Reconnecting to the Present Moment

I wasn't really on board with Smartphones when they first came out several years ago. It seemed like way more computing power than I would ever need, some kind of gimmick to get me to spend more money on devices and data plans. When I received an iPhone as a Christmas gift, I reluctantly accepted and began switching over. Crumpled lists, pens, cameras, notebooks, receipts and folders slowly disappeared from my life. Everything was perfectly organized, categorized and saved to databases. I hacked my phone and adjusted apps and coding to be able to use a more affordable plan on a different network. I fiddled with the satellite tracking system to find friends, places to go and let people know where I was. I keep my grocery list, my daily reminders, and my workout plans in one place. I get news alerts when important world events are happening. I play Sudoku when I'm waiting in line or for a friend. It checks me in at the airport and gets me to a place I recognize when I'm lost.

Last night, I made the unfortunate mistake of submerging my phone in water. It slid right out of my pocket and plunked straight into the toilet. When I saw huge bubbles of air releasing from it as it filled with water, I knew it was doomed.

Weirdly enough, I don't talk on the phone much. I'm not even much for texting. But my phone is my staple. More of a staple than my wallet or keys. I feel naked without it in my pocket. It's my alarm that wakes me in the morning and my news source as I wind down to go to bed at night. It hasn't even been 24 hours and I keep finding myself reaching for it.

It's socially acceptable now, and even a social necessity to have a smartphone and be connected to it at all times. In any given public place, you'll see at least half of the people playing with their phones. But noticing how panicked I feel without it, how disconnected, how disorganized, just in the span of a few hours, I realize that my reliance on it is bordering on ludicrous. There was a time in my life when I owned an alarm clock, sat quietly and people-watched when waiting, where I ate my food instead of taking pictures of it. Some data is obviously very useful. I would be reading a newspaper, have a calculator on my desk and a notebook to write down to-do lists. It's nice to have all of the basic stuff in one place.

What's most eye-opening, though, is realizing how much time I spend thinking about other things. And even with the smartphone, I don't think I'm necessarily getting more done. Most of the data I had can be recovered. It's on a database or backed up on my computer. But my list of bands to check out is numbering several hundred long. As many hours as I spent reading the news, an equal amount of time was wasted looking at funny pictures of cats. And I'm certainly guilty of using my phone to escape awkward conversations or chase some piece of information down the rabbit hole of the internet, like "What was the name of that one actor in that one movie I sort of liked 2 years ago?", as though it's of dire importance.

Many people complain of phones preventing people from connecting face to face. I am actually in the camp that believes it helps people connect more and in new creative ways. The problem I find myself facing is never being alone with myself. That type of cerebral silence is difficult to train yourself into. With constant instant gratification, I can't help but wonder what skills my brain has gone soft in because the task was usurped by my phone. I have a feeling that being rushed and stressed is something I've constructed for myself with technology instead of something I actually have to abide by.

So today, I present a challenge. Resist the urge to use your phone. Instead of playing a game, talk to someone or play tic tac toe on a napkin with a friend. Instead of looking up what's-his-name, test your memory. Instead of tracking yourself on GPS, try to memorize the streets in your neighborhood and find your way. If you eat lunch by yourself, bring an actual novel to read or sit quietly with your thoughts. Instead of sending an email, get up and walk over to your coworker's desk to ask a question.

Enjoy some time with yourself, you may teach yourself something. And until next time, keep it clean!

How to Keep Your Cat from Waking You Up

Most cat owners have experienced their cat pouncing on their face at 5AM. It's an irritating experience, especially on a Sunday morning! Contrary to popular belief, cats can be trained. Here are a few tips for how to get your cat on your sleep schedule.


Listen to Your Cat
When a cat is "misbehaving", it's usually for a reason. This includes pouncing on your face in the morning. If your cat is exhibiting unusual behavior, it may mean that something in his environment has been interrupted (like a new cat in the neighborhood) or that he may be sick. Training a cat or any pet means teaching it to live alongside you within your rules, but within reason. Remember that animals, much like small children, can't communicate to us except with noises and gestures. Just like with a child, check to see that their basic needs are met first and then try and figure out if something is wrong beyond that.

Fulfill the Basics
Most cats are very territorial and like to feel that their territory stays a particular way. If you feed your cat and clean its box sporadically, this can make it feel insecure, resulting in weird behaviors to get your attention. Clean the box at LEAST once a week on the same day, completely change the litter once a month, and have specified times that you feed your cat, always giving fresh water. The easiest schedule is once before you go to work and once before you go to bed. If they feel their needs are not being met, most cats will do whatever it takes to get your attention, even if it's negative-- like scratching the furniture or knocking things off the shelf.

Keep Your Cat Entertained
Cats are nocturnal and naturally like to explore at night. But if they get their "hunting" out during the day, they're less likely to need to do it while you're snoozing. If you're away most of the day, leave them puzzles, balls and toys to play with. Cats get bored just like people, so try and keep most of their toys hidden away and then give them one or two in the morning. An old toy will feel new and exciting again if they haven't seen it in a while. Be sure to interact with your cat, too. Playing with a fishing toy or a piece of yarn, or even playing fetch are all great games that will help you bond with your cat and wear him out, too.

Make a Bedtime Routine Your Cat Understands
To help your cat wind down and be ready to sleep when you are, before you go to bed remember to Play, Feed and Groom. If your cat goes outside, let him roam his territory for a couple hours and call him in at the same time each night. (If you consistently give your cat treats for responding, just like a dog he will come when you call.) If your cat is an indoor cat, play with him to wear him out. Feed your cat after playing. Once he's done, brush him to finish calming him down. These are all natural things cats do before sleeping: hunt, eat, clean themselves up and nap.

Avoid the Signals
Cats are keen to notice sights and sounds that signify morning. Keep the shades closed so the sun doesn't pour in, use a fan or a white noise machine at night to drown out the sounds outside. The more consistent you can keep your sleeping area, the better.

Resist Fighting Back
If your cat is annoying you, it's hard to fight the urge to think they're just doing it to torture or spite you. Reacting in any way is giving your cat attention and going to reinforce bad habits. It may take several days for your cat to learn to sleep at night. Be strong! Try not to acknowledge your cat when he wakes you up in the morning, not even locking him out of the room or pushing him off the bed. Eventually he'll understand that you will get up and feed him and play with him if he waits.

Creating Fresh Air Inside Your Home

Did you know that the inside of your house can be more polluted than the outside? With modern innovations and people spending more and more time indoors, it's important to reassess how you keep your home clean to be sure you and your family are as healthy as you can be. There are a few easy and eco-friendly ways to do this. Here's how.

Chemical Cleansers
Cleansers you use on yourself, your countertops and floors can leave traces of harmful inhalants behind, and can even release chemicals into the air when you're not using them. Eliminate the chemicals you use on yourself and in your home. Most cleaning jobs can be completed as well as or better than standard cleaners with castille soap, vinegar and baking soda. If you like nice fresh scents, you can add a few drops of essential oils like eucalyptus, peppermint or lemon balm to the mix. Check out our previous posts on homemade cleansers and recipes for simple cleansers here, here, and here.

Air Purifiers
This is probably the most straightforward way to clean up the air quality in your home. Make sure you use a high quality air filter on your air vents inside your home and change the filter once every 3 months. Air purifiers filter out mold, microbes, dust, dust mites, smoke, pollen and chemicals from the air. Even if you're not using your air conditioner or heater, having the fan on to keep air moving through your house can prevent stale air and moisture buildup which can lead to mold in your home. If you don't have central air in your home, consider getting a tower fan that holds an air filter.

Paints and Plastics
Paints and plastic products like electronics, office supplies, toys, shower curtains and water bottles can release compounds into the air and into your body that are harmful for your health. Try to use natural materials, like plant-based fabrics, wood, ceramic and glass as much as possible. Low-toxicity and low-VOC paints are available at most craft and home improvement stores. Look into BPA's (Bisphenol-A) and VOC's (Volatile Organic Compounds) to learn more.

Moisture Buildup
Whether you cook a lot or just love hot showers, regular condensation in your house can be a real concern for air quality. Germs and insects love damp places, so to prevent too much moisture in at-risk areas of your house like the kitchen or bathroom, be sure to use proper ventilation. Open a window or use your oven hood's fan while cooking and turn on the ventilation fan in the bathroom when you shower. Be sure to check regularly for signs of moisture buildup. If you see discolored spots on your ceiling or walls or sagging plaster, you may want to get your walls checked out by a professional for mold.

Plants
NASA recently released a popular study on houseplants and their effect on indoor air quality. Houseplants are a great way to reduce carbon dioxide, increase oxygen and filter out toxins from your house. Some plants can even absorb and negate the chemicals released from plastics and paints in your home! Check out the list and add a plant to each of your rooms.

Follow these tips and you're on your way to a healthier, allergen-free home! Until next time, keep it clean!

Smart Budgeting

While we're beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel, many of us have taken a beating financially from the recent economic crisis. Job losses, underemployment, student debt and credit card debt undertaken from investing in what would hopefully eventually be beneficial are crushing millions of us. But there's plenty we can do to make the day-to-day easier. We're all already familiar with cutting back. Here are a few tips on using your budget to get the most from your paycheck for your future.

Keep Investing
Paying off debt or keeping afloat may be your highest priority. However, if you can afford it, keep putting aside a percentage of your paycheck towards investments and retirement, especially if your employer offers a matching investments. Spending one year not putting aside money can result in spending hundreds more a month later down the road to make up for it.

Pay More than the Minimum
Paying the minimum balance on credit cards and loans is a good way to barely keep your head above water. There are plenty of online calculators to determine how much your monthly payment needs to be to pay off your cards completely in your chosen number of years. Try to aim for paying off your debts in 5 years or less. Balance your payments by how large the debt is. Let's say you have $200 a month you can put towards credit cards, and you have one card with a balance of $1000 and another with a balance of $3000. 25% of your debt is on the lower card. So pay $50 (25% of your monthly payment budget) to the lower card and $150 to the higher card. It will get paid down a lot faster and you can avoid hefty interest fees by paying more. Of course, the higher the interest, the faster you want to try to pay down that card.

Make Smart Purchases
This may seem obvious, but be discerning when allocating your money to extra expenditures. You may be able to live with a beat up old couch. But a leaky drain can turn into a flooded house, and a toothache can turn into a root canal. If you must spend extra money, be sure you're investing in something you really need. And especially spend on things that can turn into a problem later. It's better to nip it in the bud.

Buy Secondhand and Fix What You Have
You can get tons of good quality items if you give yourself a little extra time and keep a discerning eye out. We didn't have anywhere to sit in our living room and were in the market for a couch. We had the option of buying a new discount couch for $800 at a wholesale warehouse, but didn't really have the budget for it. We found a nice worn-in leather couch at a second-hand store for $300 and spent $100 and a few hours of elbow grease to restore the leather. That's half the price for a nicer couch! Same principle applies to clothes. Nice quality slacks and jeans that may just need to be dry-cleaned, dyed, patched or hemmed get dropped off at Goodwill because the last person didn't want to bother with it. Look for consignment shops in nicer neighborhoods for the best quality deals. Keep an open mind and see what you can find. If something you already have is wearing out and you don't know how to fix it, take it to a tailor or a dry cleaner to get it like new again for just a few bucks.

Keep an Eye on Your Credit Score
Make sure you always pay your bills on time, and if you can't, call and see what kind of deals you can make. Many loans and credit cards offer deferred payment programs, especially if you're unemployed. Try to avoid opening any new accounts and if you must have a card, keep the one you've had the longest for the most positive effect on your credit. If you can, pay your full debt instead of negotiating down. A chargeoff can really hurt your credit and be much worse for you in the future than just being in debt.

It's OK to Rent!
A lot of people think that purchasing is the soundest decision you can make, but purchasing an item new can devalue it instantly, just like driving a new car off the lot. That's a big dent in your investment. An even bigger dent comes from maintenance. Avoid the headaches of repairs by letting someone else do the work for you. Azuma covers all maintenance and installation at no charge for refrigerator and washer and dryer rentals, giving you one less thing to worry about.

Don't Get Caught Up in the Little Things
Oftentimes financial advisers will tell you to cut back on little stuff, like the fancy coffees or basic cable. It's true that these things add up, however sometimes that cup of coffee is the only thing keeping you sane through your workday. You know what you spend the most money on. Eating at home, using a prepaid phone instead of a smartphone and re-watching a DVD instead of going out to the theater are all things we already know save money. You still have to live your life, so don't tear your hair out over the small stuff. Sometimes having that small reward that you earned at the end of the week, like a cup of coffee, is what reminds you that you're working towards long term goals and are still doing okay.

Hopefully these tips will help you all continue to be wise with your money. Until next time, keep it clean!

Pumping Up Your Meals with Nutrition

Last week we talked about amping up your nutrition by filling out your meals with vegetables on the side. But what about those of us with family, significant others or children who think vegetables are kind of icky? Here's a few creative ways to get extra servings in painlessly, sometimes without them ever knowing!

Burgers and Meatballs

Whether you use ground meat or a meatless protein for your meatballs, it's easy to hide a few extra servings of veggies in these. Use a food processor to grind up onions and whole tomatoes to a fine paste, and swap some of the meat for ground up zucchini, yellow squash or even cauliflower. Mushrooms will make your meat even more savory. Mix these in with your meat and spices, form into balls and cook as usual. This meat mixture also works great in lasagna, and leftover "burgers" are good to put on a nice plain bed of lettuce with dressing for those who usually pick out everything but the meat.

Soups

Add extra nutrition to your broth by adding steamed and pureed vegetables like carrots, butternut squash and eggplant. The blended veggies will add a creamy texture and loads of extra fiber.

Baking

Swap out some or all of your flour in cookie and cracker recipes with almond flour, brown rice protein, pea protein, coconut flour or cashew flour. If you make your own nut milk, you can dry the leftover ground nuts you strain from the milk in the oven and use it in place of flour. You can also buy flours in bulk online or at your local market (though online is usually cheaper).

Batter

Lots of veggies are great breaded and baked or fried, my favorites being zucchini and broccoli. To eschew the eggs in the batter, combine one tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons cold water for every egg you need to replace and stir. Let this mixture sit and stir occasionally while you're preparing the rest of your food, and in a few minutes you'll have a gel with the same texture and binding qualities of an egg. Use coconut or cashew flour in place of wheat flour in your recipe and you have a much more nutritious meal.

Smoothies

Adding an avocado or fresh coconut to the base of your smoothie instead of a banana makes for a creamy and rich start to your day (or after meal dessert!). A couple handfuls of fresh sweet romaine lettuce or spinach, or even steamed vegetables like carrots or cauliflower will bulk up a smoothie while still leaving it tasting fruity.

Chips

Baked vegetables seasoned just right will come out crispy and delicious like chips. For kale, remove the middle stem and break into chip-sized pieces. For zucchini or squash, slice thinly. For a simple chip, marinate the "chips" lightly in coconut or olive oil, place evenly on a cookie sheet, dust with your favorite seasonings and bake. For more robust chips, marinate in salad dressings like tahini and soy sauce, lemon and orange, salt and vinegar, or even a cheesy dressing. Bake at 400 for about 15 minutes or until crispy. And remember to flip them!

Dips

For creamy dips like ranch or yogurt, squash and cucumbers blend nicely and add a crisp fresh flavor. For salsas, try something with more crunch like celery or bell peppers.

Adding in and replacing your traditional ingredients with veggies, fruit, nuts and seeds will help immensely in making you and your family healthier. After they eat it and see how delicious it is, teach them about what ingredients you're using next time they cook with you. Trying new colorful fruits and vegetables will be much easier for them to swallow. And until next time, keep it clean!

Fresh Start

Hi there, hello and howdy! This is the first AZUMA Leasing blog so I suppose the best place to start is at the beginning by introducing us to you - our readers.
AZUMA Leasing is an appliance rental company based out of Austin, Texas. We are a nationwide company and specialize in the rental of washers, dryers and refrigerators* (*in some service areas). We rent mostly to people in apartment communities but we also rent to people who live in condos and homes. Don't live in Austin, you say? No worries! We service about 45 markets nationwide and will be able to get a washer and dryer right over to you!

Enough about that - let's move on to the fun stuff! It's the beginning of a new year and things are pretty good here in Austin - great weather, fun things to do and see, excellent music and food. Doesn't get much better than that! People near our office are out running and taking advantage of the beautiful weather. Our year is off to a busy and productive start here at AZUMA Leasing. We are renting out washers and dryers like hotcakes (mmmm...hotcakes with syrup! YUM!)!!!! How about your start to the new year? What sort of things are you planning on doing this year to give you a FRESH START?

Until next time, keep it clean!