Total Type A: January 2011

Monday, January 3, 2011

Daily Favorites in 2011

Okay, I lead a pretty average life. I was just talking with my husband last night about exactly how average we are. Married, house, jobs, 2.5 children. I know I am not alone though because lots of people have an average life. I am happy about average because it means I'm not below average.

After seeing several news stories this morning about New Year's Resolutions, I decided it might be fun to post a daily favorite thing for each day this year. This is not a resolution because I know I probably won't keep it up. It will probably only last 3 days until I realize that I'm too busy with my 4 year old and toddler to keep it up. Oh, well. At least the thought is keeping me busy today.

Do Something for Someone Today!

Ask people to donate items to charity in your honor instead of buying you birthday presents
Clean out your kitchen cabinets & donate those food impulse buys to a local shelter or food bank
Do a chore your significant other usually does and give them a break
Give up your parking space and walk farther
Give your arcade/fair tickets to a child instead of cashing them in for a gag item for yourself
Let someone in front of you in the grocery store check-out line
Take your mother out to breakfast
Try to compliment everyone you work with at least 1 time in a day
Volunteer to cook dinner for families of seriously ill children at the Ronald McDonald House
Write a Thank You note

Organize it! Tips

1. Dedicate 7 seconds to putting an item in its place. If you can't put in somewhere in 7 seconds, throw it away, shred it, donate it, or designate a place for it. This prevents "the piling" phenomenon.

2. Have a garage sale every year. This is a great way to earn some extra money, spend time with friends, and to clear out your home.

3. If you haven't worn it in the past year, it needs to go. Put it in your garage sale or donate it. If you follow this, you will recycle several articles of clothing each year in your garage sale and can then replace those with new articles you buy with garage sale earnings. This prevents your closet from getting out of control.

4. Clear out the clutter. Less is often more when it comes to organizing and home decorating. De-cluttering a space makes it appear larger, cleaner, and creates a more relaxing environment (if you are claustrophobic, that is)

5. If you are selling your home, clear all magnets off your refrigerator and put the can opener, toaster, etc... in the closet. This will make your kitchen appear larger and cleaner.

6. If you are selling your home, have a huge garage sale before you start showing your home instead of just before or after you move and discover your stockpile. At the end of the yard sale, give items away for free or call a charity to pick up everything. You don't want any of that coming back into your space...it's worth missing out on the extra $20 you "could make next time."

7. Daily to-do lists. If you have a list and a filing system, you can file all the documents you are actively working on and pull them out when you are ready to finish them and cross them off your list. This helps your work space stay organized and clear. Stockpiling papers all over your desk can be overwhelming and increase work stress.

8. Storing like items in tubs and then labeling the tubs is an effective and clean way to store. Do this in your garage for cleaning supplies, yard stuff, car stuff, pesticides, painting tools, etc...

9. Clear out your rooms and designate garage sale or donation items regularly througout the year instead of saving it all for 'spring cleaning.' You can store garage sale items in tubs in your garage until your garage sale comes.

Monday, January 3, 2011

Daily Favorites in 2011

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