Style & Clothes Swap Event 5.5.2012

This isn't just a clothes swap where you bring your clothes and you swap with your stylish friends.

This is an educational and fun event filled with scores of Washington DC Metropolitan area residents who have de-cluttered their closets of some pretty awesome clothes that are soon to be your new fabulous treasures. De-clutter your closet and bring your unwanted or unworn digs and come home with something new to you!

Out with the old, in with the new...

No clothes to swap? No problem. Come see what someone else brought while you enjoy workshops like: "How to Organize Your Purse/Organize Your Life" and learn the basic steps to create an organized space.  Learn about how to look for clothes best suited for your fabulous body type and ways for the professional woman to look great on a budget.

Bring any season clothing (but we prefer Spring/Summer). Bring gently worn shoes & accessories...

Can't wait to see you DIVAS there!

There is limited space, so please register to attend.






 

 

Spring Cleaning with the Help of B Dexterous and College Hunks Hauling Junk!

Just wanted to let you know that B Dexterous is teaming up with College Hunks and Real Housewives of Northern VA to bring you an awesome deal.  First you have to enter to win!

 

Professional Organizer, Andrea Hancock, of B Dexterous, LLC will come to your home and give you a 90 minute assessment and full action plan ($150 value!)

 
- $150.00 'junk-bond' from College Hunks Hauling Junk. This coupon can be used to cover the 'minimum job' for FREE (they will pick up a few small items like a couch and some boxes - or you can apply it to a big job like cleaning out a garage or attic).

 

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* contest ends 4/11 @ midnight. winner picked via random.org. giveaway package expires 30 days after contest ends.

Nickels & Dimes: Saving on Gas

So today in Northern Virginia gas was $4.05/gallon for regular. It's sad to think that in a few weeks or months I'd be WISHING that gas was $4.05/gallon again. But nonetheless that is today's gas price so we deal with it the best way we can.   Today despite the price being $4.05/gallon I actually spent about $3.70/gallon.  How did I do it?

Recently, I started to pay attention to Shell's promotion with Giant Food, a grocery store chain found in Maryland, DC, Virginia and Delaware.  If you shop at Giant and use your rewards card you get points.  For every dollar you spend, you get a point, for every 100 points you save $0.10/gallon on gas at Shell.  Don't laugh but it took me a while to understand this system and not let my precious points go unused.  Sometimes Giant even offers double or triple points on certain items and brands in the store or they feature "point boosts" coupons that give you up to 300 points just for spending a certain amount at one time (say $50) during a certain time frame. Using this system alone, I've gotten over 500 points and yes, I saved $0.50/gallon on my gas that day. This is huge!

Studies show that the average family of four spends $244 a week on groceries. If this is true most families can potentially save $0.20/gallon on gas each week.  Perhaps the strategist can wait until the end of the month (especially if the family uses public transportation to get to and from work and school) and save $0.90/gallon on gas...this is awesome right?  I even know of a family friend who pays attention to all the double point items and has saved $1.00/gallon.  My caution with this is: ONLY BUY THINGS YOU NEED. If you can perhaps stock up on paper towels and toilet paper that you store in the garage but if you don't drink coffee and you suddenly have a cabinet full of Folgers, than you aren't really saving money you are just reallocating money.  This program works great if you just paid attention and purchase things you'd buy anyway, you start to waste money if you purchase groceries that you don't use or let spoil for the save of "saving".

In my household of four, two of us have four legs so my husband and I don't spend $244 a week on groceries, that's more of a monthly budget for us. So I've found another way to boost my savings at Shell (sorry Exxon, Chevron and Liberty).  If you are on the social networking site FourSquare where you check-in using your smartphone to tell your friends where you are, give tips about the service or the surroundings, and get points for the amount and type of check-ins, you can also save money.  FourSquare has teamed up with American Express.  You can link or sync your AMEX card with your FourSquare account.  Some venues (and Shell is one of them) offer savings when you check in at their store and spend a certain amount and use your AMEX card.  Shell's offer is spend $25 and get $3. Cha-Ching!  And all I did was tell my peeps I was pumping gas, use my AMEX card and I gained another $3 in my pocket.

So today I used my Giant gas rewards and saved $0.10/gallon then I checked in at FourSquare and used my American Express card and I should have a credit of $3 on my bill at month end. So ultimately I saved ($4.05 - $0.10) x 11.66 gallons - $3.00 = about a $0.36/gallon savings!

Let's face it, gas is expensive we'll probably never see $2.00 gas again (remember when you gasped at $1.96/gallon HA!) BUT with a little forethought, FourSquare, and points planning you can smile a little knowing that you didn't pay $4.05/gallon...at least not today!

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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!

Honored Memories

Memories Honored

 

My Great-Grandmother loved to knit. She knitted several outfits for me as a baby and for many of our family.  My mom was saving several outfits as keepsakes.  These are even more special as my great grandmother passed away April 2011.  Before she died, I was able to make this shadow box for my mom, (who loves butterflies) to honor the thoughtfulness of our Grandmother in a beautiful way.

If you can't let go of an item because of sentimental value, make sure you honor the item instead of saving it in obscure places where the item can deteriorate and not be appreciated.

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.