One of the best ways to make use of  your time is to set aside a bit of that time for planning.  Menu planning can not only help you stay organized, it can help you avoid last minute trips to the grocery store; and doesn’t that always happen during the hours when the store is PACKED? 

It can also eliminate those hurried runs for fast food, which is more “gut fill” than it is a meal. 

There are some easy resources to help you with your planning and we’ve included a few free templates here.  But a  notebook and pencil will work just as well.  It’s a simple matter of organizing your thoughts, checking out your calendar, and making a list.  You can plan by the week or by the month; whatever works best for your lifestyle.

http://unclutterer.com/2008/02/20/creating-a-weekly-meal-plan/

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/CT010142351.aspx

Members can also check out today’s class thread,  our recipe files and class archives for more meal planning tips.

We talk a lot about setting up your environment.  This is a good week to think about a few tasks that sometimes fall by the wayside.  Here are some ideas that work well at this time of year:

- Update your address book.    You might want to pick up a new address book for the new year.  A helpful tip is to use a sharp pencil rather than a pen.  When people change their address  you can update it without making a mess of your book. (Be sure to go through your holiday cards and add addresses to the book before you dispose of them.)

- A closet adjustment. You may not have time for a full blown closet makeover but this is a good time to lay out all the winter sweaters.  Some will need a trip to the dry cleaner and others might need to be donated.  If you haven’t worn something in the past year be sure to wear it one day this week.  If it feels like a “find” then add it back to the rotation.  If it makes you remember why you stopped wearing it then donate it where it will be appreciated.

- Recycle holiday cards. Go through the cards and decide which ones you will keep. (Handwritten notes from good friends, elderly relatives etc.) A pair of blunt scissors and a housebound child can turn the rest into next year’s gift tags.

- Next year’s to-do list.  Was there something that came up over the holidays that caught you off guard?  Teacher’s gifts? Drop in guests? Take out your 2012 calendar and make some notes in the margins.  Next year you’ll feel proud of yourself when you aren’t scrambling to find a gift for the groomer at the last minute and you have a freezer ready with hors doeuvres for a last minute get together.

- Make a nasty weather check list. For those who live in more extreme climates prepare your home and cars BEFORE a storm is predicted.  A shovel, ice scraper, jumper cables, flashlight and a warm blanket should all be in your car.  At home be sure you have a shovel for your walkway and driveway along with salt and sand or kitty litter. Be prepared with gas for your snowblower and flashlights or rechargeable lanterns for your home.  Once a storm is predicted the stores will have a run on most of those items. 

- Blues chaser.  If the winter months get you down plan something now that you know you’ll enjoy.  Having something to look forward to will keep your mind busy and your spirits up, especially if it involves activity on your part.  Planning a trip or a get together will keep you occupied and make the winter pass more quickly.  Treating yourself to a concert or show will give you a bright spot to break up the long wait for spring. And trying a new winter sport might give you a new appreciation for the season

With the fast pace of the holiday season you’re probably wanting organization and order more than ever.  Those of you taking our current Hot for the Holidays class are following Coach Jan’s tips and getting out from under the messiness.  This article contains an inspiring picture tutorial with common problems and solutions to help you keep moving in the right direction. 

Marilu shares a story about her brother joking with her that she had children in order to have another closet to organize !   

When you make the connection between having order and being better able to move towards your goals, you’re setting yourself up for success.

http://lifestyle.msn.com/your-home/staticslideshowrs.aspx?cp-documentid=31189273#q=De-Cluttering%20Solutions%20for%20Your%20Home%3A%20Who%20Doesn%27t%20Have%20Organizing%20Problems%3F%20

The Total Health Makeover recommends breaking a sweat for 10 minutes a day.  That’s ten minutes of sustained exercise.  If you spend an hour at the gym, or training for a race, or playing with your kids, that’s great !  Exercise should be fun!  But it doesn’t have to consume your day!  Don’t make the mistake of thinking you don’t have time because you don’t have a lot of time.  Take a look at this list and see if you can’t carve out an extra 15 or 20 minutes in your day.

- Prioritize. Make a list of what needs to be accomplished and don’t stray from it for less important tasks.  (Put exercise on that list.)

- Log off.  We don’t want you to ignore Facebook completely and we really want you to check in here with us.  But we’re talking about the time suckers of “just one more cute panda video” before I push away from the desk.

- Be in the moment.  You’ll be surprised at how much you can accomplish when you give the task at hand your full attention. Just because you CAN multi task doesn’t mean you HAVE to.

- Eliminate clutter.  The time you spend looking for your shoes, your keys, that bill you meant to pay, can all be put to better use.  A few inexpensive containers, baskets, and post-its can buy you better health.

- Lay out your gear in advance. If you hate digging through your work out clothes in the morning have them prepared and waiting to step into.  This applies to your water bottle, outerwear and sneakers.  Even your towel and shower supplies for after your workout can be in place before you head to bed.  It all leads to a smoother ride in the morning.

- Shift your clock by 15 minutes.  You don’t have to get up a full hour earlier in order to exercise.  Try hitting the sack just 15 minutes earlier than usual and getting up 15 minutes earlier in the morning.  The feeling of not being pressed for time can contribute to carving out a little more time for a walk, some crunches or a bike ride.

Really , how many old t-shirts do you need?  We all keep a few for painting or working in the yard and after that…well what do you do with the t-shirt from the concert you went to senior year in college, or the volunteer gig at that camp last summer?  We’ve all got something that we don’t want to throw out but it doesn’t look good enough to actually WEAR anyplace. 

Follow these easy directions to make a reusable market bag. (We “stumbled upon” them…quite literally)  It’s good for the environment and gives old tees a second life.  You can even use them to throw a lunch together or a change of clothes for those fall activities that last all day.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/4Yedis/honestlywtf.com/diy/diy-market-bag

Weekends often get the ketchup and relish treatment in our house.

Saturdays seem to get filled with tasks, as we ketchup (catch up) on the things that we’ve lost track of this past week. Are the bills paid? Mail sorted/filed/recycled? Laundry done and put away? General clutter under control? Dishes clean and put away? Garden weeded and watered? Lawn mowed? Bathroom cleaned? Car filled with gas (ugh!), cleaned out, and washed?

Then on Sundays, we add a layer of relish. We relish our family with hugs and time together. Relish our home by enjoying the work we’ve put into it. Relish our friends with an impromptu party. Relish our free time and ‘me’ time with a little relaxation.

Sometimes it feels like we exhaust ourselves on Saturday, do absolutely nothing on Sunday so we can “recover”, and then we’re back at work on Monday. (Dare we say this method just doesn’t cut the mustard anymore?) This weekend we’re going to put the ketchup and relish in balance. We’re going to make sure there’s lots of relish on Saturday, and a bit of ketchup on Sunday. It’s going to be a great weekend!

The biggest stumbling block to making changes in your life is your environment.

No matter what you’re trying to change, if your environment doesn’t change too, you’ll slide back into your old habits and patterns. Your environment is the key to your success.

The first thing you’ll want to do to most efficiently develop, manufacture, and maintain a newer, fitter, healthier you is to organize your environment tin a way that’s most advantageous to your goals. You have to set up your environment to win. And the best way to do that is to make your whole environment a health workshop.

If a factory is designed to manufacture gloves, then there is no way it will efficiently produce shirts. If your home environment is not designed and built to make you healthy, it’s very unlikely that you will be healthy, or at least as healthy as you want to be.

~ Marilu Henner, Wear Your Life Well: Use What You Have to Get What You Want

This may never start.
We could fall apart.
And I’d be your memory.
Lost your sense of fear.
Feelings insincere.
Can I be your memory?

It’s the weekend – get up and dust!

What? Are we the only ones who use music to get us through the weekend’s chores? Music provides the motivation and inspiration to keep moving, whether it’s during your walk or run, or during the dusting and laundry.

And this song might make you think about the memories you’re creating today, this week, this month.

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Become aware of the things you do in your day that waste time. Recreation and relaxation don’t count – those can be emotionally and physically therapeutic, so build those into your day. But we all engage in activities that serve no purpose (many of them include our phones, computers, televisions, and couches).

Identify those time killers and replace them with more productive activities. If you’re confused about whether Angry Birds or Facebook is relaxing or wasteful for you, set a timer for 10 minutes when you start, so you don’t get sucked in. When the timer goes off, do something productive. (And next time, choose a book you’ve wanted to read, or take a bath, or take time out to meditate or pray when you need to relax.)

It’s been raining for what seems like ever, hasn’t it? It’s making us feel lazy on this particular day. Here’s a song for being lazy – not that we advocate it as a regular habit. Enjoy the humor, then get going and do something – anything – to get your day started.

Oh, and since we’ve mentioned rain – you can text REDCROSS to 90999 and $10 will be added to your phone bill and donated to the Red Cross for disaster relief efforts throughout the USA. If you want to target your giving go here to donate. (We’re glad to report that member Dana and her family in Joplin are all fine.) Consider making a monthly donation to your local Red Cross chapter, too. Or donate blood. Or become a disaster volunteer.

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