NEAT & SIMPLE LIVING

Do you know what "enough" is for you?

As the year comes to a close, I found this treasure by Dawn over at www.FrugalforLife.com   She talks about how she came to define for herself what "enough" is so that she could be happy and fiscally sound by living a frugal life.  She decribes people who are content and have found what "enough" means to them as follows:

• They have a purpose that is larger than their needs or wants – They have a mission to help others; they aren’t out to fulfill their own desires, because those would be infinite and not bring the happiness that comes from helping others.
• They can account for where their money is – they know how much they have and how much they spend and they are ready for the unexpected
• They have their own ideas of ‘enough’ – They aren’t relying on what kind of car their neighbor bought or how many vacations they took. They look inside and they see that this *blank* is sufficient for happiness, whether bought at a yard sale or not.

Read her entire post here...

While Dawn is talking about money, this is true of living a reasonably organized life as well. 

• You have to have a purpose that serves others as well as feeds your passion in life in order to organize to make it happen.  What is your clear & compelling purpose?
• Knowing what you have and being able to access it (regardless of how messy that is or what it looks like) is empowering.  Whether it's knowing how much money you have and where it's going, or knowing where your important papers are, or just knowing where your keys are.  Knowing what you have and how to get to it makes it possible to be ready for unexpected problems as well as for unexpected opportunities for great things to come into your life.   Are you ready for a fabulous 2007?
• Know what enough is for you is a powerful tool to help you make decisions wisely.  What is enough money?  knowing this helps you choose your career and how much time to put into it.  What is enough clothing?  Knowing this help you let go of excess.  How neat do you need to be to function well?  How organized do you need to be?  Is just having all your photos in one big box enough?  Great!  Do you need them all sorted into albums?  Is it worth doing that over other ways you could be spending your time?  What is enough for you?  Where do you draw lines and make choices?   

These thoughts are on my mind intensely as I start the new year and think about how I want to move forward with my business, balancing work with having a life and managing the way I spend my time.   What is enough fun? enough work? enough business growth?

But for tonite, I'm off to enjoy First Night Montclair and ring the New Year in with FUN!  Hope you have an inspired, peaceful, joyous, and wonderfully Neat New Year!

A Perfect Mess - Professional Organizers Respond - Kathy Waddill, Monica Ricci, Jessica Duquette

I've got to make this quick because I have to go to an appt all day today...I'll be posting more on this as soon as I can.

__________

Here's a chapter of the book  A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder you can read free.

Here's blog posts by

Monica Ricci  http://monicaricci.typepad.com/monica_ricci_organizing_e/2006/12/the_misguided_b.html

Jessica Duquette
http://www.its-not-about-your-stuff.com/2006/12/the_new_york_ti.html

___________________ 

Here's a link to NPR's audio cast of the Kathy Waddill responding to the harsh and unfair critique of her, NAPO and our whole profession by the authors on Talk of the Nation, December 28, 2006.

Guests:

Dave Freedman, co-author, A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder, and contributing editor and technology columnist at Inc. Magazine

Kathy Waddill, professional organizer and author of The Organizing Source Book: Nine Strategies for Simplifying Your Life  Her Website:  The Untangled Web

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=6691239

I'll be chiming in soon!  : )

NeatReceipts Scanalizer Problem Resolution With Windows

UPDATE February 2008  see my article about organizing financial records and information, scanning systems, and doing your taxes using tax software.

See my Recommended Neat & Simple Financial Organizing Products

HOW WE RESOLVED OUR ISSUES WITH NEAT RECEIPTS

I spoke to NeatReceipts today 12/7/06.  Our problem was due to a rare Windows issue!  We tried again with help from their tech support. I'll let you know how it goes!  p.s. Their service seems to be excellent!  We just have to get another one...since we already returned our previous one.

_________________________________

I tried the NeatReceipts Scanalizer system and sad to say, I was very disappointed. I had very high hopes for being able to rid my clients (and myself) of the need to keep business receipts.

Alan & I spent a day working with it and tried every kind of receipt we have including Staples, Target, Home Depot, Linens & Things, Office Depot & more. We even tried Supermarket receipts! Not a single receipt scanned in and populated the Scanalizer fields. Every entry on the receipt had to be entered by hand. Even the name of the Store. It recognized nothing. All it did was scan it in like any graphical scanner would do. To me the power of scanning is in the OCR capability - (recognizing the text and entering it as text for you into their database).

I think it's a better investment to go with a more powerful scanner.  Haven't found the right one yet...would love to hear if anyone out there has found a powerful quality OCR scanner that easily integrates with a database, is reasonably portable and costs under $500.

New Book "Everything Home Storage Solutions" Features Ariane's Neat Living Tips

What a great way to kick off the New Year!  Last year I was interviewed by Iyna Bort Caruso for her book The Everything Home Storage Solutions Book"  and I  got my copy of it just before Christmas. 

I finally had a chance to read it and I am so happy it turned out to be a great book!  I love that she emphasizes decluttering to gain storage space over buying lots more storage and products.  She also emphasizes having a plan and measuring before buying and products.  Then, she provides ideas on ways to store, well, just about "everything"!

I just checked on Amazon and there are only 3 left!  Way to go Iyna! 

To see more on Amazon:
The Everything Home Storage Solutions Book"

If you get the book, you can see me on pps. 5, 7, 15, 39, 40,and 100!  (Thanks for sending me the pages, Iyna!)

p.s. it's really a small world.  This book is published by Adams Media in Avon, Massachusetts...which is a little town that borders the city I grew up in, Brockton, Mass.  Another coincidence?  Iyna used some of my quotes to write an article for Natural Home Magazine called "Clutter's Hidden Death Toll".   

It was published in the SAME issue (January 2007) where I was quoted in another article 3 Steps to Clutter-Free Living by another writer and neither of them knew about the other! (See my blog post)!  So I'm in there TWICE!   I love that kind of stuff!

Conquering Clutter - Especially For Senior Citizens

An article called "Conquering Clutter" in the January & February 2007 issue of the AARP magazine provides some interesting insights into the constant battle we all face between wanting to not waste stuff, and wanting to keep our lives simple and organized.  Keep too much, your hoarding.  Let go of too much, you may be wasting. 

According to the author, David Dudley, Here are some of the special concerns the over 55 generation may be facing.

"For older people the challenges of keeping clutter at bay take on a specific dimension. Depression-era mindsets about the value of manufactured goods have not adapted to the short shelf lives of today’s technology. That same technology is making it even easier, via the Web, to participate in the consumerist frenzy that is American culture. Meanwhile, household demands have grown in complexity as an array of vendors now deliver cable TV, Internet access, and cell phone service—and their accompanying monthly bills—to a home already lashed with a steady stream of junk mail.

Add the inevitable health concerns, complicated medication schedules, and related memory issues that advancing age can bring on, and a once functional household can descend into chaos practically overnight.

The dangers are both physical—a cluttered house is an obstacle course for people with limited mobility—and psychological. Particularly when the day comes that all that stuff has to go."

Read more here! 

We specialize in Senior Care at home. If a loved one is need of assisted living, or home health care, Comfort Keepers can help. Our emphasis is on in home care so your loved one can lead a more comfortable, independent life.

3/18/07

Organizing a Kosher Kitchen - Resources

I recently worked with an Orthodox Jewish family to help them organize their Kosher kitchen.   It was so interesting and challenging that I thought I'd share some of the resources I found.  Keeping a Kosher kitchen means that food must be prepared, stored, and cooked according to Jewish religious law. A Kosher site called www.happyhomepage.com summarizes the approach as follows:

"Kosher food can be divided into three categories: meat, dairy and pareve. Meat and dairy foods are never eaten, cooked or washed together, but pareve foods may be eaten with either meat or dairy. One of the basic principles of Kosher is the total separation of meat and dairy products."

Organizing a Kosher kitchen is a significant challenge because in addition to separating the food, you have to separate EVERYTHING the food touches!  You can't just cook them in separate pots, and you cannot use a pot that has had meat in it to cook something with dairy in it.  So to maintain your kosher kitchen, you need at least 3 entire sets of dishes, pans, cooking and eating utensils - that NEVER touch each other! You can't even store them in the same drawer or cabinet. The kitchen I organized also had 2 microwave ovens and 2 sinks (you can use the same stovetop if you follow the proper procedures.)  (Learn more about keeping a Kosher kitchen here.)

Since the Meat, Dairy & Pareve cookware can't be stored in the same drawers, or washed in the same sink, it's truly like trying to fit 3 kitchens into one. 

This was not an easy task, but we made it work!  Zoning, Labeling and color coding are ESSENTIAL to organizing a Kosher kitchen. You have to simplify every task & routine and you really have to be brutal about letting go of things you don't use often.  While sorting, you need to be careful to keep meat with meat and so on. To make things easier, here a few things we did.

• Got white and black utensil holders and put dairy utensils in white on the counter next to the stove.  On the other side we put meat utensils in black.
• Labeled every cabinet and drawer.
• Created zones by putting all the meat things to the left of the stove as much as possible, including the meat Microwave, knives, cutting board, etc.  The meat sink was to the left as well.  Dairy was to the right as much as possible.  Pareve was in the center cabinets. 
• Created a lunch preparation zone with meat containers in one drawer and dairy containers in another.
• Anything not used at least weekly or monthly was put in an overflow storage cabinet in the basement or in the Dining room.  This includes all the Passover and Holiday items.  Shabbas though was giving special drawers and cabinets in the dining room.

I found some great ideas and resources online to help my clients maintain their newly organized Kosher kitchen and make it easy to keep everything separate easier.  The following sites carry items to organize a Kosher kitchen. Some use a color coded scheme; blue for dairy, green for pareve, and red for meat, which are very popular colors to use in Jewish homes. But you can't always find everything in the right colors, so labels are critical.  These sites have pre-made Kosher coded engraved signs for putting on cabinets and drawers, oven, dishwasher and microwave safe labels & coins you can attach to cookware & other items, color coded and labeled cutting boards, kitchen towels, oven mitts & more. 

http://www.milechai.com/jewishcooking/kosher1.html

http://www.happyhomepage.com/easykosher.shtml

http://www.nvo.com/1800dreidel/kosherkitchen/

http://www.jewish-life-organized.com/kosher-kitchen.html

More neat Jewish Living resources can be found on the Solutions For Busy Moms Blog

If you have any specific tips or good websites for organizing a Kosher kitchen, please be a mensch and leave me a comment below! 

Mazel Tov!  : )

Are You Forgetting Something? Cure Brain Overload with an Easy Reminder System!

Let's face it.  We are all so busy today that there is no way we can remember everything that needs to get done.  All those things that need to get done once, twice, three or four times a year are SO easily forgotten!  I'm talking about stuff like:

• Dentist & Doctor Appts.
• Oil Changes
• Birthdays & Anniversaries
• Making an appt with your tax preparer
• Filing estimated taxes
• Fertilizing the lawn & garden
• etc.

Having a good reminder system is the way to go.  One way to do this is to use your calendar / planner, but personally, I don't have the patience to sit and write all these things in for the year every year. 

I've also never had success with a paper-based Tickler File system.  Gina Trapani describes the problem with tickle files beautifully.   "Getting Things Done author David Allen recommends keeping a tickler file which consists of a folder for each day of the month. Productive person that you are, you review that file religiously every single day for anything that has to be dealt with today. As a not-very-disciplined productive person, this system doesn't work for me."  She further states "I simply never remember to review [it]. I need a tickler file that's going to jump onto my desk and do cartwheels..."          

I agree completely!  My solution?  I use a computer-based reminder system.  My choice is Outlook but, one the best things about the digital age is that there are many options  for programming reminders and setting them up to recur forever!  No maintenance, no repetitive work.  Do it once and it's done.  You can set up reminders for daily, weekly, monthly, every 2, 3, 6 weeks, annually, whatever you need!  Need to upgrade or change computer systems?  Most of them allow you to export your reminders and calendar into a file and then import them into your new system!  And many of these choices are free!

I often teach people how to do this and it changes their lives.  So I thought I'd pull together several sources here that teach you how to set up reminders in various "free" calendar / planner systems.  Technically, Outlook isn't free, but lots of people use it so I'm including it.

Outlook 2007 (very similar to Outlook 2003)

Straight from the Microsoft site, here are easy instructions to program your reminder system.  You need to schedule and appointment first, then make it recur.  For full detailed instructions on how to schedule appointments go here.

Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Office 2003 in 24 hours, has put the entire book online FREE!  Including instructions on how to set up appointments and recurring reminders in Outlook online here!  Scroll down to the the section titled "To Do: Set Appointments"

NEAT TIPS:

--> To keep your reminders which have no set time from interfering with scheduling real appointments, be sure to put a check in the "all-day event" option next to the Start Time. 

--> If you really want to geek out and become an Outlook power-user, or just get tips on enhancing your productivity with Outlook Reminders, check out this site Outlook Tips and select the Reminders option.

Yahoo! Calendar (free)

Lifehacker's Gina Trapani has a great article on "How to Tickle Yourself with Yahoo! Calendar."  She shows you step by step how to set up reminders with Yahoo!.

Google Calendar (free)

You can see Google calendar for yourself at: Google Calendar

Check out this review from TechBlog. It includes instructions and the comments are really interesting too.   

Here's one posted by Jim Thompson that explains how to set up the recurring reminder.

"here's how to set up an annual event. Click on the event in the calendar, and in the popup balloon, click Edit Event Details. Isn't it obvious now how to set up a recurring event? Nope, wasn't obvious to me either - I found it only by accident. Click somewhere in the date field, and a whole new set of entry fields will appear. One of them will let you specify how often the event repeats."  Read the entire comment here.

30 Boxes Calendar (free)

If you really want to be cutting edge and use a calendar that's designed to be shareable and has all the latest social networking functionality you want to check out www.30boxes.com   It's still in beta, but it's worth checking out just to experience the possiblities in calendaring that truly have never been seen before!  : )

Here is an in depth review from Thomas Hawk's Digital Connection Review: 30 Boxes, Best...Calendar...EVER!   

I played around with it a little and I must say it is tempting!!  It would be nice to access my info from anywhere, but at this point that's not a critical need for me.  Some of the really attractive features to me are:

• Able to share appointments and events with other people selectively!  You can tage only the things each of your calendar buddies are able to see on your calendar!
• Per Thomas Hawk's review:
  
  "Entering items for your calendar is super intuitive. You just type whatever into the box and the calendar figures out where it goes. For instance, you can type in dinner tomorrow at Myth and it knows that tomorrow means February 3rd and will put it on your calendar for that day. You of course can add by the actual day too or edit by day but simply typing into an add event box is really easy. And (here's more eye candy) if you throw in the address in your calendar (as you would expect of course) it fetches a Google map for you." 

• Also from Thomas Hawk's review:
  
  "Update: 30boxes into Outlook | A Mountain Top A Mountain Top is reporting on a Remote Calendar project over at Sourceforge that seems to allow you to import your 30 Boxes calendar into outlook."
• It can integrate with your buddies www.flickr.com and their blogs!   

That's all for now...I'll add more options as I find them!  Feel free to introduce me to other great calendar based reminder systems via comment or email:  abenefit at neatandsimple.com  (to reduce spammers I'm not including a mailto: link. Just change the at to @ Thanks!  : )

Get More Neat Living Ideas on Time Management and Productivity Here!

Got a bit of Gadget Mania? Having Trouble Resisting the Urge to Splurge? Sometimes all it takes is the right question!

I confess.  I am a natural born enthusiast.  And, I am especially drawn to creative ideas! So when I saw this clever little gadget at the Container Store, I got all excited. 

How clever!!  It holds your cooking utensils so you don't have to lay them down on your stovetop or get your spoon holder dirty!  So I showed it to my husband.  "What do you think?  do you want one?" 

He looks at me and gives me some of my own medicine ..."Do we REALLY need that?"

I stopped dead in my tracks.  Looked at him and started laughing.  Just that question started me thinking about what a pain it would be to use and how quickly it would become clutter! 

• Where would I put it when it's not on the pot so that it would be handy? (I don't have drawers near my stove.) 
• Suppose I put it in the other not so handy kitchen drawer, will I really get it out of the drawer to use it every time I cook? 
• Then clean it and put it back? 
• Nah

All of a sudden, my good old fashion spoonrest that sits on my stovetop 24/7 starting looking beautiful again.  Besides, it's shaped like a cat!!!  And I do love my cats!  : )

Goes to show you - NO ONE is immune from the appeal of a clever kitchen gadget.  But one little question - the right one - can give you much needed power over your impulses! 

Do I REALLY need that??? 

 Will I REALLY use that? 

Where will I PUT that??

Come to think of it...my own medicine didn't taste that bad.  And I still have $10 in my pocket!

This is one of a few close calls I've had this holiday season.  The bag of impulse purchases I have to return to Linens N Things is proof I'm not always that strong.    The bag is already sitting next to my front door waiting to go back.

So how are you holding up with the ever tempting "urge to splurge" this holiday season?  : )

p.s.  I do the same thing for him in his weaker moments!  : ) It's all about teamwork.

Another Alternative to Traditional Gift Wrap

Thanks to Micheal Chandler, a "green" builder in North Carolina for sharing this tip! www.ChandlerDesignBuild.com

Hi Ariane,

Beth and I run a design-build company and we are local “Green Building” leaders. So we’ve been looking for alternatives to store bought wrapping papers since even though we save all our Sunday funnies we don’t have enough for all our wrapping needs. Your idea about using last years calendars made sense but we didn’t have enough so we hit on an idea that really is working for us.

Because of our interest in architecture we get many, many architectural periodicals and the ads in those are very graphically and culturally edgy. So Beth got out a stack of old Dwell and other architectural magazines and some scissors and we now have architectural themed re-cycled wrapping paper. The gifts look more like three dimensional collages. And they really express our personalities both in the colorful architectural theme and in the recycled aspect.

Thanks yet again.

Michael

Hmm...what a great idea! This could work with lots of other magazines & publications too! I get one from a paint company called Stir! Lots of neat photos.

See Related Posts: http://blog.neatandsimple.com/blog/gift_ideas/index.html

Thanks for the contribution Michael!

Going Green - One Bite at a Time - Check out this "Sassier Shade of Green"

Have you wanted to go green and be more conscientious about protecting our environment & natural resources but found it to be overwhelming and too exhausting to do all the research to figure out the green way to do things?  Well, this website has a solution for those of us who need a "lighter, sassier shade of green!"

Ideal Bite will send you a tip a day!  You can take it or leave it, but you will learn greener ways to do things without having to do a lot of research!  Plus when you have a specific question, like how to unclog your drains without putting poison down your drain you can search the very extensive and well organized tip library!  (I'm taking notes for my library redesign : )

Top Ten Tips From Ideal Bite

1. Just Say No to Junk Mail - Resolutions Week 2006   [Note: Neat Living gives these tips 5 Stars! !!]
2. A Proper Burial for Your Dead Batteries
3. Taking Ourselves More Lightly
4. Plastic Baggies and Tupperware: Not Such a Party
5. What REALLY Helps? - Home Energy Week
6. BYOB
7. Every Fruit Has Its Season - Good Cooking Week
8. What Could Be More Natural?
9. Kitchen Consequential - Spring Cleaning Week
10. Bottled Up

Thanks to Perri Kersh, a professional organizer in Chapel Hill, North Carolina for introducing me to the Ideal Bite!  Her company is called Neat-Freak Professional Organizing and her neat blog "Enough is Enough" is at http://neatfreak.wordpress.com/ 

Cultivating the Happiness Habit

Ben Franklin's Thirteen Virtues are timeless. And Gretchin Rubin's latest post reminds us that happiness is not a destination...it is a byproduct of cultivating positive habits in which we respect & take care of ourselves & others. And guess what number 3 on the list of virtues is?  Order.   Being organized is not just about giving yourself easy access to the things you need. It's essential to your fundamental ability to be happy!

Here's the full list from his autobiography.

1. TEMPERANCE. Eat not to dullness; drink not to elevation. 
2. SILENCE. Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoid trifling conversation.
3. ORDER. Let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time.
4. RESOLUTION. Resolve to perform what you ought; perform without fail what you resolve. 
5. FRUGALITY. Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself; i.e., waste nothing. 
6. INDUSTRY. Lose no time; be always employ'd in something useful; cut off all unnecessary actions. 
7. SINCERITY. Use no hurtful deceit; think innocently and justly, and, if you speak, speak accordingly. 
8. JUSTICE. Wrong none by doing injuries, or omitting the benefits that are your duty. 
9. MODERATION. Avoid extreams; forbear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve. 
10. CLEANLINESS. Tolerate no uncleanliness in body, cloaths, or habitation. 
11.TRANQUILLITY. Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable. 
12. CHASTITY. Rarely use venery but for health or offspring, never to dulness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another's peace or reputation. 
13. HUMILITY. Imitate Jesus and Socrates. 

Cultivating all of the virtues, and becoming organized especially, is about developing new habits to replace the ones that aren't serving you.  Gretchen has devised a Score chart system for herself that is worth reading about.   

One of her readers left a comment suggesting a site that features a really neat & extremely simple way to use technology to help you track your goals and change your habits.  The developer was also inspired by Benjamin Franklin's 13 Virtues!   Check out www.joesgoals.com .  You won't be sorry! 

What items get misplaced most often in your home?

The results of our survey are in!  Here are the items that get misplaced.

For those you who prefer lists:

1. Keys
2. Remote Controls
3. Cell Phone
4. Eye Glasses
5. Receipts
6. Bills
7. Clothing
8. Tools
9. Mail
10. Wallet

Free Hugs For All

I found this amazing video on Micheal Port's Book Yourself Solid blog.  It brought tears to my eyes. And true holiday spirit to my soul.

I'd definitely give this guy a hug. Would you?   You must watch it to the end....

This video has been viewed on YouTube.com over 256,000 times.

Hugz,

Fujitsu ScanSnap Review - 2 Thumbs up!!

Thanks to Professional Organizer, Tracy Axcell for this great review of the Fujitsu ScanSnap.  See Fujitsu's product information site including a video demo here.  You can see the Fujitsu ScanSnap at Amazon with 22 positive Reviews!!!

The Fujitsu ScanSnap is designed for scanning way beyond receipts. But for receipts, you can load numerous receipts in one pass and every one of the receipts are searchable through OCR in the pdf file.  If you only want to scan receipts you can do that with an All-in-One but if you want them truly searchable you have to "capture and catalog" every single receipt which is very time consuming. 
 

With Fujitsu ScanSnap you can load multiple pages to feed thru as one document and the speed is unbelievable!  I have used an All-in-One but it is just too slow.  (Most my clients are converting to paper-less so the speed is a big draw.) A huge benefit is that it scans both front and back at the same time - it doesn't have to make two passes to get both sides, then it discards any blank page.   It also comes with Adobe Acrobat 7.0 and an inexprensive option of upgrading to Professional.   

Another reason I like it over an All-in-One is that you can load a stack of papers that are different sizes and scan them as one document and it doesn't get jammed.  The All-in-Ones I've used require the paper all be the same size if you load multiple pages.

Don't get me wrong, ScanSnap is not something to buy for a residential client who just wants a copy of her receipts.  Under $400 it is really to be used for business clients, home office clients or clients who want to scan everything in their files.  But, for my money it is way beyond worth it! 

[Editor's Note: You can get the Fujitsu ScanSnap at Amazon for a great price!

Tracy Axcell

www.OfficiallyOrganized.com

Neat Checklist to Simplify Sending Holiday Cards!

Here's a step-by-step checklist to simplify and make it easier to send those holiday cards on time! 

1. SIMPLIFY / CUT BACK ON YOUR LIST!

In an effort to simplify, this year we have decided to minimize the number of paper cards we send out.  For the first time ever, I'm not going to add anyone to my list that is already at 200!  I'm also cut our list to 90! It's not easy, but we did it.  Here's my strategy for cutting back. 

People we are taking out of our Christmas labels Word File.

1. People I've lost touch with.

2. People who are business / school acquaintances. 

3. People who don't send us cards (including family members).  Obviously they must not care about getting any if they don't send any, right?

4. People who understand why we are trying to simplify. (Sending over 200 cards is just too much!

5. People we know don't really care whether or not we send a card.

6. People who will be just as happy if we just send them a digital e-card!

People we are keeping in the file.

1. Family Members & friends who send us cards regularly because they love sending & getting cards.

2. People who meant a lot to me during my life when I lived in various places around the country that I really love exchanging updates with every year.

3. Older people we know don't get a lot of cards, don't have computers, and for whom receiving a card means a lot to them.

2. START EARLY & PREPARE THE "INGREDIENTS"

Start a couple weeks before Thanksgiving if you can. Chunk out your tasks into manageable bites as shown below.  Every week we get 2 - 3 of these tasks done.

1. Update your address book and mailing label lists & print out the labels
   (I recommend using a Word Template for address labels from Avery)
2. Print out or gather your Return Address Labels. 
   (I make my own in Word, but you can also just buy labels, or even better start gathering the labels you get for free from different charities.)
3. Buy Holiday Stamps from www.usps.com.  They are usually available by Thanksgiving.  If you order early you never have to worry about your local office running out. 
4. Make sure you have the right number of cards.   
   (I usually buy cards when they are on sale for the next year so I don't have to scramble to get this done. I keep them in a box in my office closet labeled Christmas.  I also keep any unused labels & stamps and last year's gift lists in that box. )
5. If you send out photo cards, choose your photo & get them ordered.
6. If you send a holiday newsletter, start outlining the things you want to include.  If you send pictures inside a cards, choose one and get it duplicated.
7. Write your Newsletter first draft.

2. PUT THE INGREDIENTS TOGETHER & MAIL!

Week 1 after Thanksgiving do the next steps.

TIP: Prepare cards a few at a time while watching TV so it isn't overwhelming.

1. Put Return Address Labels on all your envelopes (try doing - 10-50 cards at a time)
2. Put Stamps on all your envelopes

Week 2 after Thanksgiving do the next steps.

1. Put Recipient Address Labels on the cards
2. Do your final edit, then print and fold your holiday Newsletters (if you have one) and put them inside the cards.  Also, put each card with it's stamped and addressed envelope.
3. Divide cards into sets of  5 - 10 cards each.
4. Each day work on a set of cards.  Also, get a plastic bag to carry cards with you.  Anytime you have to wait somewhere, like at a doctor's office.  Write personal notes and sign your cards.
   

   If you really don't want to spend time on personal notes, you can order pre-printed cards.  If you do that, you can just skip steps 2-4 and go directly to the next step!

5. Mail the set of cards!

Do a set each day and even if you have 100 cards, you'll have them all personalized and sent in 7 -10 days!  If you have more cards than 100, go back to Step One and Simplify!  : )   Or start a week or 2 earlier. 

Wishing you Happy, Healthy & Neat Holidays!

Here's a comment from a Robbi in California.  Thanks Robbi!

I keep a Christmas card list in my computer, in the Mail's Address Book, in a special folder called Christmas Card List. (I'm on an Apple Macintosh.)

In November, I go through it to make sure that the people on it are ones I want to send cards to. I remove those who haven't been in touch throughout the year. Then I print the list, which includes names, addresses, and family members' names such as spouse and children.

When I receive cards, I doublecheck the sender's address against my Address Book. Then I shred the envelope. Then I mark on my printed Christmas Card list that I received the card. I write any notes on it for updating the Address Book, such as new spouses' or children or pets' names, dates of birth, new jobs, new email addresses or whatever.

On December 31st (allowing for late arrivals), I go to my computerized Christmas card list and remove those people who have not sent a card, and update the Address Book. Then I throw out the cards and start the New Year clutter-free!

Robbi in California

What are you depriving yourself of in order to keep your clutter?

Want to know why I love Monica Ricci? Here's an excerpt from a post she wrote about why we need to get a grip on at least SOME of our sentimental attachments to our things in order to make room for what we really want in our lives.  I couldn't have said it better! Monica says:

"I know we all have sentimental attachment to things in our lives and I believe it's just our nature. It's part of what makes us human beings. However, when the attachment is so great to nearly everything, and we feel as though we have no choice in the matter, it becomes a problem and an obstacle in the way of our happiness and quality of life. My job is to come in and be an equalizer, helping people to begin to take back their power over their things, to loosen the emotional ties, and get them to a place where they decide what is most important and special, and what's just taking up space.

And listen, I'm human too. I have emotional attachments to physical items just like you do. The difference is that I am very clear on who's in control, and it's me -- not my stuff. I'm very clear that in order to make space in my life to be me, to live and work the way I want to, and to deliver my gifts and talents to the world, it's crucial that I take charge of my life."

So what are you depriving yourself, your family and the world of because you are too busy dealing with stuff and clutter in your space, your life and your mind?  Are you ready to take charge, keep what's really truly important to you and your family and let go of the rest? 

Read Monica's full post / article here

Natural Home Magazine Article "3 Steps to Clutter-Free Living" Features Ariane's Neat Living Tips!

I'm honored to be quoted rather extensively in the article   3 Steps to Clutter-Free Living by Misty McNally that appears in the Jan / Feb 2007 issue of Natural Home magazine!    

Here are some excerpts:

_________________

"Benefit also says to eliminate:

1. Things that don’t work
2. Things that annoy you (e.g., a rickety old file cabinet with a stubborn drawer)
3. Things you’re keeping because someone gave them to you
4. Things that bring up negative thoughts such as I was so stupid to buy it, but I paid a lot for it, so I’m keeping it. “This is a terrible thing to do to yourself because it brings you down every time you look at it!” Benefit says.
5. Excessive amounts of freebies, such as all those pens you’ve collected.

Before you keep something that might not be worthwhile, Benefit recommends you ask yourself:

1. Do I really love this?
2. How does this item make my life better or easier?
3. Have I used it in the past year?
4. Will I really ever use this again?

If parting with particular items is stressful, Benefit suggests putting them in a closed box for a trial separation. “A year from now, if you haven’t used anything in the box, donate it without even opening it,” she advises."

Read the whole article at:  3 Steps to Clutter-Free Living

6 Great Re-usable, Creative Gift Wrapping Alternatives!

Check out the six beautiful, convenient, re-usable, and recyclable gift wrap ideas at EarthEasy.com!

My favorites are:

• Fabric Gift Bags.  They include instructions to make your own.    But you can also buy them!  Check out these 2 neat stores:
  Paper Mart and Lagniappe Gift Wrap
• Comic Strip Pages.  I've used this one for kids and adults - they love it!
• Last Years Calendars.  What a neat idea!
• Children's Art

See more details and ideas at: Gift Wrapping Alternatives.

Another source for neat gift-wrapping ideas:  Paper Mart

How can you Lose Weight, Eat Healthier, Reduce Kitchen Clutter & Give a GREAT gift? Check out the Vita-Mix!

I got my Vitamix blender / juicer / ice cream maker / veggie chopper a year ago to help me eat more whole, unprocessed foods, quit sugar and go gluten-free...and now I couldn't live without it!  I'm using it to help me lose weight AND clear clutter at the same time.  I use my Vitamix to make:

• sugar-free ice cream and sorbets
• whole fruit & vegetable juices
• smoothies
• soups
• chop vegetables & nuts
• shave / chop ice

You can also use it to grind coffee and make your own flour!It makes salsa, pesto, puree, baby food, and so much more.

The Vita-mix is a commercial quality blender that chefs in the best restaurants use to make their own ice cream and sorbet, soups etc. It's not cheap...but you'll use it often.

And it'll save space too! What better way to organize your kitchen and control clutter than to have one appliance that does the job of several others? I gave away my old blender, ice shaver, vegetable chopper & juicer.

HOW TO MAKE HEALTHY ICE CREAM IN LESS THAN A MINUTE!  Keep a variety of frozen fruit on hand and you can make your own ice cream any time you feel like it!  Just put several frozen fruits and add milk almost cover the fruit.  Add a little vanilla and vita-mix it!  Add milk as needed to get the consistency you desire.

We use whole unsweetened frozen pineapple & grapes to sweeten ours and it's delicious!  You can use melon, mango, berries and mix em up creatively!

TIP: When you have bananas that are getting really ripe, peel them & break them up into chunks. Then freeze them to use as a creamy base for smoothies and ice creams.  You can also freeze grapes.  When freezing canned fruits, remove them from the can.  I use Rubbermaid TakeAlongs to freeze fruit in.

If all the ingredients are pre-frozen, you don't have to add ice or water.  That's what allows you to make really creamy ice cream from just fruit!

It's a great tool to help you lose weight and eat healthier because when you use the Vitamix to make your own homemade soups, juices, etc. you know exactly how much sugar, salt, and fat you are getting.

When I read the back of my favorite canned soups, I was stunned at how much sodium, sugar and MSG there was!  Even in Campbell's soups!  By making my own soups using the Vitamix to chop the base onion, celery, carrots & garlic it could not be easier!  No crying while chopping onions!   I get to control how much salt and sugar I have and I know I'm not getting any MSG, chemicals or preservatives that give me headaches, stomachaches & more.  Just the whole healthy foods I choose to eat.  The Vitamix includes an awesome recipe book, too.

Cleaning the Vitamix is easy too.  All you have to do is rinse it, add a drop of soap, blend for a few seconds, rise and it's done.

Everyone I know who owns a Vita-mix RAVES about it. It is fully guaranteed for 7 years, so you've got nothing to lose! With this tool, making your own soups and ice creams is almost as easy as buying them...tastes a LOT better, and are MUCH healthier!

This would make an AWESOME gift for anyone in your life who is diabetic or really trying to lose weight or quit sugar! It's not cheap...but it's been worth every penny to us.  We have used it a lot and the practically indestructible blade is sharp as ever.

Use this link to GET FREE SHIPPING from Vitamix.com!

If you get one, or have one, would love to hear how you like it and what your favorite recipes are!

Sending Neat Thoughts!

We all want to eat healthier. Poor diet can create problems with diabetes and cholesterol and we have health resources which will help. Find the best medical websites at Healthline.com.

3/18/07

Organizing for the holiday - Greetings.ca

Though we are spending our weekend continuing to recover from waterproofing our finished basement, I couldn't resist taking a break from the painting to share this neat Canadian Holiday Blog called Greetings.ca with you!  Brianne, one of the editors, wrote a great post about how she's going to apply the christmas ornament organizing tips she got from the Holiday Storage article I posted in my Holidays category (courtesy of Jennifer Swanson, a brilliant organizing consultant based in the Minneapolis, MN area.)

This blog has some really neat articles including:

-  What Jewish people  do on Christmas day.

-  Preparing for Hanukkah (Chanuka) which starts on December 15 at sundown. 

-  What to consider when buying toys for young kids

( Link: Organizing for the holiday - Greetings.ca.)

How to get to the end of your to do list

As I'm sitting here going over my To Do "BOOK"  and calendar for the week, and checking my mail...this post by "The Encouraging Coach" Beth Dargis caught my eye : How to get to the end of your to do list.  Her advice is spot on!  Great Reminders during this busy holiday season to not try and do it all at once. 

Have you written a great article or post on managing your TO DO lists?  Send me the link or put it in a comment below...I'm looking to create a post of the best links on how to manage your To Do or Action list!   

Thanks!

Joan Goldner is offering Neat Living Readers up to 30% off BusyBodyBook Planner Calendars! (I'm using to Organize to Lose Weight!)

Last month I wrote about how to choose a planner and I mentioned the www.busybodybook.com  is an excellent tool to use when you have a need for multiple calendars.  It's like having 5 calendars in one! 

You can also use it as a To Do notebook or a Goal / Project Tracker.  You place your To Do Categories or Goals or projects across the top.  Then on each day you can write what needs to be done in 5 different areas! 

I'm getting one to help me lose weight...My plan is to make one column my Food Tracker, one column for tracking calories & weight / inches, one for tracking unplanned eating & planning what I'm going to do next time instead of eating something I didn't plan to eat, and one for tracking exercise! I've already quit sugar & gluten...so now I've got to focus on limiting cheese & butter...and getting more aerobic exercise. 

Joan Goldner, creator of the planner calendar saw my review and is now offering Neat Living readers up to 30% off on the Award Winning BusyBodyBook through December 31, 2006!  And they are only 16.95 to begin with!

Buy one copy and save 20%, use Marketing Code:  NEATA
Buy two copies and save 25%, use Marketing Code:  NEATB 
Buy three copies and save 30%, use Marketing Code:  NEATC

If you buy 3, it's like getting one free.

To place your order, visit www.BusyBodyBook.com  and enter the appropriate Marketing Code near the end of the checkout to receive your special savings!  While your at it, check out her blog too!

Thanks Joan!

Reprinting / Using Material From This Blog

WANT TO USE MY ORIGINAL ARTICLES ON YOUR WEBSITE, BLOG OR NEWSLETTER?

If you would like to reprint or use large portions of articles by Ariane in your magazine, newsletter, blog or website, below are the guidelines.

1. On your website, please introduce the article stating why you are sharing the article with your readers. This helps avoid complete duplication of content.

2. Please include my bio and copyright exactly as it appears below at the beginning or the end of the article. Please be sure the hyperlinks are working. 

______________________

© 2009 Ariane Benefit 

Ariane Benefit, M.S.Ed, Organizing Coach, is the founder of the Getting Unstuck Organizing Coaching and Clutter Support Group which helps people overcome Chronic Disorganization and manage ADD & ADD-like symptoms. She is also a blogger and author of the home office organizing book titled "Neat & Simple Guide to Organizing Your Office"

 

3. Send a courtesy email to me at abenefit "at" gmail.com including a link to how you've used my work. I love to see how people use my articles!

Thank you!