B Dexterous Tips & Tricks: Archiving Personal Photos

Archiving Personal Photos

Organize your photos with consistent & descriptive file names

Challenge:Does it seem like your photos are all over the place your computer for digital photos?

Solution: Instead of thinking that people would LOVE to sit through all 450 pictures from your vacation in Cabo in 2009, decide which photos tell the story best and delete the rest.  Next give individual photos descriptive files names like Janeonbeach_Cabo2009.jpg.  Then create a folder for all the Cabo pictures like CABO 2009 which goes in your VACATIONS folder under MY PICTURES.  Make copies of the files "in the cloud" on a website, on your hard drive and on a thumb other larger portable hard drive.  For extreme measures send your drive to a friend living in a different location as physically far apart from you as practical.  This will keep photos safe if disaster strikes in one location.

Alice.com vs Soap.com

t's a Friday morning. You've decided to stay home from work (or work from home) to take care of a few errands...okay an overwhelming amount of errands. Your ever growing list of "things to do" entails scheduling a vet visit, rescheduling a dentist appointment, planning dinner with your BFF, laundry, cleaning the bathrooms, shop-

If she can't help with your to-do list who can?

ping...the list goes on and on. Then there is a ring at the door. Great! Just what I need another distraction in my day you think. But much to your surprise in walks Alice. You know, THE Alice from the Brady Bunch circa 1972 all ready to take away half your to-do list with a smile. Then you wake up from your dream and realize that although you don't have Alice at least there are technologies that can make it a little easier. One in particular, Alice.com and Soap.com

I've recently used both of these services and was very impressed with both.

Here is what I thought of them:

What is Alice.com?

Alice.com is an online marketplace for household essentials. As a leading provider of online retail and interactive marketing services for the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry, Alice.com offers manufacturers a direct to consumer platform that provides shoppers with competitive pricing, free delivery, instant coupons, and simple automation and management of household purchases. And, with its free iPhone app, all of this is available on-the-go. Alice.com is privately held and headquartered in Middleton, Wisconsin.

What is Soap.com?

Soap.com has over 25,000 products under one virtual roof. From your beauty basics and household ne

cessities, to the nutritional products with great prices, with fantastic everyday values across our range of products and a Savings Center that makes it easy to find the stuff on sale this week. Soap.com delivers everything to your door in 1-2 days for free. Soap.com is also connected to 3 other sites that specialize in specific needs of the family. Diapers.com for all your baby needs which as you've guessed so far include diapers with popular brands like Pampers, Huggies, and Seventh Generation. Wag.com offers supplies and food for all your pet needs which doesn't just have things for Fluffy and FeFe but includes items for even your feathered and scaly family members too. Lastly, YoYo.com offers fun for just about the whole family with games and toys for Toddlers to Teens. The family of sites all share one cart and generally ship together. Also purchases from each site count toward their free shipping minimum.

Wag.com keeps pets happy!

Benefits	Alice.com	Soap.com
Variety of name brand products	YES	YES
Not spending money on gas	YES	YES
Free Shipping	YES	IF YOU SPEND $X.XX
Delivery within 1-2 days	YES	YES
Budget tracking	YES	NO
Reminders/product planner	YES	UNCLEAR
Reviews	YES	YES
eCoupons	YES	YES
Customer support	LIMITED HOURS	24-HOUR; 7 days
Return Policy	YES - 30 DAYS ON UNOPENED/UNUSED PRODUCTS	YES - 365 DAYS ON UNOPENED/UNUSED PRODUCTS
Pay with PayPal	NO	YES
Negatives	Alice.com	Soap.com
Minimum amount/Minimum items	MUST ORDER AT LEAST 6 ITEMS TO COMPLETE ORDER	NO- BUT MUST ORDER AT LEAST $39 TO GET FREE SHIPPING

Alice.com offers a unique social experience by "friending" other Alice.com users. They also offer a referral program that nets you 3% commission on your friend's shopping for a year. When you've earned at least $50 they send you a check. Soap.com also offers a referral program that caters to the more generous consumer. You save your referred friend 20% off their first order and Soap.com will donate up to $25 to their listed charity partners. While both sites offer e-coupons, Alice.com tallies up what you've spent by category and how much you've saved to help those who keep a tight rein on their household budget. Soap.com caters to the saver's pocket by allowing them to pick 5 of their favorite products, which will always save you 10% on those products each and every time you shop.

Shopping online saves you time by not having to lug a cart in a store and move products around 6 times (from the shelf to the cart, from the cart to the cashier, from the cashier back in the cart, from the cart to the car, from the car to the house, from the house out of the bag) Yes! Six Times! Shopping online also saves you money. How many times have you entered in Target or Wal-Mart for a mere 6 items and left with 10 more? Click. Click. Type and Click and you just might avoid the spur-of-the-moment-I-suddenly-need-a-food-processor-when-I-don't-cook syndrome.

Let's face it, an Alice may not come to all of our rescue but with online shopping conveniences like Soap.com and Alice.com it's like a dream come true.

Like what you read and want to share on your blog or in print? No problem. Just make sure you make this statement at the end:



Copyright 2012. Andrea Hancock is a Professional Organizer, Speaker and Owner of B Dexterous, LLC based in the Washington DC Metro Area. B Dexterous publishes "Use Your Hands", a monthly e-zine used to stay in touch with clients and prospective clients but also to enlighten the world with tips of staying dexterous, organized and efficient in a world that demands much on our time and resources. Contact Andrea at (571) 232-8116 or via e-mail at andrea_hancock@bdexterous.com if you'd like to learn more about how you can put the pieces of your life together with organization!

Tips and Tricks: Online Shopping

Online Shopping

Keep a copy of your card handy

Challenge: Does it ever seem like when you start to purchase something online your wallet and your computer are in two different places?

Solution: Instead of getting up to fumble for your credit card or wallet, make a copy of your mainly used cards, write the three-digit security code next to the card for easy access without storing your card on the sites. For added security, write the security code backward just in case your desk is used by an unauthorized guest.

TEXT "Organizeme" to 22828 to sign up

TEXT "Organizeme" to 22828 to sign up for B Dexterous FREE monthly Ezine!

Don't Believe the Hype!

If I were to tell you that I were a doctor, what are some automatic things you'd think about me? Smart, articulate, makes a lot of money, healer, knowledgeable, are a few adjectives that come to mind for me. Now for a moment let me be more specific. If I said I was a neurosurgeon or if I said I was a veterinarian you get two vastly different pictures right? What is my point? The possibilities are endless and depending on your experience or lack of experience (say what you've seen on television of these professions) you have a mold of what these professions do, what type of people choose to be in this profession, and the qualities they possess.

I say that I'm a professional organizer. This industry is relatively new and for now the majority of the population who has any idea of what an Organizer is gets their ideas from television. Some are a little off "So you're like Nicey Nash right?" Um, no. I love Nicey Nash as an Entertainer and Host of the show but she is not an Organizer, she is a celebrity of a show who helps people de-clutter and facilitates a team of professionals (one who happens to be a Professional Organizer) and the home owner. She does a little of what an Organizer does by helping the home owner make decisions about what to keep and what to sell all with hilarity and pizazz. Then some people are much closer to what and Organizer is: "I love Peter Walsh." So do I. He is actually an Organizing Expert that helps people think about their stuff in a different way and then gives them the mental and physical steps to over-come clutter and organize their spaces. Yes, although he probably doesn't like the label, he is a Professional Organizer. So there are different pictures in our heads and in the heads of others (particularly our clients) that we have to address as to who we are as people and what we do as a profession.

When I first decided to pursue a career of a Professional Organizer, I too was under the "stereotype hype" of what an Organizer is. I thought this person was Mary Poppins and Martha Stewart's love child and everywhere he or she went the world was a little tidier with a throw pillow and a vase of peonies left in their wake of song and dance until it was time for them to fly off with open umbrella to the next appointment. With that idea, the pressure was immense. And although I love being organized and some of my friends think I am very organized - yes I like to straighten up my hotel room before I leave for the day as part inventory and part anal retentive. I drool while at The Container Store and could stare at pictures of organized spaces with dreaminess, but I also didn't come out the womb organizing my stuffed animals by type and color. As a child my room was messy on many an occasion and I kept things that I should have thrown away (like a Dixie cup of full of my baby teeth). I joined NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers) and stood in a room full of veteran Organizers and thought they were organizing giants. I thought about their years of experience and techniques and my messy childhood turned organizing fan and I felt like a fraud.
I recently read Organizing from the Right Side of the Brain by Lee Sibler. I suddenly had an ah-ha moment.

I'm a right-brain thinker who has some of the traits Sibler lists. I wear my B Dexterous signature tee-shirts and they say "I love organizing" and trust me the shirts don't lie. I do love organizing. I love organizing because I hate the alternative. Sure I can leave a space messy for a short while but after I spend 10 minutes looking for something my other right-brain characteristic – impatience comes to the fore and I get anxious, angry and moody (moody being another right-brain characteristic Sibler lists). I love organizing because it brings calm and cohesiveness to my world and helps me feel like I'm accomplishing my goals and not spinning my wheels. Sibler states about the creative right-brainer who stays organized: "There are wanna-be creatives, and then there are the truly creatives. The wanna-bes are people who have very low attention spans and are all over the place. They can come up with all kinds of truly wonderful ideas but rarely follow through on them. The second type of people are also extremely creative, but as it happens they are extremely disciplined as well. It's a most remarkable combination." I follow through. I love being creative and seeing a project from start to finish. I am a right-brained-creative-organizer.

I didn't fit into my own "stereotype hype" of what an Organizer is. I didn't come out of the womb with a file folder and a label-maker. But I love leaving a space organized so that my clients can feel calm and cohesive in their space. If they feel like they have to doodle for 30 minutes before they figure out how to organize, that's okay. If they want to pile instead of file, if it works go for it! Organizing is about creating a system that works for each individual. Being able to find the things you need and want without being anxious, angry and moody. Yes to create, you have to be creative. But being creative doesn't mean being disorganized. I actually DO think Mary Poppins and Martha Stewart's love child would make a great organizer. A song, a dance, a lesson on potting your perennials while your unkempt office, living room, and kitchen all put themselves neatly away. But that's a stereotype that no longer causes me angst. I say that I'm a professional organizer. I'm not a left-brain run-of-the-mill organizer stereotype and I think I I'm wonderful the way I am. Thanks Lee.

Andrea Hancock is a professional organizer, blogger, and speaker that assists and empowers busy professionals and business owners create and maintain organizational systems that work for them personally.  Andrea is also founder of Dexterous Organizing, a results-oriented professional organizing company.  To receive free productivity and organizing tools, or to venture into a more organized home, office, and life, click "I'm ready to get started!" at www.DexterousOrganizing.com or by phone at (703) 606-8968.

Death and Taxes?

"Certainty? In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes." - Benjamin Franklin

A couple of months ago I talked about the benefits of hiring a professional organizer (how about me? www.bdexterous.com) to organize your belongings and help you orchestrate your yard sale. So one of the big questions about income from that sale: Is it taxable?

Well let's hear it straight from the horse's mouth when said horse is the IRS:

"In a garage sale, you generally sell household items you purchased over the years and used personally. If you paid more for the items than you sell them for, the sales are not reportable."

Yay!! You can now spend your tax-free money on hiring a masseuse for your stay-cation. But wait! Does this mean if you sold your beloved Longaberger basket for $100 less than you paid for it, you can deduct the $100 loss from your income? The answer is unfortunately no: "Losses on personal use property are not deductible, either."

So there you have it folks. You don't have to report your "income" from a yard sale on your taxes but which also means you can not report any loss on items sold at a yard sale. For more complicated issues like selling a coin collection or expensive gems or jewelry (not at a yard sale) you may be delving into capital gains and losses.

For information visit the IRS link on online sales which contains the blurb about yard sales.

For more information visit the IRS link on capital gains and losses.

The IRS is an ever-evolving-law-making creature. If you are unsure, contact your tax professional or CPA (Certified Public Accountant) on any issues. When it comes to messing with Uncle Sam's money, it's better to be safe than sorry.

Anything that doesn't sell at your yard sale that you donate to an approved 501(c)3 organization is considered deductible IF you itemize instead of taking the standard deduction, but remember to get a donation receipt!

Cartoon by Amelia Sauter © 2011

 

Vacation is not always a destination.

When we think of the word vacation, it sometimes conjures up the memories or fantasies of a cool breeze blowing through a Caribbean cabana. Perhaps the joy of coming back to your hotel room with the beds freshly made with a new set of clean towels. Maybe the joys of not having to prepare not one.single.meal.

But actually a vacation doesn't have to be a destination. It can be a state of mind. In fact, with a little preparation and medication (oops typo) *cough* meditation, you can have a relaxing and great vacation right at home and save some $moolah$ for the rest of the year. What do you have to do to enjoy this "stay-cation"?

Let's start with preparation:

Your house maybe doesn't feel like a home if it's messy and cluttered. As a professional organizer – you guessed it…I prescribe that your home (or at least a few major rooms) get organized. If you've been "meaning to get to that" for a while, why not hire a professional organizer? It will save you time and frustration of trying to find the time to get it done all by yourself and once it's done you can enjoy the proceeds and your new organizing systems for weeks, months, and (with consistent effort and tweaking) even years to come.

Let's do the comparison of getting out of Dodge vs. Staying in a newly organized home?

• 5 nights at a hotel in a prime vacation spot @ $300/night = $1500+


• 
  
  Airfare or Gas to travel = $200-$600
  
  
  
  
  • Total = About $2,100
  
  
  
  

VS.

• 2 sessions with a professional organizer to organize and bring peace of mind to your home (for more than 5 nights) = anywhere from $500-$900


• 
  
  Supplies needed to organize and contain = $50-$300
  
  
  
  
  • Total = About $ 1,200
  
  
  
  

Savings of stay-cation prep = About $1,100

Not coming home to a cluttered home and have the stress all come rushing back to you after you've brought your beautifully-tanned-self through that threshold (not to mention no unpacking. Winning!)

What to do with your hotel and travel savings to help you enjoy your vacation at home?

Here are some suggestions:

• Buy some new loungewear


• Eat out every day and not cook (or get your food delivered)


• Turn off your phone or work e-mails all day or part of the day


• Hire a maid service for one or two days of your vacation


• Go get a massage or look into bringing a masseuse to come to you


• Make a relaxing play list of music to listen to (get imaginative and make the play list something you'd hear at the spa or the beach)


• Get a list of your favorite books and plan to read


• Get a list of movies you'd like to catch up on and plan a movie-a-thon.


• Visit a park or local free or cheap places (library, pool, movies-on-the-lawn)

With a little planning and ORGANIZATION (wink) you can have a great stay-at-home vacation and save a little money. For more great tips on planning a great Summer stay-cation visit Real Simple's article: How to Kick Back, Relax, and Vacation at Home.