Donating Unwanted Stuff

This is the time of year when we think about cleaning out a closet or garage, but what to do with the stuff you don't want anymore? Those of you that know me well know that I am the first to say "donate it" - as a matter of fact, I take a bag or three to Good Will at least once a month. But not everything is donation worthy, some stuff really IS TRASH!

Click on the link below to THE UNCLUTTERER'S opinion regarding donation vs garbage:


http://unclutterer.com/2010/12/20/deciding-what-to-donate-and-what-to-toss-or-recycle/

No More Valpac in the Mail

You can unsubscribe to the Valpac mailer by simply going to valpac.com/contact. It's easy and secure. I just did it and it took less than 3 minutes!

Recycling Made Easier

I have discovered a website that will direct you to recycling centers in your area. You simply enter what item(s) you want to recycle, for instance PAINT, and your zip code, and a list of recycling centers pops up. Easy. No excuse not to recycle.

Side note - when I entered paint and my zip, the first name to pop up was College Hunks Hauling Junk. Intriguing...

Goodwill's Donation Movement

Goodwill is launching a new ad campaign called The Donation Movement. I love to donate to Goodwill. As a matter of fact, I went to the donation center first thing this past Sunday with my old Rainbow vacuum and a box of breakable stuff I didn't want anymore. I always feel great as I pull away having unloaded my car full of useful objects for someone else to use.

Go here to view the Goodwill campaign.

10 Tips to Ease Your Everyday Stress

I can't help it. I strongly like Gretchen Rubin and her Happiness Project. And her Wednesday post was full of great, easy, common sense ideas to help relieve stress. Go here to read her post.

Practice Makes...

Erin Doland of Unclutterer today on her blog writes about practicing simplicity. "...living simply requires practice. No one goes to bed one night in complete chaos and disorder and wakes up the next morning master of an organized and clutter-free wonderland. Transformation doesn’t happen over night, and achieving and maintaining it most definitely takes practice."

For those struggling to stay ahead of the clutter, take courage in the notion that simplicity is a day to day practice that you can perfect! I practice living simply every night before I retire by picking up shoes, putting dirty dishes in the dishwasher, closing drawers and cabinets...

So as your piano teacher always said, "Practice 30 minutes everyday," and you will soon be living the simple life!

A Hoarder Sees the Error of His Ways

On June 7, 2010, The Washington Post ran a piece about a hoarder who realized "my stuff is not me". Go here to read the full story. Even though by the end of the story he went back to his old ways, it is hopeful that he will improve over time!!

Blog Recommendation

There are a lot of us that love order. I have been following this blog for several months and I would like to recommend it to other list makers, habitual straighteners and all around right brainers.

Email Advise from Seth Godin

I follow Seth Godin's blog. He is a marketing expert and most of his advice he applies to everyday matters.

Here is some advise he gives regarding emails:

1. Change your settings so that email from you has a name, your name, not a blank or some unusual characters, in the from field. (ask a geek or IT person for help if you don't know how).
2. Change your settings so that the bottom of every email includes a signature (often called a sig) that includes your name and your organization.
3. Change your settings so that when you reply to a note, the note you're replying to is included below what you write (this is called quoting).
4. Don't hit reply all. Just don't.
5. You can't recall an email you didn't mean to send. Some software makes you think you can, but you can't. Not reliably.
6. Email lives forever, is easy to spread and can easily show up in discovery for a lawsuit.
7. Please don't ask me to save a tree by not printing your email. It doesn't work, it just annoys the trees.
8. Send yourself some email at a friend's computer. Read it. Are the fonts too big or too small? Does it look like a standard email? If it doesn't look like a standard, does this deviation help you or hurt you? Sometimes, fitting in makes sense, no?

Quote for the Day

When Heidi and I formed Kessler Simple Solutions, we wanted simple to be the most important part of our organizing systems. I think everyone comes to a point where they yearn for a simple way to live. You will notice on this blog the word simple comes up alot! I stumbled across this quote and thought I would share it today:

“Things should be made as simple as possible, but not any simpler.” — Albert Einstein

The Only Thing You Can Change..

You can’t change your entire life.

You can only change your next action.

—

You can’t change a relationship with a loved one.

You can only change your next interaction.

—

You can’t change your entire job.

You can only change your next task.

—

You can’t change your body composition.

You can only change your next meal.

—

You can’t change your fitness level.

You can only start moving.

—

You can’t declutter your entire life.

You can only choose to get rid of one thing, right now.

—

You can’t eliminate your entire debt.

You can only make one payment, or buy one less unnecessary item.

—

You can’t change the past, or control the future.

You can only change what you’re doing right now.

—

You can’t change everything.

You can only change one, small thing.

And that’s all it takes.

Taken from Leo Babauta, Mnmlist

Tips for When Baby Comes Home

April 15, 2010 my great, great niece was born. The memories of when I brought my first baby home came vividly back. Excitement, overpowering love, fear and exhaustion were just some of the feelings I remember experiencing. Following are some tips I want to share with all new parents, especially Erin and Michael, for when you bring the baby home.

1. Have a breast pump ready. Engorgement is worse than childbirth!

2. When baby sleeps, parents sleep, especially Mom.

3. Accept all food gifts.

4. Let Dad get up during the night and bring baby to Mom.

5. Get on first name basis with the pediatrician's nurse.

6. Karo syrup in water is great for baby's constipation.

7. If the baby looks yellow (jaundiced), give her a 15 minute sunbath for a few days.

8. Get in the habit of the ten minute tidy up before retiring for the night.

9. Everyone will give you advise. Say thank you, and then figure it out yourselves.

10. Your life as you knew it is now over and a new chapter has begun. Live in the moment because it is over before you know it and then it is Senior Prom!

I love you guys and will be thinking of you over the next few days!! Anyone else want to offer some advise?

Oak Cliff Celebrates EARTH DAY 2010

Please save the date for the 2010 celebration of Earth Day which will take place on Sunday, April 18, at Lake Cliff Park. This will be the fourth time this annual event has been held. The attendance each year has increased dramatically. In 2007 there were 3,000 attendees, in 2008 there were 6,000 and in 2009 there were at least 8,000 attendees. This large annual increase in participation demonstrates the current interest in the community in recycling, conservation, water-wise gardening, bicycling, community gardening and preservation of both natural resources and historic buildings.

OAK CLIFF EARTH DAY 2010, P. O. Box 5243, Dallas, TX 75208-5243

You've Been Pre-Approved...

Opt out of prescreened credit card offers. This will limit the amount of junk coming into your home, prevent identity theft, and extend the life of your paper shredder too! Go to www.optoutprescreen.org.

I opted out for my daughter too. How crazy is it to offer a pre-approved credit card to a twenty one year old unemployed student???

Get Some Sleep Tonight - Keep a To-Do List!

Having trouble sleeping because forgotten tasks haunt you when you close your eyes at night? A to-do list is a great non-prescription night time sleep aid. By listing everything you have to do the next day before you go to bed each evening, you free your mind to rest along with your body!

There are tons of theories on the best ways to keep a to-do list - small spiral notebook, day-timer, calendar, Outlook calendar, Word notepad, iPhone app. Whatever method you use, keep in mind, this is YOUR personal action plan so YOU have a choice in what will work best.

We will highlight different methods over the next few weeks so stay tuned...

How do you currently keep up with everything you HAVE to do through out the day?

FREE Event April 24th

For us SMART folks who live in Oak Cliff, a FREE event in honor of Earth Day on April 24th @ 7pm.

Mark your calendars (use ink) and go to The Texas Theatre for a community screening of "NO IMPACT MAN", a documentary (and official Sundance selection!!! ) about a year in the life of an ordinary New Yorker who tries to make no impact on the earth while living in the city with his wife and 2 year old.

Free Parking behind Theatre off of Sunset.

EVENT SPONSORS: Eno's Tavern, Urban Acres, Spiral Diner, MAKE, Green Pet, Bolsa, Smoke, Oak Cliff Bicycle Company, Paper Nerds, Eric Cowan, Good Space and New Purpose Urban Farms.

For questions or additional information contact Nikki Cotten at 214-948-7127 or www.noimpactproject.org

Hard Drive Clean Out for Dummies

I don't know about you but when it comes to my computer, I am easily made to feel like an incompetent boob. I'm reasonably confident with software and the internet, but the actual machinery scares me. A hearty thank you to my geek friend Troy who bails me out of messes, but I would like to know how I can keep my hard drive lean, mean and clean.

Well, I found instructions here that are user friendly and includes pictures!!

Check it out on the next rainy Saturday morning.

Keeping Your Possessions Just In Case...

Here is an interesting thought about holding on to things for security. I read this on the minimalists blog, mnmlist.

How long should you keep your paper records?

Go here to read an article posted today in The New York Times regarding paper retention. This includes paper copies of tax returns, utility and credit card billings and investment papers.

Always keep your papers organized in a file cabinet or easy to access plastic bins. Paper boxes are not a great storage option for paper because of moisture and critters.

The One Minute Rule

Heidi and I are reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. She writes alot about decluttering, organizing, giving away and the happiness all of these task can bring to your life. We like to give credit to her for this.

If a task can be done in one minute - DO IT NOW. Hang up your coat, read a letter and toss it, put your toothpaste away in the medicine cabinet, put your coffee cup in the dishwasher.

This simple rule, if you make it a habit, will cut down on much of the unnecessary clutter in your home. What a great rule!

How to Stop Receiving Mail Order Catalogs

How many catalogs do you receive each week through the mail? Everytime you order something on the internet or by mail, your address is entered into the catalog datebase and before you know it, here comes another catalog.

If you want to eliminate the number of catalogs you receive, go to www.dmachoice.org. This service of the Direct Marketing Association estimates they will stop up to 75% of all national mailings.

When you do receive catalogs, please be sure to recycle them instead of throwing them in the trash.

7 Ways to Make Your Mornings Less Stressful

How many times have you sent your family off in tears because everyone was scrambling to get out the door on time? We have 7 things you can try to increase the smiles and turn off the tears!

1. Establish a "launching pad" close to the door where you can keep things you need to get out of the door. This is where the backpacks, diaper bag, briefcase, umbrellas, gloves, car keys, and sunglasses are always placed so everyone knows where to go to grab the things they need to leave the house.

2. Tidy up for 15 minutes every night before you go to bed. For your kids, make it a game to see who can get their room picked up first then reward them with the front seat in the car the next morning. Adults can do a quick sweep of the common areas to tidy up for the next day.

3. Make school lunches the night before.

4. Select tomorrow's outfit the night before. This prevents long decision making and arguments to start the day. And don't forget to have everyone look for both shoes, belts, or hair ribbons so that no one has to hunt for them when time is running short in the morning.

5. No television in the mornings. It is easy to get engrossed in something on TV instead of getting dressed or eating breakfast.

6. Consider getting up 5 to 10 minutes earlier.

7. Consider leaving 5 to 10 minutes earlier. You may have to set your clocks ahead to achieve this goal!

Try all of these or just one and we think you mornings will go smoother. Beginning the day with a smile and happy thoughts increases the chances of your day ending the same way!

Kessler Simple Solutions on BlogTalkRadio

Our thanks to Johnny Tan of "From My Mamas' Kitchen" for hosting Heidi and I on his call in radio show. The name of our segment is "From Chaos to Harmony". I never knew an hour could fly by so fast!

Click here to listen to the show.

We Install Elfa

Just another service offered by Kessler Simple Solutions!

Do Not Call

In case you haven't done this recently, go here to reduce telemarketing calls. You can register your land line and cell phone numbers. They say your registration is good for five years but you may want to re-register more often.

"Get rid of things...

...or you'll spend your whole life tidying up." - Marguerite Duras

Those Pesty Phone Books

Wondering how to avoid receiving those pesty phone books that arrive on your doorstep without being invited? Go here to opt out of the distribution lists.

If you want to dispose of your old phone books, put them in your recycling bin. Be sure to remove any non-paper inserts, especially magnetic inserts, that may be inside.

Power over Email overload

I found great tips on staying on top of your daily email from Michael Hyatt. Go here to check out his blog.

Recycling info from The Dallas Morning News

How to recycle everything from corks to crayons | News for Dallas, Texas | Dallas Morning News | Life/Travel

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Webroot Spy News - Winter 2010

Webroot Spy News - Winter 2010

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Endorsed by The Happiness Project

Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, confirms that being organized contributes to happiness. And she is right, to walk into a clutter free room, office, closet or space is a great feeling of freedom!

Click here to see how Kessler Simple Solutions can help you be a happier person.