My husband, (80) still uses an appointment book and writes his appointments in it. Has all his names, addresses, phone #'s in it and carries it with him all the time. He would not be able to handle any electronic device except the old flip phone is still uses. He did have a Palm years ago and loved it. After it finally died, he went back to a physical appointment book. Serves the purpose. Jane

Making a phone list was the first thing I ever used Excel for, about ten years ago or more. I quickly discovered instead of listing name first to list the ten digit phone number since that column will always be the same size. And it is easy to keep alphabetized since a new entry can be inserted anywhere. I've never re-typed the list once. Just add or delete to the original. I print copies and three hole punch to put into a folder by our phone. Shrunk another copy to half size for the glove compartment of my car. At some point I started using the tabs at the bottom of the page to make new pages for: medical, school #'s, stores & restaurants, car info (insurance & parts & mechanics) and at least 5 or 6 more catagories. It is probably the most useful thing (even though it is fairly simple) I've ever done on the computer. The other very successful Excel file I started ten years ago was for medical appointments. I made a few columns that I fill in each time I schedule and complete an appointment. When I get the Explanation of Benefits in the mail weeks later and wonder what THAT was for I can check my own notes, in laymans terms. I also cross reference if I had a copay or needed some kind of follow up. It has helped me at the end of the year when I've had to claim Flexible Spending Account money. I have a medical condition so it has also been helpful to track my meds. The most helpful book I ever read on organization discouraged the use of PDA's. One of the common negatives that people fed back to her was the inevitable loss of data through a dead battery or "accident". I would never trust my dayplanner, medical history or address book to a PDA. At least on Excel you can have a hard copy printed out. I also have a copy on a flash drive. And I'm not that computer saavy!

FANTASTIC tips, Joann! (Loved the sock item--that's exactly the kind of thing that gets shoved to the corner of your mind and gets remembered only when you're standing in that school auditorium/gym the next year!) The calendar function on my Mac has really helped me keep track of bill-paying, appointments, due dates for library books (with spaces for noting a new title I need to get when I go back to the library) and so many other daily-life tasks. And you don't need an "electronic calculator," as has been noted (oops, pun not intended!). IMHO, what you DON'T want to do is have a series of reminders. How many lists on little pieces of paper do you have now? Unless you really have a severe memory problem, it's a time waster to have one calendar you go to for the basics but one that forces you to look at ANOTHER piece of paper or computer site to get all the details. A second or third day planner or notebook is just one more thing you can misplace. One alternative to a computer calendar and a paper notepad in your pocket is your cellphone. Even the basic cheapie phone that I have (it's not a smartphone) has a reminder alarm component. You can set a series of alarm clock settings for tasks, like "dr. appt" at 11 a.m. and "buy bananas" and prioritize them as well. I've used the phone to remind me of the next drug-dosage times, very handy when you have a cold and want to get some sleep but then wake up wondering how long it's been since you took your last dose of Nyquil!

I also repackage my dry goods in the cupboard. After I got an infestation of insects in some grain products, I decided to so something about it. One day, my brother's friend showed up with a box of old-fashioned mason jars. They had turned pale blue with age, and had wire clamps to hold down the glass lids. (Real old, but cool!) I bought them from him. I put all my dry goods inside them, and that way, even if one of the products came down with "bugs," it never spread. That worked fine for a several years, but then we moved to a new house. There was not as much storage space. The jars didn't fit into the new house's cupboards as well. There were two different heights, and some had a different diameter. So I standardized by getting quart mason jars -- wide mouth -- and the white plastic screw-on lids. (Didn't want to mess with the two-part lids that came with the jars.) Each jar holds about one pound of dry beans. Easier to find stuff, now that the jars are all the same size and height. I use pint size jars, also wide mouth, for smaller quantities. They stack.