I’ve been spending more time than I care to at the chiropractor’s office lately. Turns out the nagging pain in my right shoulder is linked to the weight of my purse. My problems started when I bought an over-sized purse and began to put more and more items in it because there was space. Can you relate?

And it’s not just women that are lugging around too many belongings; how many times have you seen men sitting lopsided on their bulging wallets?

If you are ready to put a stop to the madness and save your sanity and your body, try these tips to get your purse and/or wallet organized quickly and easily.

Organize Your Purse

1. Purge your purse, pare down to essentials. Carry only what you need; you can always keep non-essentials in your car or in your desk.

2. Lighten the load by carrying a smaller purse. Choose a wider purse over a deep one to avoid archaeological digs. Look for one that has pockets for your cell phone, your glasses, etc.

3. Break items down into categories like grooming (lip balm, comb, powder), health (aspirin, antacid, tissues), and office (notepad, pen). Store each category in its own small, clear, zippered bag which can quickly be transferred from purse to purse.

4. Conserve space by carrying travel sizes of items like hand cream and aspirin.

5. Maintain your system. Once a week, clean out your purse by emptying out scraps of paper, abandoned mints, and used tissues. You can do this waiting for appointments.

Organize Your Wallet

1. Purge the excess. Pare down to essentials. Carry some cash, a debit card, a credit card, driver’s license, and perhaps a health card (often, just having the number is enough).

2. Store it elsewhere. Keep discount cards, coupons and gift cards in the glove compartment of your car instead of your wallet. Keep seldom-used credit cards in a secure place at home. Limit the amount of photos you carry.

3. Lighten the load by carrying a smaller wallet. Once you edit out the excess, a smaller wallet will prevent the temptation to accumulate months’ worth of receipts and other scraps of paper.

4. Be prepared. Photocopy all the cards you carry in your wallet and keep a copy at home in case your wallet is ever stolen.

5. Maintain your system. At least once a week, clean out your wallet by emptying out scraps of paper, business cards and other odds and ends. You can do this effortlessly while waiting for appointments. Use a mini accordion file case, a basket or a box to organize and store receipts at home.

A Certified Professional Organizer®, life coach, TV Host and owner of We Organize U. visit www.WeOrganizeU.com or e-mail info@WeOrganizeU.com

Research shows that compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) use 75% less energy and last 10 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs. But if you are not using them correctly, those savings could go right out the window. Here is how to get the most of your CFLs to keep the money in your pocket.

• Stick to the 15-minute rule. Traditional bulbs saved money by turning them off when not in use. With CFLs, it is better to keep the light on if you’re going to need it again within 15 minutes. Frequent turning on and off wastes energy and makes them burn out faster.
• Make sure they match. Each CFL is specially designed to work in specific types of lighting fixtures. Double check the package to see if it is for dimmer switch, three-way lamp, timer, motion detector or outdoor lighting etc.
• Give them room to breathe. CFLs are sensitive to extreme temperatures, so place yours in open fixtures - such as lamps with shades rather than globes. Using them in enclosed fixtures can create a hot environment that reduces the lifetime of your bulb.
• TIP: Avoid breaking a CFL as you install it by holding it only by the white plastic part - never using the glass tubing, which can crack when handled.

Who can resist the charm and character of an older home? Before you buy, here are some common issues that may prevent you from securing insurance.

• Wiring: Knob and tube wiring, may be considered a fire risk. If a home inspector finds this wiring, the insurance company may require updating the electrical system.
• Galvanized or Lead Pipes: These older pipes are more susceptible to rust build-up and blockages. Because of the risk of flooding from bursting pipes, you may need to upgrade to modern copper or plastic pipes.
• Heat source: Details will be required about age, location and condition of oil tanks, often used in older homes for heating
• Wood Stoves: Often the source of house fires and carbon monoxide poisoning, wood stoves will most likely need to be inspected before an insurance policy will be confirmed.

Moving into your first home or downsizing after your children have left the nest? Here are a few ideas for making the most out of your new - smaller space.

THIN IS IN Modern technology has made it easier to get more into small spaces. A flat screen television can hang on the wall, eliminating the need for an entertainment unit.   LAP IT UP Using a laptop instead of a desktop computer allows you to transform any area into a workstation, whether it be the kitchen table or a comfy chair. IN THE KITCHEN If you have a small kitchen you might have to forego some large appliances. Try a compact French press, rather than a counter-hogging coffee maker. And nix the cumbersome stand mixer for a handheld model. ON THE DOCK Ditch that giant stereo system for a compact docking station for your MP3 player. You won’t be sacrificing space or sound quality.

It might surprise you to hear that the air inside your home is often dirtier than the air outside. That’s because indoor air is made up of outdoor air plus all the pollutants and allergens generated from cleaning products, pets, dust, smoke, and so on. Fortunately, you can improve indoor air quality in ways that do not cost a small fortune.

Get the Dust Out
Dust – a major irritant – includes lint, bacteria, pollen, plant and mold spores, pet dander, etc. You can reduce dust particles in the air in a number of ways. Here are three:

1. Clean or replace the furnace filter every three months. Pillar To Post® inspectors find that most homeowners do not keep up with this task. Thick-media filters, such as the five- and six-inch pleated type, last longer than regular filters and filter better too. Of course they are more expensive.

2. We all create an invisible dust cloud just walking through our homes. While a high quality furnace filter will reduce dust, frequent cleaning and vacuuming is also necessary, but only if your vacuum cleaner is up to the task.

3. A poor-quality vacuum cleaner can also create dust clouds. Before you give up on vacuuming, however, two solutions can address this problem: either install a central vacuum system with the canister-air discharge piped outside the house, or purchase a high-quality, portable vacuum cleaner with a HEPA filtration system. HEPA stands for High Efficiency Particulate Air filter. Whichever solution you choose, both will effectively decrease the amount of dust that spews into the air when you vacuum.

Control of Humidity
High humidity levels in your home can significantly contribute to mold and dust mite growth. Dust mites, however, are a fact of life; you cannot eliminate them entirely. But you can decrease their numbers. Dust mites thrive in humidity levels above 50%. Ensuring the humidity in your home is not higher than 50% will diminish dust mite growth. Here are a few ways to address humidity.

1. Buy an inexpensive hygrometer to measure the indoor humidity

2. Ensure that your clothes dryer vents to the outside

3. Bathroom and kitchen fans should direct shower, bath and cooking moisture outside

4. Fix basement leaks and deal with condensation issues

5. Air conditioning systems and dehumidifiers can also remove moisture from the air. Keep in mind that dehumidifiers use a great deal of electricity and don’t provide any cooling. Make sure you deal with obvious sources of moisture first.

More Efficient Air Exchange
Some homes just need more ventilation. Heat-recovery ventilators, or energy-recovery ventilators are both effective ventilation devices. Some do-it-yourself systems exist out there but we strongly suggest an expert consultation. Choosing the right system involves careful consideration of your home and your specific situation.

Improving air quality in the home is a goal that is easily attainable. Start with the little fixes and then undertake the more complex remedies as needed. You don’t have to spend a lot of money to improve the air you breathe.

Feel guilty about surfing the Web, watching TV or playing games? These everyday habits are actually strengthening your brain power.

Chewing gum fires up focus. Pop a piece before a presentation to increase blood flow to the brain by about 25% and be more alert.

Watching TV perfects your “people-reader”. Enhance your ability to read people and increase your emotional intelligence (EQ) by watching sitcoms to view people’s behavior and the results they get.

Surfing the Web makes you a better problem solver. Spend one hour surfing, social networking or reading the news and boost your ability to solve complicated problems.

Texting improves mental sharpness Improve hand-eye coordination. The quick response time trains your brain to think faster.

Don’t throw away that old newspaper until you have made the most use of it.
Try these great uses.

• Remove fridge odors. Crumble a few pieces of newspaper and place them in the produce bins and the back of your fridge for three days. It will absorb the odors.
• Dry wet boots. Quickly remove moisture and dampness from you wet boots by stuffing the insides with crumbled newspaper.
• Clean windows. Dampen your window’s surface and use folded newspaper to rub away spots and leave them streak-free
• Safely clean up glass. When you shatter a glass after picking up the large pieces, dampen a folded piece of newspaper to blot up smaller shards. They will stick to the paper.
• Wrap gifts. In place of expensive wrapping paper use the funny pages to wrap children’s birthday gifts. It is a fun way to recycle paper

The chemicals we use in the home contribute significantly to poor indoor air quality.   Here are 4 tips to take control of the chemicals in the air: 1. Get rid of products you no longer need, such as old paint cans and other open and half used toxic chemicals and poisons. 2. Opened bottles and jars of cleaning products should be contained in an airtight bin. 3. Consider using less toxic and more environmentally friendly cleaning products. 4. Dry-cleaned clothing spews chemicals into the air. If possible, remove the plastic and hang the stack of dry-cleaning outside for a few hours before bringing it into the house. Of course this may not be practical and we sincerely hope your clothing does not get stolen.

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There will be times in your life when you will question your thoughts or actions. To whom are you listening? This may be one of the most difficult questions you have to answer more than once in your life. However, when you determine the sources, your actions will make more sense.

You Have a Choice
The purpose of this question is for you to understand that you have a choice. You can listen to the rational voices or you can listen to the irrational ones. You can choose to listen to positive voices or negative voices. If you are faithful, you may be challenged with a choice between the ”angelic” voice or the ”devilish” voice. You will, however, notice in all of the above situations that you and you alone have the choice of which voice to listen to.

Choice is Accompanied by Responsibility
When you have the ability to choose, you must also accept the responsibilities that come along with your choices. Some choices may not result in favorable outcomes. Understanding this and learning from the lessons that such choices may carry will enable you to grow and thoroughly improve your decision-making skills in the future. Don't fall prey to the blame game. Too often, many will listen to the ”wrong” voices and make decisions that are detrimental not only to themselves but to those around them. Blaming others or circumstances does not remedy the situation. However, owning up and taking responsibility will empower you and help you move on.

Let Go and Move On
Letting go may seem very difficult, moving forward even more so. However, it can be done and many more times than once. Depending on the voice you are listening to, you may be challenged with letting go. Whew! Is that difficult? Oh yes, and I would be misleading you if I told you that it is an easy decision. Again, you will always be faced with decisions in your life. Some may be as easy as choosing flats over high heels or a striped tie over a solid. It may become a bit more difficult when choosing fresh fruit or a decadent pastry and even more difficult when the decision concerns the welfare of your family. The point is that you and only you can choose what voice to listen to. This little voice in your head that is directing you toward making or not making a huge investment is one that cannot be easily shut off.

I'm not here to tell you to shut it off; I'm here to simply tell you that we all have the same little voice in our heads. You are not alone on this adventure called life.

You must take responsibility for your actions.

You must learn from your choices and never, ever stop learning.

Those who think they know it all are the ones who will have difficulties owning up or taking responsibility for the choices they have made. You can be different! Correction, you MUST be different. You were created for greatness, and once you accept this as truth, you will understand the reasons behind the choices you may have made or will be challenged with in the future.

So my question for you stands: to whom are you listening?

Not having hot water is not fun. If left unchecked and your pipes freeze it could mean even bigger troubles. So is this something you should try and fix yourself or a project best left for the pros?

Getting Your Gas Water Heater Back On:

• Check to make sure the gas is actually on.
• Check the pilot light.
• If out, follow the instructions on your heater to relight it.
• If the pilot light won’t stay lit, you can replace the thermocouple (the copper wire hanging down to the pilot light) for less than twenty dollars, using only a small adjustable wrench.
• If this doesn’t fix your problem, call a plumber.

How to Fix Your Own Electric Water Heater:

1. Check that you have electricity and breakers haven’t been tripped.
2. If that didn’t solve it, make sure to turn off the breakers to the water heater before going any further!
3. Remove the access cover on the water heater and locate the reset button. If you are lucky, you will only have to reset it and turn the power back on, and you’ll be all set in an hour.
4. If not, power off the electricity again, get your hands on a voltage meter, locate the heating elements, and check for continuity in the circuit. If this fails, you’ll want to replace both elements. This requires draining the tank and possibly a special socket that can be found wherever you buy the elements.
5. If the elements are fine, it is probably your thermostats that are the issue. These can be quickly and easily changed by removing the wires and connecting new thermostats.

Only attempt these DIY projects if you feel comfortable. Dealing with gas and electricity can be deadly. However, with a little effort you can also save yourself a lot of money.

Whether you just have a free weekend and a few hundred dollars to tackle one room or hundreds of thousands to give your entire home a new look, the following eight steps will help you make your money go a lot farther.

1. Begin Your Wish List
Pick out design styles you’d like , and listing all of the things you would remove, change, or add if you could.

2. Identify Your Real Budget
Come up with a realistic budget with which you are completely comfortable.

3. Price Shop
Look up prices of everything on your wish list and get several quotes.

4. Prioritize
Make a list of what you can really afford and which items are the most important.

5. Create Your Re-Decorating Plan
Include tasks, items to purchase, timelines and the order in which things will be done.

6. Be Ready to Make Smart Adjustments
Invest in big items that will last or add to the value of your home and make adjustments to the other items on your list. Don’t keep stretching your budget; make trade-offs instead.

7. Plan for Overages
Allow for 10–25% in extra expenses.

8. Be Willing to Work in Phases
Don’t run yourself ragged, break up your ideas into phases.

This is the ideal solution for sprucing up your home to prep it for sale, wowing visitors, or even just fighting off the winter blues.

1. Rearrange Start by rearranging. Make your spaces flow better and give the appearance of greater openness. Decide which items need to go or to be upgraded.2. Where’s the Focus? For each room, choose focal points that you will center your budget on; for example, the fireplace mantel, dining room table, or master bed.   3. Use what you’ve got Artwork, kids’ creations, sculptures, and heirlooms can all be used to fill these focal points without breaking out the credit card, and all while providing a more personal feel. 4. Let the Style Go Wild If trendy and exotic is what you are looking for, then think window treatments, lighting and shades, or replacing hardware to breathe new life and class into your home.

The forced-air gas furnace is the most common heating system in North America. It has undergone many improvements over the past few years making them efficient, quiet and reliable.

Efficiency
Most of the heat generated when a gas furnace burns goes into the house, but some of the heat goes up the chimney. Furnace efficiency refers to the amount of heat delivered into the house relative to the total amount of fuel energy used. Another way to look at it: if you burn $1 worth of gas and you get 80 cents worth of heat into the house, your furnace is operating at 80% efficiency. This quotient is often called AFUE, or annual fuel utilization efficiency.

Furnaces are classified into three efficiency categories, each correlating to a specific design: conventional, mid, and high efficiency designs.

Conventional
A conventional furnace is the oldest type and is generally 55% to 65% efficient. In other words, a great deal of heat is lost up the chimney during the operation of the furnace. Conventional furnaces are no longer made but many still exist in homes.

Mid
Improvements in design led to the mid-efficiency furnace, operating at around 80% AFUE. The big development, the induced draft fan, sucks the combustion products through the furnace and discharges them into the flue. No longer reliant on natural draft to run, the heat exchanger design was optimized in order to extract more heat before the combustion gasses went up the chimney.

High
Further developments in furnace design led to the modern high-efficiency furnace, operating at an AFUE of 90 to 97%. A high-efficiency furnace has two heat exchangers, the second’s job being to condense the gases, thus extracting most of the heat that would otherwise have been lost up the chimney.

Other benefits of a high-efficiency furnace:

• Does not require a chimney: since most of the combustion gases are condensed and trickle down the drain, the remaining (fairly cool) gases can be vented through a plastic pipe directly through the wall of the house.
• Doesn’t burn house-hold air: combustion air is drawn directly from the outside through one plastic pipe and a second plastic pipe discharges the remaining combustion gas to the exterior.

Ever find yourself becoming resentful or upset because you have too much on your plate? Ever find yourself bitter about doing what you “have to do” instead of what you really want to do?

Five Ways to Reduce Stress and Create More Peace:

1. Simplify your methods so the task isn’t so challenging.
2. It’s OK to say no if you can’t do it comfortably or happily
3. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
4. Reduce your to-do list—some items just aren’t that critical.
5. Make trade-offs—block more “me time” next week and don’t let it be interrupted.

4 More Ways to Reduce Stress and Create More Peace:

• Simplify your methods so it isn’t so challenging
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help
• Reduce your to-do list – some items just aren’t that critical
• Make trade-offs – bock more ‘me time’ next week and don’t let it be interrupted

We are now so obsessed with material belongings that there are even television shows about hoarders who jeopardize their homes and health with their compulsive buying habits and yet still can’t bear to give up any of their possessions.

Of course, your situation may not be this dire, but if you want to spruce up your home, a good start may be getting rid of some of the clutter. How many things do you own that you haven’t used or worn in the last three months? You probably don’t need them.

Feeling wealthy and great about yourself shouldn’t rely on keeping up with the Jones’s. What can feel a lot better is the peace of mind of having a little more living space, knowing that you are financially secure, and having time to relax.

Wouldn’t it be satisfying to be able to experience more: doing more, creating more amazing memories, and spending more time with those you love?

Living lighter can be incredibly freeing. Ask “homeless” billionaire Nicolas Bergguen, who refuses to even rent or buy a home and travels the world with his belongings in a paper bag.

Look for these signs of trouble:   Wood rot: If you see wood rot, it could be worse than you think. Rotted connections such as the ledger board and house connection could lead to deck collapse. Good connections: Check the points of connection between major components such as the deck and the house, the guardrail and the deck, the beams and the posts, and the posts and the pier. You should see plenty of metal brackets and bolts, not nails. If in doubt, have an expert look at your deck. For example, it is very difficult to inspect the deck-to-house connection because it is not easily accessible. Of course, it helps if you know what you are looking for. There are over forty million decks in North America, with over one million built or rebuilt each year. With care, a deck can last many years and provide a safe place to enjoy the great outdoors.

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