How to make returns easy

The best way to make returns easy is to not have them in the first place. Don't ever buy anything just because it's on sale (you probably won't be able to return it, anyway), without knowing where it will live in your home, or if you don't need it or love it.

However, sometimes returns are unavoidable, and a lot of the time people lose their money, their space and their mental energy on returns that never get made. Here's how to make them happen.

Keep your receipts in one central location.  Once you have decided to return an item, locate the receipt for it and place the receipt and the item in a (reusable) bag. Place the bag in the area of your home where you keep items that are leaving (library books, mail, etc.). The next time you will be in the vicinity of the store in question, grab the bag, place it your car (or take it with you if you use public transportation), and enter a reminder in your to-do list or calendar to make the return. (Using Apple's Reminders app on your iOS5 iPhone, you can even program the address in and when you arrive, you'll get pinged.) If the return is to a store you are rarely near, take note of the window you have for returns (usually found on the front or back of the receipt) and schedule a time to get there before the window is up. It's not a bad idea to mark in your calendar the last day to return the item anyway, as time can get away from us.

More tips:

• Take note of the payment method and make sure you have the card you used to make the purchase on you when you go to return, or you may have to take store credit.
• Try to pair the return with another errands at the same store or in the area so you don't have to make a special trip.
• Avoid making returns without a receipt. The process will take longer at the store, you may not get the full value of the return,and you will probably only get store credit.
• If you do accept store credit instead of cash or charge back on your card, try to use it right then so you don't have to make an extra trip to get your money's worth.

Do you have any other tips for making returns easy?

Creative Commons photo posted to Flickr by John Bell

Apple apps

Apple's App Store recently announced it had its 25 billionth app download.  According to Apple, there are over 500,000 apps in the App Store. Besides the obvious apps that help iPhone and iPad users use frequently accessed sites like Facebook, Netflix and Pandora, how does one figure out which of those 500,000 apps are going to be useful and worth the time to learn them or the money to download them?

No person can be an total app expert, so I try to get recommendations from trusted associates when I'm looking for an app to meet a specific need. When that fails, I do a search for recommendations, and can usually narrow down the field by looking at a couple of review posts on reputable blogs like CNET or Lifehacker.

Evernote's app.

So...in that vein, here are a few apps that I can recommend from personal experience using them on my iPad:

• Evernote: This is probably an obvious choice, but the iPad interface works great, and I use it every day for all my lists.
• Yelp: I like this app because it uses your location to give you reviews and information for businesses of all types that are in the area where you are, and it even tells you if they are currently open or closed.
• TurboScan: A simple, inexpensive scanning app that actually works. Don't expect the scan quality to be as high as if you were using your ScanSnap, but it's good for scanning on the fly.
• LA Times: The Los Angeles Times has just started a membership program where they are charging for online access to the paper. However, for the time being, mobile devices will still be able to access the site for free. So, if you don't want to pay for a membership, grab the app and read it on your iPad. The usability is great, too.

Software updates

How often do you download and install software updates on your computer? Most operating systems make it easy as clicking a button to set this process in motion, and they will remind you when critical updates are needed. Some software has to be manually updated. But if you are using a computer, you need to do the software updates. Don't think of it as optional. This is mandatory maintenance.

I find people are resistant to updating for one or more of a few reasons: they think it will take too long, they don't think it's necessary for their programs to run, or they are afraid that updating will do some harm to their program or their computer. In general, software updates are essential for keeping a machine running efficiently, and any time spent downloading and installing updates (which can usually be done in the background while you work on other things) is minuscule compared to the time you may spend if you find yourself losing speed and functionality by using outdated software.

So get in the habit if clicking Yes! when asked if you would like to perform software updates now. Update early, and update often.

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How to make folders on your iPad

My mother is in town and, as usual, she's still teaching me things. We have matching white iPads, and she noticed I didn't have any folders organizing my apps on my home screen. I had never seen folders, and she showed me how to create them.

Tap and hold an app until they are all wiggling (this I knew how to do--it makes it possible to delete and move around your apps). Drag an app on top of another app. This will create a folder. The iPad (magical device that it is) will examine the apps you are putting together and recommend a name for the folder. In two out of three cases, it recommended the exact name I wanted to use. Amazing! You can rename the folder, however, right then, if you choose. Then you can drag other apps into the folder as desired. I made a News folder, a Reading folder and an Entertainment folder. My mom, wonder that she is, has one called Productivity. Just hit the home button at the bottom of your iPad to make the wiggling stop.

The advantage to doing this is it makes all apps of a certain type available at a glance and it allows less frequently used apps to take up less screen real estate. One caveat: some of the permanent apps, like Newsstand, don't allow you to add them to a folder. Not sure why.

Thanks, Mom!

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Things I love about Apple

Things I love about Apple products:

• They boot up quickly
• They look nice
• Hard drives are easy to navigate
• The way things look on screens is beautiful
• There's less after-market software and hardware, so to find products and solutions you don't have to wade through a million similar products
• Buying products from the Apple store is generally a satisfying experience: lots of helpful people who want to get you into the right product and will find the answer to any question you might have, and I love that you can buy from anyone anywhere in the store
• Apple programs I like: Pages, Numbers, Bento, iCal, Preview, Stickies

Things I don't love about Apple products:

• Their mice are not robust. I use a Microsoft mouse with a hearty scroll wheel.
• Apple programs I don't like: iPhoto, iTunes, iMovie
• That's all I can think of...

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Shortcuts

If you are on your computer a lot (and who among us isn't?) you can use keyboard and mouse shortcuts to streamline repetitive tasks and save yourself a few seconds here or there. These conveniences really add up to time and energy saved.

There are lots and lots of these, plus ones you can customize for yourself. Here are the ones I use most frequently on my Mac:

• Middle mouse button: click on a link and it opens in a new tab. Click the tab and it closes. Huge timesaver! (If you do not have an external mouse or a mouse with three buttons, get one immediately.)
• Command L: selects whatever is in your url bar. I use this in combination with copy (command c)  and paste (command v) all the time.
• Command R: refreshes the browser page you are on, much easier than getting your mouse up the refresh button on the toolbar.
• Command M: minimizes your browser window. If I have a lot of open windows, this one saves me from having to click in the little x at the top left.
• Command S: always a good one when you are in a word processing document. Even though most programs automatically save frequently now, you can avoid trouble by assiduously saving your work.
• Command Z: undo! This is one of the most important shortcuts there is, and it works in a variety of situations. I love using it when I'm composing an email in Gmail. It also astounds me how many people are not aware of it! Learn it, use it, love it. 

Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com

Reviewed: Bento

Bento is a Mac-only program from the makers of FileMaker. It's marketed as a organizational tool and I have been using it for the past two months for financial tracking and also to organize the guest list for my wedding. 

In simplest terms, it is a user-friendly spreadsheet program that trades the sophisticated functionality of Excel for prettier graphics, ease of use and wonderful integration with other Mac programs like Address Book and iPhoto. You can also export easily to Excel or Numbers if you need to create more complicated formulas than simple sums or counts.

I like Bento because it is easy to start using. In layout, it reminds one of iTunes at first, as you can create libraries and collections of data and the search feature in the upper right hand corner is similar. You can quickly start making a table full of data, and then switch to the form view, which allows you to create a card for each piece of data, called a record, which is really useful for seeing if a certain guest is also attending the rehearsal dinner and being able to see a picture of them so the groom can practice name/face recognition.

The applications for the program are not unlimited. Within the form view there are many preprogramed themes you can choose from, but you can't change the font color, for instance. However, I think Bento is a good program for fairly-savvy Mac users who want an alternative way to keep records or aid in event planning that's friendly and intuitive.

 Lelah Baker-Rabe is a Los Angeles-based professional organizer. To discuss your organizing needs, call her at 818.269.6671 or email lelah@lelahwithanh.com