Does your plan and organizational arrangement work in an emergency situation or without power?

With all the natural disasters and more and more reports of fires, lengthy power and/or internet outages and unplanned changes I began thinking and looking at my plans and organization and found several changes, adjustments, and new solutions needed to achieve and maintain my productivity goals.

Most of the work and play activities I do depend on a computer.  I have spent countless hours inputting, scanning, upload and downloading information and resources into my computer, so much so that my family calls it my "magic box".  Whenever they ask me something or to do something they pause to see if I am going to open the "magic box"..  So I have to say watching the reports of the devastation of the Northeast from Hurricane Sandy have put me into a bit of a panicked confused state.  I had done alot of soul searching and reorganizing after the Tornado that hit her last April, it had totally unsettled my plans and ways of doing things.  I feverishly started scanning documents and pictures and storing them on an external hard-drive had and thought that was going to protect my treasures and keep me productive and efficient no matter where I was working.  Never, thought about not being able to pack up my stuff and/or not having power.  What if a sudden storm hit without warning or if we were told to evacuate from a fire with only 15 minutes to get out...???

As the days have dragged on the people up North are not worrying about their work, they are struggling to just survive in the cold weather with water everywhere STILL, and without power, low food supplies and water.  Alot of the things I thought would happen to help them haven't and after seeing how the emergency response process worked during the tornado I noticed several things people had not planned for or worse had assumed would be available and they aren't so they don't have anything available.

The basics need to be on hand no matter what.. 
 Shelter & Clothing (what if the house was damaged?)
Drinking Water (2-4 quarts per person, per day for a week or more)
Food (able to be prepared without power, (hot water)
water for washing hands & flushing toliets
Heat
Gas/fuel for cooking stoves, heat, & car
alternative transportation
 First Aid kit

Then, there are the other "necessary items" 
tarps
work gloves
tools
plywood to cover windows
wood for fire
matches or fire starter stick
food producing/gathering tools 

How do you store all this stuff?  Where do you put it so its not in the way until it is needed but is accessible and ready to go when needed?

Well, Kits is one efficient and effective way to handle this need. http://uniquelyorganizedandutilized.blogspot.com/2012/11/kits-or-keep-it-together-somewhere-are.html
Included is our preparedness plan and contact list.

Do you have a preparedness plan?  Do you have your supplies stored somewhere convenient and accessible?

Want one?  Contact me through the website http://uniquelyorganizedandutilized.com and lets schedule an appointment to start preparing your preparedness plan and organized other activities so they can be enjoyed during any hardship to adjustment (moving, traveling, having company long-term, etc)

KITS or Keep It Together Somewhere... are very efficient and effective in protecting productivity.

KITS or Keep It Together Somewhere bags or boxes are so effective and efficient for activities, projects and survival.  These can be store bought or for most effective and money saving benefits they can be homemade or personalized.

Examples of popular KITS:

Exercise & Sports bags that have all the necessary items contained in a portable bag.
Sewing Kits containing needles, thread, buttons, scissors, etc...
Writing Kits containing paper, pens, stamps, etc.
Baking Kits containing flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa, sugar, etc.
Nail care Kits, containing nail clippers, emmoryboards,  base coat or clear nail polish, nail polish remover
Car Care Kits, containing flares, jumper cables, water, windshield wipe fluid, antifreeze, defrost spray, small bottle or gas can.

Tool boxes

Well you get the idea.  KITS contain necessary items in a portable container for easy use wherever the activity is needed.  Being able grab numerous items at one time, have everything necessary for the task and then be able to cleanup and return all the items to one place and put away quickly for the next use is a HUGE time saver and helps with time management and organizing work spaces.

I personally love and use kits to overcome some health issues and memory issues.  For some activities like First Aid, Writing business letters, and Packing in general I also include a packing list and instructions to use as reference or checklists to increase the efficiency and quality of my work.

Kits can be purchased already made and then, customized for you and your needs. Some kits like First Aid, are actually cheaper to purchase and then customize, whereas, others are better to create completely yourself.  For example, Office tasks like writing letters and cards will be more efficient if you created the kits yourself so you don't have to work with less than ideal items like letterhead, stationary or unwanted items.    Then when you start using them you will want to inventory the items and replace as needed so that the kit is always complete and ready for the task.  Getting the kit out to perform a task and discovering you need to refill or replace an item cuts into the time allotted for that task and can totally throw off a schedule and force an easily completed task into the uncompleted category which lowers your productivity and can jeopardize goals and the highly desired completed to-do list.


Do you need some KITS to help organize some of your necessary items for activities?  Call me this is another service I offer.  I can look at your task/activity make the list of items, gather the items and arrange them in a kit you will be effective and efficient using.

Use the contact form on the website, http://uniquelyorganizedandutilized.com to get more information or to schedule an appointment to get started.

Words that can bring you to your knees: File cannot be accessed, File not found, ERROR!!!!!

Some say I am a packrat, to them I say :: "I am not, I am just really attached to things and especially pictures and personal memomentos" .  A few years ago I began digitalizing things so that I could enjoy my memories and things and my husband could enjoy the rest of the house.  I took photos, scans and put them onto CD's and then I saved up and purchased a nice portable disk drive that could be locked for security (BIG MISTAKE!!) and moved pictures off my computer onto the portable disk drive, not nervous at all because I had my CD's as backup...

Well as the song says, "WRONG AGAIN!"  much to my heart break, two of the cd's have a scratch or error and will not read in the computer, the disk drive on my laptop is not working and worst of all, the disk drive that has THOUSANDS of pictures spanning the 10 years we have been here in Carolina (much of Charles 15.11 months of life) are on this drive that is now not working.

I have pictures in many photo albums and many are posted in 2 or 3 places on digital storage but the task of figuring out where I put specific pictures is very difficult now that I can't remember everything I use to know at the click of a button.  It has taken me months to collect and reorganize my files and convert pictures, and videos to be able to load.  I am searching for the best tools to keep things organize from here on and that those interested in seeing the pictures and files can use when I am gone.

I hope these pictures bring joy to younger generations and help people understand who I was and what I valued...Family! History! and anything I was blessed to be a participant.

Newest Storage Solutions that really work!!!!

Have you noticed it seems your house is shrinking??? Storage space is at a premium for the necessities, like blankets, spare pillows and linens. Well here are a few inexpensive solutions that are simple but yet provide great returns on the investment.

The first one, I saw at a friends house and thought, "what a genius". These are almost priceless, for about $9.99 per box of 4. If you have a king size bed you need 2 boxes and then you end up with 2 left over. However, it is worth every penny to gain the storage space lost under the bed. This creates about 2 inches of more space under the bed and opens up all kinds of possibilities. For us, it created a bed for our dog, and eliminated the unsightly doggy bed that took up valuable space.

Second find is almost as benefical. zipper closing Jumbo Storage bags!!!! you get a box of 3 for about 6.99. Hefty has coupons all the time and I found mine at Walmart. I have also seen them at BJ's. The possibilities for condensing bulky items and storing items in shed and outside storage units without risking moisture or bug damage.

Hefty bag with a King size bed spread in it!!! the blue blob is a king size comforter, folded.

Close up of the bag, they are reuseable, resealable, it has the zipper closure and built in handles for sturdy easy handling. They also have a "label" area where you could write what is in there, Who it belongs too, whatever..