Hi all,

Today, 28th March is the Earth Hour day for 2009. Please join in, register yourself and participate in this great global movement and make a difference to the world by doing your contribution in preserving energy and save our planet by giving your VOTE to EARTH...

Please spread the word to your family members, friends, colleagues and others...

Thank you all...and have a great EARTH HOUR...where ever you are in this beautiful planet we all called our home...

Save the Planet!



Regina



Earth Hour 2009 by WWF - Sign up for Earth Hour!

So your house is full of clutter and you have no idea where to start let alone what to do with all of the stuff you have accumulated. That can be a huge task in itself but with a little preparation and patience, it can be done.

 

A surefire way to get organized and figure out what you are going to keep and what you are going to get rid of is to form a plan. If your clutter is all in one room it’s easier to start there since it’s all contained in one area. If you have clutter throughout your home, start with the most cluttered area and work your way through. Do not try to do this all in one day, you will become frustrated and may even just throw in the towel.

 

Grab some boxes, or containers and some markers and get going into the cluttered room of doom! Start with the mindset that you are going to keep, trash and donate some of the items. Keeping this in mind will give you a set goal on what to do with the clutter. Label the boxes accordingly and dig in!

 

The first step is to dive into the room and start by picking up the obvious trash. I can guarantee there are loads of empty containers and bags and such that are right in front of you, so get rid of those first. Another good tip to knowing what to keep or throw away is asking yourself when was the last time you used the item. If you haven’t used the item in months, either throw the item away or donate it if it is in good shape. If you have more than one of an item, think about donating the duplicate one.

 

Probably the hardest part of letting things goes is the sentimental value of the item. Old pictures drawn by your children, dried flowers from a special occasion and those old stuffed animals from childhood can be heart breaking to part with. Think about ways you could preserve these items, perhaps taking one of the dried flowers and pressing it into a book and throwing away the rest. Make a scrapbook of all the drawings from your children to preserve them. As for the stuffed animals, consider passing them along to younger members of the family or to friends who have small children so they can experience the joy as you or your children once did. 

 

Keep going through the items until you have made a clear dent. Take the trash pile to the garbage outside so it is out of view and you won’t be tempted to go back through it. Take your donate bin right to the local donation center or thrift shop and think about how happy you are going to make someone who is going to use the item.

 

The last thing to do is to put way the things that you decided to keep, Make sure these things have a definite home and make it a habit to keep them there. Before you know it, you will have a clutter free room that you can be proud of and knowing that you may have donated to someone in need can be the cherry on top.

Even with all the advantages of electronic filing systems, many home businesses still need to utilize an old-fashioned, non-techy paper filing system. This can take up a lot of physical space and a lot of time, so the best thing to do is create an efficient filing system to keep it organized so you can quickly access what ever you need. Here are the top seven ways to organize your files.

 

1. Start out with broad categories- such as the name of the client, if you do ongoing work for several clients or the overall category of the material, such as “Insurance.” Sort these alphabetically. Then break each large category down into sub-categories like “auto insurance” “medical insurance” homeowner’s insurance” and keep each subcategory alphabetized as well.
2. Sort your incoming paper or newly created documents every day. For items that need action taken, sort them into a monthly task file that is divided into 31 numbered slots- each one coordinating with the day of the week. Then file notes, messages, and documents into the slot that corresponds to the day the action must be taken.
3. Keep a stack of “Removed File” forms available on top of the file system. Whenever a file is removed, either by you or someone else, fill out the form with the date, name of user and location file is being taken to and then put the form in the space the file is removed from. This way you will always know if a certain file is missing and where to look for it.
4. Purge your files regularly. Every few months, go through your files and remove the inactive or obsolete ones. These can either be shredded or but into a storage box and put away.
5. Use a desktop filing system for daily activities. Have an inbox that all new documents are put into. Then as you move through the box, either perform the required action, file it in your monthly task file (created above) under the proper day or dump it into the shred pile, if possible.
6. The second part of the desktop filing system for daily activities is creating priority trays. Label them Now, Next and Later or simply “1” “2” and “3.” The Now or “1” tray is only for top priority items that you will attend to first. “Next” or tray “2” is for the things that must be done within the next couple of days and “Later” or tray “3” is the temporary home of items that will be filed for future reference. You can further organize your desktop filing system by dividing the “Now” tray into priorities, such as “within the hour” “this morning” or “end of the day.”
7. Use color coding to further organize your files. Use these in your alphabetical files, dividing the alphabet into four sections and use the same color file or file label for each section, i.e. A-E files are blue, F-K files are orange, L-P files are yellow and Q-Z files are green. This saves search time as your eye can go directly to the appropriate color section before needing to look at individual file labels.

 

Keeping your files organized is one of the best ways to add time and reduce stress from your office in particular and your business in general.

 

One of the easiest ways to get started organizing your home business is to hire a virtual assistant. Everyone has their area of expertise and a good virtual assistant is an expert at business organization.

 

So what can you expect of VA to help you with? You'll be amazed at the wide variety of ways your virtual assistant can save you time and money, just by helping you take care of the organizational details.

 

For example, do you need some help setting up and maintaining a mailing list? Getting your mailing list in order so that you can quickly and effectively communicate with prospects can be very time consuming. You can outsource this task to your VA, and she can stay on top of that on a regular basis.

 

Do you have a virtual store on your website? You can spend a lot of time every week, resizing and uploading pictures to your website for optimum viewing. A virtual assistant can do this for you, allowing you to get on with the more important tasks that require your personal attention.

 

Social networking is one of the hottest ways to meet new clients, communicate with associates, and build your business in many different ways. You can have a virtual assistant set up your social networking accounts and add content to these sites on a regular basis. Twitter is one of the fastest growing social media outlets on the Internet today. It consists of posting short quick little posts of no more than 140 characters each and provides ongoing interaction with hundreds or even thousands of people you choose to connect with. Once your VA has a good understanding of your important, unique selling points, she can run your Twitter conversations, allowing you to virtually be in two places at once. Twitter is an enjoyable social media outlet for thousands of people, but it can be extremely time consuming, which will definitely throw a glitch into your business organization goals.

 

Most businesses are finding that having a blog is another excellent way to connect with their client base. If you need help setting up a blog and designing it so that it captures your business personality, a virtual assistant do this for you as well.

 

Most VAs have great ideas on file organization e-mail organization and other daily tasks so that nothing gets forgotten or overlooked. With the clever use of labels and tags, your VA can set up a system that you can manage a glance.

 

If you work at a business where you bid on contract jobs, a VA can also take over this area. Once she knows the type of work you prefer, your rates and your schedule, she can post bids for you and find new clients, while you're busy with actual content creation. In fact, most VAs are also great writers, so they can provide much of your content for you, such as article marketing content and forum posting.

A virtual assistant can also help you get organized by creating spreadsheets, scheduling conferences, podcasts, and teleseminars as well as conducting research you need for upcoming projects. 

 

If you're trying to get your business organized, especially if that business involves any sort of Internet marketing and networking, a virtual assistant can make all the difference between the place you are right now and the organization you need to move your business to the next level. With the time you save by outsourcing tasks like these to a virtual assistant, you'll have a much greater ability to spend your time doing all the things you went into business to do in the first place

 

What parent doesn't know the nightmare trying to keep a child's room organized? There are a few simple tips you can use that will help your child keep things neat and tidy, no matter how young or old they are.

 

Look at Things from the Child’s Point of View.

 

It's easy, as an adult, to walk into a child's room, see the mess and know right where things belong. However, try to remember your child doesn't have the same viewpoint you do. So many things that seem normal to you look gigantic and even scary to a small child. For example, to you a closet door is a perfectly normal part of a room. But to a little one, it looks like a great way to hide what's behind there. A closet door may also be difficult to open and close for little hands. On top of that, children really do live in a world of “out of sight out of mind” so whatever is behind that closet door may never get picked up. It could be that the best organizational tip is removing the door altogether.

 

Once you're inside the closet, lower the clothes bar to your child’s height so they can easily reach their clothes. You can also add a shelving unit that's close to the floor.

 

Kids Need Smaller Tasks

 

Whenever you are tackling a child's room, make sure you enlist their help. Not only will they learn the essential tasks of organizing and cleaning, you will also help prevent that silly idea that the magical cleaning fairy will take care of them for the rest of their lives. However, it doesn’t work to just tell the kids to go in and clean their room. You need to break the job down into smaller tasks that they can understand. You'll find they have a much better chance of getting the job done if you ask them to pick up all the paper or pick up all the red things. Children love challenges and games. Try using  a timer set for a short time-between five and ten minutes and whoever picks up the most in that five minutes I gets an extra reward like helping making supper, If they enjoy that or an extra 10 minutes on the computer.

 

If you use a shelving system to store toys, draw the shape of each toy with a marker or tape right onto the proper place on the shelf. Use colors that coordinate with the toy packaging to make it even easier. That way, even young children can help pick up their toys and put things away in the proper spot. You can also use your computer and a simple graphics program to print out pictures of the different items and laminate the picture right onto the shelf in the spot where the item belongs.

 

Contain the Mess

 

Don't forget that for children, things work best in containers. Use shoeboxes, Ziploc bags and totes of all sizes so that your kids can keep like items together. For example, a large tote for Barbie dolls and all the goodies is much easier to manage, if there are Ziploc bags to hold tiny little Barbie shoes and purses and clothes. Puzzles also work well in Ziploc bags. Rather than constantly trying to keep the cardboard of that cardboard boxes from getting ruined (and you know it will) just cut out the picture and put it inside a large Ziploc with all the pieces. Label each bag with the name of the puzzle and store all the puzzle bags in a single tote.

 

These simple ideas can turn the chore of keeping a child’s room neat and organized into a manageable task that they can learn to do themselves.

If you're like most people, in business, your day probably begins with your dreaded e-mail. Few things can become so time consuming and distracting as e-mail. If you ever want to get on top your day and to schedule, you need to find a way to organize this critical part of your business.

 

Your e-mail program basically comes down to three pieces that take up your time. The inbox filled with unread messages, everything that is waiting for you to take action on and all the stuff you need to just delete.

 

 So here's a typical morning, you walk in and sit down at your desk, open up the inbox and spend the next 45 minutes sorting through e-mail after e-mail trying to determine what needs your attention, what can wait till later, and what's just plain garbage. So you begin the rundown and start to sort through the pile. You begin the process of opening each one, clicking on links, sending replies, and saving some for later. Eventually, you take a look at the clock and see that your morning is quickly speeding past. So, you close up your email and try to get on with your morning. The problem is, if you're like many people, the thought of that piled up inbox is a distraction throughout your day. So, you end up continually going back to your inbox to deal with it and each time you check, there is more to do. So, how to you begin to get on top of your inbox?

 

The best way to begin to organize your e-mail is to set up a system of labels. If you have regular clients or customers and associates that you correspond with by e-mail, most e-mail programs will allow you to set up a system of filters or labels that give you a visual aid so you can tell when you get mail from that person. It takes a few minutes of time to set up these filters, but you can set them up according to who the email is from, the URL, the subject line or even certain keywords. Go into the settings of your email program and you will find easy step-by-step instructions that create your filters in a snap.

 

Next in take a look at all the emails you regularly delete without even reading them. Many people sign up for a lot of newsletters and blog feeds and these can fill up your inbox faster than you could imagine. To increase your productivity, instead of deleting those emails every day, take the extra few minutes to just unsubscribe. Most blogs will allow you to subscribe in a feed reader and then look at them in a list view, so you can quickly scan post titles and read what interests you that day. Make a point to unsubscribe to a set number of newsletters a day and your daily e-mail will be withered down to a much more manageable level.

 

One of the reasons many people have overflowing inboxes is they use their email program for a to-do list. If you find yourself using your inbox to remind you of projects and meetings, eliminate this habit now. Use a calendar or a to-do list application to keep track of appointments and projects and keep your email for mail alone. You will be less likely to miss deadlines as well as saving yourself time continually checking your inbox.

 

Apply these couple quick tips to your email routine and you will be amazed at the time you save. Use that time productively and your bottom line will soar.

Whether you are building your business or raising a family, there is no doubt that you have a million and one things on your mind demanding your attention. In business, it’s finding clients, creating your products or work materials, invoicing and billing, accounting tasks and interaction with your client base to make certain you are meeting their needs. When raising a family, there are the countless scheduling needs of every member, homework, work schedules, after school activities, music, dance, sports, church and recreation, not to mention cooking, cleaning, and repairing the countless things around the house that need your time and energy.

 

Either way, your mind is bombarded day in and day out and if you need an extra three or four hours a day just to keep up, chances are your physical environment will begin to show it. Stacks of paper, piles of books, files, and messages accumulate on your desk until you can no longer be sure there is even a desk underneath there at all! Around the house, it can get even worse- dishes, clothes, shoes, personal electronics like phones, mp3 players and more, get left where they are dropped and it’s left to you to find the places they belong and return them. The minute you finish, guess what? It’s time to start all over again.

 

Sound familiar? If it does, I can almost guarantee this constant mental and physical chaos takes a real toll on your ability to think creatively and problem solve- both at work and at home. It should be no surprise, then, that organization is the key to creativity.

 

Your brain has an amazing ability to create innovative and profitable ideas that can lead to greater success in your business, no matter what field you are in. If your primary job is raising your family, innovation and creativity is a critical process here as well. You need new ways of teaching your children the lessons of life so they will listen to your wisdom and learn from your experience. But even the greatest of minds cannot operate at full capacity when there is disorganization and clutter everywhere you look.

 

Everything in your view leaves an imprint on your mind, a snapshot, if you will, taking up space and energy. When you consider the mental images that are collected in one hour’s time and then a day, a week or a month, it becomes easy to see that you’re using up an incredible amount of energy simply on mentally examining the clutter and putting it away. Suddenly, writing a simple memo or whipping up a meatloaf can become tasks that can feel almost overwhelming.

 

Take a few minutes every day to work on organizing the physical space around you- whether it is the kitchen cupboards or your filing drawer in your home office. Keep like objects in the same area and promptly return things to their home when you are finished with them. Do a walk-through three times a day with a basket so you can gather up all the small objects lying around in one trip and put them away. Use baskets, shelves, boxes, and drawers to store things out of your direct line of vision and keep them together. Keep track of telephone contacts, address information and to do lists on your computer to eliminate paper piles. Read your email and then file it with labels if you need to keep it or delete if you don’t to keep your inbox organized. Specify certain areas within a larger space to keep frequently used items and store everything else out of sight.

 

When you begin to add this visual empty space to your home and your office, you brain will be able to use your creative energy to enhance your life and your business, because it won’t constantly be tending to the clutter. Your creative thinking will begin to expand and your home and your business will thrive.

 

Try a little physical organization today and just see if your mental creativity doesn’t multiply as a result. You’ll be amazed at the results!

In continuation to my post yesterday about the bush fire, please check this blog post to help spread the information to prevent further massive lost and devastation for the Australian Bush Fire victims.

The amazing thermo-gel which is not expensive could saved hundred billions dollars losses and save many houses.

Please pass this along to anyone living close and in the bush land areas, or to anyone who have contacts with firefighters, or CFA.

If there is one area of your home you can’t avoid, it’s the kitchen. Whether you live alone or you have a family, the kitchen is one area that needs your time and your attention. It doesn't matter if you love to cook, or if your idea of a home-cooked gourmet meal means going home to Mom's you will need to use your kitchen to prepare a meal at least occasionally. You can speed up the process of cooking, as well as make it far more enjoyable, by having a nice, neat organized kitchen how to work in.

 

First, you need to divide your kitchen into workstations. Think about the order things need to go in order to create a meal and start there. For example, begin with the storage area. This covers the pantry, your fridge and the freezer and any other areas where you store the food used to create meals and snacks. Go through each one separately; make sure everything inside is usable, fresh, and something you're actually going to put to use for your family.

 

Organize things in your pantry by putting foods together -vegetables together, baking supplies together, condiments together. By keeping light foods together in the same areas, you'll save yourself time and money at the grocery store because you'll know what you have and you’ll know what you need to buy.

 

The next area in the kitchen is the prep area. This should include a cutting board, knives all of your measuring cups and spoons and mixing bowls- everything you need to do use to take those raw ingredients and turn them into a meal. Keep them together in one area directly next to your prep area.

 

A lot of people like to use the drawer underneath the stove to store the pots and pans. If that doesn’t work for you, use a cupboard closest to the sink and the stovetop. You can also keep your potholders, spoons, and spatulas, all in one spot. A great way to store all those utensils that don't easily fit into a drawer is to use a crock or a jar and stick everything in it. That way it's easy to grab when you need it and you don't have to worry about things getting lost in the back of a drawer.

 

You might want to keep a separate area for your baking goats. In fact, you can have one cupboard that has both your common baking ingredients like flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, unsweetened chocolate, etc., along with a hand mixer, another set of measuring cups and spoons, your favorite mixing bowls and an extra set or two of potholders.

 

Keep your serving dishes all of one spot. Ideally, your kitchen will be laid out so that your serving dishes can be convenient to both the stove and the sink or dishwasher.

 

There are lots of lovely appliances and gadgets that make the kitchen life more convenient and many of them are made to be stored conveniently on your countertop. The problem as when a countertop is full of appliances is not nearly so convenient. Try to keep only the items you use on a daily basis on the counter, like the coffeemaker and the toaster. You might have one or two other personal favorites, but otherwise, set up a shelf in your pantry just for your small appliances keep everything there where it can be easily accessed and easily put away.

 

Keep a separate area for all of your cleaning supplies in the kitchen -the oven cleaner, dish soap, the floor soap, extra paper towels, sponges, dishcloths scrapers and scratchers. Keeping all of these items given in one central location makes a convenient time-saver.

 

It may never be possible to avoid spending time in the kitchen, but if you keep it clean and organized, your time there will be much more enjoyable and productive and you might just find that you enjoy cooking more than ever before

To all my blog readers,

I am sure you all have heard about the recent tragic bush fire disaster in Victoria last Saturday, 7th February 2009.

We all have been overwhelmed by all the sad and tragic news from the victims and all who are affected by this horrible event. The consequences are huge and devastating.

It is devastating enough to loose a home, a house, or valuable possessions. However, there are many lives that have been tragically taken away in this event. Loosing family and loved ones are beyond description.

The respond from the Australian community has been outstanding. If you would like to help and donate to the Victorian Bush Fire Appeal, there are several ways that you can help.

Coles will be donating their profit on Friday, 13th February 2009 to the Bush Fire Appeal. Please click below for more information on how to help:



Or you can go to Australian Red Cross website and donate online.

Whichever you choose to do, please help out and do your bit to help the victims. Every bit counts!

Thank you, all!

Regina