Summer has flown by, and the school bells
will be ringing again right around the corner.
As you soak up what remains of this sultry season, finish it off in
style while looking to and preparing for the months ahead.
If your family took any trips since May that
now have your camera’s memory card chalk full, take the time now to turn those
images into memories well kept. It’s a
good idea to transfer the files from the camera to the computer, and then on to
a backup system like an external hard drive. The more often you do this, the
less likely you are to lose your photos due to camera loss or a computer
crash.
Plus, while the details are fresher in your
mind, work on a photo book now using online book making software to have a
professional book of your vacation or summer memories printed. I know the difference between a book I work
on shortly after the images were taken versus a book I try to pull together
much later, and the difference is in the details: captions, dates, and a
storyline come to you much more easily the sooner you get to it.
As school supplies are topping the shopping
list, add a few more items that can take you to the front of the class. Now is a good time to plan for another year
of school keepsakes by buying file boxes, project cases, or archive boxes to
hold artwork, papers, and awards.
Utilize the sales on back-to-school supplies to restock your home office
with the essentials. And if you are
really on the ball, buy additional school supply type items to hold for church
donation projects at Christmas time.
Look into plastic storage containers for
summer gear to keep your garage shelves or attic space tidier as you eventually
put away pool and other outdoor toys.
Consider items you might need to get or replace to transition into the
school year setting more easily, like a gentle alarm clock, study desk lamp,
new printer ink, or a family wall calendar or organizer pin board.
The staples of each cycling season come and
come again, and it’s always nice to be prepared as well as excited by the
renewal. It makes me think of a movie
line I have always loved, spoken by Tom Hanks’ character, Joe Fox, in “You’ve
Got Mail” – “Don’t you love New York in
the fall? It makes me wanna’ buy school
supplies. I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your
name and address.”
DesignInMind column; appeared in the Valley Morning Star August 4th.
