Quick information on the go with text messaging

Contrary to popular belief, text messaging isn't just for teenagers. Believe it or not, it's a great way to get quick information. I often use it throughout the day to stay in touch with my husband while he's at work. He's frequently in meetings or otherwise unavailable for a conversation. Rather than leave multiple messages for him, I simply send him a text such as "should I get a babysitter for Friday?". Regardless of whether he's on the phone or in a meeting, he's able to send me a quick reply. It saves both of us time and helps us stay connected throughout the day.

Google is another great source for text information. Most of us use Google online to get quick information like business phone numbers, movie showtimes, directions, weather and misc. information. What you may not know is that you can get all that information on your phone as well. Why pay $2 for every 411 call when you can get it from Google for free? Simply send a text message of your question to 466453 ('GOOGLE' on most devices). Generally within about 5 seconds Google will text you back with the info you requested. For example, if I want to know what time the movie 'Catch and Release' is playing at my local movie theatre I text 'catch and release 66062' to Google. After a few seconds, I get three text messages back listing the showtimes of that particular movie in each of my three local theatres (as well as their addresses and phone numbers). For samples of what types of questions you can ask and how to format them, click this link http://www.google.com/intl/en_us/mobile/sms/. I think you'll be amazed how much information is right at your fingertips.

Most cell phone plans include at least a certain number of free text messages. If you've never used it, you should check your plan and try it out. I've found it texting incredibly helpful and efficient. Anything that saves me time, keeps me connected, and doesn't cost me a dime is a keeper in my book. Just thought I'd pass it on.

Keep your car cleaner with this under-the-seat solution

To survive as a parent, you have to be able to multi-task. Unfortunately, your car does as well. All too often my kids end up finishing their breakfast on the way to school, eating lunch on the way to soccer or munching a snack on the way to church.

To help my car survive the many mini-meals, I came up with this easy solution. I removed the label from an empty Crystal Light tube and stuffed it full of plastic grocery sacks. Whenever I start to see the mess accumulating or when I'm getting gas and have a trash can handy, I just reach under the driver's seat and grab a sack from the tube. I pass it back to the kids and they dig around the car for any potential trash. The tube can hold around 10 sacks, so I rarely have to worry about refilling it. As a bonus, they also come in handy for stops at the mailbox and trips home from the pool in the summer.

To help prevent the tube from rolling around, I made another tube for napkins/paper towels and used two large rubber bands to hold them together. The rubber bands grip the carpet a little and help keep the tubes right under my seat. I'm sure there are tons of other ways you could use them as well, loose change, coloring pages & crayons, wet wipes, etc. It's a simple, free, solution that has tons of potential. Just thought I'd pass it on.

Keep your ornaments safe with this simple foam solution

First off, I wanted to let you know that the Santa Sacks were a huge hit. I've never had such a smooth Christmas Eve. They will definitely stay on my list of Christmas time-savers.

I'm sure most of you have already taken your tree down and tucked all your ornaments away. However, if there are a few slackers out there, like myself, that have delayed the massive Christmas clean-up…this tip's for you.

After a basement flood several years ago, I learned the hard way that it was worth the investment to keep all my long-term storage is in large, stackable, plastic bins. Most of my Christmas décor could fit easily into these inexpensive containers, but my ornaments presented a problem. They were too delicate to be thrown into a bin with the other Christmas decorations. I didn't have the time or patience to wrap each one in paper so I came up with this cheap solution.

First, I purchased a twin size egg crate foam mattress pad at Wal-Mart for around $15. Next, I used the lid of my container as a guide and cut the pad with a large pair of scissors. The end result was 6 squares of foam, custom cut to fit my ornament container. I placed one piece of foam (egg side up) on the bottom of the container and placed my least fragile ornaments randomly on the pad. I placed another sheet of padding on top of those ornaments and then added my next layer of ornaments, continuing to layer until I reached the top. My most fragile ornaments go on the final layer. They are sandwiched between two pieces of padding (egg sides in) and then covered with our tree skirt for added cushioning. Lastly, I snap the lid on and add the box to my stack.

I have a label on each container to help me know which box is which. That way, when I haul everything to the basement, I can remember put the ornament box on the top of the stack.

I've used these pads for over 5 years now. The ornaments have survived 3 moves and 5 trips in and out of the basement. That makes them a keeper in my book. Just thought I'd pass it on.