If Cyber Monday was an indication, electronic gifts are huge for this year’s holiday gift lists. Before you buy more computer hardware, computer peripherals, and computer toys, go through what you have and donate it. It’s the green living thing to do. Most comm,unities do not allow you to put computer hardware out with the trash. iolo.com gave me terrific solutions!

Why donate computer stuff?

Donate a computer to a school, church, or non-profit and your accountant may be able to deduct the value from your taxes. The government (U.S.) has incentives for computer donations. Folks at iolo technologies remind you to consider the value of installed software when you estimate the value of your computer.

There’s still a divide in the U.S. between computer-haves and -have nots. Some kids, indeed, some school districts are hard pressed to provide even basic equipment. That isn’t to say they will put antiquated hardware into use. Recipients of your gift may turn oldest equipment over for cash to enhance their programs.

The environment benefits every time we choose to recycle or reuse instead of pitching something into a landfill. We all know computer stuff is dangerous to throw away and will never degrade. I saw an old monitor laying in a roadside ditch out in the country the other day. I’d like to get my hands on the “donor” of that one.

Who to donate the computers to

• If the equipment is less than 3 years old, you can give it directly to an organization since extensive upgrading may not be necessary.
• Three to 5 year-old computers should go to a refurbishing center that can repair and upgrade computers, making them useable.  TechSoup’s searchable list of refurbishing centers is a good resource.
• Computer older than 5 years? Recycle it through TechSoup’s searchable list of recycling centers. (Goodwill and the Salvation Army no longer accept donated computers.)

Call the organization before you take your stuff over to them.

iolo technologies smart tips for computer donations

• Keep the operating system intact - the organization won’t have to spend valuable funds to purchase and license a new operating system.*
• Keep any software installed. This may increase the amount your tax deduction, and help the recipient of your PC - older computers often work best with older software.
• Where possible, include the peripherals and accessories, such as the mouse and keyboard, and include any manuals and CDs that came with the computer.

Last details when donating

It’s critically important that you remove your personal and sensitive data from the computer before you turn it over to anyone else. Reformatting the drive or erasing the data does NOT remove your info. Any novice can recover it unless you dowhat’s called a “wipe” with software like DriveScrubber.

Think outside the computer box and consider donating printers, speakers, storage units, or any other computer accessories you aren’t using. Then go get your new stuff for the holidays and enjoy!

Keep a record of your donations, including original receipts if you have them. Ask the organization you choose for a donation receipt.

iolo is a PC tuneup company, makers of System Mechanic software. They care about our environment. Visit their site for great tips, reviews, and information.

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Get rid of things and people cluttering your life

Need a money-making career? Consider ghost writing

My sister, Bonnie, got all fired up about a new book, actually a series of books, called Eat This Not That. These little books are one sneaky way for you to change your nutrition, and I am not kidding. I bought one of the books in the Eat This Not That series about a month ago and witnessed a miracle.
I bought Eat This Not That! Supermarket Survival Guide: The No-Diet Weight Loss Solution by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding (Paperback - Dec 30, 2008). I spent a couple of hours reading it and found it amusing, informative and motivational. I wanted to go out and do what they recommended. So I did.

At the end of the book, which is a quick reading volume full of lists, bullets and quick tips, there is a one-week menu plan that covers lunches and dinners. It has a shopping list and recipes. Anything that makes one of my chores simpler is high on my list of yes items.

I copied the menu. Did the shopping - spent 30% less than I would generally spend. I followed the menus about 85% for a week. And I made my picky, finicky, nose-turned-up-at-anything-remotely-healthy spouse eat the food. I mean, what choice did he have?

So. He raved about every single meal. There’s the miracle. The menu plan is based on doing a bunch of prepping and cooking on Sunday, then combining planned left overs and fresh ingredients into new dishes all week. We went out to dinner twice during the week - moderate meals, both. He preferred the stuff I was making at home.

End result — he lost a couple of pounds without even being aware of it. I lost three. No sweat, no thinking, no obsessing. We ate great food, spent less money and enjoyed reading the book out loud at lunch each day.

It sneaked up on us and made some little, pleasant adjustments to how we eat. I’m headed out to the store to do yet another week of ideas from this series. My sister has passed the book to me, my son, her daughter and several friends. It’s almost a pandemic. And it’s very cool.

I found a new Internet-based background check service that has potential to save lives, or at the least to prevent some of the problems unsuspecting women encountered constantly on web-based dating services. Finding your soul mate on line is not impossible, but it can be a risky prospect if you’re all on your own. Cathy Taylor’s new product, called SweetheartChecks, offers a way for you to search public records, confidentially, easily, and quite inexpensively. To my mind, this could be an invaluable tool. I talked to Cathy about her product - see what you think.

Cathy Taylor

Can I have a little background, Cathy? Where you’re from, family, and so on.

I was born in Niagara Falls, Ontario Canada and came to California in February 1979. I married in 1985 and had one son, Christopher who is now 22. I raised him as a single mom. I have been an entrepreneur pretty much since I began working in my teens. I run SweetheartChecks as a tool to help women understand they need to be careful when dating. Running a national criminal check is a beginning but doesn

A thistle, symbol of self-protection

Thistle Farm, a manufacturing subsidiary of Magdalene, the awesome residential program for women, is one of my favorite women organizations. Magdalene provides a do-over for women who have encountered serious problems and Thistle Farm provides a unique work environment where women manufacture quality personal care products for women.Terry Mitchell and Caitlin Bradley of Thistle Farm give us insight into working in a hen house - figuratively.

Estrogen on the job - working in an all-women environment

By Terry Mitchell with Caitlin Bradley

Terry sits in a circle of her co-workers, listening to two women discuss the production schedule for the day. She is relocated to a tennis-match-style discussion watching opinions bounce back and forth around her as she turns her head left to right. “Sometimes everybody wants to be the boss instead of the employee,” Terry explains. “Too many captains on the boat!”

Terry is in the unique position of working at a company that is run and staffed by women only. Thistle Farms is a non-profit business operated by the women of Magdalene, a two-year residential community for women with a history of prostitution and drug addiction. By hand, the women create natural bath and body products that are as kind to the environment as they are to the body. All proceeds support the program.

Terry finds that working with women allows for more laughter throughout the workday. “We can all relate to each other and more importantly, for the most part, we all enjoy each other.” With a relaxed boss (often seen entertaining by dancing to hip hop), Terry boasts that Thistle Farms has a comfortable work environment. In rare high stress situations, laughter proves to be helpful.

You might think working with all women means not having to think about what you wear to work. However, Terry puts her best effort into getting ready each day, regardless of who’s there. “I’m not trying to impress anyone, but I want to feel proud of how I look.” This is a central theme as we manufacture our bath and body products at Thistle Farms. We all make each product with the belief that love heals, and it is, therefore, critical to care for yourself.

Of course, there are some downfalls to working around a bunch of estrogen. Stereotypically or not, when a few women are on the same cycle, stress and mood swings can be high. But women working together have the unique opportunity to actually talk about their emotions. Women here can say what they’re feeling, rather than hide it. We try not to rely on the “excuse of PMS.”

Talking about personal feelings is not only accepted, it’s encouraged at Thistle Farms. Terry enjoys putting herself out there as a safe haven for co-workers to express their personal problems, “I’m a shoulder or an ear when they need it.” Terry says this open spirit of conversation can lead to complaining. but that’s something she can accept.

Terry has worked with Thistle Farms for almost five years. Always surrounded by other women, with everyone feeling and processing their own stuff and own emotions, she has learned a valuable life lesson: “People can create their own confusion, but I don’t let anything bother me. I just give it up to God and let it be.”

A family business produces awesome products for babies and big people

You see Badger healthy body care in stores and boutiques everywhere. Badger Balms, made with what you can tell are pure essential aromatherapy plant oils feel, in a word, good. The home-based company began simply and has expanded to make babies feel good, too.

Katie Schwerin and her family began an entrepreneurial endeavor in their kitchen, 1995. It