Michele Welsh, mom to three small children, is the creator of SafetyTat, the ultra-cool temporary ID tattoo for your little ones.

They can be purchased (a) customized with your mobile phone number, or (b) blank so you can write your cell phone number on them. SafetyTat, the highly visible form of identification (that stays in place even when wet), offers immeasurable peace of mind to parents.

SafetyTats are a great child safety identification device for: Theme Parks, Amusement Parks, Shopping Malls, Airports, Fairs, Festivals, Traveling, Museums, Zoos, Stadiums, Playgrounds, Site Seeing, Field Trips, Drop-off Birthday Parties and Play Dates, First Day of School, Scout Trips…anywhere you have kids in crowds.

In fact, you can even order customized SafetyTats for children with allergies or special needs. Perfect for those in childcare… Such a great idea!

If you are involved in an accident or other emergency that leaves you incapacitated, who will speak for you? The following tips are quick and simple, and could very well save your life.

• ICE Sticker : Store the phone numbers of your emergency contacts in your cellphone, prefaced with the acronymn ICE (i.e., In Case of Emergency). As an additional potential lifesaving measure, and an indicator to emergency personnel, affix an ICE Sticker to the back of your cellphone.

• Wallet Card : Keep a hard copy of your family’s emergency plan and medical history in your wallet. For additional peace of mind, use a self-laminating sheet to protect your wallet card from everyday wear-and-tear.

• Medic Alert : If you have any potential life-threatening allergies or medical conditions, check out the latest fashions of Medic Alert Jewelry. The once-utilitarian bracelets now have a ton of stylish variations, from dog tags and sports bands to watches and necklaces.

• ICE Packet : Get ‘hip’ with a specialized USB flash drive keychain that stores all your medical data for easy access by emergency personnel. ‘All the kids are doing it…’ 🙂

So, what about you? How do you store your vital medical history in an easily-accessible format, just in case of an emergency? Do share!

Courtesy of Lorie Marrero, creator of The Clutter Diet, owner of Living Order:

Homeostasis is a medical term that refers to the tendency of the human body to seek and maintain balance. What is your house’s “HOME-eostasis?” What is that balanced condition of your home to which you would always like to return?

Your house’s homeostasis results from preventing clutter, reducing the clutter you have to a manageable and acceptable level, and consistently maintaining your home with systems and routines. It’s a state of balance and readiness—the kind of feeling you have when you’ve just straightened up the house for company to come over for dinner. It’s a state of satisfaction, pride, and comfort. Homeostasis is your definition of success!

We are not talking about perfection, as we’ve often emphasized. Homeostasis is a flexible state that adjusts to transitional times and periods of less or more activity in your lives. The definition will change as your family and situations change. Your ultimate organizing goal is to know what homeostasis means for your home and have the education, motivation, and support to easily and confidently achieve it when things get out of balance (as they surely will).

Make your list today—take 10-15 minutes to go by each room and note what needs to happen to make you feel balanced and ready. An example: My guest bathroom needs to be clean enough for people to use without my being embarrassed, and have plenty of toilet paper, a fresh hand towel, and soap.

Read the full article »

Welcome to my blog’s new series… I will be featuring (and maybe even reviewing) some of my absolute favorite organizing tools and products on Fridays! Here’s the first…

TasteBook.com is the best place online to discover, organize, and share favorite recipes—then turn them into beautiful personal keepsake-quality hardcover cookbooks.

You can search more than 100,000 recipes from major lifestyle magazines and leading recipe websites, upload your own favorites, or shop professionally edited TasteBooks created by top cookbook authors and food editors.

TasteBook.com is free to use, and personal cookbooks start at just $19.95 each. Every TasteBook can hold up to 100 recipes. Order them all at once or in batches. It’s easy to add more pages to TasteBook’s expandable hardcover binder system at anytime.

• Custom covers: Choose a beautiful cover image and edit the title of your cookbook.
• Cooking notes: Add helpful hints, cooking tips, and personal notes to any recipe.
• Personal photos: Upload your own pictures along with your personal recipes.
• Colored tabs: Organize your recipes any way you want with ten tabbed chapters.
• Perfect gift: Create one for bridal showers, family reunions, and holidays.

So, fill a TasteBook with all your family’s favorites, and you’ll soon discover just how “easy-breezy” it’ll be to get dinner on the table every night of the week (now that your recipes are finally organized)! Mmmmmm…

Well, it’s official… I am now working part-time at Lowe’s. So, if you happen to find yourself in the market for new cabinets or countertops, I’m your gal! Stop by the Georgetown store, and I’ll “hook you up.”

I tell you… It’s really strange to be sitting in the doctor’s office, waiting for the nurse to come in and give Amanda her immunizations (in preparation for Kindergarten), and thinking, “Cool… I actually know the name of that countertop edging!”

This doesn’t make me a terrible mother, does it? 😉