In UK one storm seems to be following another one, with wide spread flooding across most of the county of Somerset and the river Thames west of London bursting its banks and flood water rising to record levels.
When will it end is the first thought for everyone I speak to in UK and the USA.
Our friends in the southern hemisphere, it might be their 'summer' but some places are so dry there is a constant risk of bush fires.
I hope every one of our readers and their families are safe and well, that goes without needing to say it really.
But faced with an emergency, a power cut, loss of the internet etc. Do you have a set of important numbers on a sheet in your Filofax?
May be the contact numbers for the power company, the water and sewage company etc. Also any other important phone numbers you need and may be your account numbers with each utility company on the same sheet as well. Just in case you need them in an emergency. Give it some thought this weekend if you don't have such a sheet, may be laminate it as well.
But as this is a Friday you are of course free to discuss anything Filofax or other ring bound planner related...
Have a great weekend and stay safe.
These are exactly the times when I feel secure having a paper planner! I have all phone numbers, account numbers, addresses, prescription information, etc. in my filofax and would not need to look for any of it in an emergency.
ReplyDeleteHeavy, wet snow today, followed by sleet and freezing rain. Dug out everything late this afternoon. Just turning back into snow now at midnight, I gather we are supposed to get another few inches... What a mess. Lots and lots of snow this winter! We are on vacation this week but were unable to get away as planned due to the weather.
This is a great idea, Steve and Josh. I don't know why I hadn't thought of this before. We live in Atlanta in the southern part of the US and rarely get snow. We were blasted two weeks ago and snowed/iced in for 3 days. And it happened again earlier this week. We should be able to get out of the house tomorrow. I've spent lots of time with my pocket and A5 this week. Now, I have another page to create tomorrow!
ReplyDeleteIn all honestly, my sole emergency plan is 'always live at the top of a hill and have some candles and/or torches to hand'
ReplyDeleteMaybe I should plan better
I used to have all kinds of emergency info in my Filofax, when I lived in countries that were less than stable politically and geophysically. My Filo was set up so that I could grab it and run out the door with all my insurance, medical, contacts and other necessary information. I've gotten complacent living in safe and happy Scotland, and don't have this information at my fingertips anymore. I need to update it. No matter where you live, it's smart to have all your emergency information at hand.
ReplyDeleteI have created my own page called 'Co-Deets' for Company Details. It is a landscape page with three columns. I have the name of the company on the left, the phone number in the middle and on the right I have a wider column that contains account numbers, renewal dates, policy numbers, expiry dates, direct debit dates and amounts. Obviously not every company requires all of this info, so I just fill in what I need for each. Each company has two lines for this information, and for all my information I have 2 double sided pages in use at the moment. This system has been helpful a number of times when contacting companies - I don't need to dig for my account number or even the phone number to call in the first place. I have tweaked this page layout over time as my needs change.It just occurred to me that perhaps I should include website contact info as well.
ReplyDeleteHere in Australia we are facing floods in some areas, heatwaves and droughts in others and devastating fires to boot. The weather around the world is rather confounding at the moment. Hope everyone is taking care and the necessary precautions to stay safe.
We've had non-stop rain here in Dublin since yesterday evening :-/
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know if Succes organisers are still operating? The online shop on their website www.succes.com seems to be out of action, and the text is out of date. Maybe Judith / Jotje can shed some light on this?
Yes, here I am living an hour south of Atlanta, Georgia in the US and had 2 1/2 inches of snow in my backyard 10 days ago....
ReplyDeleteNo, actually, this is one of the few things I have been trusting to my smart phone. It has the list. And I have a back up power source for it if the power goes out. Having said that though, it would probably be a good idea to have them on paper...
I only found philofaxy recently and have been busily going through the older entries...
ReplyDeleteRandomly, I found myself in NYC this week and stopped at Sam Flax because the NYC Meet Ups seems to always be there...and I was SO DISAPPOINTED!
There weren't many Filofaxes available at all... Did I just choose a bad time to visit? Should I try again later or just settle on purchasing one online?
I have yet to purchase a Filofax and would much prefer to see and touch one in person before buying... Especially since they're not cheap...
Probably a bad time to visit. FFUSA is also out of stock of nearly everything, in anticipation of the new spring releases. Also, Sam Flax has quite a few things on the web site, so I wonder if they don't keep all their stock out on display?
DeleteI haven't been there for almost 2 years (I missed the Spring 2013 NYC meetup), but their Filofax display used to take up almost the entire back wall. They had four shelf sets: One open Filofax display case, one glassed-in case, and two cases of refills. They may have decreased it, which would be a shame.
DeleteThe back wall is still devoted to Filofax but there were only a few planners out on the shelf and in the locked glass case. I asked an employee if all of their inventory was on display and he said yes. They do still have a lot of refills/accessories.
DeleteI guess I'm just going to have to wait for the new spring releases...
I was just so disappointed because it's quite a hassle for me to go to NYC and I don't get many chances to visit there...
But on a more optimistic note, now this means I have a few months to save more money for an A5 Filofax ^^
Yes, then they have cut down their stock. The last time I was there, both those cases were quite full.
DeleteI was there over Christmas and I thought they had a small selection but mostly pocket sizes. They did have lots of color choices available. The one by me in Atlanta has a very small range on display.
DeleteI don't know what exactly is going on at Filofax USA but it seems really daft to be so low on inventory right at the start of the year, when lots of people become obsessed with planning and planners. And it must me maddening to be a retailer and have no stock to display to customers. Sam Flax was not exactly a planner mecca but it had a very decent selection the last time I was there. I see that lots of other US-based online retailers seem to have very few binders in stock as well.
DeleteIn my experience (as limited as it is), finding retailers in the US (at least in the northeast) that sell a good range of Filofax items is hard to find. At the time I started the NYC meet ups, Sam Flax had one of the better displays. I have to say that their selection has gotten smaller each time we go for the meet ups in that they won't have the latest binders or they don't have some colors of a line. But their display has alway been decent, so I'm assuming it's just bad timing.
DeleteHowever, I have to agree with Josh regarding the Filofax US website. They are sold out of many 2014 inserts with no plan of replacing them, which at the start of the year, I cannot understand. Many of the accessory inserts that were once available are no longer listed on the site. Their selection of binders is very limited also. While FF UK is gearing up for the spring line, I am very concerned that the US website will not live up to the new offerings (this is just MY concern, perhaps unwarranted). They are often behind the UK in what they offer at all, let alone at the same time. With their overall selection and presence dwindling in the US, I REALLY hope they will continue to sell their products here.
I really hope they continue to sell their products in the USA, too...
DeleteThe reason I found philofaxy is because the brand I've been using is basically impossible to find now in the US. However the Filofax personal refills and binders are compatible so I was hoping to make a smooth transition to Filofax...
Right - let's try this one again:
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know if Succes organisers are still operating? The online shop on their website www.succes.com seems to be out of action, and the text is out of date. Maybe Judith / Jotje can shed some light on this?
Seems to have gone Dutch, but the website is working for me.
DeleteThere's stil english site. You can switch languages at The bottom. This is The link
DeleteWww.succes.com/en-nl
I'm seeing the same situation as Gerard; I can view the 2013 catalog but cannot see any of the inserts.
DeleteSo sorry the snow has stopped your vacation Josh. Time for some relaxing and fun at home things!! Fondue anyone?? Seriously, stay safe all you folks near snow and floods. Thinking of you. xx
ReplyDeleteThanks Jane! We are enjoying the quiet time at home, been writing and reading and cooking. I also hope everyone stays safe through these weather events.
DeleteThanks for a timely reminder, Steve.
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to assume I can always access my laptop, but it would definitely be useful to create an emergencies sheet in my Malden.
What a strange place Australia is - we have gone from Bushfire Alerts and a bushfire burning out of control to flood warnings and partial closure of the major highway between Whyalla and Cowell almost overnight. Some places received 100 mils of rain in a few hours. Summer in South Australia - you have to love it.
ReplyDelete