Make 'Scheduled' Time for Others

Since Joe and I had our home built five years ago, we've met so many wonderful people. We truly feel blessed to have made so many great friendships.

While we try to get together with all of our friends from time to time, there are a group of four other couples that we get together with on a monthly basis. We either do a progressive dinner, dine out or order in and have a fun game night.

This morning, we had a meeting of the minds to schedule our get togethers for 2008. We worked out all the dates month by month for the year, and put one of the couples in charge of each month. The couple responsible for the month comes up with a theme, a restaurant if necessary, and any other details.

As you know, time goes by so quickly. Leaving our get togethers up to chance or 'when we have time' will pretty much ensure we'll never see each other.

That's why we came up with, and stick to, a schedule.

This concept can be applied to your own social get togethers, or even to your family members. Building in regular date nights with your spouse, or family outings, gives everyone something fun to look forward to!

Make that time for others, and make a definite schedule. You'll be glad you did!

10 Below? Do Something That Warms You Up!

I woke up this morning, took a look at the outdoor thermometer and ouch! 10 degrees below zero. Can someone, please remind me why I live in Wisconsin?

The one thing I started doing to stay warm, is to begin thinking warm.

We just started planning our Disney Vacation for the end of this year.

I've been to DisneyWorld three times so far--none of those times with kids. This year will definitely be different with our 4 year old daughter, Amanda.

Even without kids, when my husband and I visited Disney when we were first married nearly 11 years ago, we did quite a bit of planning. Neither of us are ones to waste time wandering aimlessly or getting mad because we didn't make a reservation for dinner and now we have to wait an hour or two to be seated.

This year, the planning is even more in depth.

1) Get info from others. A few friends of mine have shared their planning tools and strategies from their Disney experiences. Why not learn from what others have been through?

2) I picked up 'The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World.' It has already proven to be a magnificent resource.

3) We have our hotel reservations all set at one of the Disney Resorts.

4) We purchased the Deluxe Dining Plan, so our meals will be paid for once we get there. I've already begun making a spreadsheet of when we'll eat and where, and we'll make reservations shortly.

5) I'll be securing our airline tickets over the next few weeks.

6) In February and March, I plan to have a rough itinerary including the Disney sights and activities we want to see.

Come spring, we should be well ahead of the game, and we'll be able to use the rest of the year to make any necessary adjustments to our itinerary, based on shows that come up or new attractions.

We're so looking forward to this trip, and planning for it is the perfect way to stay warm during these frigid January days.

Making Your Bedroom a Restful Sanctuary

Having trouble finding the dresser? Is it a major production for you to clear your bed so you can sleep at night? Our bedrooms are usually behind closed doors, which makes it almost too easy to toss clutter into it when doing a quick clean for company. It's time to turn that around.

I'm going to focus on the master bedroom because this is the one room in the house that we can set up as our sanctuary or our restful haven. So, to that end, let's start getting that clutter out of there.

Remove everything from the room that belongs elsewhere. For smaller items, you can set up a box marked `belongs elsewhere'. Put all of that quickie cleanup clutter in this box.

Put all of the trash into a trash bag and take it out of the room.

Go through your clothes and weed out anything that no longer fits or you no longer like. Donate it. If there is clothing on the bed or dresser, chances are you have too much. If your clothing clutter is due to a lack of storage, it's probably time to pare down. After all, who needs 50 or more pairs of socks? Someone else will greatly benefit if you purge the excess and donate it.

Remove the exercise equipment from your bedroom--remember, you're building a sanctuary not a gym. If there's no place else for the exercise equipment, at least hide it behind a folding screen.

If you have room, put a chair with a side table and lamp for quiet moments of solitude. It makes a wonderful retreat area that you can escape to.

A major benefit of uncluttering and removing the excess is the ease of keeping it clean and organized. Once you have it decluttered, you can then decorate with paint and bedding to complete your sanctuary and then escape and relax!

Manila File Folders and Hanging? Why Both?

I recently released a brand new filing system called My Oh-So- Organized Filing System. We're very happy to say that we're getting a tremendous response to this new product.

It's very simple to set this system up and start filing immediately. Basically, all you do is begin peeling and sticking the pre-categorized labels onto your manila file folders and you're ready to go.

Any basic manila file folders you have in your house will likely do. If you don't have any, I recommend typical one- ply manila file folders that are third-cut. I use the basic beige ones made from recycled materials, but you can use any color or style that makes you happy and meets your budget.

I then take my manila file folders and insert them into hanging file folders in my filing system. Depending on the category, I am able to fit between 1 to 7 manila file folders in each hanging file folder.

Always be sure to include the hanging file folders, as they allow you to easily finger through your filing system, without the file folders slipping to the bottom of the file drawer.

Some people file right into the hanging file folders, but I find that 1) papers tend to curl and bend in hanging file folders and 2) if you wish to remove a manila file folder from the drawer, you can adhere a sticky note to the hanging file folder where it belongs so you know where to return it when you're done with it.

Bottom line is, I use both. My categorized manila file folders are always inserted into my hanging file folders. I never have a problem finding what I need--quickly and easily--and the system always looks consistent and neat.

2 Nights Left and 200 Pages to Go

Each month, for the past 4 years, I've been involved in a monthly book chat with friends. In a nutshell, we all read the same title, and then we get together to discuss the book. It really makes a book worth reading when you know you can talk to others about it!

I'm currently reading 'The Other Boleyn Girl' by Philippa Gregory. It's a very long book--nearly 700 pages. Problem is, our book chat is this Sunday afternoon, and I'm only up to page 500!

I guess I engaged in a few too many holiday activities in December, and didn't meet my nightly reading goal of 20 minutes daily. Oh well. Sometimes you just have to be flexible.

So, I'll be bumping my reading up to an hour tonight, an hour tomorrow night--and I'll finish up whatever I don't complete in those two sessions on Sunday morning prior to the chat. At least, everything will be fresh in my mind for our discussion.

If you haven't yet read this book, I'm so enjoying it. I barely want it to end. But it has to, as our next book, 'Eat, Pray, Love' is next on the agenda.

Happy New Year!

I'm always so excited about the new year. While you can start fresh any time, January 1st always has that extra kickstart so many people need to get going on their new goals.

Hopefully, by now, you've made some resolutions, or simply some new goals for the new year.

Write down those goals, and post them in a place where they are very visible to you. A great way to display your goals is to write or type them onto a sheet of paper and then display them in a picture frame, on your bedroom nightstand or your office desk. Include any small photos that will encourage you to reach your goals along the way, such as a photo of a dollar bill if your goal is to save a certain amount of money this year, or a picture of a vacation destination if you're planning for that special trip.

Do something today that will get you a little closer to your goals. If you want to lose 10 pounds this year, skip the sweet treats and get on that exercise bike. If you want to learn a new instrument, sign up for lessons or purchase an instructional DVD.

Each day, do at least 'a little something' to get you closer to your goal. Even working on a goal for 5 minutes is better than not working on it at all.

Wishing you and your family a very happy, healthy, prosperous and SUPER ORGANIZED new year!