How NOT to Cut People Off

This is a trick that I learned when I was 15 years old and sitting in a Driver's Education class. However, since this trick has never failed me, I will share it with you. Too often on my daily commute down I-95 I see a LOT of people driving like morons. I cannot claim to be a perfect driver, but I can tell that that in all three accidents I have been in, ZERO have been my fault (based on my own assessment as well as the police reports!). Why is this? It's because between my Driver's Ed teacher and my dad, I had some seriously good training.

The tip I am sharing today is via the teacher though, and it has never failed in allowing me to pass someone safely and pull in front of them without cutting them off.

Why am I offering this tip? I'm not saying that YOU readers are these morons that like to zip in and out of speeding traffic like you're invincible, but in case you know anyone who does, you can share this tip with them and keep me from having to hit my brakes on the interstate because someone cut me off and I'm not comfortable traveling 80 mph just a mere 5 feet from their bumper.

If you are sitting in your driver's seat and leaning back in the seat, your rearview mirror should allow you to see straight out of the back of your car (not pointing at the carseat in the back although I admittedly do this at times and use the second reflection for my traffic cues). When you actually pass someone, of course you should always check both your side mirrors as well as your rearview...AND look over the appropriate shoulder to check the blindspot in case someone has snuck in.

Anyway...here's the real tip...once you pass the car in question, wait until you can see BOTH of their headlights in your rearview mirror while still leaning against the back of the driver's seat. If you lean forward to try to get this into view, you're cheating and likely to still cut them off. If you wait until you can sit comfortably and still see both lights in your mirror, you can pull back in front of them without worrying about being too close for their comfort.

slowpoke

Now...let's see if my drive home today is any less stressful. =)

Now you know what Works for Me and keeps me out of accidents (that I can prevent at least). Go check out We Are THAT Family and see what works for everyone else!

Scanning Magazine Articles

It is not unusual for me to find a recipe, article, craft project, or random point of interest in a magazine that I deem worth holding onto. So I keep a magazine with the sole purpose of using that information I loved so much one day--maybe one day in particular like our son's next birthday party, or just some day. However, that day approaches and I cannot, for the life of me, remember which one of the 60 magazines in our magazine basket that it is located in, and frankly, get tired of searching (usually) before I have actually FOUND the item I am looking for.

Then I discovered that I was brilliant. =)

It started off as a means to preserve some good information in All You magazine, but still get my hands on the high-dollar coupons that can be found in that particular publication. I simply scanned the recipe or tip or craft idea, cropped it like any photo, and saved it as a file name that I could remember. For instance--"All You-Chocolate Chip Cookies.jpg". That's a recipe that I thought looked yummy and worth trying. I was then able to grab the coupon that was on the other side of that page without compromising the recipe.
Then I realized that I should do this for all of the tidbits that I find in magazines that I want to keep! I have them all stored in a magazine folder, as I always remember that I was looking in a magazine when I discovered the tip or idea in question. I know everything in that folder was decidedly "useful" when I saw it and therefore, I don't have to flip through a lot of useless info to find it.
Also...I have more storage space for files on my computer than I have room in our house for magazines. This will allow you to recycle you old magazines (or donate them to doctor's offices or libraries) and get them out of your house while keeping all of the great stuff that you found that you could use!
That's just a little tip that Works for Me. If you want to see what works for everyone else, head over to We Are THAT Family to check out everyone else's tips for Works for Me Wednesday.

Organizing Toys

So I did this post not so long ago, but I haven't included it in the Works for Me Wednesdays hosted over at We Are THAT Family, so I am linking to it now. Toy organization truly works to keep the house clean (at least at the end of the day), teach my son organization/responsibility, and maintain my personal sanity. =)

Hope it can work for you too! Take a trip on over to the actual post so you can try it out for yourself!