Happy New Year! Reaching Your One Goal

Wishing you the very best for 2007!

January is Get Organized Month and we're looking forward to helping you to Sort Things Out, one step at a time!

If you had to choose one thing to Get Organized in your life for 2007, what would it be?

We'll be focusing one just one organizing goal for the month of January, and would like you to share your success with us!

ASSIGNMENT:
1. Post your One Organizing Goal in Comments and check back regularly throughout the month to give us updates!

Please make sure to cheer each other on and encourage each other, as we take each day, one step at a time.

Wishing you success beyond your expectations!

Til next time...
Eva, www.Sort-Things-Out.com

Holiday Shopping - Last Minute Gift Cards - Fraud Alert

For those of you who are doing last minute shopping in the next 48 hours (like me), just be aware of a recent fraud alert about Gift Cards on open display racks or in the shopping aisles of retail stores.

Here's the recommendation of the best way to purchase your Gift Cards:

"It is recommended that individuals who purchase a gift card buy them from a customer service representative and not directly from a display rack. Given a choice between prepaid cards displayed on an open rack versus those kept behind a customer service counter, the latter is clearly the safer choice."

So, ask for gift cards directly from the cashier (not on display).

As if we don't have enough to worry about; now I'm wondering if any of the gift cards that I already gave to teachers, might be drained by now! I guess the "bad guys" will always be thinking up new ways to steal from the rest of us honest folks. Why can't they just steal from each other instead?

OK, now that we're down to the wire, remember to take a 10 minute break just for yourself, and forget about all the shopping, visiting, cooking and stress of the holidays.

Helping you to Sort Things Out, one step at a time: www.Sort-Things-Out.com

Til next time...

Holiday Preparedness: Avoid Family Conflicts

Being organized has a way of bringing peace into your life. We especially need this around the holidays, when the stress levels are at an all time high.

The key is... advance planning. Let's look at one big source of stress in many peoples lives: Visiting Family. (Is this hitting a nerve with any of you?)

Below is a link to a WebMD website article for some great tips about how to plan ahead to avoid possible family conflicts this year.

I especially like Tip #1: Be Realistic: "Don't think anything is going to be perfect", and Tip #3: Share The Work: "assigning tasks ahead of time".

Good Cheer -- 7 Ways to Squelch Holiday Squabbles
Etiquette expert Emily Post shares her tips for keeping the "happy" in your holiday experience.

What are your thoughts? Does this apply to your family? Let's us know in Comments.

Helping you Sort Things Out, one step at a time: www.Sort-Things-Out.com

Til next time...

Holiday Stress - Take a "Time Out"

Feel like you're going crazy trying to get everything done on your list?

I'm going to suggest something that may sound like the complete opposite of getting organized...

STOP. Forget about "The List" for now. Forget about getting all the shopping done by a certain date. Forget about finding that "perfect" present.

Time to take a TIME OUT... and take care of yourself.

One key part of being organized is... finding peace.

So, do something special for yourself today. (If anyone asks, send them to me).

ASSIGNMENT: (10 minutes)
Make time for you... and only you.

Start drafting that business plan that's been swimming around in your head, indulge in a chocolate truffle, put on a CD that you love and haven't heard in a while, write a journal entry, do aromatherapy, pamper your feet with lotion, or anything else that DOESN'T have anything to do with the holidays.

Please share with us and leave a comment about what you did for your "Time Out".

Helping you to Sort Things Out, one step at a time... Sort-Things-Out.com

Til next time...

Holiday Planning: Keeping it all together

Are you organized in keeping your holiday paperwork together in one place?

Right now, you're probably swamped and overwhelmed with last minute preparations for the holidays, but I'm going to have you simply STOP for a moment, RIGHT NOW...

We're going to take the next 2 minutes to get your current holiday paperwork organized in one place.

Forget about all the million other things that you have to get done, this is important. It'll help keep you to on track going forward.

Do this in the next 2 minutes:

ASSIGNMENT:

1. Find something* in the house to keep all your holiday paperwork in one place.

(*a folder, 3 ring notebook, a big ziplock bag, a big 9x12 envelope, a box, a drawer, a basket, anything).
*What? Don't have anything in the house to keep it all together? Email me and ask me to send you a FREE organizing folder. It's clear, 9x12 with a string closure to keep everything inside. No strings attached on this offer, I have extra inventory of folders in my basement and need to get rid of it!

2. Gather all your holiday paperwork** and dump it in.
(**holiday lists, greeting cards received, address, stamps, budget, receipts, advertisements, catalogs to order from, recipes, travel tickets, whatever you have related to the holidays.)

That's it for now. Don't worry about having it all perfectly organized right now, we'll do that another time.

You can go back to your regular life now, but check back with us again in a couple of days for another organizing tip.

Helping you to Sort Things Out, one step at a time: www.Sort-Things-Out.com .

Til next time...

Holiday Shopping - Buy Locally

How organized are you with your holiday shopping?

As we're winding down to the last few days before the holidays, I can feel the stress levels rising all around... Have you gotten around to shopping on-line yet? How many emails a day are you getting in your in-box from the same on-line retailers telling you to "Hurry! Only 2 days left!". Too much stress!

It's a numbing experience; I'm just hitting the DELETE button at this point, without even opening those emails. I don't want to even think about it.

How about you?

But, we must get our shopping done...

On-line is ok, but it's getting down to the wire and the free shipping offers are dwindling.

I just saw an ad in our local paper, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce, that promotes what I've been thinking about recently:

Support locally owned business.

The idea is to invest in our community, keep the money that you're spending in our town, support our local economy, our neighbors, our tax base. Keep It Local.

Look over your "Gifts to Buy" list (or sit down and start writing your list if you haven't), and think about which gifts you could get locally.

Also, keep in mind "clutter-free" gifts.

Here are some ideas:

Gift certificates to the following:
-Local restaurants
-Book stores
-Video Rentals
-Speciality or gourmet shops
-Local hardware store
-Computer store
-Lessons for kids
-Arts & crafts store for teachers
-Theater or movies
...Etc...

Try to buy in multiples, one store to cover several people on your list.

Leave a Comment to let me know how you're doing with your Holiday shopping, what you are buying this year, or what your thoughts are about shopping locally.

Helping you to Sort Things Out, one step at a time: www.Sort-Things-Out.com

Until next time...