Organization Tips: User Manuals by Jodie Watson

 Good Can Come out of Difficulty!

 jodie watson photo

There is no doubt that we have been going through challenging financial times lately.  As we enter into tax season, I’m sure you are taking a close look at how you spent your money in 2009.  What we choose to spend our money on is as much a decision we make as how we spend our time or what stuff we choose to own. 

So when times are financially hard, what tends to give?  Usually, it’s the extras and we discover that we can actually live without a lot of them.  Surprising, isn’t it.  Could it be that the recession, forcing us to make do with fewer quantities of things, has actually enabled us in some respects to have better quality of life than we had when the money was flowing?

One of the main benefits of pursuing an organized life is so you will enjoy your life more and have time to spend on the people and things that are of the most value to you.  But how, I hear you ask, could there have been anything good about the difficulties that the recession has caused so many people?

Well for one thing, you may have found that you cut back on cable TV or even got rid of it altogether.  What did that mean for you and your family?  That you found other ways to entertain yourselves, either playing board games, getting the kids off the couch and out to the park , reading more or having more time for good old conversation.  Or perhaps to save on childcare expenses, your parents now watch your kids after school while you work, giving them an opportunity to bond with their grandparents that they might never have had if circumstances hadn’t dictated it. 

Instead of eating out or ordering in, many families have taken to cooking more meals at home in the evenings and sitting down together as a family instead of rushing and eating on the go.  That’s a good thing.  And I know you probably haven’t been buying as much stuff as you used to.  Things you really thought you couldn’t live without, you’ve been living without and life has gone on just fine.  You’re still here! 

Look around you.  You have an abundance of stuff, right?  Yeah, and most of it comes with a manual! So take a minute to check out my February Organizing Tips for some great ways to organize your manuals so you know exactly where they are when you need them. 

And remember, no matter how hard things get, you can always count your blessings and find things to be grateful for.  Do you see your cup as half empty or half full?  I say it’s always full – half full of water and half full of air.

~ Jodie ~

February’s Organizing Tips: User Manual Organizationpaper-pile-page

Creating a system for keeping track of manuals for the things you own will go a long way to helping you know where to look for them when you need them.

 1)      Gather all your manuals together.  Go through and discard any that you no longer own the item for.

 2)      Separate the ones you do have items for into categories.  You can separate by room or category or a mixture of both.  For instance, you can separate into office, kitchen or living room manuals, or all audio visual, appliances or furniture manuals.

 3)      In a file drawer or file box, label a hanging file folder for each of the categories that you have separated your manuals into. 

 4)      Place all the manuals for that category into the hanging file that is now labeled “office manuals,” or “audio visual manuals.”

 5)      Keep it as streamlined as possible by removing plastic bags and anything that is not paper based and taking out any of the pages of the manual that are in a language you don’t speak.

 6)      Keep any software in a CD box labeled “Product Software.”  They can really bulk up your manuals folders and/or fall out the sides and easily get lost.

 7)      Maintain your system by always remembering to put manuals back in their folder when you are done using them.

Contact Jodie Watson:

If you have any questions, would like to schedule a free professional organizing telephone consultation, or would like Jodie Watson to speak at your next corporate function, group meeting, social event, or retreat, call at (818) 590-7800. You can also contact Jodie on Facebook and Twitter or visit her website at Supreme Organization.

Scanning Old Photos To Digital To Celebrate Chinese New Year

Photos to Digital: New Traditions

Scanning Old Photos To Digital To Celebrate Chinese New Year

chinesenewyearOne of the largest and most famous Spring Festivals anywhere in the United States, the San Francisco Chinese New Year celebration is a month-long affair, with pageants, parades, street fairs, and performances by Lion and dragon dancers. Each year, a new Miss Chinatown is crowned at the annual Pageant and Coronation Ball, and the Chinese New Year Run raises funds for the YMCA’s youth and teen programs. But for many San Franciscans, the biggest and most spectacular event is the well-known Chinese New Year Parade, which is one of the few remaining illuminated parades, and is always held at night.

The Parade was first held in 1853, when the Chinese Chamber of Commerce began it as a way to promote community education about Chinese culture. The oldest parade of its kind, San Francisco’s Chinese New Year Parade is also the largest outside Asia. Many Chinese American families celebrate the lunar new year in traditional ways. Birthdays are celebrated, and fireworks explode. Children and other young, unmarried people often receive red envelopes containing money (usually crisp, new bills), to be spent on something that will bring good fortune. And this year, one girl in Northern California is hoping to start a new tradition.

Stephanie Heng, a 17-year-old from Cupertino, CA, hopes that Chinese New Year can be a time for young people to give gifts, not just receive them.

“These days it’s easy to take your parents and grandparents for granted” she said. “But respect for elders is really important. That’s your history, your heritage. It’s where you come from.”

This year’s lunar new year marks the 50th wedding anniversary of Stephanie’s grandparents, and her grandfather Heng Li’s 70th birthday. Heng Li, who was present at San Francisco’s 100th Chinese New Year Parade in 1953 (see photo above), has attended the festivities every year sense 1961, with his wife Heng Xiaoqing. In order to commemorate their grandparents’ anniversary, Stephanie and her younger brother Andrew decided to make a video slideshow out of old family photos, to be presented as a gift on Chinese New Year. After selecting about 60 pictures from photo albums and boxes in her grandparents’ attic, Stephanie scanned the photos to digital and made a DVD slideshow using her computer.

“By converting these old photos to digital, we were able to give them new life, and tell our grandparents’ story,” she said. “Before they were just in storage, shoved in boxes and forgotten. Now the whole family can see my grandmother in her wedding dress, and my grandfather’s first trip to America.”

For more information about the San Francisco Chinese New Year Celebration, visit www.sanfranciscochinatown.com

New “Intel Reader” Scans Documents To Digital, Reads Them Aloud

Intel Debuts New Document Scanning Technology

New “Intel Reader” Scans Documents To Digital, Reads Them Aloud

intelreaderLast month, the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) completely took over the city of Las Vegas. The whole city feels the transformation, and while it can hardly be said that the city’s ordinary dazzle goes out, it definitely pales in comparison to the bustle of CES. Each year, the show draws over a hundred thousand industry insiders to Sin City, for a massive show-and-tell of their newest creations. During CES, it feels like there are more Samsung reps than chorus girls crowding the casino floors.

Amid this craze, flagship computing companies like Microsoft, Hewlett Packard, and Intel show off their latest technologies, many of which are kept secret until the show begins. This year, Intel debuted a new handheld device that uses advanced document scanning technology to read any printed text aloud to the user. The new Intel Reader was designed mainly to provide convenient access to printed materials for people with vision or reading-related disabilities, blindness, or low vision. People who struggle with reading due to vision problems or reading disabilities such as dyslexia stand to gain and unprecedented level of success and freedom with this groundbreaking device.

The Intel Reader uses a high-resolution camera and an Intel® Atom™ processor to make printed material more accessible in a number of ways. The essentially takes a point-and-shoot photo of the desired page; all text is automatically scanned to digital form, allowing audio playback and/or magnification. The device is portable, unobtrusive, and fast – it can begin reading a text aloud almost immediately after a snapshot of the page is taken. Because documents are scanned to digital text formats, the device can store large amounts of text for later playback. Used in conjunction with the Intel® Portable Capture Station, the Reader can scan to digital, convert, and store whole books or magazines for listening later.

Although the device is aimed to increase the freedom, enjoyment, and confidence of a specific demographic of users, its ability generate digital versions of any printed materials (and even convert them into audio MP3’s and other standard formats, which work with any computer or portable media player) could come in handy for students who don’t want to lug around dozens of text books, or anyone who wants to make an instant audio book. For more information, visit Here.

Productivity Tips: Where Should You Let Go? by Meggin McIntosh

layoutWhat business are you in?

Take out a sheet of paper and at the top of the page, write: “The parts of my “business” (and we’re thinking about the ‘business of your life’) that I want to continue to invest in.”

You might write down someone’s name, some activity in which you engage, some portion of your job, a particular committee on which you serve, a goal that you have for yourself…whatever fits for you. Take some time to do so now. I’ll be here – well, the article will be – when you return.

Take another sheet of paper (or open a new document) and label it: “The parts of my “business” where I need to cut my losses.”

Let’s just say that you have been “bonked” on the head (AKA rammed your head into a wall, been hit up the side of the head, etc.) enough times to realize that this is a lost cause and you need to move on. So, write down what you need to let go and learn from. It may be harder than the first half of the page, particularly if you’re honest, which I’m sure you are. It’s possible that there are one or more relationships that aren’t yielding any ‘growth’ or benefit, endeavors that are going nowhere, groups to which you belong that never get anything done, projects around the house that it’s time to let go of….you get the idea. Take some time now to think this through for yourself.

In the business of our life, just like in any other viable business, we need to take stock of what is profitable and what isn’t. Based on what we determine, we then need to take steps to prune away what isn’t in the best interests of the ‘business.’ It’s not easy to do this in a company and it’s not easy to do this within your own life.

It is smart, however, particularly if you want to succeed. Let’s close with one of my favorite definitions of success from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

To laugh often and much, to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children, to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends, to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others, to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded!

Ahhhh…delightful…

About Meggin McIntosh

megginphotoMeggin founded Emphasis on Excellence, Inc., a company that changes what people know, feel, dream, and do through workshops, consulting, and publications.  She is the productivity queen, who shares her knowledge on how best to become peacefully productive.  If you want to become more strategic, optimize your productivity, and just generally create a fabulous life, then Meggin’s website is a place you can find solutions and options worth exploring. You can also sign up for her Top Ten Productivity Tips to receive regular emails with tips on how to become more productive. You can also contact Meggin directly by email at  http://www.meggin.com/

Photo Scanning Used To Preserve George Washington’s Letters And Speeches

This Presidents’ Day, Get To Know George Washington

The Papers of George Washington Project Uses Photo Scanning To Preserve And Share Washington’s Letters, Speeches

presidentsdayFor most of us, Presidents’ Day (or George Washington’s Birthday, as it is officially known) isn’t a huge holiday. Sure, it’s a great time for bargain-hunters to find 50%-off sales and reduced prices on everything from TV’s to cars, but George Washington’s Birthday usually doesn’t stir up the kind of large-scale family trips and grand celebrations that are common on holidays like Memorial Day, Labor Day, and even Veterans’ Day. Still, many Americans, especially history buffs and die-hard patriots, consider Presidents’ Day to be a holiday worthy of full-scale celebration.

Originally implemented by the United States Congress in 1880, George Washington’s Birthday was the first federal holiday to honor an American citizen. Currently celebrated nationwide on the third Monday of February (that’s the 15th, this year) George Washington’s Birthday gives all Americans the chance to honor the accomplishments of our nation’s first president, who has been known for over 200 years as the “Father” of the United States. Military personnel and veterans also have a chance to pay tribute to the man who created the Purple Heart, which was the first military badge of merit for the common soldier.

In order to preserve and commemorate the life and career of our nation’s “Father,” a grant-funded project in Virginia called The Papers of George Washington has been working since 1968 to publish a comprehensive edition of George Washington’s letters and other personal and professional documents. Established at the University of Virginia, under the joint auspices of the University and the Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association of the Union, The Papers of George Washington aims to publish a complete edition of Washington’s correspondence, consisting of approximately ninety volumes. The project hopes to make the material “available not only to scholars but to all Americans interested in the founding of their nation.”

As part of the project, letters written to Washington, as well as letters and documents written by him, are now being digitized using photo scanning equipment, and then typed into a searchable format for indexing and cross-referencing. Photo scanning technology allows the original documents, which ordinarily are available for viewing only to scholars and historians, to be viewed by anyone, anywhere. So take some time this Presidents’ Day and get to know George Washington a little bit better. Read the Farewell Address that he gave shortly before leaving office or take a look at his letters, his portraits, or his home. As it turns out, he wasn’t just our first president; he was also a pretty interesting guy!

Top 5 Organizing Tips by D. Allison Lee

deb lee headshotThere are many benefits to maintaining an organized environment. Besides being more efficient (i.e., finding things more quickly) and more productive (i.e., completing tasks fully and on time), living in an organized home or office space allows one to be more stress free. It’s no secret what stress can do to the body. One of the biggest side effects of stress is high blood pressure. Stress also affects your critical thinking ability, how well you sleep, and can even make you more susceptible to illnesses. Less stress = happier, more productive life.

Top Five Recommendations

1. Set Organizing Goals. Figure out what you want to accomplish, and put those items in order of priority. Sometimes it feels like our whole house needs help, and it might. However, there are likely to be specific areas that bother you the most. Start with those areas first.

2. Figure Out Your Peak Performance Time. Do you know when you are most productive? Are you an evening or morning person? When do you feel the most alert? Finding out when you perform at your best will help you to complete tasks more efficiently and with greater success.

3. Figure Out Your Learning Style. Finding out if you’re a visual, auditory, or tactile (or combination) learner will help you to understand why it may be more challenging for you to do certain tasks. In addition, your space can be structured so that it matches your learning style which will increase your success with maintaining order.

4. Plan Your Time Wisely. Schedule organizing tasks by putting them on your calendar with time frames. Be realistic about how long it will take you to complete a specific task, and then do a little bit each day. If you spend just 10-15 minutes each day attacking a cluttered area of your home, you will get some organizing accomplished, and yet not feel overwhelmed. After your 10 or 15 minutes are up (no more than 30 minutes), go about your usual day. If you’ve devoted a whole day to organizing, work in 30-60 minute sessions and take a 10 minute break before returning for another 30-60 minute session.

5. Relax! Once you feel motivated to keep up with your organizing tasks, you may forget one very important thing – YOU! We all lead very busy lives, and have families that need our attention, too. So, don’t forget to take breaks, to laugh, get a facial, take your vitamins, go for walks, take a vacation, make a healthy meal, etc. In other words, relax, have fun, and enjoy your life! When you’re having fun, there’s very little room for stress to take up your valuable time.

About D. Allison Lee

D. Allison Lee is a Certified Professional Organizer in the Washington, DC area. If you’d like to contact her for organizational assistance, or want to learn from her amazingly helpful blog- check out DAllisonLee or find @DAllisonLee on Twitter. Happy organizing!

Photo Scanning Aides Holocaust Remembrance Project

Scan Photos To Tell Stories

 Photo Scanning Aides Holocaust Remembrance Project

holoJanuary 27th marked the 65th anniversary of the liberation of the largest Nazi death camp. It also marked the fifth annual International Holocaust Remembrance Day, which the United Nations General Assembly designated an international holiday in 2005. On this annual day of commemoration, nations all over the world honor the millions of people who fell victim to genocide during Nazi rule. Here in the the United States, we officially commemorate the Holocaust each April,  during the Days of Remembrance, which mark the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 1943. But International Holocaust Remembrance Day did not go unobserved in Washington D.C., where the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum hosted a candle-lighting ceremony attended by the diplomatic community, Holocaust survivors, and the general public. President Obama delivered a television address, and reminded Americans of their “sacred duty to remember the cruelty” of the Holocaust.

The United Kingdom first observed its own Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27th, 1999. The theme for this year’s commemoration was “Legacy of Hope,” which emphasized the lessons that future generations can learn from the Holocaust. Holocaust Educational Trust chairman Lord Janner of Braunstone said that having a national Holocaust Memorial Day gives the people of the United Kingdom a chance to “honor our incredible Holocaust survivors, many of whom work extremely hard telling others about what they endured during the Holocaust.”

Most Holocaust memorials rely on stories, photographs, and videos to recount the horrors that so many innocent people suffered through during the war. But there is one Holocaust remembrance project that has set itself a very different task. Centropa, a Jewish historical institute in Vienna, Austria, is interested in how Jewish people lived before and after the horrors of the Holocaust, rather than during them.

For the last decade, Centropa has been involved in an oral history project with Holocaust survivors, led by director Edward Serotta. The subjects of Centropa’s Jewish history project, who are all Holocaust survivors, have allowed Serotta and his team of researchers to scan photos, documents, family letters, and other printed memorabilia from the years before and after the Holocaust. Together, the Holocaust survivors and researchers go through the scanned photos and discuss their context – where they came from, and what they represent. The project has archived more than 22,000 scanned photos, family portraits, school report cards. What makes the project unique is that for each photo, Centropa also has a story. Serotta hopes that the project will help to preserve “the stories of an entire century, as told by those whose entire world has been destroyed.”

Amazing Online Resources for Finding Family Photos! By Maureen Taylor

old-family-weddingAt each junction of your family tree photographs and other visual representations of ancestors are either handed down or discarded. Before you claim that your ancestors weren’t interested in pictures or were too poor to afford them, remember that photography began in 1839, which means it’s possible your ancestors sat for a picture anytime in the last one hundred and seventy years. Even before the first camera, individuals captured their visages in paintings, sculptures, engravings and silhouettes. The fact is you just never know where they are going to turn up.

Image Search Engines
All the major web search engines have image search capabilities, but Google’s Image Search is probably one of the best known.  Enter your ancestor’s name into the search box using quotation marks and see what turns up. Try refining the search by adding a place of residence.
 
Another part of Google is Google Books
It’s a digital library of fully searchable books. Do another search to see if your ancestor’s name and possibly a picture shows up in either a downloadable full view book or in a book that you can’t preview. If it’s the latter, ask your public library to order the volume on interlibrary loan.
 
Genealogy Sites
Search Ancestry.com under the tab, “family trees.”  We Relate is a relative newcomer to the genealogy field but this wiki  allows you to search site content, comment on the genealogical information and photos – and even create tags (captions) for them.  Footnote.com also has searchable image databases. On Footnote, individuals can add their own family pictures to story pages. 

Message Boards 
Find one related to your ancestral place of residence or surname by using major sites such as Rootsweb.com.  Post a query including your question and the full name of the ancestor you’re seeking. Include what you know about them-date of birth and towns of residence.
 
Library and Historical Society Websites
While the Library of Congress (LC) has its own prints and photograph online database, increasingly so do local historical societies.

Orphan Photo Sites
These photo reunion sites are a great way to locate “missing” family pictures. Try Dead Fred and Ancient Faces to search for your ancestors.

Happy Hunting!

maureen taylorAsk Maureen to Analyze Your Family Photos

Don’t let heaps of unidentified, damaged, or disorganized family photos get you down. The Photo Detective can help!

If you would like to have Maureen, the Photo Detective, analyze your own family photographs, here’s how the process works. And now you can receive an audio file of your consultation with Maureen! 

  • Simply supply me with a photo or photos that you would like to know more about. You can do this online at my website.
  • Tell me as much as you already know about the photo and upload your photo(s).  I’ll email you back with an estimate for costs and you’re good to go. My new per picture rates won’t bust your budget either!   I will combine the skills of a private detective with those of a historian/genealogist and look at identifying characteristics in the photo such as background, hair styles, clothing styles, jewelry, uniforms, quilt patterns, make of automobiles, etc. and even facial resemblance if necessary, to begin solving the mystery of when and where the photo was taken and who is pictured. Ill compare findings against any known family history or if additional genealogical research is necessary that can be discussed.  
  • I’ll give you my findings in a telephone conversation which will be recorded; after the call, I’ll send you a copy of an mp3 file so that you have the recording for yourself to listen to over and over again.

I hope we will have the opportunity to work together to
solve the mysteries of your historical photos!

Scan Photos to Digital And Keep Your Memories Safe

Scan Photos to Digital And Keep Your Memories Safe

 Tips On Disaster Preparedness

haitiThe recent disaster of the devastating earthquake in Haiti has sparked an enormous response from Americans. Volunteers from across the globe continue to travel to Haiti to provide much needed health care, cleanup, and other services, while millions of Americans have donated money to aide the relief efforts. Even during this difficult time, the people of Haiti remain hopeful that there are better times ahead, and many world leaders, including President Obama, have expressed hope that the recovery process will grow into a full-fledged rebuilding process for the Haitian nation.

Indeed, there is great precedent for growth after tragedy. After World War II, a war-torn Japan had to rebuild nearly all of its factories and businesses; as a result of this forced modernization, Japan has become a world leader in cutting-edge manufacturing and technology. Other examples hit closer to home. The Great Chicago Fire destroyed four square miles of the windy city in October of 1871, but also spurred a rebuilding effort that help turn Chicago into one of the most populous and economically important cities in the United States. But more recent disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina, have allowed us a closer look at the kind of personal devastation that befalls on their victims. News coverage of Hurricane Katrina showed the tragedies of countless people whose homes – and all the memories held therein – were swept away by the flood waters.

So as we reach out a helping hand in Haiti, we should also stop to think about how to prepare ourselves for unexpected natural disasters, which may strike at any time. One way to protect and preserve precious memories is to scan old photos to digital formats, and store them online. This way, these treasured memories cannot be lost in an earthquake or other natural disaster. In addition to scanning photos to digital, it can be useful to photograph all the valuable items in your home, such as antiques, electronics, furniture, and appliances. This often-overlooked step can be very important when dealing with insurance claims. Make a plan with your family so everyone knows where to go and what to do in the case of various emergency situations, such as earthquakes, tornadoes, fires, and floods. Finally, it is always a good idea to keep a stash of emergency food, water, flashlights, and medical supplies in an easily accessible location in your home.

When it comes to natural disasters, you can never know what to expect. The important thing is to prepare yourself the best you can, and lend a helping hand to those in need when disaster does strike.

Video: Why Preserve Memories?

Check out this great video from our friends at Lasting Links-

Lasting Links is a great new site that provides information about preserving your memories. To learn more, you can visit their site Lasting Links or chat with their CEO on Twitter.