Your Life. Organized.

Zero To Dinner In 20 Minutes

During the years my mom was married when I was a kid, she put dinner on the table every night. She worked outside the home, yet she still cooked for her family. These days, many people have the notion that cooking homemade meals takes too much time and effort, so kids are growing up eating processed foods, fast food, frozen food, and won't have the wonderful memories of home-cooked meals to take into their adulthood. What a shame it is.

In the past few years, Christmas Boy and I have changed our eating habits in various ways, and we've re-discovered the joy of cooking. What we realized is that dinner from scratch doesn't have to be difficult or time-consuming. In fact, most of our dinners take about 15-20 minutes from start to finish! If you just stop to think about it...

Buy Less So You Can Have More

The recent economic downturn has a lot of people re-considering and re-inventing their spending habits. I love this and think it's about time! But if the economy hasn't really taken a toll on you and you're still keeping your old spending habits, I want you to consider that when you buy LESS you can have MORE.

We all like to get "a deal" and if you work for your money like most of us do, there's nothing wrong with that. But over the years, Americans have gotten so accustomed to being able to find affordable (read: cheap) merchandise, that it's been easy to just buy buy buy and not really worry about the clutter or the long term life of the items. Much of what we purchase on a regular basis we've come to view as disposable in many ways. So instead of having your life filled with lovely things that you really love and use, your life is filled with cheap crap that ends up feeling like clutter.

But what's the real cost of the "cheap" stuff you've acquired over the years? If you were to add up all the price tags, I bet it would be staggering. Five bucks here, ten bucks there, twenty bucks somewhere else. It seems small in the moment, but over time, it adds up to thousands of dollars spent on stuff that you didn't really need and you have no real relationship with.

Contrast this quantity mindset with a whole different one which stresses need, value, functionality, and quality over price. When you begin to look at the money you spend on non-consumables as an INVESTMENT, you won't part with your money so easily. I'll give you an example...

Quote of the Week: Decisions

Each Wednesday, I share with you a quote that inspires me, in the hope that it will also inspire you.  Here is this week's quote:

"Every decision you make - every decision - is not a decision about what to do. It's a decision about Who You Are. When you see this, when you understand it, everything changes. You begin to see life in a new way. All events, occurrences, and situations turn into opportunities to do what you came here to do."

Neale Donald Walsh
Author of Conversations With God

Meet Me At The Beach!

Attention Floridians! Mark your calendars now to come visit me in Panama City Beach on Saturday April 4th from 11:00am to 2:00pm! I'll be at the Grand Opening Celebration of Beazer Homes Whisper Dunes Villas! There will be food, fun, prizes, and you'll get to see all the super-cool SMARTDESIGN options Beazer is offering in their new homes. Plus, I'll be there signing books, and the first 25 attendees will receive a free copy of my book, Organize Your Office In No Time. So swing on down and say hi, bring your organizing questions and a photo of a cluttered room to get free suggestions on how to regain control of your home! See you on Saturday April 4th!

PS: Remember... if you like this info, share it on Facebook or other social media by clicking on one of the links below.

Directions to Whisper Dunes Villas:

From Panama City:

• Follow Hwy. 98 to Hwy. 79 (approximately 8 miles from the intersection of Front Beach Rd. and Hwy. 98)
• Cross Hwy. 79 and follow Hwy. 98 approximately 3 miles.
• Whisper Dunes is on the right.

The Check-Out Line: The PurseKeeper (and Tiekeeper and Beltkeeper...)

Welcome to The Check-Out Line, where I review products (and services) that are designed to make your life easier. I give you my opinion and my opinion only. You decide for yourself. You can see my past product reviews here. This week, I'm reviewing the PurseKeeper.

Unless you live under a giant rock, you're aware that I'm the proud owner of several Butler Bags (I do have a few other purses too) and I love them all. One of the challenges of having multiple purses is keeping them clean when they're not being used. Most good quality purses come with a canvas drawstring bag for storage, and Butler Bags are no exception. BUT... unless you leave the straps sticking out the top of the canvas protective bag, you can't tell which purse is which without getting them down off the shelf. Aaaand if your top closet shelf is super-high like mine, it's mucho inconvenient. Enter the PurseKeeper...

Quote of the Week: Choose Friends Wisely

Each Wednesday, I share with you a quote that inspires me, in the hope that it will also inspire you.  Here is this week's quote:

"Be careful the environment you choose for it will shape you; be careful the friends you choose for you will become like them."

W. Clement Stone
1902 - 2002 Author and Businessman

Packaging is Everything

Have you ever chosen a product simply because of its packaging? Of course you have. We all have. Buying is an emotional process in which we weigh and make choices based on various pieces of input and packaging is a huge factor in that process. The package is what gives you the initial first impression and from there, you decide if you want to go any further or if you change direction. We do the same with people. We tend to let your first impressions be the judge of whether we like a person, trust a person, or want to continue a relationship with a person. Is our first impression ALWAYS accurate? No. But the truth is that a lot of things can put forth a negative first impression and damage our chances of making a new friend, getting a job, or landing a new client. One of those things is disorganization. When your physical space is disorganized, or you're always running late...

Use What You Have

Shopping shopping shopping! Who loves it??

We're all on a never-ending quest to replenish our lives by shopping. Much of our shopping is valid replacement of consumable necessities such as food, toiletries, paper and cleaning products. However, shopping (and overshopping) for clothing, household items and other non-consumables can sometimes be a real problem. A few hours at the store is often a way to alleviate stress or boredom, fill time, or address some other unexplainable need to distract yourself by acquiring something new. If we look at the real purpose of shopping, it is indeed to replenish what is either gone or where there's a void. But when you shop for things you already have, you end up with overflow. So here's a radical thought...

Quote of the Week: Cherish Your Dreams

Each Wednesday, I share with you a quote that inspires me, in the hope that it will also inspire you.  Here is this week's quote:

"Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul; the blue prints of your ultimate achievements."

Napoleon Hill
1883-1970, Author of Think and Grow Rich

Mileage Log = Money In Your Pocket

It's coming on tax time and if you drive at all for business, you'll want to be sure to log your miles for 2009, so you can legitimately deduct the cost of driving your car from your income. For 2009, the IRS mileage allowance is as follows:

• 55 cents per mile for business miles driven
• 24 cents per mile driven for medical or moving purposes
• 14 cents per mile driven in service of charitable organizations

So let's do a little math. If you drive your car 5,000 miles per year for business, at 55 cents a mile, you can deduct $2,750 right off the top of your income. If you're in a 28% tax bracket that equates to a tax savings of $770 for the year.

On the other hand, if you drive 10,000 miles per year for business, you'll be able to deduct $5,500 and in a 28% tax bracket, that equates to a tax savings of $1,540. That's a bunch-o-money back in your pocket!

But tracking mileage is soooo tedious isn't it? It doesn't have to be, and if you don't keep a mileage log, you'll have a hard time substantiating that deduction down the road. No proof = no deduction. In fact, when I lived in Philadelphia several years ago, I used an accountant who actually refused to factor in my mileage deduction unless I provided him with my mileage log, so I learned way back then the importance of keeping an up-to-date log on a daily basis. Trying to re-create every trip you've driven for even a week is torture, and it would be impossible for several months or more. Save yourself the aggravation and do it every day. The simplest way to track your mileage and track it accurately is to create...