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Safeguarding your Digital Life: Archiving Your Data

The topic of “data archiving” is, at first glance, mind numbingly boring.

That being said, it’s a topic to take note of and here’s why:  If you’re currently reading this blog, that means, well, that you read blogs; and if you read blogs, then you’re probably a person that does many other things on a computer as well.  You may not be a tech-nerd or a data-geek, but I’d hazard to guess that at this very moment, you’ve got a sizeable collection of photos, songs, videos and documents floating around.  If this is the case, then consider this point:  Your favourite music, those videos of your baby, the photographs of your dog and the very last essay you wrote in college are absolutely the furthest thing from boring.  They’re the opposite of boring and may have such meaning that you’d be distraught if they were ever destroyed.  Even items like your old tax forms (if you filed electronically), along with invoices and project documents (if you use your personal computer for employment), while much less sentimental, are definitely important enough to keep secure.

So while the topic of archiving may be drier than popcorn fluff, the heart of the matter is that there’s an emotional and practical significance to protecting your personal data.  All it takes to lose your data are some wilted flowers, as in, some wilted flowers knock over a vase and pour water all over a laptop.  This is a true story.  It happened to me.  And I didn’t have my data backed up.

There are two general rules to archiving data: 1) duplicate it as many times as possible, and 2) duplicate it in as many different places as possible.  Redundancy is the key.  So with this in mind, I’d like to make three suggestions for keeping your digital files safe.  If you can’t do all three, at the very least, do the first one:

1)  Purchase an external hard drive.  Buy one with a capacity larger than the hard drive on your computer.  This way, everything that’s on your computer can be duplicated on the drive without worrying about storage space.  To keep this as simple as possible, once a week, just before you go to bed, drag and drop your computer’s main system folder onto the external drive and let the data copy while you sleep.  Doing this will help protect you, should anything unfortunate happen to your computer.

Two types of external hard drives: Large one requires an AC adapter. The small one is portable and needs no AC adapter.

 

2)  Purchase a redundant drive instead.  A redundant drive is an external device with two identical hard drives housed within.  These external drives duplicate your data twice, making a mirrored copy on each disk.  If one of these drives ever breaks down, the other drive is ready and waiting to restore your data. The drives inside personal computers are workhorses and prone to failure, especially in laptops.  As such, putting all your data on a redundant drive makes sense; it keeps it doubly safe and allows you to remove it from your computer, freeing up space and ending a reliance on its built-in hard drive.

A redundant drive. Note the two grate-covered slots on the front. This is where the hard drives live and can easily be pulled out and replaced.

 

3)  Start archiving your data off-site.  This means saving your data far away from any of the disasters that may strike your computer, your external hard drive or your home.  This covers incidents like house-fires, floods, power-surges, burglaries, etc.  External hard drives are fantastic but they’re no match to physical damage or theft.  So how do you get your data to a “far away” place?  You can do it by using a “cloud” based storage service.  Most of the main email providers (Gmail, Hotmail/Outlook, etc.) now provide this service for free.  Each company provides multiple gigabytes of storage space, which is enough to save your really important files but not your entire array of videos and songs.  As time marches on though, these cloud services will grow in size, eventually allowing you to back-up all your data.  To those who want to take an additional step in securing personal data, or for those that don’t trust their storing their data in the cloud, another way to archive is to use physical mediums like CDs, DVDs or Blu-ray discs.  You can then take these discs and place them in a fireproof safe, a safety deposit box or even just give them to a friend to hold.  If you do go this route, make sure to purchase metal-based CDs, DVDs or Blu-rays (instead of dye-based) as they last significantly longer.

Physical media, in this case some Blu-ray discs and a Blu-ray writer.

 

If this is the first time you’ve considered archiving your digital data, then you’ve probably got quite a backlog to sort through.  This may seem like a daunting task but don’t let it prevent you from starting.  The best thing to do is just pick one singular ‘thing’ to archive – even if it’s only your 2012 vacation photos – and get it backed-up.  Doing so will get the ball rolling and help you experience how simple and quick data archiving really is.

Great Moments from the UsedOttawa Winter Scavenger Hunt!

On February 16th and 17th, UsedOttawa.com hosted the first annual Winter Scavenger Hunt and it was a great success! People came out from all over the Ottawa area to participate and enter to win one of 3 iPad minis. On Saturday and Sunday, hearty contestants braved the cold and came downtown to pick up their lists and tick off items such as taking a photo of themselves on Parliament Hill.

It was colder than an Antarctic ice hockey championship, but Ottawans didn’t let that stop them from enjoying the final weekend of Winterlude! Rosy cheeks, sunshine and exercise – what a perfect way to spend the weekend.

Congratulations to all the winners, and a big thank you to all the participants for making my first weekend working for UsedOttawa so much fun! Check out some of my favourite moments from the scavenger hunt:

Introducing, my microwave!

On one hand it seems a little silly to be dedicating an entire blog post to my microwave, but it’s one of the aspects of our renovation that receives the most Ooohs and Aaahhhhs when I show visitors around our new house, so I thought it might interest some Used readers too.

When we were designing our new kitchen we took out a couple of walls in order to open it up to the rest of the house. Guess what happens when you take out walls? You also remove potential storage space along with it. Suddenly we found ourselves without a place to put our microwave. There was no obvious nook on the counter, or a place we could set one on top on a cart like we had before. I remembered a reno I’d written about for Our Homes Ottawa some time ago. The owner of the house had the same issue, and her research lead her to something called a drawer microwave, something that was totally news to me. I will say this, I certainly Ooohed and Ahhhed when I saw it.

So that’s how we found ourselves buying one too. And here’s where we decided to put it, right in our kitchen island:

The placement is perfect. It’s right across from the fridge.  When I’m about to heat a cup of milk for example, I grab a mug (which is in a cabinet a step away), open the fridge, pour the milk, turn around, and just open the drawer. That’s it!

The carpeted area you see in the picture above is where our dining area starts, so I’m a mere step or two away from that side of things too.

The drawer microwave is more expensive than a regular counter-top microwave, but it was money well-spent in my opinion. I like how it blends into the cabinetry a bit, and is out of the way AND out of plain view. I was worried about how smooth the drawer mechanism was going to be (we bought it sight unseen!) but needn’t have worried. As long as we don’t fill our mugs all the way to the brim we are fine.

I took a quick video in case you want to see how it works.

I think it’s pretty cool.

Do you think someone might invent a dishwasher that unloads itself, because I’d pay big bucks for that!

Milk Sharing

Becoming a parent has been such an education. I had no idea how much I didn’t know until I became a mom. To be fair, it’s mostly stuff I would not have been interested in knowing prior to having a baby. My most recent lesson was about breast milk banks and donating human milk; the fact that they exist (in some places) and how to get involved.

I’m not going to focus on the breast milk vs. formula debate because it’s a personal choice. However, if you are a breastfeeding mother (or plan to be in the future) this post is for you!

My lifelong best friend recently gave birth to triplets at 33 weeks. The babies were all in great health but had some growing to do. While her plan was to use formula prior to having the babies, once they were born she decided she wanted to breast feed them all (and give them only human breast milk instead of formula). As she worked on building her supply, there was a bit of a shortage in how much she could produce (there were 3 babies after all). Enter, the human milk bank.

There are only two official human breast milk banks in Canada. One in Vancouver, BC, based out of the women’s hospital, and another based in Calgary, AB. They both provide screened and pasteurized donated human milk to babies in need (receiving milk from these banks requires a prescription from a doctor). They will ship milk across Canada and the recipient is responsible for a processing fee as well as the cost of shipping. If you live in either of these cities, you can go through the screening process and become a donor quite easily – if you’re in good health. It’s a rewarding, free way to give back.

For those of us living outside of Calgary and Vancouver or with babies who do not have a medical condition but are still in need of breast milk, there are some other options. One way is to connect with women looking for a donor, or looking to donate through a network called Human Milk 4 Human Babies. They have community Facebook pages set up for most major cities across Canada. The concern with these networks is that you are responsible for screening your donors. If you are accepting milk from a family member or close friend, who you know is in good health, there’s less of a concern about the spread of disease (most pregnant women undergo a host of blood work to confirm they are in good health).  At milk banks, women are screened for multiple diseases: HIV, Hepatitis B & C, HTLV and Syphilis.  However, if you’re connecting with someone you don’t know, you will need to use your own discretion.  In a lot of cases, you can find one donor and have them screened and use their milk for your baby’s needs if you’re not able to produce enough milk of your own.

While it’s not the right fit for everyone, it’s something to consider if you’re a breast-feeding mama. It’s another way to give back to your community and help a baby grow strong and healthy.

 

10 Things to Organize Today

Okay, we know how it is sometimes. Life gets busy, we say yes to too many commitments and suddenly the plate being full just isn’t a dramatic enough metaphor.

These are the things we often spend the most time looking for, and if we don’t manage them properly, we will always be in crisis mode. For today, if you can’t get to the toys, to the off-season clothing, the garage or the storage room, it’s okay. Today, make a permanent spot in your home for these ten things and commit to placing them there every time you set them down. How to decide on that perfect spot? Make it convenient, make room for the item so there is an obvious and permanent spot for it and then use it. If you have small children, choose spots that are up high or out of reach for the most valuable items. We all know kids who have “recycled” car keys or tried to flush an iPhone.

1. Keys – The best bet for keys is usually a hook right by the door you use most frequently. Put up a stylish set of hooks or key rack and use it, every day, without fail. If you have a nice entry table, you can also use a decorative bowl to toss keys into.
2. Sunglasses (or prescription or reading glasses) – These are always tricky because they are breakable and you are often taking them off at random times. You may need two places – a glass case in a purse or a shelf by your keys for when you are at home, and a case in your car.
3. iPhones, Blackberries, Android phones – These have become our lifelines, haven’t they? Don’t let the kids play with yours, don’t leave them on the couch. Keep them on you, or in a convenient spot where you charge them.
4. Homework – Schoolwork needs to stay in kids’ backpacks unless it is being worked on, then back it goes safely into the bag. Have a designated spot for kids to work like the kitchen table or their own desk so homework doesn’t migrate to basements, family rooms, or top bunks.
5. Purse/wallet – Choose a spot near your most commonly used entrance (or for wallets, wherever you typically take it out of your pocket.) A shelf in the front closet works for purses and keeps little hands away. Wallets can be dropped near keys or on a tray on a bedroom dresser.
6. Kids’ backpacks – Hang hooks near your door, one per kid, and insist that backpacks be hung up each day. We do this and it keeps the bags at hand, off the floor, and ready to grab in the morning.
7. Bills to pay – The last thing you want is to incur late fees or interest charges because you didn’t pay something on time. Have a spot on your desk where you stack new bills, or keep a stash of them clipped together by your computer.
8. Uniforms or outfits for extracurricular activities – Make it a habit to wash any uniforms, dance costumes and the like immediately and put them back into whatever sports bag or duffel your child uses. The same goes with sports gear or special footwear – make a bag for that sport or activity and keep it ready to grab and go.
9. Library books – Don’t let them get lost in kids’ rooms or get tidied up into the family bookcase. Make a spot somewhere obvious – we keep ours tucked in a corner of the kitchen counter and it’s easy to grab them to return them on library day.
10. Remote controls – These need a home in each room. Get yourself a container or tray for the coffee table to toss them into so they aren’t constantly slipping down into the couch.

What are the items that commonly go astray in your home? Do you have solutions to share?

Sort, Store and Save: It's Spring. (Well Almost!)

I know, I know, most parts of the country are still covered in snow, yet here in Victoria we are seeing the sun bright in the sky and blooms poking through the earth.

As spring hits, a lot of us without even realizing start to think about blowing out those winter cobwebs and doing a big spring clean. But wait! Especially you, Victoria residents, there is still time for snow and you don’t want to be disappointed when hibernation calls again!

So instead, why not start off small, with just a few new storage and organization ideas before the big clean commences.

This first one isn’t really about storage but is more about organizing. One of my VictoriaMom.ca  team mates showed me this, The Bills Binder, a great way for keeping on top of bills. If you do live somewhere where the sky is grey and the roads are still white, this might be a good indoor activity one evening. This makes filing your bills so much easier. If you are anything like me the word filing conjures up other f words and bills get left on the microwave.

This binder tutorial comes from Echoes of Laughter. What I love about it is the great visual it gives you of your money over the month.

From Echoes of Laughter

 

I also love this, the birthday card binder because sometimes, though not often, I leave birthday cards and gifts until the very last minute. This one is easy to work out for yourself but here is a tutorial and sweet blog just in case – from happycanadianhome.com.

From Happy Canadian Home

 

This following storage tip is another good rainy day tidy up and is something I desperately need. Every morning, I scramble around for lids, the right size containers, anything that will hold food! I think a Lunch Kit Drawer is in order.

From Organised To Make Life Easier

 

This next one is a really good storage solution to have in place prior to your big spring clean. If you have kids, then the likelihood is you have toys. Lots of toys. Organizing a storage solution that your kids can handle, that looks good and that does the job well is crucial.

From Love Grows Wild

 

All of the blogs I have mentioned here have hundreds of organizing tips for you. If you are planning that big clean any time soon, think about employing some tidying options so that your spring clean lasts beyond summer!

Beat the Winter Blues: Take a Staycation!

It’s still winter; it’s cold, it’s rainy and it’s grey… and frankly I’m going a bit stir crazy, begging for Spring and Summer to peak their pretty heads out. Not to mention, I’ve been sick for the past two weeks (and very sick of that!) My mind constantly drifts off thinking about how nice it would be to be sitting on a beach, soaking in the sun and sipping on a margarita. Or this could just be the cold medication talking!

We currently don’t have the funds or time to jet off to a tropical paradise for a week to warm up and relax so I started thinking about ways I could bring the fun and sun feelin’ into my home. But first things first, what makes a vacation so great?

Aside from the sunshine and beaches, vacations are also a time to decompress from our hectic daily lives and recharge our energy. Not to mention it’s a time to give yourself a break about eating 100% healthy or watching your beverage consumption.

So in order to start off your vacation at home, or “staycation”, it’s time to unplug!  This means turning the computer off and powering the cell phone down. When you go on vacation, you are leaving the world behind so why not take a weekend at home where you pretend you are on a deserted island with no contact from the outside world?

One of my absolute favorite things about going on vacation is that you get to stop counting calories and throw away that diet plan. It’s okay to splurge every once in a while and so before your staycation begins, make sure to stop by the grocery store and stock up on food items you love to eat…even if they are not good for you. Because when you’re on vacation, those calories don’t count or so I’ve been told (or maybe convinced myself!). Either way, pig out on junk food, healthy food or even eat an entire cake. It doesn’t matter what you eat as long as you are enjoying yourself because that’s what vacations are all about.

And a tropical vacation would not be complete without a fancy fruity alcoholic drink in your hand, right? Personally, I feel that in order to make it feel like a vacation drink, you must invest in those little paper umbrellas!  They make all the difference as to how that drink will taste.  Even if you don’t drink alcohol, pour a pop or juice in a fancy daiquiri cup, drop in an umbrella and sip to your hearts’ content!

Unfortunately the only thing that you can’t guarantee on your staycation is the weather and it’s unlikely summer will start in February this year.  So the only thing that I can think of that is just as wonderful as lounging in the sun is putting on your coziest pajamas or sweats and cuddling under a warm down comforter on a cold and rainy day. As part of staycation law, I order you to stay in those pajamas the entire time.  And if you are lucky enough to have a fire place, light it up for extra coziness.

I’m getting really excited to go on my staycation this weekend and hopefully you are already starting to plan yours. Bon Voyage!

Memorable Kid's Parties

What makes a child’s birthday party memorable?  It feels like we’ve done it all with children’s birthday parties but I’ve learned something along the way.  The most memorable parties, the ones kids talk about for years after, are big on creativity and imagination – not expense.

Three examples of memorable parties that we’ve hosted include: playing Muggle Quidditch, fairy walk, and scavenger hunt. Each of these parties represented the interests of my child at the time making them extra special. Hosting a party in nature is unique these days but for kids that spend most of their time playing sports or connected to technology, they appreciate getting outdoors to play with friends. The secret of a memorable party is to find a common interest, boost that interest with lots of imagination, and think like a child. Hiding clues for the scavenger hunt or leaving traces that the fairies had visited the woods creates magic and memories for guests. For the birthday child it creates cherished moments with friends and a feeling of pride for hosting a special party activity. With Spring birthday party season just around the corner, here are a few more suggestions for creating a memorable kid’s party:

Host a Donation Party
Ask party guests to bring a small donation in lieu of presents. Have your child select a charity or social cause to help and donate a portion of the money received. Your child will feel empowered by helping a cause close to their heart. Extra bonus is there is less packaging and gift wrap to recycle from traditional parties with gifts and the birthday child can use their money to buy 1 special gift they want/need.

Have A Friend Take Pictures
Having a photographer at your child’s party is the perfect time to snap pictures. . . especially if you’re hosting in nature. Pictures taken in natural daylight look stunning and if it’s not in the budget to hire a photographer, ask a friend to hang out with a camera. Having your hands free to host and enjoy the moments during your child’s party is important, but so is getting great pictures. Have the best of both!

Plan As A Family
Creating a memorable party is going to effect the entire family so why not sit down and plan it together? Siblings are amazing with brainstorming creative ideas or party games and if the party is taking place at home, everyone needs to be on board to get ready. I’ll never forget the best part of the Fairy Walk we planned for my daughters years ago. It was the pre-party setup of climbing trees to hang felt garlands, hammering of a fairy chimney into a tree, and hiding clues that fairies had walked through the forest with my sons that made the party so memorable for me. They got so excited helping to setup the fairy walk, thinking of different ideas to make the magic more abundant for their sisters. I will always remember how that party truly became a family affair that everyone enjoyed.

Think Back To Your Childhood
What parties do you remember growing up? Remember 3-legged races, sack races, bubble gum blowing contests, pass the present, and blindfolded games? Think back and incorporate a few of these games into your child’s party. Chances are your kids will love and enjoy these classics too.

Here are a few memorable party ideas on Pinterest that are sure to inspire memorable party fun!

Ever heard the best toy is an empty box? This maze party idea might prove this theory correct! Photo credit Pinterest:

 

Obstacle course for the younger crowd? Done to perfection for these little pirates walking the plank! Photo credit Sweeten Your Day Events:

 

Watching a movie can be memorable with these box car seats! Even better if the seat doubles as the party take home gift. Photo credit Not Just A Housewife:

All parents have a little Peter Pan inside them. Unleash your creativity and enjoy making memorable parties that your kids will always remember.

Kids and keepsakes: How to Preserve What Matters

A project I am determined to tackle before spring is the mountain of baby items we still have in the house.  And not just baby gear –  larger items are easier to part with and can be sold used, passed along to other families, or donated.

No, what I need to tackle now is the enormous amount of clothing and keepsakes we have been storing since they kids were little. At first I kept everything in case we decided to have more kids. It was more practical to save it all to be reused later on, but being past that now puts us in the situation of a giant purge.

Most of the clothing I will be able to let go of without much emotion.  Once the kids get old enough to be actually wearing out clothing, the pieces have far less sentimental value.  Toddler jeans with nearly worn knees don’t pull nearly the heartstrings that an infant sleeper or coming home outfit does.  But of course, there is still a time investment involved in this project – when on earth will I have time to go through and sort the items?  Certainly there are items from each child I will want to save – first outfits, a tiny pair of socks, a few meaningful pieces that were bought while I was expecting, or special gifts.  I will try to use some self control and only save what is really important.

More difficult will be going through some of the random items I have saved from when each of our kids were babies.  I have newspapers from the days they were born, hospital bracelets, cards from family and friends.  I have notes scribbled on tiny pages of memories and milestones.  A small blanket crocheted by an auntie.  And beyond the baby years, I have early art projects, preschool treasures and photos.

What to do? As always, when looking for inspiration from those who have already gone down a path I am facing, I turned to Pinterest.  Imagine my delight to find all kinds of projects to help store keepsakes, sort treasures, and preserve memories.

Here are some of my favourites:

A memory box of quotes to save all those precious things kids say.

Organized kids’ memory boxes to safely hold all that matters each year.

Use binders as kids’ memory books to hold artwork and projects.

Create an email address for each child and use the inbox to send photos, quotes, and memories.

Simply use a dayplanner to record memories for each child to save in chronological order.

Create a love box to save love notes and special memories.

Make a summer box to save summer vacation memories.

Larger, traditional file boxes in bright colours can be used to save awkwardly shaped keepsakes.

If you have a hard time parting with baby clothing or blankets, create a memory quilt or take the items to someone who can make it for you. Then either use it in your child’s room, or save it for them when they grow up.

If a quilt doesn’t appeal, or you love to sew and want to keep creating, try using clothing items for a project like these floor pillows.

Want more inspiration?  Here are 20 memory keeping ideas that will help you preserve photos, records, memories and more.

Products That Changed My Life: the Electric Blanket

Normally, I’m not a fan of taking a regular non-powered everyday object and “reinventing” it so that it now takes electricity and money to use. I think the world needs to be moving the exact opposite direction on that front. Digital picture frames, plug-in air fresheners, automatic paper towel dispensers and electric can openers (if you have arthritis I guess you get a pass on this one). Apparently I’m a total hypocrite though, because my husband bought me an electric blanket two Christmases ago… and I can’t get enough of it. I call it my electric husband.

Not that kind of electric husband. But almost as good.

When I first opened my Sunbeam Electric Fleece Throw, I was a little disappointed and my face must have looked like someone had just given me a digital picture frame. That feeling actually persisted for a while, because although I loved to sit under the electric blanket on the couch watching a movie, it was a hassle to get the blanket out of the closet, unwind the cord, find an outlet, and set it up each time. As a result, I didn’t use it all that much the first winter.

But this winter, I learned to stop worrying and love the blanket. These days I put the electric blanket on my side of the bed in between the sheet and the top blanket and oh mama that’s nice. Going to sleep in the winter used to be an hour-long ordeal every night in which I pulled the blankets over my head and shivered in the fetal position until my meager body heat finally warmed up the space enough for me to fall asleep. The shrieks and kicking from my husband didn’t help matters any. Let me tell you, my electric husband never complains about my popsicle feet.

Turning on the electric blanket for five minutes a night is all it takes to warm up my side of the bed. If I’m feeling particularly indulgent, I turn it on before coming to bed so that it’s already warm when I get there. I’m getting almost an hour more sleep each night just by using a 180W electric blanket for five minutes. My real husband gets more sleep too, because it’s really hard to sneak your icy feet of death onto someone’s warm legs without waking them up.

Me using an electric blanket even allows us to save money on our home heating bill because we can turn the furnace way down at night and I’m warmer than ever. It also does double duty as a heating pad for sore muscles. Best Christmas gift ever, from someone who apparently knew me better than I knew myself. My electric blanket has changed my life (for six months of the year anyway).

 

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And in the category of Products That Changed My Life – Personal Heating division, I’d like to give an honourable mention to: my housecoat. As soon as I get home I put a fluffy bathrobe on over my clothes and magically the incessant complaining about harsh Canadian winters and meager vacation budgets stops. We can keep the house at 18°C for maximum savings and I actually feel comfortable. I do try to keep up appearances by taking off the bathrobe when I answer the doorbell, but there ain’t nothing wrong with a cute housecoat when you’re wearing it over nice clothes with your hair done and makeup on. My husband in his bathrobe is a-okay with that.