips:

1. Change something, anything, up: Maybe you are beginning to slack because you are bored. You’ve mastered the basics and now it’s time to try something new. Learn some new techniques, change up your training schedule, or find something new and exciting to explore. Much of the time changing things up is exactly what you need to continue your forward progress.
2. Revisit your goals: If your reasons for doing something have become hazy it’s easy to lose the focus you need to do it well. Clarify, in writing, why you are trying to improve some area of your life. Seeing it in front of you in physical form challenges you to take it seriously. Maybe your motivation has changed since starting your endeavor and the real reason you’re stuck in neutral is because it no longer resonates with you. Either way, you have to figure out why you’re doing what you’re doing.
3. 30 Day Challenge yourself where you are slacking: As I’ve improved my running I’ve let my nutrition slack off. It has been easy to justify eating whatever I want when I’m burning so many calories. However, that is not the mindset I want to have if I’m trying to become a much more fit person. Doing a 30 Day Challenge of not eating fast food or eating as cleanly as possible will be a good way to realign my actions with my motivation.

When everything is going well is the time to redouble your efforts and truly do something awesome. Most people settle for average, for mediocrity. You’ve already got the momentum behind you, why not keep it going and really challenge yourself to do more, be more, and live more?

Sam Spurlin writes about simplicity, living consciously, and personal development at The Simpler Life. Come join him on his journey to live as meaningfully as possible!

Photo by AdamSelwood

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I recently went on vacation. Vacation for an extended period, for me, means that I have to do prep work to ready the house and animals for the absence. I know I’ve written before how I cannot rely on my memory for any accuracy with a list of things, so I have to have a checklist.

I’ve been using a written checklist for years. I have a printed piece of paper in a sheet protector, and I would check things off using a dry-erase marker. When I needed to add things to the list, I’d write them in on the protector, or I’d draw a line on the plastic to eliminate things. But a paper list is hard to transport and prone to smudges. This makes it difficult to use, particularly if I want to take care of things on my lunch hour

The latest version of the checklist is actually in Remember The Milk. I thought I would share how I use (and re-use) this.

Make a List

The first version of the list started with my paper list. I put down everything that needed to be done before a trip, removing and adding items as necessary.

Add Deadlines

Since the actions have to happen before the trip, I put down for each task when it needed to be done, relative to departure. Things to be done the day of departure got a (0d), things the day before got a (-1d), and so on.

Enter in RTM

I set up a permanent list for my trip items, named (not very creatively TRIP) and entered the items. I typed in the name of the item, the time frame, and in the notes put any other information (like kennel phone number).

My list looks like this: (this is a partial sample)

• Take out garbage (0d)
• Empty compost (0d)
• Lock garage (0d)
• Adjust heat/air (0d)
• Set up timers (-1d)
• Empty fridge (-1d)
• Ask M to water outside plants (-2d)
• Water plants (-1d)
• Hold mail (-7d)
• Hold newspaper (-7d)
• Set up kennel (-21d)
• Set up cat sitter (-21d)

Using The List

About a month before the trip is scheduled to occur, I go into RTM and set the due dates on everything based on the trip departure and the lead time I have noted. The items then show up on the appropriate day along with my regular to-do items.

This little method has really saved me a lot of frustration in the past two trips. I have not forgotten to do anything, and it has lifted the strain of getting ready quite a bit.

How do you make sure you get everything done for trips? Let us know below.

Photo by goosmurf

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When I was growing up, one of our neighbors composted. The overripe smell of the piles remains with me, but also the memory of the beautiful fruits and vegetables she grew. When it was suggested to me as a means of enriching our terrible soil, I decided to give it a try.

I went into composting without any preconceptions, and I found it very easy.

Why Compost?

Composting is good on two fronts: it reuses food scraps that would otherwise end up not decomposing in our anaerobic landfills, and it provides soil with nutrients in a similar fashion to what it would receive “in the wild”. So it basically gives you great flowers, grass, and edibles while reducing your garbage load. Both reasons will save you money!

Composting Methods: Pile vs. Worm

There are two basic methods of composting: pile and worm. Worm composting uses worms to turn garbage into usable stuff very quickly. Pile composting relies on heat and water to decompose organic material.

Both methods will give you the same end product, but worms work faster. However, many people can’t get past the “ick” factor on worms and use the pile method. (I personally use the pile method, but that is simply because I didn’t know about the worms when I started this enterprise)

How Composting Works

A more detailed article on aerobic composting can be found over at HowStuffWorks, but it basically boils down to having organic waste interact with water and air to interact with microorganisms from the soil. The compost produces heat and the finished compost is a thick and rich humus, similar to what you would see on a forest floor.

Worm composting uses worms to eat the organic waste, which is then turned into worm poop castings.

Easy Methods to Compost

No matter what method you choose, there are easily obtainable gadgets to help you make compost.

3 Compost Bin Method

This method, has three areas outside in various stages of composting. The idea is that you fill one up, then let it “cook” (decompose) while using the next, and so on. These bins are easily constructable out of chicken wire and wood, and can also be bought ( EZCB E-Z Compost Bin). The difficulty with this method is that it is exposed to the elements and critters, and must be monitored to maintain good composting conditions. These bins will generally require manual turning with either a garden fork or a Compost Aerator.

Pyramid Composter

A pyramid composter is a black bin that does vertical composting (like the Home and Garden Innovations CMP02 Pyramid Composter). You continue to add material to the top of the bin, and pull out the finished product from the bottom via a door. The pyramid composter does not require turning, and solves the problem of heat, moisture and critters.

Turning Composting Devices

These composting bins, like the Tumbleweed Compost Tumbler Bin, take all the work out of turning. You rotate the entire compost bin to stir it up. It produces finished product much quicker than the standard bin method.

Worm Bin

A worm bin is generally smaller than a compost pile. It is a container full of worms has multiple layers that the worms work their way through ( 4 Tray Green Gusanito Worm Factory). The compost “tea” that gets produced is very good for houseplants as well.

Photo by Mickki

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We all know how important it is to get our 30 minutes of exercise a day. Besides the obvious physical perks, more and more research is pointing to the mental benefits of physical activity. And a happy mind is a more productive mind.

Mental Benefits

A California State University at Long Beach study shows, the more steps a person takes in a day, the better their mood is. All the more reason to invest in a pedometer.

The Franklin Institute reports that regular exercisers show improvement in their abilities to plan, organize, and juggle multiple tasks at the same time, versus non-exercisers. Better multi-tasking? Sign me up.

The institute also reports that running has been shown to actually grow new brain cells!

But, knowing and doing are two different things, especially for busy, modern women. However, there are some easy ways to squeeze physical activity into your daily routine.

At the Office

Use your lunch break to take a walk. Find a buddy, change your shoes, and head outside. Even a quick 15-minute jaunt through the neighborhood does wonders for both body and mind. It’s easy to get stir-crazy cramped in a cubicle all day. Fresh air and a change of scenery will make your afternoon much more productive. And when you return, take the stairs, not the elevator!

Running Errands

Park as far away as possible. The walk through the parking lot is good for your heart.

And test your muscles with how heavy you can pack those grocery bags (without tearing them of course). Give your arms a workout!

At Home

Make your chores work for you. Cleaning may be a drag, but at least there are some cardio benefits. According to the American Cancer Society, a 150-lb person burns 150 calories per hour vacuuming. Some other stats to motivate you to break out the dust rag:

• Gardening burns 324 calories per hour
• Light cleaning burns 240 calories per hour

On the Weekends

Running around after kids is hard work! Playing actively is good for both them and your heart. No kids of your own? Baby-sit your friends’ children or nieces and nephews.

Grab your significant other or some of your best girlfriends and go dancing. You’ll be having so much fun you won’t realize that you’re burning calories.

So what are you waiting for? A lower risk of cancer and heart disease, a better figure, improved mental capabilities, a chance to bond with friends and loved ones, can all be yours. All you have to do are activities that are already a part of your daily routine.

Danielle Bullen is a content writer for Online Nursing Schools who gives advice on the pursuit of education and living a healthy life. In her free time she enjoys yoga, Zumba, reading, and baseball.

Photo by Kamal H.

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Do you ever find yourself bored at work? Most jobs have some down time between projects or assignments. How do you pass the slow spells? Do you log into Facebook? Play online games? Chat with your coworkers?

Though there’s nothing wrong with any of those, how about maximizing that down time by being fully productive and really accomplishing something? Here are some ideas:

Take an online class.

How about improving your skills or learning something new by enrolling in an online class? You can work at your own pace without ever stepping foot in a classroom. Depending on the subject matter, your employer might even pay for it. Need some ideas? How about a foreign language, a computer programming language, writing (creative, grant, résumé), or personal finance?

Update your résumé.

If you’re looking for a new job, or even if you aren’t, use your free time to make your résumé current. If it has been awhile since your last job change, you probably have a lot of information you could add to your résumé. You never know when you may see an ad for your ideal job.

Read some interesting/informative blogs.

Forget Facebook. You’re not learning much by reading about your friends’ status updates or how many points they scored in Mafia Wars. Read some useful blogs (like the one you’re reading now). There are blogs on every topic imaginable. You never know what you may learn.

Clean out your e-mail inbox.

Do you have 500 unread e-mails? How about outdated e-mails about projects or events that are long past? This is the perfect time to purge that inbox! If you’re feeling overwhelmed, here is an article that might help: 10 Steps to Become an E-mail Ninja

Plan your meals for the upcoming week.

Have you ever gone home at the end of the day, overwhelmed by the thought of preparing dinner? Make a menu for the upcoming week so you don’t have to deal with thinking about food preparation when you’re tired and hungry. Try one of the many recipe sites online to find some fresh ideas for quick, easy, and nutritious meals. One of my favorite of such sites is AllRecipes.com.

Make a shopping list.

While you’re planning your meals, why not make a shopping list? Keep it handy and add to it as items come to mind throughout the day or week.

Clean out your purse, wallet, bag or briefcase.

It’s easy to accumulate clutter over time in a bag or briefcase: outdated documents, candy wrappers, shopping lists, receipts, etc. How about using this time to unclutter? Throw out all nonessential items to keep your bag/case roomy and lightweight.

Pay your bills.

Is your power bill sitting on your kitchen counter at home waiting to be paid? Use a spare minute or two to go ahead and pay that bill while at work. This will free up valuable time at home that you can use for other chores.

Review and update your calendar/planner for the upcoming week or month.

Is there an important event coming up that you need to remember? Mark it on your calendar. Trying to remember what activities or events the next week holds? Check your planner. Reviewing your calendar often will keep you from missing an important event or deadline.

Examine (or reexamine) your goals.

While you’re looking at your calendar/planner, why not look ahead at your goals? If you don’t have a written list of goals, now might be the time to start one. Spend some time thinking about where you’re going in life. Are you on the right path? What do you want to accomplish this month, this week, or this year?

Do any other ideas come to mind? Please share in the comments!

Rachel Vidrine is a librarian, web designer, and blogger. In addition to her blog, she runs a site dedicated to English grammar and usage.

Photo by normalityrelief

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The reason is that we accumulate stress as we move through situations. Each additional stressor piles on to the original stress level and amplifies what we are already feeling. But there is a way to keep that from happening:

The 5 Ways To Ramp Down Your Stress Level

1. Be aware of your stress level. In order to prevent stress from getting out of control, you must be aware of it. Get in the habit of asking yourself how stressed you are.
2. Assess your stress. If you find yourself coming apart at the seams, ask why. Ask yourself if this is really something to work yourself up about.
3. Notice additional stressors. When we are stressed, everything will seem magnified. The background whining of a two year old can set our teeth on edge on a good day, but will be more difficult to tune out when we are stressed. Things you could normally overlook are brought to the forefront by your already amplified stress level.
4. Breathe. To back down the stress level, put a few deep breaths in between something happening and your reaction. This can be hard to do, but it is possible with practice.
5. React proportionately. React to the events as solitary events. The spilled milk might seem like a disaster after a really bad day. But it is, after all, only spilled milk.

What it really boils down to is the trite saying, “Don’t sweat the small stuff”. If you can handle the additional stressors gracefully, you will be a less stressed and much happier person.

Photo by programwitch

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