Hubby was looking for work for several months. I had to explain to him that looking for work now is not the same as it was years ago. The days when you could just walk in, interview and leave with a job are over for the most part. Today a thorough and effective job search should include personal and online efforts. Putting your resume online is a great tool. It’s quite helpful to have one there, it will keep your memory fresh when updating your paper resume. You’ll need your paper resume for your local job hunt efforts such as the opportunities you find in the classifieds. Just remember – looking for work online is convenient but you have to get out and put yourself out there too. Good luck!

A friend of mine recently started looking for an apartment. She asked me if I knew what some of the abbreviations meant. I had her show me the ads and I was familiar with most. I was surprised to find a few that I had never seen before. I compiled a list she could use as a reference. Here’s the list, in case any of you need it.

• a/c: Air Conditioning
• appl: Appliance
• appt: Appointment
• apt: Apartment
• ba: Bath
• bldg: Building
• br: Bedroom
• bsmt: Basement
• cen Air Central: Air Conditioning
• clsts: Closets
• crpt: Carpet
• d/w: Dishwasher
• dep: Deposit
• din rm: Dining Room
• elec: Electricity
• flr: Floor
• fpl: Fireplace
• furn: Furnished
• hdwd: Hardwood
• incl: Included
• kit: Kitchen
• lr: Living Room
• nr: near
• priv: Private
• prkg: Parking
• ref: Reference
• refrig: Refrigerator
• req: Required
• rm: Room
• schls: Schools
• sec: Security
• st: Street
• stu: Studio
• stv: Stove
• terr: Terrace
• trans: Transportation
• unfurn: Unfurnished
• util: Utilities
• wd: Washer/dryer
• ww Crpt: Wall to Wall Carpet
• wat: Water
• wbfpl: Wood Burning Fireplace

For those wondering – hgh is not a real estate abbreviation, although I guess it could be turned into one.

Where do you keep your small hardware and things, like nails, nuts, screws, bolts and picture hangers? Lots of people keep them in a junk drawer, something we ourselves did for years. Here’s an inexpensive tip on how you can keep your small items like that stored and organized. Save some empty glass jars. the jars can be from anything you like, possibilities include spaghetti sauce, pickles and baby food. Wash the jar out and dry. Screw the lid from the jar to the underside of a cabinet or shelf. Place your small hardware (or whatever else it is that you need to store) into the jar and screw it onto the lid. That’s it. Your stuff is organized, easy to find and out of the way.