MinneSOta Anne

My dear friend made a suggestion to me, asking for tips and tricks in life to be posted. These are practical applications - not personal life tips. I'm still figuring personal stuff out!

But, here are a couple of ideas:

Inside some drawers and storage containers I tape a list of what is inside. With trunks this is particularly useful (taped to the underside of the lid) as the list can be checked and the contents remain undisturbed if the item is not stored there. I have found that once a large trunk/container is packed, then unpacked to search for an item, the stuff doesn't go back in as neatly as when the task was packing not searching. The application with drawers is helpful for putting things away and for items that aren't used often. I don't worry about cupboards - no sense in getting carried away and being given an unattractive personality label.

If your pet is microchipped - and it should be - do NOT put the tag on the collar. The transfer call to put the chip in your name is a quick trick which pet thieves can do easily. Keep the tag on hand with shot records, etc. Be sure your vet knows the chip number.

Pray but don't expect God to do all the work. Praying is just the beginning and is as much a call to action on your part, for having recognized a need you now can do something further to help, as it is a plea to God for change. You may be the change. You may need to change. You may be the inspiration for change elsewhere. Oh, wait, that was a personal tip, wasn't it?

Apply the rule of "...haven't worn it, get rid of it..." to STUFF. I use 3 years for STUFF. The big tip-off is when I drag something out and am asked "What's that?". Right away the item is moved closer to the giveaway pile. And, don't fret over what it cost you. If you don't use it, haven't used it, then someone else benefits when you give it up. What's the sense of paying $$$ for something and storing it in hopes you'll use it again someday. Chances are you didn't need it the first time around. Let someone else enjoy it and you enjoy the reclaimed space!

Along those lines, put items in donation piles. Know when annual charity sales are and start boxing items up early. If by some remote chance you have stuck in something you need you still have time to yank it out, re-think it, and put it back! And, you won't begrudge the fundraiser items the next year because you felt rushed to give them something and gave up what you "needed". Make the donation contribution list for tax purposes as you go and immediately put it in your current year tax file. Get the donation form from the event and staple the two.

Use your local library more. As a stockholder of Barnes and Noble that's a strange comment to make. But I'm a bigger stockholder in the value of the library. But the books you want to keep (although books were meant to be read not stacked on shelves so loan them out) but get to the library and borrow books. They get returned to the library which means you are responsible for re-shelving and dusting them. It's also stimulating for minds of all ages - libraries offer a lot of variety.

When putting numbers into your cell phone use listings that are item-specific. For example, CAR - Isringhausen, VET - Sturdy. Believe it or not, sometimes we get in a panic during a situation and can't remember the name of a person we see regularly. But if it is car-related we can probably remember car. DUH.