First of all, today is Blog Action Day 2011, an annual event that unites the world’s bloggers in posting about the same issue on the same day. Since For Blog Action Day 2011 coincides with World Food Day, participants have been invited to talk about food. This is a topic that affects each and every one of us, since we all rely on food to stay alive, but since I am by no means qualified to discuss world hunger or other global issues, I’ve decided to think local.

Over the last few years, I’ve become increasingly aware of the advantages of buying and eating food that is grown locally. These benefits include:

1. Eliminating the need for long-distance transportation means less impact on the environment.
2. Because food is transported shorter distances, it’s fresher when  you buy it, so it not only tastes better, but won’t spoil before you get around to eating it.
3. You support your local economy.
4. If you shop at farmers’ markets or other small businesses, you get to talk to the people who actually produce the food you eat. It hasn’t gone from the farm to a warehouse to a factory to a distribution centre to a retail outlet (and I’m sure I left out a few steps!). I have a friend who said he likes the market, but finds the prices too high. Seriously? He should see the big bags of fresh produce I bring home for not much more than I’d spend at the grocery store for food that isn’t nearly as good. Plus, the vendors know me and often give me a deal or an extra zucchini or tomato. Does your supermarket do that?

Those are my reasons. If you need more, you can download 10 Reasons to Eat Local Food from Life Begins at 30, or watch this video:

It can be a real challenge to eat local when you live in a region with a fairly short growing season, but that’s no reason not to make an effort to do so as much as possible. Foodland Ontario has a great chart on their website to help you find out what’s in season. If you don’t live in Ontario, you can probably find something similar for your area. Plan your meals around those foods. If you have the time, the inclination, and the storage space, consider freezing or canning your favourites so you can enjoy them throughout the year.

But don’t just stick to your favourites – try something new, even if you didn’t like it in the past. Our tastes change as we mature, and you might even find that eating food when it’s really fresh makes a big difference.

And eating local isn’t just about fruits and vegetables! All the same benefits apply when you buy meat, eggs, dairy and other products that are produced locally.

Are you committed to eating local food? Where do you get yours?

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Eat Local.

Of course, I know it’s not a real award, not like the Thomas Leonard International Virtual Assistant of Distinction Award I was nominated for in 2009. It’s really just a meme, but memes can be fun, so I’m happy to have an excuse to use one in my blog, and thank Erika for thinking of me.

There are four simple rules for The Versatile Blogger Award:

1. Post a link to the person who gave you the award.
2. Tell your readers seven random things about yourself.
3. Award 15 newly discovered blogs.
4. Send them a note letting them know you nominated them.

So, here are seven random facts about me:

1. I won second prize in the Discover Mississauga Photo Contest several years ago for this interior shot of Mississauga City Hall.
   
   (This is a photo of the photo, through the glass of the frame, so doesn’t really do it justice.)
2. I usually carry the same purse for months, and sometimes don’t even switch with the change in seasons, but I love shopping for purses. Shoes, not so much.
3. I love to play trivia games and am pretty good at them too.
4. I was a matched Big Sister for many years, and am still friends with my Little Sister, who is now all grown up and recently gave birth to a beautiful baby boy.
5. I have signed up for Google+, but haven’t yet figured out what, if anything, I will do there.
6. I was into Reduce-Reuse-Recycle before it was even a trend.
7. I make my own granola.

And here are the 15 blogs I’m nominating for the Versatile Blogger Award, in alphabetical order:

1. LinkedLearning by Margarita Ibbott: Help with using LinkedIn and other social media.
2. Daily Blogging Ideas by Michelle Shaeffer: Wonderful inspiration for both personal and business blogs.
3. Fabulous After 40 by Deborah Boland and JoJami Tyler: Fashion advice for those of us who aren’t as young as we used to be.
4. Garious Blog – Up to date information about social media.
5. Grow with Stacy: Tips for personal development, as well as blogging and social media.
6. The Lady Bloggers Society headed by Stepfanie Cuevas: Once a week they hold a Lady Blogger Social Tea Party to give readers a chance to share their blog posts – a great way to connect with other bloggers!
7. Marian Schembari: More goodies on social media and blogging.
8. MS Outlook for Business: Valuable tips for using email and discovering features of Outlook you never knew existed.
9. The Other Side of Organized by Linda Samuels: Explores the emotions connected with making changes in your life.
10. Site Sketch 101 by Nicholas Cardot: A wealth of information about blogging.
11. Solo-E.com by Terri Zwierzynski: Articles on all aspects of running a small business, including marketing, productivity and more.
12. Sunday Stealing hosted by Judd Corizan: A great place to find out about different blog memes of all types.
13. Teatime with Tina by Tina Chase: All about food and cooking.
14. Virtually Yours by Joanne Burgess: Fabulous tips about social media and small business topics.
15. WordPress Jedi: Information about WordPress themes, plugins, and security issues, as well as SEO and social media tips.

If you enjoyed this post, why not nominate yourself for a Versatile Blogger Award? If you do, please leave a link to your post in the Comments, so we can learn more about you and the blogs you read.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on The Versatile Blogger Award.

It used to be that when you replaced a car with no trade-in value, you could either try and find someone willing to buy it, or pay a wrecker to come and haul it away. It’s great to know that there is now an option that offers both environmental and charitable benefits.

Giveacar is a UK-based social enterprise which organizes the collection and recycling of unwanted cars, with the proceeds of each vehicle going to charity. They work with scrapyards and salvage operators to ensure cars are sold for their maximum value – thus providing the maximum donation to charity. The program was inspired by a similar program in the United States, called Charitycar.

ProfessionalOrganizers.com maintains a list of Canadian charities who accept vehicle donations.

If you know of other organizations of this type, please give them a shout-out in the Comments section!

Photo: beachgirlnbay

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Find a New Home for That Old Car.

Here’s what I look for in a pen:

1. Blue ink. I don’t know why, but my handwriting always seems to look neater when I write in blue.
2. A nice thick barrel. I find that with a slender pen, I have to grip it too hard and end up with a sore hand. That’s not as big an issue now that so much of what I write is on the computer, but it’s still important to me.
3. Ballpoint as opposed to a gel pen or rollerball. The latter are great for normal writing, but don’t seem to work well when you’re writing cheques or other forms where a duplicate is made.
4. Retractable. I don’t want to bother fussing with a cap or worrying that it might fall off in my purse and leave ink marks all over everything.

It’s surprisingly hard to find that combination of characteristics, so when I find a pen I like, I generally buy a bunch. My current favourite has all of the above – plus a touch of green!

Paper Mate has developed a pen with components made from corn-based material that will biodegrade in about a year in your garden or composter. It costs a bit more than other pens, but I’m happy to pay the extra, knowing that I’m helping the earth even a little.

If you’re looking for a pen that writes in black or red, you’re in luck, because it’s available in those colours too. The line has also been expanded to include mechanical pencils as well as a dispenser for leads and eraser refills.

My only complaint is that the disposal instructions are not published on their website. By the time I used up my first pen, I’d thrown away the packaging, so I didn’t find the phrase “See disassembly instructions on packaging” to be terribly helpful. Fortunately, I found downloadable disassembly instructions on the website for Satex Distributors, an Australian distributor, so I was able to do what I had to do.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Papermate Produces My Perfect Pen.

At the same time, I would create an invoice in Excel, save it as a PDF, and email it to my client, who would then send me a cheque or pay by PayPal. In some cases, the client would email to ask how to make a payment using PayPal, generating yet another step. If I knew ahead of time that the client preferred to pay by PayPal, I could use the PayPal invoicing tool, but then I didn’t have the option of including my business logo on the invoice.

Once Scott assumed responsibility for these tasks, the burden shifted to him. He tried using PayPal’s Payment Request Wizard for Outlook, but found that it didn’t really eliminate any steps, it just changed what the steps were. For myself, although I was freed from doing the work, I no longer had easy access to the information when I needed it.

Fortunately, I learned about some free online resources that have simplified both of these functions, and they just might work well for your business too.

EchoSign

EchoSign is a secure online signature service that makes things a little easier at our end, and a whole lot easier for our clients. We still create our agreements in Word and save them as PDFs, but after that, the entire process is automated.

When we upload the PDF to Echosign and enter the client’s email address, a copy is sent to him or her. Once they’ve reviewed it, they only need to click to indicate their acceptance, and a copy of the “signed” agreement is emailed to us. It’s that easy!

The only drawback is that the email shows as coming from echosign.com and not from us, and is occasionally blocked by our client’s spam filter, but it hasn’t been a big problem.

We’ve been using the free version for over a year, which allows for up to five signatures per month, but if at some point it no longer meets our needs, we will happily upgrade to the paid version, because it works so well. In addition to unlimited signatures, the four premium versions offer a variety of additional features to meet the needs of small business through to global enterprises. It can even be integrated with other applications, including Google Apps, Salesforce, and eFax, for even further streamlining.

Billing Boss

If EchoSign is the best thing since sliced bread, then Billing Boss is the best thing since… bread. It is exactly the tool I’ve been looking for since day one.

With Billing Boss, you simply upload your logo and enter your business information, and you’re ready to start sending invoices. There are only eight styles to choose from, but some are quite basic, so with the addition of your own logo, it’s not hard to find one that’s suitable.

You can either import your client list or enter the information as needed. It will then be stored within the application for future use.

Select the client, enter your invoice details, and send it by email. If you accept PayPal, there will be a space on the client’s copy where they can click to make a payment. Other online payment methods may be added with an optional upgrade. Mobile payment processing is another optional upgrade that would be useful for professionals who don’t always work from their office.

By using the system to track when you receive payments, you can see at any given time which invoices are outstanding or overdue, and generate reports to track your income. Because the invoices are all stored within your account, you can easily resend an invoice if the client needs another copy, either for payment or for year-end tax purposes.

You can also give read-only access to your bookkeeper or accountant, eliminating the need to hand over printed copies.

I am just thrilled at the ways these tools have streamlined our operations. In an ideal world, we could integrate the two processes, but who knows… that day may come!

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on How to Streamline Operations without Breaking the Bank.

There were cards in the room that explained how much energy is consumed when towels and bedding are washed every day and outlined the procedure to follow if you wish to reuse these items. Since I was only staying one night, it wasn’t relevant to my stay, but I was happy to see it none the less.

Our room was equipped with china coffee mugs and real glassware, which is much more pleasant to use than disposables, in addition to reducing waste.

When we checked in, the climate control in our room was set to Fan Only, and we had the ability to adjust the settings and even to turn it off and open the window. They even used energy-saving light bulbs!

Overall, I felt it was a good reflection of the company’s stated policy and satisfied my personal environmental concerns as well.

It was a marked contrast to my stay at a different location of that same hotel a few weeks earlier. Upon arrival, I noticed a poster in the lobby stating that the hotel had implemented green initiatives, but I can only hope that the owner-operator of that location is purchasing carbon offsets, because that poster was the only indication of eco-awareness that I saw.

There was nothing in the rooms to indicate how to request that the maid leave your sheets and towels in place for you to reuse, or even to suggest that this was an option. The room was equipped with paper cups and Styrofoam coffee cups, and this bothered me not only on an environmental level, but on a comfort level. When I pay to stay at a hotel, I expect it to be at least as nice as home, if not nicer. Throwaway dishes just don’t cut it!

To top it off, the air conditioning was cranked so high that the room was freezing cold, and looking out the window, you could see the curtains blowing in the other vacant rooms as if there was a tornado in there.

As a business owner, this experience reinforced how important it is that we do what we say we are going to do, whether it’s about environmental responsibility or anything else. Customers may or may not care whether you donate a portion of your income to charity, but if you say that you do, you’d better do it! Otherwise, it’s better to say nothing at all.

Unless your heart, your soul, and your whole being are behind every decision you make, the words from your mouth will be empty, and each action will be meaningless.

~ Author unknown

How about you? Do you walk the walk, or do you just talk the talk?

Photo copyright 2009 Janet Barclay

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is.

I had no trouble at all coming up with three!

Good Garbage: I take full advantage of the programs available where I live, carefully ensuring that recyclables and compostables do not end up as landfill. All reusable goods are donated to a local charity.

Printing Practices: I print only when necessary, and rather than putting paper that’s only printed on one side in the recycling, I’ll use the other side for printing drafts if it’s in good condition. If it’s been folded, I’ll use the back for handwritten notes.

Minimal Mileage: As a virtual assistant who works from home and lives within walking distance of a drugstore, library, bank, hairdresser, and many other amenities, I drive less than 10,000 km per year.

I’m tagging the following bloggers:

1. Diane Coville
2. Jacki Hollywood Brown
3. Julie Bestry
4. Kathy Stinson
5. Melodee Patterson

I know you’re all very busy, so if you can’t fit this into your schedule anytime soon, I’ll understand, but if and when you do, please link back to this post and/or leave a comment here so we won’t miss your answers!

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Green Living.

As you can see, the reduction in ink consumption was achieved by inserting holes throughout the letters. When used in a standard size, it is quite functional for drafts and other documents where a clean polished look is not required, as shown here:

You can learn more about this project and download the Ecofont from http://www.ecofont.eu/downloads_en.html.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Environmentally Friendly Printing.

Instead of printing, using and then discarding multiple copies of the same item, all you really need is one copy, a plastic sheet protector, and a dry erase marker! Once you’re finished with that checklist or form, simply wipe it off, and it’s ready to use again. You’ll spend less on paper, your recycling bin won’t fill up as quickly, and you’ll save a few trees!

If you have a bunch of forms, you can easily store them neatly in a binder. Otherwise, trim off the edge with the three holes, and your sheet will fit nicely in a standard file folder.

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Nearly Paperless Forms.

When I deliver an organizing seminar (like the one I’ll be doing for the IEEE Toronto Women in Engineering Affinity Group next week), I frequently mention that with so much up-to-date information available online, there’s really no need to keep most paper catalogues. Despite that, I have a special spot in my home where I keep all my catalogues until they reach their expiry date. Sometimes I even look at them! However, I think it’s time for me to take my own advice. The next time I’m at the UPS Store (which is also my Sears catalogue pickup location) and I see those shiny new books, I will smile, with fond memories of my childhood, and walk on by. And when a sales catalogue is delivered to me, after browsing it, I’ll place it in my recycling along with all the other flyers.

If more people stop taking those catalogues, Sears (and other companies) won’t have to print as many – and think how many trees that will save!

Hmm, I wonder what I can put in the space I’ll free up in my living room?

Please visit From the Desk of Janet Barclay to read and comment on Reducing Clutter.