Quick Tips for Getting Organized

Volume 7 – November 2007

Manners
As we come into the season of dinners and parties let’s refresh some of the old manners we learned about as kids. Some may seem formal and stuffy while others are just plain courteous. You decide what works for you, but know that if you are ever invited to the White House you may want to recall these tips!

Elbows on the table - If you are seated at a small table in a crowded restaurant that’s one thing, but at home or a party where there is ample room, try to avoid hovering over your plate.

Pass food to the right, or counterclockwise around the table.

When you are asked to pass the salt, pass the pepper also.

If you pause while eating, place your fork on the left side of the plate, tines down and the knife on the right of the plate with the sharp edge facing in. When you are finished, place both on the right side of your plate.

If you need to excuse yourself during the meal and will be returning, place your napkin on the seat or arm of the chair. Not on the table. However, when you are finished eating, place your napkin to the left of the place setting.

Take moderate to small portions and plan on eating what you’ve served yourself. Leaving food on the plate is not a sign of good manners but waste.

Room temperature wine should be held by the glass’ bowl. If wine is served chilled, hold the glass by the stem.

If you feel a sneeze coming on, kindly turn your head away from the food and use your napkin! If you need to blow your nose, excuse yourself and head to the powder room for privacy.

Closet
If you are like me, I tend to wear the same jewelry everyday. I have lovely things, costume and real that I intend to wear but because it’s out of sight in my jewelry box…it’s out of mind! Here’s a quick way to get your necklaces into plain sight and actually start wearing them. Place small hooks (or get a set of hooks on a piece of wood) and install them on the back of your closet door, armoire door or wall of your closet. Then when you are dressing you will see them and actually use them!!

Health
Keep yourself hydrated this season with water! It will help keep your skin moisturized; give you the boost you need to do your holiday shopping and help curb your appetite (which, with all the holiday fare on the horizon is a good thing)! Make it ICE water and your body will burn extra calories “warming” it up to absorb!

Car
Routine maintenance is vital to the life of your car. 50-80% of tires on the U.S. roads are under-inflated. Under-inflated tires waste up to 5% of a car’s fuel. So if we just properly inflated our tires we would save up to two billion gallons of fuel a year! That’s just one little service to perform. Imagine how much energy and money you’d be saving if your car was running at optimum!

Environment
If every household in the U.S. replaced one bottle of 28-ounce petroleum-based dishwashing liquid with a vegetable based products (like 7th Generation), we could save 82,000 barrels of oil a year!!! That’s enough oil to drive a car over 86 million miles. This may be common knowledge to some but not to others and worth repeating! I hope you will go and switch yours today!

On that note…

Cleaning
Sink grime is often a result of petroleum-based build up from the soap we use. Stick with vegetable-based soaps for your personal care products in the shower, hand soaps and dish soaps at the sinks and even eco-friendly laundry detergent and you won’t have to fight the soap scum buildup! I just “cleaned” my daughter’s bathtub and it’s amazing how the ring just wipe off. I don’t have to get out the chemicals to break down the sticky brown film of the past!!!

Paper Trail
Avoid getting the paper trail started by going through mail immediately when you bring it in the door. Walk over to the garbage or better yet, shredder and decide what is to keep and what is to toss. Bills need to be filed immediately so they don’t get lost. Avoid making a pile of papers at all costs. Piles are the black hole of organization and it’s very hard to find your way out. Magazines and catalogs you intend to read should go to where you will read them, i.e. the bathroom, coffee table, night stand etc. When you bring new magazines or catalogs over and you haven’t read the ones already there, throw the old ones away and replenish your stack with the newer ones. Otherwise, you will have a large vertical file of magazines and catalogs you will most likely never read. Let’s face it, if you haven’t read it this month are you likely to read two or three in one month to “catch” you up? To reduce the incoming mail, switch to online banking and billpay. Have your statements come to your email. You will always be able to access your account history online and print any copies if you ever need them. To really reduce junk mail sign up for an online service (google “reduce junk mail” for lots of options). In the mean time, be consistent with tossing catalogs you won’t read into the recycle bin!

Home
Simplify and be practical. Put things back where they belong when you are finished using them. If your family is like mine (especially with the holidays approaching), scissors get used and moved around a lot. To help them “return home” mark each pair with a tag or permanent marker with the location they belong. Everyone will be more likely to return them to their designated spots if they can easily remember where that is!

Family
If you have kids you probably have a steady stream of artwork coming into your hands. Here are some inexpensive and stylish ideas for displaying your pride and joy’s handiwork:

Take 4-6 feet of grosgrain or sturdy ribbon and tack either end up. Add clothes pins or clips and you have a quick “clothesline” display. If you have the space, do a few rows and create a gallery.

Visit you local office supply store and purchase some legal size clipboards. Get as many as your space allows for and at least one per child! On the bottom of each clipboard paint (or permanent marker) a child’s name or anything that strikes your fancy. Use a large hook, nail or screw to hang each board. For a more permanent look, drill into the corners of each board and hang directly on the wall. You can also have fun and paint the entire clipboard a fun, coordinating color before hanging.

For a more sophisticated look, purchase a simple metal (color of your choice) and mount on the wall where you want your art wall to be. Add metal rings with little clips attached and you can hang just about anything your child creates! Multiple rows would look stunning down a hallway or on an open wall space in your home.

Kitchen
Garbage Disposal - Try not to put food down the garbage disposal. Many people think it’s a garbage compactor and scrape the dinner plates right into the disposal. The excess waste material can not only clog your home’s system but it also puts unnecessary strain on the sewer treatment systems that are working hard to keep the environment in balance. To clean your system, grind up ice and citrus peels at the same time. If you do put food down the disposal, be sure to run the system with water for a good amount of time, usually longer than you think, so the food will not only clear out of the disposal but clear out through the house pipes. You don’t want to leave food in the pipes to decay!

Relationships
In this month of thankfulness be sure to take the time to actually ponder what it is you are thankful for. A lot of times we get caught up in the early hustle and bustle of the season and we don't take a moment to still our bodies and let the reasons we are thankful come to mind. Consider taking a few moments and writing about your thankful attitude and what blessings are all around you day in and day out. Share it with a friend or make time to share your gratitude at your next family gathering. Don't wait until turkey day to be thankful. Begin today!


If you like to send me your tips for consideration please email me at
kim@smartmoms-smartbusiness.com.