Spring Cleaning

OK, I know the official start of spring is still several weeks off – but . . .

You know there are some golden rules to organizing those pesky chores. Every New Year’s you are supposed to change the batteries in the smoke detectors (exactly, when was the last time you changed the batteries, when they were installed? Did you borrow a battery or two for the remote? It’s not too late, go get some new ones) and flip the mattresses every time the clock changes. I could go on, but that’s not really my point.

If you’re like me – every few months you hover over the computer guy like he’s performing open heart surgery. “Can you save it?” you plead, “Please!!!” Why not save those life and death scenes for E.R. (ok, I am a little out of it – should I have said Grey’s Anatomy or House?).

Anyway, when was the last time you backed up QuickBooks? Good for you!! But you backed it up on the same computer that the original version is on, didn’t you? Make sure a copy goes off site. But you work from home? How about sending a copy to your brother in Schenectady? Another idea is to set one of many free email accounts (the price is right and they offer a fair amount of storage these days) and email the file to one of these accounts.

You can automatically set up your computer to run a virus/spyware scan daily. I like to run it at three am, it makes me feel good to think someone’s working at the office at 3am, and for once it’s not me.

If all of this is too much in your busy schedule why not just have the computer gal come in for a little preventative maintenance. It’s a lot cheaper and less nerve wracking than when they are trying to resuscitate your lap top from computer hell.

Sadly, I speak from experience . . .