Stop buying storage bins and start making decisions these practical rules can help

• Stop organizing and storing stuff you dont actually need. Declutter first, then buy storage only if you still need it.

• Set rules that make decisions easier. Ask whether you'd buy an item today and use a seven-day deadline for selling it.

• Make clutter actually leave your home. Create a donation spot, use a one-in-one-out rule, and end every session with something going out the door.

Most of us don't have a storage problem. We have a too-much-stuff problem.

That's an important distinction because the first solution usually involves buying shelves, plastic tubs and elaborate closet organizers. The second solution is considerably cheaperowning less stuff.

But getting rid of things is harder than it sounds. There's the $150 appliance you haven't used in years, the clothes that might fit again someday, and the mysterious charging cable you're afraid to throw away because you're certain you'll need it again.

If youre feeling a bit overwhelmed, try these practical tips designed to make decluttering faster, cheaper, and considerably less painful.

1. Start with the stuff that requires zero thought

Don't begin with your wedding photos or the box of your kids' kindergarten artwork.

Start with the easy victories. Things like expired food, broken toys, dried-up pens, empty boxes, and if youre like me, those instruction manuals for appliances you no longer own.

These items require almost no emotional decision-making, and getting them out immediately creates visible progress which is important.

Once you've filled one trash or recycling bag, tackling the harder stuff doesn't seem nearly as intimidating.

Pro tip: Start with trash, not treasures. Give yourself 15 minutes and walk through the house looking only for things that unquestionably belong in the trash or recycling. Don't make any difficult decisions yet.

2. Ask the replacement question

Here's one of the most useful questions you can ask while decluttering: If I didn't already own this, would I buy it today?

It's a much better question than, "Could I possibly use this someday?" You could potentially use almost anything someday. And that's how garages end up containing 14 extension cords and six half-empty cans of paint.

Instead, imagine that the item disappeared overnight. Would you spend your hard-earned money replacing it?

If the answer is no, you've learned something important about how much you actually value it.

3. Don't turn a $15 item into a three-week project

This is where good decluttering intentions go to die.

You find something you don't want and immediately think: "I could sell this."

Next thing you know, youre snapping pics of a $15 lamp, writing a Facebook Marketplace listing, and answering "Is this available?" multiple times. Not worth the hassle in most cases.

Your time absolutely has value, so be sure to set a minimum selling threshold before you consider reselling things. Maybe you'll only individually sell items likely to bring in $30-$40 or more.

Everything below that gets bundled, donated, given away, or recycled.

Pro tip: I like to use the seven-day sales rule. If an item doesn't attract a legitimate buyer within seven days, reduce the price once. If it still doesn't sell, donate it. Dont let your "for sale" pile become permanent dcor in your bedroom or garage.

4. Create an outgoing lane

Most homes have places where clutter enters. Could be the kitchen counter, the table near the front door, or maybe the Amazon boxes in the laundry room. Far fewer homes have a designated place for all things that are leaving. So consider creating one.

Put a donation box somewhere accessible that the whole family can use. Maybe in the garage, laundry room, or coat closet. Then, when someone encounters something they don't want, they know exactly where it goes. There's no more throwing it in the corner to deal with it later.

When the box is full, its a goner. This turns the idea of decluttering from an occasional exhausting project into something that happens continuously and keeps it from getting out of control.

5. Don't buy organizers until you're finished

Don't start your decluttering project at The Container Store. This tip may save you more money than anything else in this article.

Storage bins are excellent at one simple thing: allowing us to keep more of our stuff.

Before buying a single organizer, remove everything you don't need. Then put what's left away.

You may discover you don't need additional storage at all. If you still need organizers, measure the space and buy exactly what fits.

Pro tip: Declutter first, organize second, shop third. Reversing that order often means spending money to neatly store possessions you should have gotten rid of.

6. Close the front door to new clutter

There's no point removing 10 items if you're going to buy 15 replacements. Instead, try a simple "one-in, one-out" rule for the categories that tend to multiply.

When you buy a pair of shoes, one pair leaves. New coffee mug? Goodbye, old mug. New sweatshirt? Pick one you don't wear.

For serious clutter zones, make it one-in, two-out until you've reached a comfortable amount. Better yet, institute a 30-day buying pause on nonessential household items while you're decluttering. By thinking this way, you'll often discover that you already own most of what you need.

7. Be smart about where your stuff goes

Not everything belongs in a trash can.

Items in good condition can go to charities, thrift stores, Buy Nothing groups, friends, or family. Electronics, batteries, paint, and other potentially hazardous materials may require specialized recycling at places like Best Buy or Home Depot.

If you're donating to an unfamiliar organization, verify it first. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends researching charities and checking their names along with terms such as "complaint," "review," "rating," or "scam."

Also, check donation rules before loading up your truck. Many organizations will reject mattresses, damaged furniture, recalled products, or other items they can't safely resell.

And don't use "I need to find the perfect person to give this to" as another excuse to keep something indefinitely. Finding a good enough destination today is usually better than finding the perfect destination six months from now.

The final rule: Something has to leave today

Make sure every decluttering session ends with something physically leaving your house.

Put the trash in the outside bin. Take the donations to your car. Drop off the electronics for recycling. Hand the giveaway to your neighbor.

And always keep in mind that the goal isn't to make massive organized piles in the living room, it's to have less stuff cluttering your life.

The cameras may photograph your car even if you've done nothing wrong

• Flock is tightening its safeguards after cases of police officers misusing its license plate camera network.

• New rules require specific reasons for searches, flag suspicious activity, and cut data retention from 30 days to seven.

• Drivers should ask who can access their vehicle data, how searches are audited, and what happens when the system is misused.

Flock Safety cameras have spread rapidly across American roads, giving thousands of police departments the ability to search records showing where vehicles have been spotted.

Now the company behind those cameras is confronting an uncomfortable problem: What happens when the person doing the searching is the one abusing the system?

Flock is taking steps aimed at increasing oversight after cases in which law enforcement officers allegedly used its automatic license plate reader (ALPR) network for purposes far removed from catching car thieves or violent criminals.

Here's what drivers should know.

First, what does Flock know about your car?

Flock's roadside cameras automatically photograph passing vehicles and then create records that include the following:

• License plate number

• Vehicle make, model, and color

• Any distinguishing characteristics

• Exact location

• Exact date and time

Police can then search those records as part of an investigation.

As you can imagine, these cameras can be enormously useful. A stolen vehicle might pass a Flock camera miles away from where it disappeared. A car connected to a kidnapping or violent crime could potentially be located much faster than through traditional investigative methods.

But there's another side to that capability, as a large enough network of cameras can produce numerous records of the same vehicle over time.

In one Virginia lawsuit reported by NBC News in 2025, for example, 176 cameras around Norfolk reportedly recorded one driver's vehicle 526 times in roughly four months. Another plaintiff's vehicle was recorded 849 times during a similar period.

These large numbers dont mean that police were actively following those drivers, as the cameras were simply recording the vehicles that passed by. But it does show just how much location and vehicle information can accumulate, even when youre not part of an active investigation.

So what changes is Flock making?

• Every vehicle search will need a specific reason. Officers will have to enter a case code connected to an investigation and identify the type of offense, such as kidnapping or motor vehicle theft. The goal is to prevent officers from using vague explanations like "investigation" or inventing a reason for a search.

• Flock will automatically flag suspicious searches. Police departments will be required to use an auditing tool that looks for unusual activity, such as an officer repeatedly searching the same license plate or conducting clusters of searches late at night. When the system spots potentially suspicious behavior, the user can be temporarily locked out until an administrator reviews it.

• Vehicle data will generally be deleted after seven days. That's a significant reduction from the previous 30-day retention period. An exception will apply when information needs to be preserved as evidence in an ongoing investigation tied to a case number.

• Departments will get more control over who can search their cameras. Agencies will be able to decide which types of investigations other departments can use their camera data for. For example, a department could allow outside searches involving kidnapping or homicide while blocking searches related to immigration enforcement.

5 questions to ask about Flock cameras in your community

If your city or county uses Flock cameras, you don't need to be a surveillance expert to ask the right questions.

Start with these:

1. Who is allowed to search the system? Ask whether every officer has access or whether searches are limited to investigators or specifically authorized personnel.

2. Does every search require a case number or justification? A requirement to document why a search is being performed can create an important accountability trail.

3. Who reviews the audit logs? This may be the most overlooked question. Ask whether supervisors conduct random or routine audits rather than waiting for someone to complain.

4. How long is vehicle data retained? Find out your department's actual policy rather than assuming the vendor's default applies everywhere.

5. What happens when someone misuses the database? There should be a written policy covering investigations, discipline, and potential loss of access.

A new survey finds anxiety is a major reason people put off care and experts say there are simple ways to make healthcare visits feel less overwhelming

• One in three patients say theyve skipped, canceled, or rescheduled a healthcare appointment because they felt anxious or nervous about going.

• Missing care can have consequences, including running out of medication, worsening symptoms, or eventually needing urgent or emergency care.

• Making appointments easier to manage including offering text reminders, online scheduling and easy rescheduling could help reduce anxiety and keep patients connected to care.

Going to the doctor sounds simple enough, but for some people, making it through the front door can be the hardest part. Anxiety about an appointment, fear of bad news, discomfort with medical settings, or even the stress of making a phone call can all lead patients to put off care.

A new survey from Tebra found that 71% of Americans have missed, canceled, or rescheduled a healthcare appointment in the past year. Even more striking, 33% said they did so specifically because they felt anxious or nervous about going.

That hesitation can have real consequences. Among patients who skipped care, 59% said they experienced a negative outcome, including running out of medication, having a health condition worsen, or eventually needing emergency care.

So why does healthcare anxiety have such a strong hold on patients and what can people do when nervousness keeps them from getting the care they need? ConsumerAffairs spoke with Kristin Trick, MA, LCMHC-QS, LPC-S, RPT-S, to better understand why healthcare visits can feel so overwhelming and how patients can make them a little easier to manage.

Why are patients skipping appointments?

The survey identified which types of appointments patients are most likely to cancel:

• Dentist appointments (49%)

• Specialists (29%)

• Gynecology/urology (28%)

• Blood tests/medical imaging (28%

From this information, it would appear that the occurrence of anxiety may stem from fears of pain, uncertainties about results, or the sensitivity of particular forms of treatment, Dr. Trick said. In addition, the survey showed that 64% of respondents would not inform their provider of the actual reason for their absence.

The risks of canceling appointments

Dr. Trick explained that delayed treatment is the most prominent consequence of canceling doctors appointments.

Among the individuals who failed to make it for their scheduled visit, 36% had to wait for a long time, 22% had exhausted all their medicines, 15% reported deteriorating symptoms, and 8% even ended up in an urgent care facility or an emergency room, she said. Health facilities can avoid all these results by ensuring that rescheduling is not a difficult process and by following up with those who fail to show up for important visits.

Another factor to consider: Patients who use insurance run the risk of shortening their coverage length when they miss appointments, which delays treatment.

If a client misses their November session and cant be rescheduled until January, their deductible will be reset so theyll pay a much higher rate when they couldve applied significant coverage in the original appointment, Dr. Trick said.

Digital tools can help ease anxiety

The survey also found that some patients feel anxious when they have to call a doctors office and cancel or reschedule their appointment.

The solution? Adopting the latest technology to help ease some of those nerves.

What patients want more than anything else is ease and convenience, Dr. Trick said. SMS alerts turned out to be the most frequently chosen solution with 58% of people selecting it; then came the online appointment booking sites with 43%, followed by one-click cancel or re-scheduling options with 37%; and lastly, email alerts received 30% of votes.

Digital convenience is a must if healthcare practices want to retain patients. The ability to reschedule an appointment electronically promotes efficiency, as well as supports privacy. Ive had several clients cancel appointments over the years due to medical emergencies or sudden deaths of loved ones. No one in those situations wants to manage their calendar or make phone calls to revise plans. Enabling appointment changes through text or portal messages takes the burden off patients who need to cancel due to crisis.

Decreasing anxiety

To help patients feel less anxious and ensure they have the ability to cancel and reschedule their appointments to maintain continuity of care, Dr. Trick shared some strategies for healthcare organizations.

• Inform patients in advance about what to expect during their appointment.

• Train employees to react empathetically towards anxious patients.

• Provide the possibility for private communication for those patients.

• Use supportive messaging in cases of canceled visits rather than a punitive one.

• Be clear and direct with cancellation policies and rescheduling options.

Anxiety originates from and is perpetuated by fear of the unknown, Dr. Trick said. When facts and details are provided and repeated, both written and verbal, clients anxiety about appointments decreases.

The most important insight here is that no-shows do not necessarily indicate a lack of concern for one's own health by patients. Rather, they are more likely caused by various obstacles such as anxiety, work-related issues, cost problems, and difficult scheduling procedures. By concentrating on getting rid of such obstacles by demonstrating empathy and increasing accessibility, practices can positively influence attendance and patient relations in general.

Two more months data will determine the actual number

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• The Senior Citizens League projects a 3.6% Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for 2027, down from its 3.8% estimate in July.

• A 3.6% adjustment would add about $69.75 to the average monthly benefit used in the groups analysis, raising it from $1,937.53 to $2,007.28.

• The estimate remains preliminary, with August and September inflation figures still to be included before the official adjustment is announced in October.

Social Security recipients could receive a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment in 2027, according to a new projection from The Senior Citizens League. However, two months of inflation data remain before the final figure is determined.

The nonpartisan seniors advocacy group lowered its forecast from 3.8% in July. Despite that decline, the projected adjustment would be 0.8 percentage points higher than the 2.8% increase beneficiaries received for 2026.

If a 3.6% adjustment took effect using the average benefit cited by the group, monthly payments would rise by approximately $69.75, from $1,937.53 to $2,007.28. The actual increase for each recipient would depend on the persons current benefit.

The forecast was updated after the release of July inflation figures, the first of three months used in calculating the annual Social Security adjustment. The official COLA is based on the average Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers, or CPI-W, during July, August, and September, compared with the corresponding average from the previous year.

August and September prices are key

Because data for August and September are not yet available, the 3.6% figure remains subject to change. The Social Security Administration is expected to announce the official 2027 adjustment in October, with higher payments beginning in January.

The Senior Citizens League produces a new forecast each month using a statistical model that incorporates consumer prices, interest rates, and the national unemployment rate. Its estimates change as economic conditions and new inflation data emerge.

For beneficiaries, a larger COLA can help offset rising household expenses, but it does not necessarily translate into an equivalent improvement in purchasing power. Older Americans often devote a substantial share of their income to housing, healthcare, insurance, utilities, and food. Increases in Medicare premiums can also absorb part of the additional Social Security income received by beneficiaries enrolled in the program.

But the devices remain stubbornly hard to stop

By Mark Huffman of ConsumerAffairs

• Secret Service agents found 35 skimmers during a three-day New York City sweep in June, estimating they prevented $36.5 million in potential fraud.

• The devices can be installed in seconds, closely imitate legitimate terminals, and transmit stolen card data wirelessly.

• Skimming persists partly because most benefit cards still rely on vulnerable magnetic stripes instead of fraud-resistant chips.

The U.S. Secret Service is intensifying a nationwide campaign against payment-card skimming, conducting coordinated sweeps of stores, ATMs, and fuel pumps as increasingly discreet devices threaten consumers and recipients of government benefits.

In one of its largest recent operations, 14 teams inspected 3,935 payment terminals at 1,010 businesses across New York City from June 23 through June 25. Agents and local authorities removed 35 illegal skimmers 15 in Brooklyn, 10 in Queens, nine in the Bronx, and one in Manhattan preventing an estimated $36.5 million in potential losses, according to the Secret Services account of the operation.

The sweep, conducted with the New York Police Department, the city Department of Investigation, and the Agriculture Departments inspector general, was the fourth major skimming operation in the city. Together, those efforts have uncovered 133 devices and prevented an estimated $139 million in losses.

The New York crackdown follows a broad expansion of the Secret Services anti-skimming work. During 2025, the agency led 22 outreach operations, examined roughly 60,000 terminals at more than 9,000 businesses and removed 411 devices. It estimated the interventions prevented more than $428 million in fraud. Agents have continued conducting operations in cities including Dallas, Houston, and communities in Northern California this year.

A device that hides in plain sight

A skimmer captures information from a cards magnetic strip. Criminals may combine it with a false keypad or miniature camera that records a customers PIN, then encode the stolen information onto another card and use it to withdraw cash or make purchases.

Some skimmers are installed inside fuel pumps, where customers cannot see them. Others are molded overlays that fit so precisely over a point-of-sale terminal that they can pass a casual inspection.

The devices also require remarkably little time to deploy. Criminals can attach one in seconds, sometimes while an accomplice distracts a cashier. Once installed, a skimmer may store account information for later collection or transmit it wirelessly in real time, according to the FBIs skimming guidance.

That combination speed, concealment, and remote data collection creates a difficult enforcement problem. Removing a device stops one stream of theft, but it does not necessarily identify the installer or the broader criminal organization. Nor does it prevent another inexpensive overlay from being placed on the same terminal later.

What to do

Consumers can sharply reduce their risk with a few habits:

• Tap instead of swiping. Contactless cards and mobile wallets are generally safest. Otherwise, use the chip rather than the magnetic strip.

• Inspect the terminal. Look for loose, crooked, unusually thick, or mismatched parts. Gently pull on the card slot and keypad; dont use the machine if anything moves or looks altered.

• Cover the keypad. Shield your hand while entering a PIN to defeat hidden cameras.

• Choose safer machines. Prefer bank-owned indoor ATMs and fuel pumps visible to store employees. At gas stations, consider paying inside.

• Use credit instead of debit. Credit cards usually provide stronger fraud protections and dont expose money directly from your checking account.

• Enable instant transaction alerts. Review bank and benefit accounts frequently so fraudulent activity is caught quickly.

• Lock cards between uses. Many banking and EBT apps let users temporarily freeze cards or block out-of-state and online transactions.

• Protect EBT benefits. Change the PIN regularly particularly before monthly benefits arrive and avoid easy combinations such as 1234.

• Never disclose a PIN by phone, text or email. Banks and benefit agencies will not contact you to request it.

If you detect an unauthorized transaction, immediately lock the card, contact the issuer, change the PIN, and request a replacement. Report suspected skimming to the store or ATM operator and the FBIs Internet Crime Complaint Center.