documents – Dino's Storage

Clear Out Outdated, Unused Items

Brighten your mood by clearing out the clutter in your home. Make it a once-a-month routine.

1. Old magazines – You aren’t going to read the old magazines you have lying around, so clear them out. You can donate your magazines to child care centers and nursing homes. If there’s an article that really speaks to you, scan a digital image of it and keep it in your computer. Or keep a folder of magazine clippings if you like saving magazine articles.

2. Receipts, bills, and documents – Throw away receipts for items that you aren’t planning on returning, and ones that you won’t need to use come tax time.

3. Clothes – Use the two-year-rule for clothes – get rid of apparel that you haven’t worn in two years. Sell them to a thrift store (find a thrift store at thethriftshopper.com) or donate them to the needy.

4. Books – Go through your bookshelf and gather together books you haven’t touched in months and ones that you aren’t planning on rereading. Be realistic and make sure you’re ruthless. If you haven’t touched it in a year, you’re most likely not going to read it again. Donate the books or sell them on Amazon, Craigslist or eBay. You can even trade them for something else on swap.com.

5. Medicine and vitamins – Take a look at your medicine closet and clear out drugs that have expired, medicine that has sat on your shelf for too long and ones that you no longer use. First, check to see what the proper disposal methods are for the medication, and if you can’t find any, check to see if your community has a drug take-back program. If there isn’t a program near you, then the FDA advises mixing medicine with “used coffee grounds or kitty litter” in a container or sealable bag before throwing it away to make the drugs less appealing.

6. Makeup and perfume – Go through your beauty cabinet and get rid of makeup that’s too old or that you don’t use.

7. Jewelry – Go through your jewelry and dispose of the broken costume jewelry and make plans to sell ones that you don’t wear. For fine jewelry, look up appraisers from the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers. Once you have a quoted price, shop around at auction houses, estate buyers, pawnshops and jewelers to see if you can find a better deal.

8. Food – Go through your pantry and fridge and clear out items that need to be thrown out – the old, unused and rotting. Do this weekly instead of monthly, just to make sure you don’t have any unpleasant surprises!

9. Some memorabilia – Many organizing experts advise that you be ruthless and throw away memorabilia like cards and gifts you don’t use. You can keep some of them by perhaps creating some sort of poster with old cards or designating a small shoe box for memorabilia. Resolve to throw away anything that can’t fit into the box.

10. Notebooks – Take a look at the old notebooks you have and throw out the ones that you no longer need.

11. Old or unused electronics – Have an electric piano you don’t use? Or maybe you just never got around to getting rid of your old laptop or cell phone. Sell your electronics on Gazelle.com and Nextworth.com. These sites are great because they’ll quote you a price for the item you wish to sell. You can also sell it on sites such as Craigslist and eBay.

Family Fun for Fall

Kids and parents need time together. And it can be fun and inexpensive for all. Forget shopping or mall walking. Get with it and have some fun.

Here are a few ideas:

Bring out the hidden architect or builder within you. Let the creativity flow with Legos – the building blocks for kids of all ages. Try a Lego building party. Come up with a theme with the kids, like a medieval dungeon, battling ninjas or a futuristic neighborhood. The whole family can work on Lego creations to fit the theme. One family member can be chosen as the narrator to weave the Lego creations together. Or each participant can take a turn telling a story about what’s being created.

Fall weather can be a bit nippy for a camp-out, so try a camp-in instead. Set up a tent with sleeping bags. Stay up late eating treats, make shadow puppets and tell ghost stories. Then sleep the night away in your in-house campsite.

Many couples have a weekly date night. How about trying a parent and kids date night. The possibilities are endless. Take in a movie at the theater, spend some time at a miniature golf facility, go play some laser tag, bowl a few games or take in a high school football game or a play. Look for discount coupons to hold down the cost.

Take a nature night walk. When the stars come out, head out on your night walk around the neighborhood or head to a nature preserve or large park to do the same. Kids and parents alike will enjoy being outdoors when everyone else is inside. Look at constellations, observe phases of the moon, watch cars go by with their lights on and listen to the cacophony of crickets, frogs and other creatures. When the weather turns colder, a night drive can work well – especially when Halloween decorations or a bit later on Christmas decorations light up the neighborhood.

Scavenger hunts never go out of style. You can have great fun with one indoors or in your own yard. Mom or dad can compile a list of things to be found and the kids can do the hunting. Try it in the yard at night when flashlights are needed for the hunt. The hunters will feel like detectives searching for odd-ball items such as a yellow crayon, a fringed washcloth, a stuffed animal, a mini-shovel, a 2012 quarter etc.

Make Saturday a Red Kettle Day!

Omaha’s Salvation Army has scheduled a 5K Run/Walk for 9 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 25 at Zorinsky Lake. Join in the fun for a good cause. The run helps stock pantry shelves during a time of overwhelming need.

No pre-registration is required, but if you want to save time the day of the run, you can get more information at www.redkettlerunomaha.org or send an e-mail to RedKettleRunOmaha@gmail.org for additional participation information.

There are some great prizes, including an Apple iPad mini 16GB, Creighton Men’s and Women’s season basketball tickets, Men’s season baseball tickets and more. Dino’s Storage will be handing out water bottles to the first 300 finishers.

The entry fee is just 10 non-perishable food items or $10 for The Salvation Army pantry. The run location is at the 156th & F Street entrance to Zorinsky Lake.

Think Again: You’re Not Good at Multitasking

You might want to rethink texting while trying to hold a conversation. Multitasking actually makes you less productive than doing one thing at a time, and may even damage your brain, according to a study conducted by Stanford University researchers. Forbes.com recently highlighted a series of research studies that show multitasking is not a skill to boast about.

In the Stanford University study, research participants who regularly multitasked and were bombarded with several sources of electronic information failed to pay attention, recall information or switch from one job to another as well as those who just focused on one task at a time. Those who tend to be “heavy multitaskers” – who do it a lot and believe it helps their performance – were found to pay the biggest price.

“They’re suckers for irrelevancy,” says Clifford Nass, one of the researchers and a communication professor at Stanford. “Everything distracts them.”

Indeed, researchers found that “heavy multitaskers” tend to struggle more at organizing their thoughts, filtering out irrelevant information and are slower at switching from one task to another.

Besides just slowing you down, multitasking has also been linked with lower IQs. In a separate study conducted by researchers at the University of London, researchers found that those who multitask during cognitive tasks had IQ scores similar to what you’d expect if they had smoked marijuana or didn’t get any sleep the night before. In fact, multitasking men were found to have IQ drops of 15 points, which put many in the average range of an 8-year-old child.

Some researchers using MRI scans even suggest that multitasking on multiple devices – like texting while watching TV – can damage your brain, although more research is needed to confirm. Researchers at the University of Sussex in the UK found that high multitaskers had less brain density in the anterior cingulate cortex, an area of the brain responsible for empathy and cognitive and emotional control.

“I feel that it is important to create an awareness that the way we are interacting with the devices might be changing the way we think and these changes might be occurring at the level of brain structure,” says Kep Kee Loh, a neuroscientist and the study’s lead author.

Six Rising Home Design Trends

What home-design trends will likely catch on in new construction? Builder Online recently spoke to Mollie Carmichael, principal at John Burns Real Estate Consulting, and Nick Lehnert, executive director at architecture firm KTGY, about the design trends that are gaining popularity in the new-home market this year.
Private space
Baby boomers, empty nesters and Gen Yers are showing a preference for homes that have more private outdoor spaces, straying from the traditional “public” backyard, according to surveys. One way some builders are fulfilling this desire is by positioning the home’s architecture strategically around the outdoor space to enclose it more and allow it to be more open to the interior living spaces. They also are creating more covered outdoor spaces.
The Super Kitchen
Besides being a place for cooking, the kitchen is also the entertainment/conversation area in a home. Open-kitchen layouts have continued to grow in popularity, putting kitchens more front-and-center and visibly exposed to other areas of the house. Kitchen islands are offering extra seating and prep space while larger pantries are offering greater storage. “As the hub, it becomes a consumer’s dream to design these elements together with function, practicality and flair,” the designers say.
Bigger Media Hubs
More home owners are looking for a place for their large flat-screen television. Larger television sizes are prompting more builders to realize the need for greater wall space to hang the televisions and larger entertainment rooms to accommodate more seating.
Larger Garage Spaces
If home owners had their way, garages wouldn’t be just for parking the cars. More home owners want spaces for hobbies and storage. Builders are taking notice by creating larger garages for multi-use purposes.
Home Offices
An office and den space is becoming a bigger desire among home buyers, and the location of it in the home is becoming increasingly important. Placing the home office off the entry is no longer considered the most practical location for it, but builders are experimenting with moving it closer to the “living” area, such as off the kitchen or the family room.
Two Homes in One
As multi-generational living gains popularity, builders are responding by carving out more separate spaces for several generations to live together. For example, some builders are offering semi-independent suites with separate entries, bathrooms and kitchenettes.

25th Annual Marge Durham Walk for the Animals

A 5K run has been added to the Nebraska Humane Society’s Walk for the Animals. The annual event is set for Sunday, Sept. 28, at the Humane Society Campus, 8929 Fort St. In Omaha.

Registration and check-in open at 8 a.m., the Run begins and 9 a.m. and the Walk at 10 a.m.

The one mile walk will proceed east through the park and onto the Keystone Trail then take a loop around the soccer field and head back to the Humane Society. Your four-legged companion is welcome to walk or run with you on the first-ever 5k Run.

General admission is $10 for adults and children 10 and under are free. Those pre-registered online will be admitted for free. Register at www.NeHumaneSociety.org.

Event sponsors include Dino’s Storage and sponsors will have giveaways and information on pet products and services. A silent auction also is on tap and rescue groups will be on hand with volunteers showing what they are doing to help your favorite breeds.

You can meet adoptable dogs at the 9:30 a.m. Adoption Parade and dogs who have been adopted from the Humane Society will lead the pack as the walk kicks off at 10 a.m. There’s even a special short walk route, dubbed the Dachshund Dash, for little legs.

There will be plenty of parking available in the ConAgra lot north of Bakers on the northeast corner of 90th and Fort. From there you can hop a shuttle bus to the Humane Society. And please be good neighbors and try not to take Bakers parking spaces. For $20 you can pull in on the north side of Fort Street and valets will take care of your car for you.

Seven New Materials Could Change Buildings

There is a huge gap between material science and construction. It can take decades to move an engineering breakthrough from a lab to a building site. Yet as architects and engineers face bigger challenges – from earthquakes to dwindling resources to sheer cost – a new generation of smart materials is emerging.

Some of these materials are still far from reality outside the lab, but others are coming much more quickly. These concepts may move into actual construction in months, years or decades. The folks at gizmodo.com offer a look at some of what may lie ahead.

Conductive Paint. A team from North Carolina State University and the University of Eastern Finland are developing a practical version of conductive paint that can sense cracks in a structure. In a study published in June, the researchers explained how the system works: First, electrodes are placed around the skin of the building. Then, the conductive paint is layered over them. After that, a current is run through the electrodes in different combinations, and a complicated algorithm can determine whether the electrical potential has changed – if it has, the system can work out where the problems have occurred. Such of paint could be invaluable for older buildings, or those in earthquake zones. It also could be used to monitor any structural fissures at nuclear power plants.

Smart Bricks That Act Like Lego. Lego offers a brilliant solution to prefabricated architecture. Not only do they snap together quickly and leave zero extraneous waste, the holes could provide extra space for wiring, plumbing and even structural reinforcement. With that in mind, a company called Kite Bricks wants to use Lego as a basis for a real-world building material called Smart Bricks. Just like the toy, these concrete-molded bricks snap together with a layer of mortar-like adhesive. Holes in the bricks can be threaded with rebar for extra structural reinforcement. And one side of each brick can be removed to provide access wiring, plumbing and the like stored inside.

Carbon Fiber Rope. One major deterrent to the height of supertall buildings is elevator technology – at a certain height, the amount of steel rope needed to pull people upwards becomes too heavy, increasing the number of separate elevators needed to reach the top skyscrapers. Kone, a Finnish company, has developed an alternative: A rope made of carbon fiber that’s 90 percent lighter and could support elevators up to twice as high as the current limit. Called UltraRope, the material could enable elevators that are up to a kilometer in height. It’ll also change how elevators are serviced, since it will last twice as long as standard steel cable.

Plastic That Lights Up In the Wind. Mechanoluminescence is a phenomenon in which a particular material will light up when it’s put under some form of physical stress. In the case of this material, a team from South Korea’s Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology infused plastic with colored phosphors made out of copper-doped zinc sulfide. The combination results in a white light when put under mechanical stress. To take advantage of wind energy, the researchers molded the plastic into tubes – when the wind blows, the tubes deflect and the light appears. As for potential uses, imagine facades that light up in the wind, or beacons that glow to broadcast information about weather conditions.

Invisible Solar Cells. If you’ve ever sat inside a room that has photovoltaic panels on the windows, you know it’s easy to recognize the tell-tale, shimmering rainbow color of the cells. Researchers at Michigan State have developed an entirely different type of “solar concentrator” that can be layered over any window. The product takes advantage of non-visible wavelengths of light – ultraviolet and the near infrared – pushing them to the solar cells embedded at the edges of the panels. The result is a material that can make energy from sunlight in any number of practical situations. Examples might include gadget screens, windows and doors.

Bamboo That Can Compete With Steel and Concrete. Bamboo is inexpensive, it grows fast and it’s surprisingly strong. A team at MIT is studying how to make better use of bamboo in construction. Led by professor Lorna Gibson, the project is testing how and why bamboo is so structurally advanced. They’ve found that the material at the edges of a bamboo rod is actually denser and stronger than the stuff in the middle – and they envision using it to create a secondary building material, like plywood, to make houses and buildings that are stronger, cheaper and less environmentally impactful.

Wallpaper That Charges Your Phone. Sound can transmit energy and a new company called uBeam wants to turn that technology into a building product. A transmitter takes electricity and turns it into ultrasonic sound. A receiver on your wireless device captures that audio and turns it back into energy. You’d be able to charge any device while walking around your home. Right now, uBeam is focusing on putting its technology in wallpaper or a piece of art, but it’s easy to imagine how these transmitters could be embedded in all sorts of materials and places – an ambient web of ultrasonic sound that networks entire buildings.

Kermit Got It Wrong – It IS Easy To Be Green

You need not wait for St. Patrick’s Day, nor fear that “they’re hanging men and women there for Wearing of the Green”. And you can disregard Kermit the Frog’s advice that “it isn’t easy being green”.

This fall and into the coming winter, the color is definitely green.

For your pumps, your tops, your car, your furniture. For your walls, your handbag, your sweaters. For your coats, your boots, your jewelry. For your furniture, accessories, cars and interior paint. Green is the in color.

And you can use any green you like from linden to wheatgrass, from kale to emerald, from forest to lime. And put extra emphasis on emerald.

Black is no longer the be all, wear all. Couple your greens with a splash of gold, milky white, pastels and even orange. You are also in style with reds, plums, bright blues, purple and fuchsia. Grey and black and white combos also are in vogue.

Multi-tasking Can Make You Stupid

You may want to stop secretly scanning your e-mail messages as you talk with someone on your phone. A new study shows that multi-tasking with electronic media can make you stupid.

Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry at the University of London say multi-tasking can lower your IQ more than smoking marijuana or missing one night’s sleep. The researchers studied 1,100 workers at a British company to find how multi-tasking with electronic media affected a person’s IQ.

Despite the evidence, multi-tasking has become the norm in many work environments. Nearly 70 percent of workers say they have difficulty focusing on one thing at a time, and they say they’re easily distracted during the work day, particularly by e-mail, according to The Energy Project Audit. On average, workers spend 13 hours a week on e-mail – the equivalent of 28 percent of their typical workweek, according to McKinsey Global Institute findings.

So how can you better harness the optimal performance of your brain and body and battle the multi-tasking urge? Forbes.com recommends committing to a “Power Hour,” where you work in concentrated periods of time followed by short periods or rest. Shut off all distractions and block off 75 minutes of uninterrupted time to focus on the tasks at hand on your to-do list. Devote 20 minutes to your most important task and then take a two-minute break, marked by stretching and moving around. Then, repeat.

Youth Tackle Football Play Starts Sept. 7

Tackle football games for youth aged 7 to through 14 get under way in the Omaha metro area Sept. 7. The season runs through the Nov. 2 championship games.

Omaha Chiefs football is a family-based, youth-oriented sports organization designed to help build and shape today’s young men and women into strong, considerate, contributing adult members of our community. Coupled with your own family values, the Chiefs strong emphasis on education, participation, courtesy and mental and physical preparedness helps youngsters feel a sense of community. Chiefs football also helps them make the right decisions in their lives while learning the fundamentals of good football and developing lifelong friendships.

In addition to the fall schedule of tackle football, the Omaha Chiefs has a full program of flag football for youngsters in the spring.

Dino’s Storage is a proud sponsor of Omaha Chiefs football. Now in its 45th year, the Omaha Chiefs is one of the oldest continuous youth sports organizations in the metro area.

Join in the fun and take in some of the games. More information on the Omaha Chiefs is available on the web at: http://www.omahachiefs.com/Schedule.html.