Do you have too many usernames and passwords to remember? Are you keeping track of them using post-it notes? There’s a better way:

RoboForm. RoboForm is a heaven-sent username and password management solution that works with most browsers, Windows, USB devices, most smart phones, Mac, Opera, and Linux. All you have to do is remember one password and RoboForm remembers the rest. If you’re using the RoboForm toolbar in a browser, all you have to do is select the scroll-down “Logins” menu, choose the network you want to log in to, and RoboForm takes you there and logs you in with one click. Save time
and spare headaches!

RoboForm allows you to:

• Manage your passwords and Log In automatically.
• Fill long registration and checkout forms with one click.
• Encrypt your passwords to achieve complete security.
• Generate random passwords to maximize password strength.
• Back up and Synchronize Passwords between computers.
• Fight Phishing and Defeat Keyloggers.

Find out more about RoboForm (http://www.roboform.com/).

*Note: RoboForm doesn’t work with the latest version of Firefox, but rumor has it that the newest version of RoboForm (in beta) works with Firefox 3.6.

Every week I’ll share cool tips and resources I find on the web. To get these links in real time follow @theunchaotic on Twitter.

Here are the {un}chaotic resources and links for March 1st to March 9th:

• Doris – Productivity App – Simplify your life and get things done with Doris!
• Save Water-Damaged Books, Docs, and Photos – Lifehacker – Next time you drop a book in the bath or end up with an otherwise water-damaged periodical, document, or photograph, reader pearce.kilgour recommends a simple solution: Put it in the freezer.
• Rubbermaid Configurations Closet Designer | Rubbermaid – Digital Closet Designer – you can set the dimensions of your closet and then add/remove elements till you get what you want. THEN go out and buy. Saves on mistakes. (And can be fun even if you can’t afford to do the whole project right away…)
• Xobni – Outlook Plugin to Search People, Email, and Attachments Instantly
• Real Simple – Bed Bath & Beyond – A new line of organizing products from Real Simple just debuted at Bed Bath and Beyond!
• The Paper Cafe – Custom invitations, holiday greeting cards, birth announcements, custom personal stampers, stationery and gifts
• Multi-Use Bathroom Tech: The Hair Dryer | Apartment Therapy Unplggd -Did you know your hair dryer is probably the most versatile of your bathroom tech? Click here to read about plenty more uses for your hair dryer around the house.

For more, visit the Resources page.

Yesterday’s post talked about creating a daydream file to save items you want rather than impulsively buying them. I think it’s fairly obvious that the list you create could become a pretty handy wishlist if the occasion ever came up…So what about using it to give?

I’m probably more apt to compulsively buy something if it makes me think of someone else. “Oh, my [sister | mom | bff | boyfried | brother | dad | friend] would LOVE that!” is a phrase that commonly precedes me immediately clicking “add to cart.” But then a birthday finally comes around and now I have all this stuff to give them and maybe the inside joke that prompted it is so old by now it makes no sense anyways…well you get the picture. I had a cluttered closet with gifts that never even saw a gift bag.

Using the same concept as a daydream file, I created a digital presents file. If you use the Amazon wishlist feature, you can easily create additional lists for people you shop for often. In Evernote you can create a gift notebook and tag each gift with names of friends and family. (Make sure to set them to private!) 

This way I still get the joy of finding something that fits someone’s style oh-so-perfectly, without overburdening my closet or my credit card. When a gift opportunity comes around, I go through the file and pick out the best option. The ones that don’t make it? You can always send the person a link to the product (even if it’s just a random Tuesday) with a little note saying “this made me think of you! hope you’re having a great day!” on Facebook or email or wherever, because as you know, it’s the thought that counts.

*Photo credit: Muffet (Flickr)

Related articles by Zemanta

• Five Best Wishlist Tools [Hive Five] (lifehacker.com)
• The Evernote Community Wish List Project (evernote.com)

In my line of work I spend a lot of time online, and I work with a lot of clients from different industries. That mix has a lot of potential to lead to a bad case of wanting things that I don’t really need or wouldn’t fit into my life right this second. That could be really cool furniture, clothes, accessories – you name it! And the way that advertisers have gotten so good at targeting and retargeting – it’s hard to resist sometimes.

The best way I’ve come up with to deal with this daily battle against desire is to start a daydream file. Anytime I see something I want – for me, my home or my future, I digitally clip and save it. It doesn’t matter how you do it, I use a mix of an Evernote notebook for big future items (furniture, vacations, etc) and an Amazon wishlist for personal things (clothes, games, books, etc), as long as you’re consistent. (Side note: both of those tools provide a browser button for easy clipping.)

It feels good at the time, because while you’re resisting buying it today, you’re still ”saving it for later.” Then when later rolls around, and you get a bit of money saved up and you decide to redecorate the living room, you can flip through the file and pick what you really want. Maybe all of a sudden that table you HAD to have a month ago isn’t as cool as some of the other tables you saved over time.  By resisting the impulse buy you can save money and avoid cluttering your house with things you don’t really want.

*Original Photo Credit: Juan23for (Flickr)

(click here to see a larger image)

Today I got into work and pulled up my browser to start the day. It struck me how much I rely on my iGoogle start page, and Google products in general, to handle my digital world.  I decided to start a series on using Google effectively, and I’m starting with the iGoogle start page to essentially introduce the major applications that I’ve been using before addressing each one individually.

A quick note on arranging your start page. I look at it as having three levels, or rows, for holding widgets (information). Then I put them in order of highest priority to lowest priority.

Level One: Things I need to see right away. If I only have a second to glance at the page and need to know what’s going on – what widgets would give me access to that? In my top level I have:

• Gmail: I can see if I have any new messages and quickly see if there are any that I have to read right away
• Google Calendar: Do I have any upcoming appointments?
• GQueues: My to-do list- is there anything overdue or due today?
• Countdown (optional): I also have a countdown widget on the top counting down to my next vacation…and when my boyfriend will be out of the army. These things have a high priority simply because watching those numbers get smaller each day makes me smile.
• Gchat: This is actually located on the sidebar, but it’s the chat application from Google where I can talk to my friends

Level Two: These are things that I want to look at when I have a little bit more time to browse and take in information.

• Google Reader: All the blogs and news sources that I follow to keep up to date on things going on in my industry as well as personal interests of mine.
• Google Calendar Details: A little bit below the top level I have a detailed list of all my appointments.
• Weather: I have the weather for my hometown at the top, followed my boyfriend’s hometown, followed by my family’s. Also conveniently happens to be the places I end up in most often.
• Google Docs: I use Google docs to share documents at work sometimes as well as a place to digitally store personal information.

Level Three: Other things that I think are interesting and helpful.

• Quotes of The Day: Three randomly selected quotes.
• Google Translate: Quick translator in case I need one.
• Google Latitude: You can sign up to broadcast your GPS location from your phone to your friends, and vice versa. Don’t really use it that much and neither do my friends so it goes at the bottom.
• “Someday” To Do Widget: This one wasn’t expanded so you can’t see it, but it’s a list of future goals.

Design: I use the Dynamic Dots theme, it’s fun because the dots change color throughout the day so every time I check back it’s a little bit different. But you can customize the theme to reflect your personality or change it up for inspiration.

So that’s my homepage and list of priorities. What does yours look like? Do you use Google or something else?

Also, let me know if you think this Google series will be helpful. You’ll be able to access the full series under the Google tag in the future (don’t worry, I’ll link to it in each post from the series.)

Every week I’ll share cool tips and resources I find on the web. To get these links in real time follow @theunchaotic on Twitter.

Here are the {un}chaotic resources and links for February 24th to March 1st:

• U-Haul moving supplies: Smart Move Tape -
• Noteliner | Simple notetaking app for outlines -
• Adorn, Rather Than Hide Your Cables! Inspiration | Apartment Therapy Unplggd -
• Meet With Me | TimeBridge | Run Great Meetings – This free web service hooks into your online or computer-based calendar and constructs a calendar that denotes what times of day you’re busy without saying why. Registration is fast and requires only an email address for verification. Once your account is set up, MeetWtihMe connects with one of several different calendars including Outlook, iCal, Google Calendar, and Yahoo.

For more, visit the Resources page.

I saw this idea on Unplggd and had to share it because it’s already how I organize my wires and cords. Using plastic baggies to organize your wires is perfect because it’s cheap, you keep them from getting tangled up, keep all the same types together, and can use the label provided to write in what it is. In fact, I use this for arts and crafts supplies and for my medicine drawer as well.  As organizing tools, plastic baggies are cheap and easily adaptable to whatever situation you need them in.

JELL-O is a great dessert when you’re craving something sweet. Compared to other desserts; cake, cookies, ice cream…it’s surprisingly low in calories and fat. When you’re at the store it might be tempting to buy the prepackaged JELL-O cups, but when you look at the prices it doesn’t make sense. A box of JELL-O is as little as $0.89. Not to mention all you’re paying extra for is the little plastic cups that will end up in a landfill and a larger cardboard carrier for them.

To make your own JELL-O cups just prepare your mix in a measuring cup. Then pour single servings into small cups. One way to decide on a “serving” is to check the box – it will tell you the approximate number of servings, grab that many cups and split it evenly. Put the cups in the fridge and then throughout the week you’ll have a (relatively) guilt-free dessert to grab whenever you’re feeling like you need a sweet treat.

My sister inspired this tip. Her and I have a weekly dinner and last week she brought this spice kit from McCormicks that she found at Safeway. It gives you the exact amounts of spices that you need to make whatever recipe is printed on the back – all you have to buy is actual food (meat, potatoes, etc.)

It seems like a really convenient idea, and no doubt, if you’re strapped for time and out of inspiration it’s a great save. But when we actually looked at it, it turned out I already HAD all those spices, so all she needed to bring was the actual food and the recipe anyways. I started thinking, what if you made your own pre-measured spice mixes? You could refer to your favorite go-to recipes and use little containers (even the larger “daily pill box” containers would work) to store the pre-mixed spices. Label them accordingly and then you can achieve this same easy idea for less money.

In kitchens with little to no drawer space, creative use of hanging space is critical. You can use standard shower hooks (or cute ones! check Target or Bed Bath and Beyond for the most options) to optimize hanging space for dishtowels and potholders on your oven door or cabinet doors.