5 Things You Never Knew Your Cell Phone Could Do!

For all the folks with cell phones.
You should print this and keep it in your car, purse, and wallet. It's good information to have with you. There are a few things that can be done in times of grave emergencies.Your mobile phone can actually be a life saver or an emergency tool for survival. Check out the things that you can do with it.
FIRST Emergency: The Emergency Number worldwide for Mobile is 112. If you find Yourself out of the coverage area of your mobile network and there is an Emergency, dial 112 and the mobile will search any existing network to Establish the emergency number for you, and interestingly, this number 112 can be dialed even if the keypad is locked. Try it out.
SECOND: Have you locked your keys in the car?Does your car have remote keyless entry? This may come in handy someday. Good reason to own a cell phone: If you lock your keys In the car and the spare keys are at home, call someone at home on their cell phone from your cell phone. Hold your cell phone about a foot from your car door and have the person at your home press the unlock button, holding it near the mobile phone on their end. Your car will unlock ck. Saves someone from having to drive your keys to you. Distance is no object. You could be hundreds of miles away, and if you can reach someone who has the other 'remote' for your car, you can unlock the doors (or the trunk).Editor's Note: It works fine! We tried it out and it unlocked our car over a cell phone!'
There's more...we'll add them tomorrow! My sister sent this to me and swears by it!

Be Prepared!

The Department of Homeland Security has declared September, Disaster Preparedness Month. With the series of hurricanes pounding our coasts, it does seem like the right time to get organized about disaster prevention. The DHS's "READY" campaign (www.ready.gov) is a free resource where citizens can find emergency supply checklists, an emergency plan and links to local information.
There are many ways to get your family prepared, it just takes a little organizing and planning:
Stock three days and nights of food and water
Prepare a family communication plan and meeting spot
Store a supply of family medicines and prescriptions
Pack a small bag with necessities for each family member

Green Thoughts from Margaritaville!

Deeelicious! The Book Club, men and women, loved those minty kiwi margaritas I wrote about last week. They were so good, I was still in a green and mellow mood when I read about the un-green garden industry. It seems that there hasn't been much effort by the garden industry to recycle all those thousands and thousands of plastic pots and containers they sell each season. I know my garage is still full of this year's pile of black plastic pots, all sizes. It seems they need a little push from us, the consumer. So let's ask about recycling everywhere we purchase garden plants and supplies. And to soften the message be sure to tell them about those green kiwi, mint margaritas!

Margarita Mommas

Are you a busy Mom...and do you love margaritas? I think I hear a chorus of yes's! Check out a new blog by Kelly Little, chef extraordinaire, http://alittlesauce.blogspot.com/. There are some great, quick and easy recipes and a tutorial for roasting red peppers with pictures...just the kind of hands on instruction that I need.

But the best item on the blog is the recipe for Mint Kiwi Margaritas; they're delicious, green and very refreshing. And each drink is less than 200 calories!!

Free Skin Cancer screening

Thanks to REALSIMPLE magazine for getting the word out on The Skin Cancer Foundation's "Road to Healthy Skin Tour". It sounds simple: get a free skin cancer check by a board certified dermatologist at over 100 locations in 50 cities. With over 1 million Americans diagnosed with skin cancer each year, now is the time to start getting your skin checked. AVEENO and RiteAid are also sponsoring the free screenings. For more information go to www.aveeno.com.

Healthy meals...are you sure!

If planning healthy meals for yourself and your family is important to you, you might want to check out the personal food pyramid planner designed by the Department of Agriculture. It allows you to see not only how nutritious your menus are but it will evaluate the quality of your meals also.
For example, if you ask the planner to increase the amount of whole grains in your daily diet, it will give you tips on cereals, breads etc that you may add to the menu. You enter your personal information including your diet goals and the planner does the rest. What a great tool to start your diet or improve the eating habits of your family. Go to www.mypyramid.gov and check it out. Let us know your comments.

Happy Earth Day!

Everywhere you go today, whether at work, school or shopping, there are signs and promotions reminding us of our earthly responsibilities. Take a moment to go online at www.nytimes.com/magazine and read the April 20th, 2008 Green Issue of the New York Times Sunday magazine. It is filled with short pieces on a myriad of ways that people are going Green, whether through architecture, biotech, urban farming or personal endeavor. It left me energized with the possibilities of real change that can, and must, occur.

I will leave you with a quote from a powerful article by Michael Pollan, “Why Bother? Looking for a few good reasons to go green."

“Once our personal connection to what is wrong becomes clear, then we have to choose: we can go on as before, recognizing our dishonesty and living with it the best we can, or we can begin the effort to change the way we think and live.” Wendell Berry, Kentucky farmer and writer wrote this in the 1970’s.

Lower your stress

Life would certainly be a lot easier if you could ease that burden of stress you're carrying. One step towards acheiving that goal is understanding what's really causing your stress. Many people are surprised to find it is not always the source they think it is. There is a new software tool that actually measures your stress level by analyzing your voice. The tool, called Stress Indicator, is available on www.stressindicator.com and costs $30.
Simply by talking into your computer using a basic microphone, the system will measure your stress levels in five key categories of your life: home, work, love, friends and future plans. You can use the software over and over again.
So the next time you think work is driving you crazy, you might be surprised to discover that not connecting with friends is really the culprit. Knowing where your stress is hiding may be the first step in easing it.
To view a recent NBC television story on this product click here: http://video.nbc5.com/player/?id=222498

Simplify your diet!

Busy life interfering with your fitness goals? Here are two ideas that might help you achieve your goals:

Go to http://www.fitday.com/, an online diet and fitness journal that is completely free! I received this tip from a handsome young man, who is very fit and feels that this online journal really helps him keep on track. As he explained it, he simply logs on, keys in his meal and then FitDay analyzes it and provides a detailed graphical report on the calories, fat, carbohydrates...a complete nutritional analysis. Then he enters whatever exercise he has done that day and it adds that to the report and he can compare it to his diet and fitness goals.

He looked great and said, "It's simple."

Another tip is to select two or three nutritious breakfasts and lunches and do the shopping for them. Plan on rotating these same meals throughout the week. It simplifies calorie counting and keeps you from grabbing a greasy burger or sausage biscuit at the local fast food. Save your calories for planned splurges at your favorite restaurant.

Were you in the dark for Earth Hour?

We sat in the dark on our front deck looking down at the valley of lights that is Metropolitan Phoenix. Our home was completely dark as were our neighbors’ homes. Would the lights in Phoenix dim suddenly, dramatically? Phoenix was one of four U.S. cities chosen to participate in Earth Hour. Already, cities around the world, Sydney, Melbourne, Bangkok, Budapest, Athens, Dublin and London had dimmed their lights in support of caring for the Earth’s environment.
“What’s amazing is that it’s transcending political boundaries and happening in places like China, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea,” said Andy Ridley, executive director of Earth Hour. “It really seems to have resonated.”
But from our viewpoint, about twenty miles from downtown Phoenix, it was apparent that much of Phoenix did not turn off their lights. Only a five-block area of the central city was in near darkness, with many businesses and restaurants participating. It was a start, but for a city that prides itself on living the outdoor life, with beautiful weather and countless natural parks and mountain reserves…it should have been, lights out!

Watch for-"Caring for your Parents"

On April 2, a documentary that’s relevant to all of us will be on public television, Caring for Your Parents. Check local listings for this program on caring for loved ones as they age. There is also a book available.

Some Thoughts on...

Do you ever feel like simplifying your life means cutting back, denying every request and generally saying no to fun!
I did! My first attempts at simplifying my life, trying to be super-organized and cutting back on everything from food to activities made me feel grouchy and deprived. But then, as a little time passed, I noticed an easing of the pressures of work and family; less tension in my neck, even a few pounds gone. Simplifying your life means enriching your life, allowing you to focus on the quality, not the chaos, of each day. Enjoy!

Make a Difference - Participate in Earth Hour

Reduce your impact on climate change by participating in Earth Hour 2008. On March 29th 2008, turn off all the lights in your home or business for 1 hour, beginning at 8 PM.

This is a global movement that started last year in Sydney Australia, when 2.2 million people and over 2000 business turned off their lights for 1 hour. The result was a 10.2% reduction in energy consumption for that 1 hour, which is like taking 48,000 cars off the road for 1 year. This year the project is going global – let’s all participate and see what a difference we can make! Go to www.earthhour.org to get more information.

Cleaning Out Your Computer Files

If you are in the market for a new computer and you intend to donate your old computer, it's important to be certain your personal files are removed...and don't think uninstalling programs or deleting messages will result in a clean computer. It won't!

We found two companies that offer free software that erases hard drives: http://www.killdisk.com/ and www.heidi.ie/eraser

We have not tried these programs yet, so if you do, be sure to let us know how they worked for you. Remember, you can also erase your computer files the old fashioned way by removing your hard drive.

Check these out: Websites we love

Because we're always on the look out for simple and stylish trends, and great places to share information, here are a few of the best Websites we've seen lately:

MommyTrack'd
A smart and stylish resource for moms managing the daily tug of war between home and work.

Flopping Fish
Need an elegant way to tell your guests to remove their shoes before coming into your house? Flopping Fish creates beautiful "Remove Your Shoes" signs. The company also creates stunning switch plates that add an elegance and charm to your rooms, no matter what your décor.

Design*Sponge
Design*Sponge is a daily website dedicated to home and product design – if you love looking at the latest trends in products for your home or office, you will quickly become addicted to Design*Sponge.

Stopping the Junk Mail

Who among us doesn't open the mailbox every day and find it stuffed with catalogs and junk mail? There seems to be a tremendous amount of it coming in, and cluttering our space. Here are a couple of Websites to simplify, or reduce the amount of catalogs and junk mail we get:

dmaconsumers.org: This is the Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) Consumer Information site. It is very clearly written, with information and instructions on removing your name from a variety of lists: mailing, telemarketing and email. You may also remove the name of anyone in your care.

catalogchoice.org: This is a free Web-based tool that allows users to stop getting catalogs from over 1,000 companies. If the catalogs from retailers you used over Christmas are stuffing your mailbox, this is a good tool to "cut the junk mail", at least until next Christmas.

Did you know that there are two sides to the environmental issue around catalogue usage? With almost 19 BILLION catalogs mailed last year in the U.S., it is estimated that 53 million trees were needed to produce them. That's a lot of trees. But on the other side, it is also estimated that 290 million gallons of gas could be saved (not used) if every American eliminated two trips to town, stayed home and ordered by catalog. Another environmental issue that isn't simple to solve!

Information Sharing

There are so many Websites out there with advice about "how to do better" anything. And of course, there's the magazines: Oprah, Martha Stewart, Rachel Ray and so many more. Everyone has advice about how to better your life. Who has time to read all these, plus news sites? Ever hear about iVillage?

www.iVillage.com is a treasure trove of information. There's something on there for every woman: mom, executive, grandmother. There's a great section named Daily Hot Topics that is always interesting. Be sure to check it out.

Welcome to Simplifying!

We are thrilled to launch this blog as an extension of our passion for all things that simplify our lives. We are all so busy - and admittedly, sometimes things do get a bit chaotic - so we want to make this blog a place to share secrets about how to better organize and manage our busy families and homes.

Some background on us: we are a mother-daughter team that created the popular lifestyle technology product Home Concierge. Home Concierge is an online personal assistant that helps organize busy schedules, busy families and busy homes. But this blog is not about Home Concierge, it's about SIMPLIFYING our lives and all the ways, means, secrets and success stories of spending less time worrying - and more time doing the things we love. It's for busy moms, busy grandparents, and busy families. We look forward to hearing from you too and hope to post some of your ideas. There is so much to share - here we go!