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We Organize U Ezine
December 2004 - Special Holiday Edition
Monthly Tips on Organizing Your Home, Your Office & Your Life

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Brought to you by Hellen Buttigieg, Professional Organizer, TV
Host, and Life Coach.

Thank you for subscribing to this electronic newsletter. I know
your time is valuable so this newsletter is kept brief yet
effective. Each issue contains quick tips to organize your home,
your office and your life. This special issue focuses on tips
for the holiday season. I wish you all a happy, health, stress-
free holiday.

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APPEARANCE ON CHRISTINE CUSHIING LIVE

On Monday December 6th, I will be a guest on the Christine
Cushing Live show on the Food Network Canada. Tune in for tips
on how to organize and store Christmas decorations to simplify
your holidays.

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QUESTION OF THE MONTH

Q:   Any suggestions for how to keep different shaped freezer
items, i.e. ice cream containers, frozen pizza, frozen veggies,
from spilling out of the door when opened? My freezer is above
the fridge and is a mess! Are there dividers that can go in the
freezer to help organize the food?

A: Pull everything out of the freezer. As you start putting
items back in, start with the largest items. Put the ice cream
buckets on the shelf that seems to have the most headroom. Next,
put in all the rectangular packages but arrange them sideways
like books on a shelf so they are easier to pull out. Flash-
frozen, bagged items go in last since they are the easiest to fit
into the uneven spaces that are left.

Clear containers, like plastic shoeboxes, work great at keeping
small items organized in the freezer. They'll stay put rather
than slip all over each other.

Many freezers come with dividers. Have a look at your manual to
see if you have the option of ordering these from the
manufacturer.

Finally, draw a diagram showing the different zones you have
created so you can find what you need quickly, and know where to
put your freezer goods when you replenish. Post the diagram on
the freezer door.

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Here are tips you can use to simplify your life so you can do
more and stress less!

QUICK TIPS ON ORGANIZING YOUR HOME:

* Clear away the 'every day' to decorate for the holidays.

For more impact and less clutter, remove your every day
decorative items from tabletops and mantels before you display
your holiday decorations. You can store them temporarily in the
boxes and bins that your decorations were kept in.

* Let go of the excess - you don't have to keep decorations
forever!

When you are unpacking your holiday decorations, consider letting
go of the items you no longer enjoy looking at. Our tastes
change and styles come and go. There's no rule that says you have
to keep every decoration forever, especially that tacky plastic
flower arrangement you ex-mother in-law gave you 20 years ago!
Give some away to charity, or if you have family or friends who
have recently moved into their own place, ask if they'd like to
have them until they accumulate their own collection.

QUICK TIPS ON ORGANIZING YOUR OFFICE:

* Streamline your business card collection.

The end of the year is a perfect time to reflect on who your
friends are. Most of us accept and keep every business card that
comes our way. Go through the collection of business cards
you've accumulated and keep only the ones you will likely refer
back to. To sort, group them in 3 categories: friends,
acquaintances and strangers. Keep the friends, let go of at
least half the acquaintances and toss all of the strangers.

* Pick a day timer system that works.

Before a new year begins, consider investing the time to choose
the right day timer system for you. Go to an office supply store
and take a few minutes to look through the various options
available. Are you a visual person who prefers a paper-based
planner or a digital person who relates to a portable electronic
planner or a computer system? Do you like one large desk
blotter-type calendar or does a pocket sized appointment book
make more sense? Which calendar format do you prefer: day-,
week-, or month-at-a-glance? Making the best decision for you
now will pay off many times over the year.

QUICK TIPS ON ORGANIZING YOUR LIFE:

* Shop creatively for gifts this holiday season.

Our time is the most precious gift we could give, especially to
those time-deprived individuals suffering from stuff-overload.
Give home-made coupons that can be exchanged for services, like
preparing a home-cooked meal for a friend who lives on take-out,
running a day's worth of errands for a senior or baby-sitting for
a busy mom. Gift certificates for professional services are also
a great idea. Here's a sample of what services are available for
hire: handy man, professional organizer, house cleaning, spa or
salon services, window cleaning, lawn care, car detailing and
snow removal. Don't forget about memberships to fitness clubs,
museums or the art galleries. All of these can simplify and
improve life rather than take up space and create a burden like
many other gifts.

* Get unplugged to create more time over the holidays.

Do you feel like there's so much to do and so little time?
Challenge yourself to unplug the TV for one full week and notice
how much more you can do in all the free time you'll have.

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CHECK OUT NEAT WEBSITE

Find out more about the show NEAT, see dramatic before and after
pictures, and review tips and projects from all episodes
including creating action files, organizing a messy desk and
storing kids' toys. Visit http://www.NeatTV.com

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If you found the information in this newsletter to be of value to
you, please feel free to forward it to your friends and
colleagues; you'll be helping them simplify their lives.

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We Organize U Ezine is written and produced by Hellen Buttigieg.
Reprint permission granted in part or whole when the following
credit appears in full:

(c) Copyright 2004 by Hellen Buttigieg, We Organize U.
Reprinted with permission from the We Organize U Newsletter.
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