The Best of Times: Best Times to Do Things

We're all trying to get things done faster and cheaper these days. I was thinking about this, and wondering if there are standard better times than other to do regular tasks. I did a little research, and here are some ideas to make your life more efficient.

Best Time to Buy Gas
Studies show that the best time to fill up is mid-week (Tuesday through Thursday) mornings before 10 a.m. Why? Most people buy gas from Friday through Monday, so station managers follow the supply and demand principle, and raise their rates then. They also change their prices around 10 a.m. each morning.

Best Time to Buy Airline Tickets
Travel writer Peter Greenberg says that the best time to purchase airline tickets online is Tuesday night/Wednesday morning between 12:01 a.m. and dawn. Airlines often raise rates on Friday nights, and ticket price wars occur over the weekend through Monday. By the time Tuesday night comes around, the bidding wars and competition have lowered ticket prices, just in time to sell them and start the Friday cycle all over again. If you can stay up late or get up early, here's your chance!

Best Time to Go to the Post Office
Experts agree that the best time to go to your post office in about a half hour after they open. You will miss the early-morning people, and avoid the lunchtime rush. If your post office opens too late to get there on your way to work, consider using another post office near your home or near your office.

Best Time to Call Customer Service
Research shows that the best time to call company call centers is during workday hours, around 9:30 or 10 a.m. Even 24-hour services have more staff during regular working hours, so chances are better of getting a good agent or talking to a manager. Don't call them right at 8:30 or 9 a.m., though, they need a chance to get set up, answer messages from the day before, and get their coffee, too! And avoid Monday mornings, if possible.

Best Time to Wash Your Car
Auto detailing experts say the best time to wash your car is at sunset. The key is not to let the sun dry your car before you do. Wiping it dry with a cloth reduces the water droplet marks. Parking in the shade also helps.

Best Time to Buy Shoes
Have you ever bought a pair of shoes, just to find they didn't fit the next time you tried to wear them? This is why the best time to buy shoes is late afternoon/early evening, after you've been on your feet most of the day. You should try on shoes while your feet are a little swollen, so the shoes will fit you when you wear them next.

Pack It Faster and Easier

As we enter vacation season, I thought I'd propose some tips to make packing easier.

1. Make a list of items to pack about a week before you have to pack. As you do laundry, put the clothes you want to take in your bag, to avoid the last-minute laundry rush. If you go on the same or similar vacations every year, consider writing or typing a master packing list. For example, if you go to the beach for a week each summer, make a list of items such as "4 pairs of pants, 2 pairs of shorts, toiletries bag, camera, sun block," etc. You don't need to be specific, but be comprehensive.

2. Keep a great toiletries bag or Dopp kit. Instead of running around gathering supplies at the 11th hour, keep a small toiletries bag year-round. Check it a few weeks before traveling to see if anything expired. Most drug stores and supermarkets have travel-size toiletries, but visit Bed Bath & Beyond for a great selection. To find your absolutely favorite soap or shampoo in a travel size, try www.minimus.biz. If your toiletries bag is overflowing, consider removing anything you hardly use, anything that a hotel may provide, or anything you can easily buy in the hotel shop or drug store when you get there.

3. If you're flying, check the restrictions in advance. The airline rules for liquids change often, and airlines have their own size limits for carry-on bags. A few weeks before your trip, visit your airline's website for baggage guidelines. Most airlines request that you keep your liquid toiletries in bottles/tubes three ounces or less, and that they all fit together in a one-quart (sandwich-sized) plastic zip-top bag.

4. Bring extra plastic shopping bags. They are great for dirty clothes, shoes, wet swimsuits, food, etc.

5. Put heavier items at the bottom of the suitcase. Put shoes and your toiletries towards the bottom-where the wheels are on rolling cases-so the suitcase isn't top-heavy when transporting.

6. If you're traveling for more than a week, don't be afraid to plan to wear things twice. Skimp on packing extras of items you can wear twice, like pants, sweaters, shoes, etc. Don't skimp on underwear, socks, and undershirts. Pack basics that can be mixed-and-matched. Remember that most people who see you when you travel will not see you twice. Plus, unless you're going somewhere like the Hamptons, not many people will remember what you wear anyway. (Sorry!)

My mother and I went to Italy for a week with only two small carryon duffle bags. When everyone else was waiting at baggage claim and lugging big suitcases through the airport, we were onto our destination quickly and easily. We had more than enough to wear, and nobody was the wiser!

What do I do with all this stuff?

Sometimes the most frustrating part of an organizing project is getting rid of all of the clutter at the end. When I do a professional organizing project for a client, I take the client's stuff with me at the end of the appointment. But if you are looking to get rid of your clutter now, here are some ideas.

Donate to thrift shops. This area boasts hundreds of thrift shops, including Goodwill, the Salvation Army, and shops in churches and hospitals. Many shops will give you a receipt for donations, so you can deduct them on your taxes, but call ahead first to check their donation hours. Although the thrift shop will give you a receipt, you will have to estimate the fair market values
yourself. The Salvation Army provides a good value estimation guide online at http://www.satruck.com/ValueGuide.asp. It is also helpful to browse the thrift shop racks to see how
they price items. Before you donate the items, I recommend writing or typing a list of donated items and estimated values. When you receive the donation receipt, staple your list to it and keep them both in your tax file. You'll be surprised how it adds up!

Donate books to the library. If you have a lot of books to give away, try your local library. You can find a list of libraries that have book sales on the Delaware County Library System's website
at http://www.delcolibraries.org/LibraryInformation_BookSales.htm. Many have ongoing book sales and accept donations year-round. They don't accept everything, though--so give your old encyclopedias and National Geographics to someone else!

Recycle hazardous waste. The County of Delaware hosts hazardous waste recycling events four times a year at various locations around the county. For dates, locations, and instructions, see their
website at http://www.co.delaware.pa.us/recycle/hhw.html, or call 610-892-9627. They accept computer and portable televisions twice a year. If you need to get rid of a computer now, call your
local Goodwill store to ask if they accept computer donations. If they don't, Staples and Office Depot recycle computers for a fee.

Donate your Christmas cards to St. Jude's. Ever wonder what to do with all of those holiday cards you get every year? They're so beautiful, it's a shame just to throw them out. Well, St. Jude's
Ranch, a campus for children rescued from abuse, collects the fronts of all kinds of cards to use for craft projects. The children construct new cards using the old fronts, then sell packets of their new, hand-made cards to raise funds for the ranch. For details, see their website at http://www.stjudesranch.org/give/Recycled_Cards.php, or mail to "St. Jude's Card Recycling, 100 St. Jude Street, P.O. Box 60100, Boulder City, NV 89006."

If you think some of your items may be valuable, consider calling an appraiser, an auction house, a used book store, a record/CD trader, a comic book/baseball card store, or selling them on ebay
or Craigs List. The old saying goes "time is money," and I'd like to add that "you need to spend time to make money." Selling on ebay and in live auctions are often not as lucrative as they seem. Be honest with yourself, and really consider how much time you have before launching into another
project.

Press Release: E-newsletter

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Newsletters include organizing tips, how-to guides, special offers, and reminders such as upcoming free recycling events and postage increases.
"People have told me that these emails were the springboard they needed to start getting their homes organized," says Sara Long, of Sara Long Organizing in Brookhaven, PA. "My goal is to send useful information to people in a very convenient and paper-free way, to make people's lives easier one step at a time."

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Reduce Junk Mail

You're trying to reduce, reuse, and recycle, but every day your mailbox is full of paper, most of it junk. Marketers call it "direct mail," but all that unwanted mail is clogging your mailbox, cluttering your home, choking the environment, and threatening the safety of your identity. Although you can't escape mail altogether, here are some tips on how to reduce the junk.

1. Remove your name from Direct Marketing Association (DMA) mailing lists. Go to www.dmachoice.org and click on "Remove My Name From Those Lists." They will send you a verification email, and they will need a credit card (which will not be charged) for identity verification. You can also verify by mail for a $1 charge. DMA allows you to remove yourself from all lists, or select catalogs and companies individually.

2. Remove your name from pre-screened credit offers. To reduce all of those credit card offers, go to www.optoutprescreen.com or call 1-888-5-Opt-Out (1-888-567-8688). This is a free service offered by the major credit bureaus. You can opt-out electronically for five years, or forever by mail.

3. Try to buy over the phone instead of online. At the end of the call, ask the sales representative not to send you any catalogs, to keep you off of their mailing list, and not to sell or trade your name. Most reputable stores have codes in their computer systems for these requests. Sign up for coupons by email instead, if you prefer.

4. When you buy something online, read the terms of agreement and privacy policy. I know, they're really long and boring, but they may have insights into what you can do to keep your name off of mailing lists. Many online order forms have checkboxes to opt-in to their mailing lists. Often the checkbox is already checked, and you have to know to uncheck it if you want to be
excluded from their list.

5. If all else fails, call the company. When you get unwanted junk mail, put it in a pile or envelope labeled "Remove from Lists." Set aside an hour a month to call them and ask them not to send you any more mail and not to sell or trade your name. Mark the date you called on the mail, and refer back to it if you receive a lot more mail from them. Remember, large mailings with your name may already be in process when you call, so it can take up to two months for you to stop receiving mail from companies.

Major life changes like moving or name changes open you up for more junk mail, because it changes the basic information registered with these agencies. If you move or change your name, remember to re-register.