Get Organized Now! Newsletter by Maria Gracia http://www.getorganizednow.com Issue: November 28-December 4, 2009 Number of Subscribers: 181,999 ====================================================== Hello {!firstname_fix} ====================================================== ====================================================== Organize Those Mountains of Paper Once and For All ====================================================== So many people have spoken of the so-called paperless society. There's no doubt that the world hasn't caught on to this concept yet. There's more paper than ever... bank statements, insurance paperwork, schedules, school-related reports, medical records, warranties-- and of course all the fun paper too, like memorabilia, articles, hobby-related stuff and more. This is not to mention all the email messages and computer documents that get printed and copied each day--even more paper! These papers start small, quickly turn into piles, and then grow into mountains. Sometimes, these mountains of paper get so high, that the thought of tackling them is just too overwhelming-- especially when you don't have a good filing system in place or much time to put one together. If you're sick and tired of the piles of paper taking over your home and your life and you just don't know where to start, I have a solution for you. The good news is, this solution won't take hardly any time at all, and the result will be stunning--a filing system that will allow you to dismantle those mountains and find whatever you're looking for in seconds. Visit: http://www.getorganizednow.com/filing.html P.S. I guarantee you'll be able to get all your paper organized, in an efficient, easy-as-pie to set up filing system that will be the envy of all your friends. Here's what a recent customer had to say ... Your My Oh-So-Organized Filing System was just the ticket for me to finally get my files lean and mean! I started one Saturday afternoon with four file drawers and two boxes. A few hours, three bags of shredded material and one Pride and Prejudice miniseries on DVD later, I was down to just one two-drawer file cart with a handful of stackable trays, one grab-and-go file holder for my desk and an organized box of manuals and warranties for my husband's workbench. All I had to do was open the filing system, put labels on folders, and get to work. Besides having everything all planned and printed, the most helpful aspect of the system was the handy guide. I learned there were plenty of papers that needed to be shredded instead of filed and I gleaned some really useful tips for keeping information at my fingertips. I never realized how much information I kept scattered around the house. Now it's all in one place--easy to find and easy to use. The day after I finished setting up the system my husband needed a manual for one of our appliances. I was able to locate it within seconds. Boy, was he impressed! Thanks again for such a great product. --Cate Brizzell, Author of 'Real People Don't Diet' ====================================================== Organized, Merry and Bright ====================================================== Hopefully you are way ahead of the holidays this year. If not, here are a few suggestions to help you out: 1. No matter what you celebrate (Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, or the Winter Solstice), there is always something that has to be prepared. Sit down and take a few minutes to list all that you want/need to do. When you have completed that, start deciding on one or two things you could do each day to complete the list. Do you have everyone listed for whom you'll need to purchase presents? List the parties you will be attending or having so you have ample time to prepare. 2. If you will be entertaining out-of-town guests for the holidays, check your supply of clean linens, towels, etc. Pick a day or two and deep clean the guest room. 3. Make up a large grocery list for the holiday season, including your baking needs. Shop now for anything that doesn't expire quickly. 4. Bake extra casseroles or dinners on busy nights or when company arrives so you can enjoy visiting instead of working in the kitchen. Let guests help if they ask. Plan on baking one or two types of cookies each week. You can freeze them. Plus, should you need a hostess gift, you can have something ready to bring. Pick up some inexpensive dishes at the Dollar Store and, with your cookies, you have instant hostess gifts. 5. Go through your decorations and plan on doing a few things each week before the holidays. Continue to wrap gifts and write cards each week until they are all finished. Pick up labels and stamps for mailing. If available, use the automatic machines at the post office for your mailings. Get your online shopping done before the items you wish to purchase are out of stock. Reuse the boxes the gifts arrive in to ship out-of-town gifts, recycling at the same time. 6. Pick out outfits for the holiday season, ensuring they are in good and wearable condition. If not, you will still have time to purchase what is needed. Have one or two outfits prepared for each person in the family, to use over a few get togethers or outings. 7. Have a holiday calendar handy for your plans and cross off as you complete each task. Not only will it make you feel good, but it will ensure nothing is forgotten. 8. Gather up the family. Pair up a family member with a particular room in your house--this is the room that specific family member is responsible for keeping clean and organized. This will mean less for just one person to worry about. 9. Don't forget your elderly relatives and neighbors during the holiday season. They may not have any family nearby. Invite them over to see your decorations and enjoy a visit. As an alternate plan, bring homemade cookies so they know someone is thinking about them. If that isn't possible, a phone call or greeting card would do just as well. 10. Get together with a group of friends and neighbors and go caroling around the neighborhood. Go back to your house and have cookies and hot chocolate afterwards. ====================================================== Finally Organized, Finally Free -- for the HOME by Maria Gracia * HOT PRODUCT! Huge (405 Pages) HOME Edition! * Finally, a comprehensive resource to help you get organized once and for all! * Get 2,175 organizing tips, ideas and techniques to help you organize your home, your time and your life! Are you absolutely sick of all the clutter that seems to seep into every single room in your home? What about your overflowing email inbox? Do you wish the mountains of paper would magically vanish into thin air? Do you always feel like you can never catch up with your endless to do list? Is your family sabotaging your organizing efforts? In short, do you wish you can live a more organized, happy, less chaotic life? Visit: http://www.getorganizednow.com/foffhome.html P.S. Get organized before the end of 2009. You can do it! ====================================================== ====================================================== Finally Organized, Finally Free -- for the OFFICE * HOT PRODUCT! Huge (395 Pages) OFFICE Edition! * Finally, a comprehensive resource to help you get organized once and for all! * Get 1,875 organizing tips, ideas and techniques to help you organize your office, your files, your schedule and so much more! Your phone is ringing, your email inbox is bursting, your To File tray is spilling onto the floor. You can't find the paper you're looking for. Your To Do list is already so long, and growing by the second. You can never leave work on time, you're missing deadlines and you're up to your eyeballs in work. As they say, somethings gotta give! Are you ready to get organized at the office? Visit: http://www.getorganizednow.com/foffoffice.html ====================================================== New Stuff and Site Updates ====================================================== Everything below is accessible by visiting: http://www.getorganizednow.com Please note that we update our site on a weekly basis, so the new stuff and site updates below may only be available for one week. ** Get Organized Now! Blog: Department 2 Read my personal comments, stories tips and observations about getting and staying organized in today's hectic world. You don't want to miss it. Newest entries: 1) 12/03 - Time Management is NOT About Accomplishing Everything on Your To Do List 2) 11/24 - What's Holding You Back From Getting Organized? 3) 11/18 - National Clean Out Your Refrigerator Month 4) 11/11 - Don't Fall into the Non-Stop Trap 5) 11/02 - Define the Problem Visit: http://getorganizednow.typepad.com/get_organized_now_weblog/ ** NEW Weekly Organizing Challenge: Department 1 Each week, you'll get a new challenge. How fun knowing that lots of people are working on the same goal! Check out what this week's challenge is. We've just posted our Week of December 5th challenge. Go to the link below and look for the darts and bulls-eye. http://getorganizednow.com/#challenge ** NEW Reader Tip: Department 5 Want an easy, visible way to store your jewelry? This reader came up with a fun, inexpensive solution to organize your jewelry AND make it super easy to choose from your selection. Go to the link below and look for the pearls. http://getorganizednow.com/#readertip ** NEW December Monthly Checklist: Department 1 It's the last month of the year. Make it your most organized ever! Start today with our new December monthly checklist. Go to the link below and look for the seal pup. http://www.getorganizednow.com/#checklist ** Web Poll Our featured multiple choice question is, 'When I walk into someone else's visibly cluttered house, I feel...' Go to the following link and cast your vote. It only takes a second, and your opinion can be heard. Visit: http://www.getorganizednow.com/#webpoll ====================================================== Do You Hate Starving or Dieting? Me Too! That's Why 'Real People Don't Diet' is SO GREAT! ====================================================== The holiday season is upon us, and those extra calories are calling our names. Just the thought of all that turkey, stuffing and pumpkin pie to come gave me the motivation I needed to eat a salad for lunch today, go for a walk, and a have a quick pep talk with my good friend, Cate. Recently, my friend Cate and her husband came up with a simple, workable plan that she and her husband used to shed unwanted pounds without starving or dieting. Cate dropped two dress sizes. Her husband dropped a bunch of pounds too. They did this with three children and full schedules of games and dance classes and all that fun stuff. Her solution, called 'Real People Don't Diet' is great. Cate is a real person who found a way for a real family to eat and lose, while not grossing out the kids! As she says, 'All you'll need to do is take simple math, apply it to your eating habits and keep on living your life.' That's so do-able. So, if you'd like to stop dieting and start eating, I highly encourage you to check out 'Real People Don't Diet' right now. Visit: http://getorgnow1.budgexpert.hop.clickbank.net --Maria Gracia P.S. You'll love Cate's strategy and you'll be thrilled to say goodbye to those excess pounds! ====================================================== An Organizing Tip From One of Our Readers ====================================================== To keep school, scouts and sports information, etc. together, I use a loose leaf binder with tabs--one for each child. When I receive a paper I need to keep, I use a 3 hole punch and place it in the binder in the appropriate section. After I started this method, I didn't lose things on the fridge or accidently throw something away or forget something special. In addition, I belong to several organizations and use this binder system concept for keeping my information together. Renee Shelfer Pelham, AL * * * * * Submit your favorite organizing tip! Visit: http://www.getorganizednow.com/readertip.html ====================================================== Drowning in a Sea of Loose Papers and Sticky Notes? Here's Help! ====================================================== Movies you want to see someday, books you'd like to read, phone numbers, addresses, goals you wish to meet, recipes you want to try, wish lists, ideas, your cleaning checklist, your to do list... There's so much information you have to keep track of, but where do you put it all? Typically, it ends up on scraps of paper and sticky notes stuck to the refrigerator, bulletin boards and computer monitors, scattered on your kitchen table and your desk. Are you at your wit's end? If so, you'll be happy to know that I have the perfect solution to this problem. Visit: http://www.getorganizednow.com/ezorganizer.html ====================================================== An Organizing Tip From One of Our Readers ====================================================== I travel a great deal, and don't have time to re-invent the wheel so to speak when packing a bag. So I have a series of lists that enable me to delegate packing to staff, friends and family if need be: a 2-day bag, a 4-day bag, a week-long bag, a fortnight bag, a month-long bag, etc. Some useful traveling tips: 1. Always carry plastic shopping bags. They are excellent for holding laundry, wrapping anything wet and keeping anything dry. 2. Drink plenty of water and get enough sleep. 3. Always carry foam ear-plugs so you can sleep properly when travelling. 4. I keep a record of the serial, reference and registration numbers of all my insurance policies, bank accounts and personal and professional information in a single word document on my computer. At any time I can access it, and it would be on hand should emergencies or other needs arise. Charles Boyle Townsville, Queensland Australia * * * * * Submit your favorite organizing tip! Visit: http://www.getorganizednow.com/readertip.html ====================================================== Create Stunning Scrapbooks with Ease ====================================================== Have you ever felt unsure about how to lay out your pages, and what would look good with what? Have you spent hours looking through scrapbooking magazines for ideas, only to find that many of the techniques are beyond you, or you don't have the tools to do them? If so, you will never again have to struggle for inspiration and ideas. You will be so busy flowing with original creativity that you will be literally swimming in ideas for fabulously stunning layouts, page after page with basic tools you'll find in your stash. Visit: http://getorgnow1.accpot.hop.clickbank.net/ ====================================================== An Organizing Tip from One of Our Readers ====================================================== My sister-in-law gave me this idea for clothing, but I have taken it a step further with my shoes. Lightly place a piece of tape on the clothing article or shoe in an obvious place. When you wear it, remove the tape. At the end of the season, anything that still has tape on it gets tossed out or donated to charity. This is a surefire way to see what clothes and/or shoes you no longer wear. Adrianne Everhart Downers Grove, IL * * * * * Submit your favorite organizing tip! Visit: http://www.getorganizednow.com/readertip.html ====================================================== Ever Had An Argument With Your Spouse, Partner or Lover-- Over Nothing? ====================================================== Have you ever said the WRONG thing to someone--possibly even to your spouse or partner--and then wished you had said something different or regretted what you said later? Have you ever 'not said anything' to someone about something because you didn't know what to say or how to say it? Of course you have. We ALL have Now you don't have worry about what to say or how to say it to your spouse, partner or lover ever again because of 'Magic Relationship Words.' You've been in enough relationships to know that 'words can hurt and words can heal.' What you may not know is that there are actually 'Magic Words' that smart couples use to create more closeness, connection, peace, harmony, understanding and even passion in their relationships. Most people in relationships don't know about these words and how to use them but my friends--Relationship Coaches Susie and Otto Collins--have put together a new book (that I highly recommend) with a collection of 101 of these 'magic words,' phrases and sentence starters in it that you can begin using in your relationship right now to make sure you say it right every time. What will learning these 'magic relationship words' do for you? One person who just saw them said...'When I discovered how to use these words, my Husband and I elminated the dozens of arguments in our lives.' I believe that if you start using these magic words they can work miracles in your relationship or marriage. No Kidding. Using these magic words when you talk to your spouse or partner will help you... --Build or rebuild trust --Reduce or eliminate jealousy --Improve communication --Increase connection --Create more passion and intimacy AND Much More... These 'magic' relationship words, phrases, and sentence starters are true communication difference-makers that can determine the quality, happiness and connection of not just your intimate relationship or marriage but all your other relationships as well.They can be the difference between whether someone opens and listens to you or closes up, gets mad or just ignores you. Visit: http://2cefe1tpsjoksu69l2t0zgsl5g.hop.clickbank.net Maria Gracia Get Organized Now! ====================================================== Organizing Challenge Notes ====================================================== Week of November 28th: Prepare your 2010 calendar This is the first challenge that I was ahead of. I buy a student organizer/day planner. This way I can make the doctor appointments for the next year at the time we are leaving. It gives me a great overlap into the next year so that the calendar online, day planner and the wall calendar are all synced. --Melinda Dastrup What a fun project this was. I found a 2010 16-month cats calendar (I love cats!) and filled in all recurring events first. All birthdays are highlighted in yellow, all anniversaries are highlighted in blue. I then filled in known medical appointments and business appointments. Medical are highlighted in red (since they're so important) and business is highlighted in green--to indicate money! Now I have one organized, and very colorful, calendar to kick off the new year! --Jenny, South Carolina ====================================================== Become Our Fan on Facebook ====================================================== http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/Get-Organized-Now/50467098715?ref=ts * * * * * Follow Us on Twitter http://twitter.com/getorgnow ====================================================== In Closing ====================================================== I'm very pleased with each advancing year. It stems back to when I was forty. I was a bit upset about reaching that milestone, but an older friend consoled me. 'Don't complain about growing old--many, many people do not have that privilege' . --- Earl Warren And remember . . . there's no better time to get organized, than to Get Organized Now! Warmly, Maria Gracia Get Organized Now! http://www.getorganizednow.com ====================================================== (c) Copyright 2009 by Maria Gracia, Get Organized Now! ====================================================== * Copyright, contact and reprint information: http://www.getorganizednow.com/contact.html * You signed up to receive our Idea-Kit and/or our Newsletter at our Get Organized Now! Web site. We never add names unless you have voluntarily opted in. * We never rent, trade or sell our email list to anyone. You'll never get an unsolicited email from a stranger as a result of joining this list. * To subscribe, visit: http://www.getorganizednow.com/free-ezine.html * To unsubscribe, click the link at the bottom of this email. You are subscribed to our list as: {!name} {!email} ============================================