Aim 4 Order

I was at a lovely client’s home yesterday and we had a breakthrough. On the top shelf of her closet was a very large and very dusty afghan that her mother had lovingly made for her many years ago. Her mother, in fact, had made many, many lovely things over the years, including lots of other afghans, most of which were still in the house. I asked the magic questions (1) Do you love it? no response…which usually means NO. (2) Do you use it? well, you see the dust….which usually means NO. (3) Is it beautiful? no response. SOOOOOOOOOO, 3 “No’s” is supposed to translate into “BYE-BYE.” This was not going to be easy. We started by discussing what other things her mom had made that she did love and use and find beautiful and thankfully, she had lots of tablecloths that fit that description.  Then we moved on to discuss the fact that this client is passionate about crafts and sewing and needs every spare nook and cranny we can find to store all of her goodies in an organized fashion. This king-sized afghan was taking up half of a perfectly good shelf. It’s always our choice – do we hang on to the memorabilia that we neither (1) love (2) use (3) or find beautiful…or do we make room for the new possibilities that await us? 

Thankfully, we had a breakthrough and the afghan is now going to a women’s shelter to bring comfort to someone who will (1) love it (2) use it (3) and find it beautful. A great day indeed!!

Do you have “A Grandma Sally Afghan” in your bedroom closet??

I’m thankful that I finally got my desk cleaned off…of course knowing that family was stopping by was a pretty good incentive for me. I’ve had this pile of papers sitting on my desk for…well….awhile…and they were all the little annoying papers that require action or movement….but not just yet. Finally, I was able to toss a few and put the rest neatly in my stackable desk file under “File” or “Action” or “To Read.” And wha-laaa(!), no more piles. It’s just amazing – and very satisfying to practice what I preach.  Enjoy the rest of your day and remember, just 15 minutes a day can prevent clutter build-up.

Many folks are concerned these days about identity theft. I thought I’d share these tips with you on a few precautions you can take to minimize your risk of identity theft.  This was taken from a recent article in the Baltimore Business Journal by S. Vincent Crescenzi.

1. Receipts – shred charge receipts, bank statements, credit card offers and other sensitive documents before throwing them away.

2. Mail – remove mail from your mailbox promptly. During vacations, place mail delivery on hold or ask someone to pick it up.

3. New checks – pick them up at the bank; don’t have them mailed to your home.

4. Information stored on computers – use antivirus software, passwords, firewall programs and other protections.

5. Social Security number – guard it carefully and don’t give it out unless it’s absolutely necessary. Do not provide personal information on the phone, by mail or online unless you intiated the contact.

6. It is estimated that 11.4 percent of identity thefts are committed by friends and relatives (!). Safeguard your important information.

I recently read about several organizations who are looking for donations from knitters. If you’ve got the urge to knit and want to make a difference to those in need, consider contacting one of these organizations:

For soldiers:  www.theshipsproject.com/Home.htm

For the homeless: www.warmupamerica.org

For premature babies: www.carewear.org

For troubled teens: www.binkypatrol.org

Happy stitching!