Unclaimed Money

There may be money just waiting for you in the unclaimed money funds of the various states. Go to http://www.missingmoney.com/ put in your name and see what comes up. You may have a very pleasant surprise. I fooled around and put in the names of various people I know and some have money coming to them. I've sent out some emails and told them to check the site and fill out the form and send it to the appropriate state office.

It could an unclaimed utility deposit or money from a forgtten bank account or an uncashed dividend check and it could be very little or a lot. Have some fun and see whether some money is waiting for you.

Keeping Your Home Safe

I just saw a really interesting story about protecting your home from a burglar. It was written by someone who spoke with a former burglar and got a lot of tips about what you can do to protect yourself. It goes well beyond the usual keep-your-doors-locked-when-you're-not-home type of thing. I already knew about some of the basic ideas mentioned such as:

They want to get in and out as fast as possible.

They turn over drawers and throw things out of closets looking for hidden valuables.

Don't have a safe unless you have it bolted into the floor by a professional. If it's not bolted down they'll take it and open it at their leisure.

But this story and the second one have lots, lots more info and good ideas to keep you and your home safe.

http://www.savingadvice.com/blog/2007/02/05/101141_the-best-place-to-hide-money-conversation-with-a-burglar.html

Home Offices

The New York Times recently had an article about home offices. Accordign to this piece 7 in 10 Americans have offices or workstations in their homes and 28 million Americans work from their home at least part time. So now there are furiture companies designing to fit home offices, interior decorators specializing in them and lots of built ins that people have made for them.

When I started out in organzing there were very few hoome offices, practically no furniture or cabinets meant for the home and people had all kinds of makeshift arrangements for themselves.

A couple of things to keep in mind when furnishing or planning a home office:

*Get furniture that is meant for a home office. Forget using the desk you've had since 8th grade. It doesn't work for today's computer equipment or anything else. Be willing to spend something to get some furniture that works for your space.

*Get a good and comfortable chair. If your'e going to be sitting for long epriods of time be comfortable.

*Have decent lighting. Whether it's lamps or ceiling lighting, get what you need. Otherwise you'll be squinting all the time.

*Measure and see what fit in your space before you buy.

New Year's Resolutions

First I want to wish everyone a Healthy and Happy New Year!

We should all have a year where things go well, we have lives without hassle and we feel good at all times.

Below are ten ways to make your New Year's Resolutions work better.

1. Make Resolutions Positive.

Phrase verything ina positive way. Instead of saying I must lose weight or must exercise more think in terms of I will take better care of my health.

2. Persistence Pay Off.

If things don't turn out well don't give up. Keep on going and determine that that you'll keep going until you've reached your goal.

3. Set Realistic Goals.

Trying to get everything to be perfect can mean that you're never satisfied. Make goals that ou can break into smaller pieces and do a bit at a time.

4. Make Sure Your Resolutions Mean Something To You.

Don't make a resolution becasue it's something someone else thinks you should do. Thing about what's important to you and make goals based on your wants and needs.

5. Ink It, Don't Think It.

One of the most important things you can do for goals and resoltuions is to write them down. You'll start thinking about ways to achieve them.

6. Post Your Resolutions Where You Can See Them Everyday.

It's not to make you feel guilty it's to get them to be part of you and moving in the right direction.

7. Do It Whether You Feel Like It Or Not.

Action can be the start of change. Don't wait for the pefect time to start. Just start doing it and things will fall into place

8. Make Just A Few Resolutions.

Make a few that you will work on. It's better to have a few that you accomplish than many that you don't.

9. Set rewards For Yourself When You've reached Different Parts Of Your Goals.

Set up rewards that you can afford and like and them be part of the resolution process.

10. Forgive Yourself.

If you don't fulfill your resolutions fast enough or fall behind don't berate yourself. If we can forgive ourselves we can get more done and be happier.