Aim 4 Order

The following 2007 Goal Setter was developed by Sandra Felton, Founder of Messies Anonymous (www.messies.com).  I thought some of you might like to consider completing one or more of the objectives in 2007. Please feel free to share your thoughts with me and e-mail to cindy@aim4order.com. (to be honest, I’m not sure I’m up for the challenge….but hopefully some of you are:)

2007 GOAL SETTER

Begin now to visualize how you want your home to change during the next year by writing down your dreams! Writing down specifics is a powerful tool for change.

(Target these five simple but powerful objectives and go for it!)

1. This time next year, I want see my house (describe your dream in enough
detail to excite your desire – even a few words are helpful.)
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

2. An area of my house I want to beautify this year is ___________________________
________________________________by (what action)_________________________
______________________________________________________________________.

3. I want to upgrade my house by discarding ______________________________
and obtaining _______________________________________________.(Think about
kitchen and bathroom items that are getting bedraggled or other worn items that
come to mind.)

4. A household product or equipment I want to obtain is ____________________
_________________________________________________________________

5. One habit I want to strengthen this year is ___________________________
______________________________________________________________

Fill this out before January 1, 2007. Writing and posting your goals will
greatly strengthen you to achieve your heart’s desire.

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!

Hi, my friends!

Here I go – entering the BLOG world and hoping that my ramblings will be of help to someone out there. My hope is to communicate regularly with you in an effort to bring you the latest resources, tips and interesting tidbits that enter into my daily world.

In fact, this blog will replace my monthly “Tips and Tricks” because it will give me the flexibility and ease to offer tips and tricks whenever I “Feel” like it, verses every few weeks. So – keep your eyes and ears open. I welcome your contributions of tips and tricks – just pop me an e-mail at cindy@aim4order.com and I will give you full credit for your idea(s).

I recently read that one lady was getting tired of opening up her dead electronic items in the house (toys, tv remotes, flashlights, etc.) and decided to take a permanent marker and write on the back of each item the type and quantity of batteries needed. That way, she can have an inventory in the house or at least save herself the time of unscrewing items all the time. I thought that was pretty clever although I haven’t done it myself yet:).