PLANNING YOUR ORGANIZING

Another week – another post – but not much done during the week. 

Last week, as mentioned, I hurt a muscle in my stomach and husband would not let me do anything heavy so I would heal.  This meant that I could do computer work, some cooking (not “heavy” pots) and such.  He carried the laundry bag downstairs so I could do the laundry and then carried the basket of clean items upstairs (twice as I did clothes one day and towels the next) for me.  The basket of clean clothes that I carry upstairs on one hip with one hand normally, he can barely lift.  Unfortunately after feeling better, today my back was hurting – I could not even twist to see the office phone to dial as I had to lean around the file holder stack on my desk – I had to go to the kitchen to call our bank to see if something coming into the account had arrived.  So not much done again this last week.

I will say that we were very pleasantly surprised after using up most of our available time last week to prepare for the reenactment event I mentioned that it was much easier to do than we had figured how it had been explained. 

Rather than hand everything over the fence, we were allowed to drive right to the space set aside for our unit.  The people from the museum that was having the event were the nicest people we have ever met running an event – and we started doing craft shows in the 1980s.  They bent over backwards – if we wanted the space set a different way, they were glad for us to do it and helped us.  They were helping us unpack.  They had tables out for us to use – one less thing for us to have to take out and set up.  When we had finished unpacking I asked one of the men to help me back the van out of the museum grounds.  He sent me up the road about a block to a school that was letting them use their parking lot  - okay, a small bit of disorganization, the lot was small and full – there was a children's soccer game going on.  There were no spaces.  The fellow (not from our unit, but a friend) who was the blacksmith followed me in – he had a regular car and told me he as going to park between the two rows as another car had done.  I luckily saw a father and son heading to their car and got that space.  Not sure what later cars did – demonstrators, volunteers, and the public. 

Despite my back I held up one of the tent poles (this is a reproduction tent – not a modern popup tent) for the unit set up as our members put it up.  We had table next to the tent with plenty of room for the wooden drying racks we were using as display for the scarves husband had woven.  After we set up I found a space between our table and the unit's setup to sit and embroider.  Other members set up across the aisle from us in a group.

I talk about this in this column as organizing a setup for a display – whether a craft show, a reenactment event, a flea market, or a display setup up involves advance planning and then one has to hope that all goes as expected.  We have learned to carry a variety of setup items that we do not normally need or use – just in case.  Even if one knows the space that one will have it may be different than it was last year or otherwise expected.  If the person that the next space is reserved for does not show up, one may be able to expand into their space.  One may have to deal with uneven ground – or even a large puddle or flooded area.  This time we were lucky.  The venue's employees were nice and accommodating and the space well situated and not limited.  We have gone to craft shows where we are supposed to have the same space as the year before – a corner space with 2 sides to display on – and found that the setup had changed or an error was made and one had different space in a different area midaisle with one side to work with.  As we did this when we brought more items for setup than we needed, one has to be prepared for anything. 

Think of trying to organize your home – you have plans to clear out the closet in the spare room and then find items there that you had not remembered.  You are not ready to deal with those items – maybe not enough garbage bags (or the bags you have are too small) or you need help to move what you find.  Or maybe you have to sort a lot of very small items and have no where to sort them.  One has to be ready to deal with situations that one did not expect when organizing. 

As to the event we did – very nice.  Husband has been weaving for about 3, maybe 4 years and has tried to sell his scarves and table runners online.  No sales of same at all.  He has been despondent about weaving and no one buying.  Our thought was that if the pieces could be seen in person it would be different and hoped that to be true.  Craft shows around here for the most part are buy and sell junk shows – no chance of selling an actual hand woven scarf if commercial scarves for $8 each are being sold, which is why he jumped at this chance to sell, especially in the fall (okay, it did not feel like fall, it was in the upper 80/lower 90Fs) but he sold a scarf partway through the day and then near closing, 5 scarves to one woman.  Yippee.  He is again happy to weave. 

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

Plan for everything you can think of for a specific organizing chore.  There will be things that happen out of your control, but try to anticipate what you will need and the time you will need to do it.  Then “play it by ear” if something not anticipated pops up!

YET ANOTHER WEEK OF NOT GETTING ANYTHING DONE

Another week gone by and little to show for it – again.

Husband had planned for us to go to a quilt show in Pennsylvania last Thursday, the first day of the show.  We normally will go to this and other shows from the same company on Thursday as it is less crowded and items are not sold out – not that we normally buy anything there.  While we both have done quilting, we go for something to do and because there are no other sewing or embroidery shows in this part of the country and I do sew and hand embroider.  Since we – and our RV – really need a trip we had planned to stay overnight and go to the farmer's market we like in Lancaster on Friday. 

So, of course it poured on Thursday – here and there.  We changed our trip to just go for the day on Friday to the quilt show, but drove there in the RV so it was driven and would keep the engine and RV batteries working properly. 

Husband's sister has self-published a book and somehow managed to get a local bookstore to give her a reading/signing event on Thursday night.  Since we were home, husband decided to go to the signing – in heavy rain.  We could not figure out where to park – hard to see in the rain – and ended up 3 blocks away.  I am “made of sugar” - when I go out in the rain, I get sick. 

So Friday midday a cold hit me.  Luckily it is a relatively light cold and will soon be gone.  But husband is a hypochondriac and does not like me touching things that he will touch or eat when I am sick.  We ate out as usual on the weekend.  Monday night we had reenactment unit meeting and bought deli sliced turkey for dinner.  But last night, Tuesday, dinner needed to be cooked.  Understand, husband is, or at least was when we cooked more elaborately, a better cook than I am.  But he is out of practice, was worried about the batteries in the RV (which are still not right) and an oil leak under the RV, and I have stand there and step by step tell him how to cook and where things are – so dinner and clean up (done by me with plastic gloves on) took forever. 

In addition our reenactment unit has an event this Saturday that originally husband said we were not going to.  Now not only are we are going, but he found out he can sell the items he has been weaving.  So he (and thereby also I) are involved with getting ready to do so – we have not done a craft show in 10 years and this has to be setup differently and we have never sold items he has woven before so we do not a have setup at all for same, let alone one that will pass for a country fair.  So we are running around trying to put together a setup and also finishing the woven items.  Finishing them consists of washing and drying them and then cutting the start and end threads and doing something with the fringe ends.  Not something that can be quickly done for about a dozen scarves and table runners.

He also decided that we need to be able to take credit cards – something I agree with – so he filled in the required info to be able to take credit cards from Paypal. We have an account with then that we use for online sales that exists for about 10 years, so we are not strangers to them, it should be easy to get a card reader and use with our existing account.  As of today – a week after he filled in the info – we still don't seem to have the account for sales with a card reader and they seem to be sending the wrong card reader.  The day after he originally gave them the info and we saw that there were problems he signed up with Square – who we had never done business with before - and we were able to immediately sign up and pick up a card reader at one of an assortment of stores locally that sell them.  So much for loyalty to customers by Paypal. 

So I have not get anything done as we were away and we have been trying to get everything done for Saturday (which to our minds mean that it will rain Saturday and the event will be canceled or they will have it and we will not go due to the rain). 

In addition I have the cold, plus a couple of weeks ago I started having pains that we think are from my lifting the last analog monitor we got rid of – the pains come and go depending on if I lift something else heavy – and last night I was terribly ill after dinner so I have not been of much help, particularly since husband will not let me lift anything “heavy” which has much lighter threshold than it does for most people.  (I am not sure how we will be able to setup Saturday as he will not let me carry any of the setup or the weaving and we cannot park close to where the reenactment unit is setting up.

I was suppose to take my mom to the doctor this week – but had to speak to her about when she is available to go so I can make an appointment, so I had not done so, plus I did not want to her give her my cold – so I called tonight to check her schedule and will try to make an appointment for next week.

I also have to go to client this week or next. I would greatly have preferred this week as she is in Manhattan and next week the U.N.  will be in town and it will be a travel and security mess, but she is also older woman in her 80s and I did not want to give her my cold either. 

Oh, and the RV battery is not keeping its charge so we were “playing with it” all week and now our car mechanic has it – he fixed the oil leak and will see what he can see about the batteries tomorrow.  (Husband spoke to RV company that installed the new batteries – batteries have warranty, but does not cover labor and we will need to leave the RV there for at least a week – ouch, at $100+ per hour… - plus we will have to drive both RV and car to New Jersey, come home with car, when it is fixed drive car to NJ, pick up the RV and then drive both home – and tolls for each vehicle for each round trip is about $30 – so the tolls alone are almost $100, plus the gas.)

So I have gotten some computer work done I managed to trace and resolve problems in the posting of our Etsy sales and fees – mostly only have fees, few sales – from using their new payment account that handles both fees we pay and sales we make (terrible idea from an accounting point of view).  I did scanning of tax return recently finished for client.  That sort of thing. 

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

Sometimes one just has to go with the flow of what is going on.  Great to get stuff done, but when life has other plans – don't go crazy, just go with the flow and catch up when one can.

DO YOU KEEP TRACK OF WHAT YOU DO?

Do you record what you do?

A number of organizing books I have read over the years suggest that one write down everything that one does. The idea is that you will see two things – how much you are getting accomplished and also how long various tasks take you to do.

Even before I started trying to get organized I kept an annual appointment book with short notations of work items completed (and appointments of course). As a matter of fact, the appointment book would be my annual Christmas gift from my husband (bought by me, of course) and in many years it would be only gift. (Suggestion if you use a paper appointment book, which is good for many things – if you have a black covered appointment book it can easily disappear from view in a stack of something or a mess. I used to have gray appointment books – still professional and more visible (my gloves are also gray for the same reason).

Sometime in the late 1990s I got a computer appointment book – I used it to keep track of what I did for work plus more and more personal items also. Unfortunately it did not work with Windows XP and when I got a computer that worked with same, I could no longer use it. Before I stopped using the old computer I printed out as pdf files all of the entries from that program so I still have the records from it available to me. The problem I had with the computer appointment book was that I could only use it on the computer – it could not be carried with me, so while using that program I also kept a paper appointment book to carry with me.

I had to find something else to use. I got a wonderful program called Lotus Organizer it was even better than what I had before. It had an appointment book, todo list (completed tasks remain on the date they are finished – most such software moves them to a list when completed – this way I can page through the book and see what was done), address/telephone book, and also allowed me to have memos. Even better, it sync with (among other devices) Palm Pilot. Husband had a Palm Pilot and gave it to me as he did not use it. Now what was in the program on my computer was also in my hand.

I started making more and more notes in the todo section as completed todos. Short notes on conversations with clients (or others) – where we went for meals – where we went on trips – what stores we went to with reason if there was one – and so on. I worked out a sort of shorthand to use to save time and computer/Palm memory. Husband was delighted as there is rarely anything I like.

We were offered new cell phones to renew and the hottest thing out was a smart phone – the Palm Centro and it was tiny – just over 4 by 2 inches. No wifi – it did not exist (or at least did not commonly exist) then, Internet was by cell phone service only, real buttons, no guessing where the buttons were and mistyping everything (as smart phones no longer have now) This was a major wow to me.

I refuse to give up the Lotus Organizer and so husband finds ways to allow me to keep using it. He has made virtual Windows XP machines in my Windows 7 desktop and my Windows 10 desktop (this one) so I can keep the Organizer on the computers. (I told you, he loves solving my problems as there is so little I want.) When I had to switch to Blackberry, he found that old Blackberry software would work with Organizer, mostly. The biggest problem – which I to solve myself – was when the Blackberry no longer worked as a telephone or Internet. I had to get - boo hoo, I was so upset – an Android phone. I basically “keep 2 sets of books” now. Certain things are on both the Android and the Centro, others are on one or the other. I use the Centro in the house and take it on trips, and make notes in the Android when I am out and copy them to the Organizer. Not ecstatic, but it works for me.

So what do I do with what I record in the Organizer?

I have more contact info in the Organizer/Palm than I do in the Android - I won't need my Congressman's info while out, so it is not in the Android.

I have my calendar in both setups.

I have some memos in the Palm/Organizer setup only such as list of where and when we have gone through automatic payment tolls so I can check against the bill. (Which is why I bring it on trips.)

Others are in both the memos in the Palm/Organizer setup and the Android. Included here are lists of embroidery/needlework books I have so I don't buy duplicates, specifications of items we have that we might find items to go with (sewing machine feet, post size for lathe and items needed to make reenacting clothing. Since we tend to go to the same places on trips, I also started a list of fast food and casual food restaurants along the roads we commonly travel on. We know what food they have and that we can find what we can eat, as well as that we can afford them. Passwords in a code that I understand. In the Android only I have my shopping list – for groceries as well as items we are looking for from other sources.

I also keep tasks (todos) both to be done and finished. This way if I do something I have a record of having done it. (No, I don't record when I go to the toilet or when I sleep.) I do keep track of phone calls/emails/in very rare cases texts made/sent or received, letters written, where we went – including for errands, chores around the house, and so on. If I need to contact a business that has not replied to me or done what it said it would do – I have a record of when I contacted them, who I spoke to and what was discussed – also of letters written. I have a record of when items were mailed out and to who (we go the Post office to check for mail in our box there and also send out any mail we have to go out).

I use codes when I do this.

T: is a telephone call, it will have who it was made to or received from quick what was talked about, the time it was made/received, and if it was an incoming call it will say “in” if I spoke to a computer “CP”, and if it was a return call to someone who called me “RC”. Details as needed - can be long or short – just “RC “or “chat” is just conversation.

E: is email – I use “AE” instead of “RC” for this and time is not recorded.

X: is something I just added and it means text – used for those texts which are other than from husband as our texts between us are basically “dinner is ready”, “where are you in the store”, “starting home from work” and similar. Other text messages – such as from my sister about my mom I want a record of what was said.

I also use letter for what the call, email, etc. is for – personal ones have no code, “A” is something done for accounting, “C” is for crafts business related, “U” is for our reenactment unit and so on for about 6 or 7 different things.

To make sense of this - T:A:Jones: appointment >3:30pm - means that I telephoned at 3:30 my accounting client, Mrs. Jones and made an appointment to go into her business to do her books. (The appointment is separately recorded in the calendar at the day and time I need to be there.)

Now you might say what the heck is the reason for all this? I can search for when I did something to check on when it was or what was discussed. I used the Organizer for this yesterday. I was about to pay a credit card bill and I thought that I had called the company and had the “rewards amount” applied to the bill so I could pay less by that amount, but I had no notes of the call on the bill. I searched in the Organizer and was reminded that I went to make the call the phone was not working. I immediately called up and had the credit put to the payment of the account. If I had just gone by memory I would have underpaid the (full) balance due and would have been hit by finance charges.

Another use is sometimes I get a credit card statement and there is a charge on it which I have no slip for. (Yes, happens to me too.) I can go back and see if I was at that store or restaurant that day. If I was, I have to presume the amount was okay, if not then I will contact the credit card company for proof of the purchase. (If I have no slip for, say, FG Asian buffet, and we ate dinner there – well, we owe the money.

Husband and I are getting older. We can end up in a “disagreement” about what and when something was done “No, we went to your mother's house on the 4^th so we did not do X that day and still have to do so.” Look it up and we either did go there on the 4^th or we did what needed to be done.

I also put into the tasks as repeating tasks, items I need to do daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, etc. and add reminders of them. This blog is two tasks a week – one is to write it on Tuesday nights and the other is to post it on Wednesday nights. Okay, I don't think I have ever actually written it on Tuesday – like Charlie Brown, I work best under pressure. I do have reminders the same way to write the newsletter for my embroidery chapter monthly, do the laundry, take out the garbage, take out the recycling, rotating over the month – clean the house, and so on, as well having the record of having done so.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -

It helps to stay organized by keeping track in your cell phone of what you need to do and your appointments. You can have all the contacts you need in it also. And after you have done things you can keep a record of what you have done even if it was not listed in it to do.

THE CRAZINESS CONTINUES ON

Another week already? For those of you who have been/will be in Dorian's path - I hope that you and yours come through safely.  To say that it is a horrible storm is to greatly understate the situation.

Things are still hinky here - I called the insurance company for our reenactment unit again to try to resolve the problem of the paperwork not being right.  What the employee and I did manage to figure out is that it is not a paperwork problem - the changes to the policy do not seem to be right when we discussed them.  She was to check with their underwriters and the files to see what happened and then call me back.  I waited a week and then called her again - last Friday.  The agency was closed for a four day Labor Day weekend.  I called her again today, Wednesday.  She was not in - working from home (I got the impression she was not well).  She called back while we were out - which is why I said I would call back instead of her calling me, and left a message to talk to someone else at the agency - I will call them tomorrow.  I have been trying to resolve this since June - policy renewed in late May.  At this point we only have 3 events left before the insurance will renew again next year. I have now requested a printout of our payments to our medical insurance company in 2018 three times - hope this time they send the correct papers and not a summary of what we owed - what we owed and what we paid could be totally different amounts (although not in this case) and the county will not accept what we owed - they want a list from the insurance company of what we actually paid.  That and one other set of papers is the last of what we need to file for our senior real estate tax exemption.  Then I can assemble the "tome" of papers that have to go to them for this exemption.  We learned our lesson last year.  This year we will not mail the paperwork to them (and we had mailed it by certified mail and had a record of when they received it).  We will drive to the real estate tax assessor's office and I will walk it in and get a receipt from them that they have everything.  Husband will sit in the car as parking is just about non-existent.  Newspaper article recently said that our new County Executive is going to make this department actually answer their phones and help people.  When one calls the message on their end is basically - "We don't have time to take calls."  and sometimes also "And we don't have any parking for you to come here."  Public servants.

I have managed to do a bit of house cleaning this past week - I admit it, I am sooo off schedule as I just have not had a chance to get to anything.

I have been tasked by my sister to find sources to sell items from our family home - a library of books, a collection of records (LPs, 45s and CDs), china and glass - useful and decorative, dad had a number of clients who were artists and they have pieces from some of the clients and other pieces that purchased - only a maybe ten to twenty, but some of them may be valuable.  We need to get as much as we can for items which can be sold as we need it to keep mom in the assisted living program she is in and likes.  Time is also of the essence as mom has a reverse mortgage on her house and every month more interes accrues. The sooner we get rid of the stuff in the house the sooner we can sell it - the less money that goes to interest and the more that goes to mom. I emailed a client that I have still have whose husband is one of the artists and asked if either of them knows of a gallery or auction house to contact.  I know the husband's work still sells from time to time and figured that they must still know who to contact.  Problem, of course, is that we need to not just find someone to buy (or take on consignment) the stuff we need to get rid of, but need someone honest who will not buy stuff for considerably less than it is worth.  I just found a site that was recommended by a seniors organization for pricing items.  I will have to look at it.  Quite frankly it was this part of clearing out the house that intimidated me.  My sister had talked as if she had an idea of who to call about all this and I had felt better about it, now I am overwhelmed again - and quite honestly, my sister is handling most of everything. Anyone with ideas about getting rid of all this stuff without getting "taken" - please let me know, it will be gratefully appreciated.

I had the first meeting of my embroidery chapter today.  I was not sure that I would that I would get to the meeting as husband is desperate to go away for a few days - both for sanity and because we have spent a lot on the RV to keep it in good shape, we do not use it, and it needs to be used - especially driven - to keep in it in good condition.  Due to rain storms today where we were to go, we dropped the plans - bad for husband as he is upset, but good for me as I had my first non-work day without him since June.  I did come home after running a couple of quick errands after the meeting and did not take the entire afternoon for myself as I normally do, as husband is sure that the Dorian will turn and hit Long Island and we will lose our electricity, so I did not want to leave him moping and in a panic all day by himself.  We are learning a new stitch that I had wanted to learn and it was such a pleasant time at the meeting.  I really need to find another group to join also - I have tried to get husband to join a group without me, but he is not interested and finds an excuse not to join any group that is related to his interests when I find them.

I normally write my post using a word processing program that I like and then copy it to the site.  Tonight for some reason it would not work - it opens, but does not work, so I used good, old Notepad to write - any spelling errors or oddities in appearance of the post are due to that.

THOUGHT OF THE WEEK -
Well, one has to go on and do what one can.  Having my embroidery chapter keeps me sane - what keeps you sane when it is all piling up?