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Why Technology Can Help You
Technology is supposed to help us get organized, communicate more effectively, eliminate paper, and store huge amounts of information on tiny devices. So why is the house a shambles? Oh, that would be the rat’s nest of wires in the living room, the video games in the family room, and the chargers all over the place. Yet despite the potential for tech to create mess, I’m obsessed — because as the working mom of two tweens, I love anything that helps me take care of my family, meet my obligations, and simplify my life. If that sounds good to you too, follow me from room to room and I’ll show you some geeky ways to manage clutter, get rid of stray papers, and streamline household operations. Sometimes a purchase is in order, but often a free Web site or service can do the trick………….
In The Bedroom
This spot ends up hiding CDs, books, clothes, maybe a cell phone charger, and who knows what else. The key is to divide and conquer.
Mine is a family of avid readers and I’m proud of that — but the downside is bedside-table clutter. We got so overwhelmed with books that I cleaned house by selling them on Amazon.com, which is very simple: Go to the site, click “Sell Your Stuff,” type in each book’s ISBN number (found on the back cover), set a price, then let your mailman haul the lot away. (Amazon charges a small fee at the time of sale, and you are paid electronically.) To forestall a relapse, I stopped buying books altogether and rent them through Bookswim.com. I set up what’s called a “pool” of books on the site, which starts sending them to me. When I’m done with one, I ship it back in the prepaid envelope and Bookswim sends me another. Voila — a constant supply of books and no storage issues. Plans start at $10 a month.
I had nearly given up on my public library because the books I wanted were rarely available when I stopped in. (If they were, I would inevitably forget to return them by the due date and rack up huge fees.) And the selection of audio books was always picked clean. Recently, though, I reunited with my local branch…….
