Research shows we’re at our lowest ebb this week, disgusted at our over-indulgence at Christmas. That might explain why nearly half of us will have abandoned our well-intentioned pledges before the end of January, according to a poll by insurance company Go compare. So, if you really want to stop smoking, shift some flab or run a marathon, how can you make sure it will happen?

Sue Carpenter, a Glasgow-based life coach, believes the secret is to plan your resolution well. She said: “If you plan it quite carefully, and follow six easy steps, New Year resolutions can really work.”

STEP 1: MAKE SURE THE RESOLUTION IS YOUR OWN – NOT SOMEONE ELSE’S
If you’re being nagged to do something, there’s no point in making it your New Year resolution. You won’t see it through unless you really want it yourself. You won’t give up smoking just because someone else says you should. Do it because you want to.

STEP 2: PLAN IT OUT
You need to develop a strategy to reach your target. Break it down into small, achievable “chunks”. If you want to give up smoking, book a place on a smoking cessation group or organise an appointment at the doctor to get patches. Then tick that off as a first step. If you want to get fit, buy yourself a pair of trainers or some sportswear. Then you can mark that down as your first bit of progress.

STEP 3: WRITE IT DOWN
When you put something down in black and white it seems much more real – it’s no longer just a notion in your head. Writing down your resolution is like a pledge with yourself. Stick it on the fridge or to your computer – or anywhere else you will see it regularly.

STEP 4: MAKE IT SPECIFIC, TIME-BOUND AND MEASURABLE
Set a specific target but make it an achievable one. For instance, don’t say you’ll lose half a stone in a week. You probably won’t. But you might achieve it over a period of weeks or even months. Without being specific about what you want to do, and how long you realistically expect it to take, your resolution is too whimsical and is likely to fail. So give yourself deadlines and monitor your progress towards them.

STEP 5: TELL PEOPLE ABOUT IT
Don’t make your resolution a secret. Tell people who are important to you about it. See if someone will act as your “resolution buddy” by encouraging and helping you through the difficult times.

STEP 6: FORGIVE YOURSELF
Don’t abandon your resolution if you slip up. You will make mistakes but the important thing is not to be too harsh on yourself and not to lose sight of what you’re trying to achieve. If you have a difficult week, just double your resolve the next week.

Source: Daily Record

It is possible, especially if you focus on a few goals at a time, to get your life in order at work and at home as the new year begins. We’ve rounded up some of the wisest experts often found blogging on Yahoo! Shine about money, work, and home projects to help you get going.

YOUR MONEY

Dayana Yochim of The Motley Fool says getting organized about your money, how you spend it, and how you (hopefully) invest it starts with finding out where your money goes every month.

- Follow the money

Every budget starts with sniffing out your spending habits and determining exactly where your money goes on a day-to-day basis,” Yochim says. Start with your debit card or if you use one credit card to pay most of your monthly bills and other expenses for an easy way to track your spending habits. If you use cash, for at least one week, write down what you spend every day, then multiply it by four and add it to the monthly recurring bills you pay to approximate how much you spend a month.

- Get a spending plan

Aside from the bills you know you need to pay month in, month out, now’s the time to write down what you will need to—and want to—spend money on in the next three to six months. “These could be physical purchases (like new tires for the car, airfare for the family vacation) or financial plans (such as paying off a credit card, maxing out this year’s IRA or adding to your emergency fund,” Yochim says. Once you attach dollar amounts to these goals, and you decide how many months until you’ll be spending on them, you’ll be able to figure how much you need to save every month to reach one or more of your goals.

- Save automatically

“The best way to save your money is to keep your cash out of spending reach by diverting it to a separate savings account–one different from the checking account you use for everyday expenditures,” Yochim says. Set up automatic transfers from your regular checking account to savings account so you can put the money out of reach before you spend it on something else.

YOUR CAREER

When you tend to the professional relationships in your life you are tending to your career because chances are good you will find your way to your next job through someone you already know. With that in mind, Marci Alboher, who blogged about Working the New Economy here on Yahoo! Shine and is now a senior fellow at Civic Ventures, has these tips for the new year:

- Focus on the people you know

Tend to strong relationships you already have, rather than making new contacts. “In the course of a career, people can usually trace the most significant opportunities to a small handful of people,” Alboher says.

- Say thank you

Identify those who have done something helpful in your career in the past year and find your own way to say thanks. “A colleague recently made my week by hand delivering a box of chocolates from her hometown’s confectioner,” Alboher says. “An out-of-the-blue recommendation on LinkedIn or a handwritten thank you note would have a similar result.”

- Be a mentor

The dark of winter is an ideal time to think about nurturing others, so look around for someone to mentor. You’ll feel great about helping an up-and-comer and at the same time, you’ll be plugging yourself in to where your industry is going.

YOUR HOME

Once all traces of holiday decorations and entertaining are put away, keep going. It’s a good time to pare down and get rid of clutter that keeps you from enjoying your home—and fearing an unannounced drop-in visit.

- Start small

Create a gadget-charging area so you can tame the wires and know where to look for smartphones, iPods, and cameras when you need them. Pay your bills online to cut down on the paper coming into the house, and set up an accordion file by month for the paper bills you still get once they’re paid.

The heart of the winter is also a good time to freshen up your home, but home projects don’t have to be daunting or expensive.

- A splash of fresh paint

“If you want to freshen up a room but don’t have time for a decorative overhaul, try painting one wall in a bold accent color. Apply it to the least prominent wall and the pop of color will always be a pleasant surprise as you move about the space,” says PointClickHome.com Executive Editor, Anne E. Collins.

- Think storage

Keep things you use in view, and store clutter-y items like DVDs and other media behind closed doors. As for the items you keep in plain view, don’t overdo it. “It’s okay to have a few tchotchkes—if you consolidate them. Grouping similar items on a shelf or two will make them look like a curated collection rather than a hodgepodge of stuff,” Collins says.

What’s on your get-organized list for your goals at work and home at the start of the new year?

Source: Yahoo Shine

1. Try this cheapo and festive decorating trick that Katie uses: Fill vases and hurricane candle-holders with fresh cranberries. Stick a sprig of evergreen in the center and place the arrangements around your living room.

2. Make a playlist rather than putting your iPod on random. Katie suggests sticking to upbeat, festive music for cocktail hour and mellow tunes for dinner. Download these must-have albums to really get the party started.

3. You don’t have to deep-clean your pad before a party, but you should stash clutter. Use decorative tins, baskets, and hampers to hide messes. Or if you’re really pressed for time, toss everything in your boudoir and declare that room off-limits.

4. At a dinner party, serve simple comfort foods like meatloaf or fried chicken. Or these quick and easy chicken and dumplings. They’re crowd-pleasers and don’t require a lot of effort to cook. Plus, Katie claims these atypical main dishes are awesome icebreakers.

5. Break out the bubbly, girl! Champagne never goes out of style, and it makes any party feel instantly sophisticated. Prosecco tastes almost as good and costs a fraction of the price. Before you pop open a bottle, read this primer on how to uncork without making a mess.

6. Forgo the full bar and instead serve up one signature cocktail. Katie treats her guests to a big pitcher of sangria. Try mixing up one of these Cosmo cocktails.

Source: Cosmopolitan

· Making the List, Checking it Twice – Organizing your holiday party begins with colorful, festive and fun invitations that help to set the mood for your party and get your guests excited about the upcoming festivities. You can create your own invitations or consider sending free online invitations via Web sites like Evite.com that also send reminders to your guests before the big day and keep track of your guest count.

12 Days of Holiday Party Shopping – Before your big party you don’t have to fight your way through crowds at your local stores. You can shop online from your home or on the road with a notebook computer or PDA. But while you’re shopping online, make sure you have a safe and secure experience:

· It is generally safer to buy from established sites, or sites from companies that you’ve heard of, rather than unknown, smaller operations that might not be secure or legit.

· To make sure you’re buying from a secure site, look for a “lock icon” on the screen. Make sure it says “https://” in your browser. The “s” signifies that the site is secure.

Photos of Christmas Past – As you begin to plan your holiday party this year, the Geek Squad suggests using technology to share favorite digital videos, music files and photos from the year’s most memorable moments with all of your party guests.

· Geek Squad Agents can help consumers stream all of their digital media – including pictures, music and even video – from the bedroom computer to the living room flat-screen television. Visit Geeksquad.com for a free tutorial.

· For outdoor festivities, you can also stream your music outdoors with products that plug into outdoor grounded outlets or battery operated mp3 docks. Plus, wireless networking allows you to bring the music from your laptop outside to listen to a specific playlist or stream music from an online radio site such as Pandora or Yahoo! Launchcast.

Winterize Your Home – If you’re looking to turn your front yard into the envy of your neighbors and guests with a spectacular Winter Wonderland, you could remotely control the entire light display system. Check out real life examples on this Web site www.planetchristmas.com

· Home Automation Systems (such as SMARTHOME or Planet Christmas) have software that allows you to control your home remotely via the Internet. Let a Geek Squad Agent show you how to control your entire light and decoration display from your laptop.

· Similar programs can help you control the heat in your home from a PDA to get your home warm before you or any of your guests arrive. Stop by any Geek Squad Precinct and an Agent can show you how.

For help with all your technology needs, call 1.800 GEEK SQUAD to set up an onsite consultation, find a location near you at www.geeksquad.com, or visit the Geek Squad Precinct at Best Buy and other locations to speak with an Agent directly. We provide our services wherever and whenever you need them – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Perhaps you are on the fence too. You may find your answer after reading this post by Karen Leland. Will you pull out the boxes or stay put? Let Karen help you decide.

At latest count I’ve sold off 10 pieces of furniture; donated over 200 books, assorted dishware and clothing for Goodwill; thrown out a small dumpsters worth of garbage and cut my candle collection in half. All this and I still have many days worth of sorting and clutter clearing to go before the big day next week when we move.

If you read my column last month, you know that my husband and are facing a downsizing. We sold the house we’ve owned for the past 12 years and are moving to a rental. Were we forced to sell our house in a fit of foreclosure? No. But like many of our fellow citizens we were swept up in the irrational enthusiasm of leveraged real estate investments and a mortgage that looked liked it was too good to be true – and it was.

And while I now see this downsizing as a necessary step and nested opportunity – it has not been easy. Facing our fiscal choices and just confronting the amount of stuff (from houses to housewares) that we have bought, collected, been gifted, picked up at conferences, purchased at other people’s garage sales and one way or another acquired, has been painful at best and gut wrenching at worst.

Twenty years ago I took a financial course where the instructor said the goal was sufficiency. I’ve often thought of this as the three bears method of money and stuff – not too much, not too little, but just enough to have a sense of freedom and things working well. I’ve never forgotten that concept. I only wish I’d made a little bit more of an effort to live by it over the past 10 years.

Even so, I can’t help but feel grateful. I know many people who have lost much more. This move and the subsequent shedding of much of the stuff that has been hanging around my life sucking up time, energy and money is my opportunity to declare a sufficiency ‘do over’ and begin righsizing. It’s a chance to retool my goals and priorities and spend more of my life on the things that matter most to me.

If you’re tempted to judge me too harshly as a disgraceful example of over-consumerism, I challenge you to open a few closets and drawers in your own home (or worse take a good hard look into the belly of the beast known as your garage) and tell me what you find. More than likely there will be an abundance of things you thought you wanted and needed but didn’t.

The pressure to buy now, pay later; stay on top of the latest trends and own what’s being touted on Oprah as the next favorite thing, is a strong one in our culture. It’s a problem facing our nation as a whole, not just a group of catalog crazy, sale enticed individuals. It’s a battle that takes constant personal vigilance to fight. One – if we stay on top of it – we can often win, and are bound by circumstances to occasionally lose.

Oh and just in case that trip to the garage inspired you to do a little rightsizing of your own stuff, here’s the method I used from my book Time Management In An Instant: 60 Ways to Make The Most of Your Day.

Do a ‘T’ scan

Moving in a logical direction (right to left, top to bottom, front to back) Scan the stuff in front of you and as you come across each item, assign it a category and act accordingly.

Trash – This is an item that no longer works, you no longer need or you no longer like. It has outlived its usefulness and is ready to make the journey from your office to the wastebasket. Action: Throw this out now! If the item is still in good working shape put it in a box to be given to charity.

Treasure – This is an item you need, you like and/or you use. It belongs exactly where it is. Action: Don’t do a thing. Leave it as it and be glad you found it.

Hot Hint: If the item is one you want, but just needs to be repaired ask yourself if its worth the time and effort to fix this item or would it be better to replace it? If the answer is repair it, schedule a specific time to take care of it within the next week.

Transfer – This is an item that you want to keep, but does not belong in the location where you found it. Action: Put the item in a box for transfer to its proper place when the sorting session is over.

Temptation – This is an item that you feel conflicted over. Part of you wants to keep it and part of you is not sure you will ever use it. To help decide ask yourself:

Do I have more than one of these?
How useful will this really be in the future?
When was the last time I used this?
Is this something I need to keep for legal reasons?
What is the worst thing that could happen if I get rid of this?

Karen Leland is author of Watercooler Wisdom: How Smart People Prosper in the Face of Conflict, Pressure and Change. She writes the Productivity Superstar column for Web Worker Daily. Read more at www.karenleland.com
Source: Huffington Post

On the first day try to get to work 30 minutes early to organize your workspace. If your workspace looks like a hurricane hit it…try and hour early. Make sure you have plenty of files and labels on hand.

Before you start work
Your desk is where it all happens so let’s get rid of the clutter!

1. File all current projects and tasks in a file organizer that sits on your desk. Having your “must have tasks” at the tip of your finger tips is key for easy access.
2. Put all old paperwork, proposals, and other papers in a file with a label that indicates the name of the task and the year. Recycle the paper of all duplicate information.
3. Surf through emails and detect the ones that are most important. If an email only needs a quick response take care of it quickly. In doing this, you have eliminated a task and your co-worker can move on with their task because of your speedy reply. For emails that need a little more time move them into a To Do file on your computer. Make sure you write the email task on your To Do list for the day so you won’t forget.
4. Check Voicemail and return all calls

Sidebar: Checking email and voice mail are tasks that you do every day. Couple them along with other tasks you must complete every day. I like to call these my Bundle Routine Tasks (BRT). Just like the phone company you can bundle your tasks that are reoccurring, so can you. Do you have daily or weekly tasks? Think about them and create a daily bundle routine and a weekly bundle routine to keep you on track.

During Work

1. Create a To Do List for the day (In the beginning of the week and month create a To Do List for the Week and for the month to keep you on schedule)
2. Pick up where you left off the previous day. Start your day with the most vital tasks. Once you have completed a task, send it off to your co-workers that are in need the information and put a nice big check next to the item on your To Do List.(smile) Move on to the next task on your To Do List.
3. Mid morning email check: Surf through your email and reply to vital emails.
4. Mid morning voice mail check: Review your voice mail and return important phone calls.
5. Any important tasks that you could not take care of during your mid morning email and voice mail check put them down on your To Do List.

Lunch- Enjoy your time to yourself. Leave work at work and indulge in a good lunch and Me Time. You not only deserve it, but you body needs to regroup.

After Lunch

1. Continue to work tasks on To Do List
2. Do you have any afternoon Bundle Routine Tasks? Complete them now.
3. Afternoon email check
4. Afternoon voicemail check

End of the day wrap up
10 Minute Prep: Take the last 10 minutes of the day prepping for tomorrow. Organize the tasks you will be working on tomorrow and place them on your desk so they will be the first thing you see when you arrive at work. File items you no longer need. Begin your To Do List for tomorrow and place your new To Do List next to your tasks for the next day. Finally, your workday is complete. Enjoy your evening.

Karen Vaughn is the founder of the Working Divas Blog. A lifestyle blog that is geared towards work/life balance for women.  She is an awarding winning Radio Personality who is currently the evening host on Star 99.7 in Charleston and has worked in Miami, Indianapolis, Washington, DC, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. Follow Karen On Twitter @ www.twitter.com/karenvaughn

Spa Day: What Working Divas doesn’t enjoy a day of pampering? (We do) Find a local spa that is budget friendly. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to ask for a group discount when you book your services. When picking your treatments, keep it simple and select a pedicure and a massage or facial. Therefore, everyone has a little escape before the chatter fest begins.

Sister Stay-cation:Everyone has a living room. So, why not make good use of it with your girls. For one thing, it’s free and has a cozy couch. Plus, there are no time limits, you know you and the girls can get to talking. Create a relaxing atmosphere by adding some throw pillows and some 80’s music on your stereo…opps…ipod. Pick out a signature cocktail or wine and have it chilled before hand. Do you have a sister friend that can cook? Start to organize the evening by emailing everyone to select the date and the dish they would like to bring. (if they can) Create a theme…movie night, music night, book club night, the creativity is endless. You’ll all have an evening to remember just like the ladies of “Waiting to Exhale.” And by all means…if your friends have a little too many cocktails, pull out the blankets. Have fun ladies!!

Sister Brunch: Try a nice restaurant in your area with a great atmosphere. There is nothing like great decor and wonderful customer service to make your event sizzle. To prepare, get a copy of the menu before hand to ensure everyone finds something on the menu they will enjoy. There is nothing like arriving at an event and you can’t find anything on the menu you like. Plus, it doesn’t hurt to know the cost before hand. Keep it light and fun.

Little Ones Play-date: In case there is a sister-friend that is unable get a baby sister, include the kids. Now this is not your traditional sister-friend get together, but it is a way everyone can take part in some sisterly fun. Find a local park that is in a convenient location. Create different activities for you and the kids. Read stories, have a kid’s theater, play kick-ball, hopscotch, jump rope, or double-dutch with your children and re-live your childhood. You will have a blast…trust us.

We be Clubbin’: Let your hair down and meet at a trendy night club and party the night-a-way with good music, good drinks and great friends. Let the DJ know you are having a girls-night-out and have him play a song all of you love and dance like a rock star! Tip: “Just Fine” by Mary J. Blige or “Let the Beat Hit’em by Lisa Lisa.

The Ultimate: A Sister-friends Getaway. If getting away isn’t an option. Research hotels in your area to indulge in three days of total bliss. Don’t plan much. The focus of this get together is relaxation and rejuvenation. Enjoy each other’s company by the pool, take in the spa or other hotel activities. Your goal: Fun with the girls and being recharged for your upcoming work week.

Karen Vaughn is the founder of the Working Divas Blog. A lifestyle blog that is geared towards work/life balance for women.  She is an awarding winning Radio Personality who is currently the evening host on Star 99.7 in Charleston and has worked in Miami, Indianapolis, Washington, DC, Baltimore, and Philadelphia. Follow Karen On Twitter @ www.twitter.com/karenvaughn

1. Belly Breathing: Place your hands over your belly, and take 5-10 deep breaths, taking special care to expand your belly with each inhalation instead of your chest. This forces your diaphragm down, allowing your lungs to take in more air – a powerful method for immediately calming your body.

2. Progressive Muscle Relaxation: Close your eyes and focus your attention on your facial muscles. Take a deep breathe, and as you exhale, imagine all these muscles relaxing. Then move your attention down to your neck and shoulder muscles, take another breathe, and imagine the tension releasing from that area. Continue scanning down your entire body, breathe by breathe. In addition to being a stress-buster, this particular technique is excellent for helping you fall asleep quickly after a busy day.

3. Visualization Vacation: Visualizing a soothing scene is a great way to halt the stress response, and using a memory of an actual scene from your past is particularly effective, because many of the neurotransmitters triggered during the original experience are also triggered when you remember it in detail. Pick a favorite vacation moment – sitting on a beach at sunset, for example – and try and reconstruct what you saw, heard, smelled, and felt.

4. Favorite Word: Word repetition is another great MBSR technique. Simply pick a word that represents the opposite of whatever difficult emotion is related to your stress. Feeling angry? Try ‘peace’. Depressed? Try ‘joy’. Discouraged? Try ‘optimistic’. Just repeat your word to yourself 10-20 times under your breathe.

5. Heat of the Sun: Nature has a soothing effect, but you probably can’t wander a forest or the beach in the middle of your workday. Instead, try stepping outside for just a minute, and focus your attention on the feeling of the sun as it hits some part of your body. Imagine the heat of the sun melting away your tension.

6. Breeze of Insight: Another effective natural element you can focus on during brief excursions outdoors is the wind, or breeze. Face away from it for a moment and imagine it is blowing away your stress. Then face into it, and imagine it is blowing in relaxation.

7. Take a Hike: Walking meditations are particularly effective, because the movement helps take the edge of the restless feeling that often accompanies tension. A quick walk around the parking lot at work, or even down the hall, can help, if you make an effort to shift your mind away from the source of your stress. Try paying special attention to each of your senses in turn – note everything you see in great detail, and then everything you hear, then smell, and so on.

8. Find the Love: Sometimes just reminding yourself of your emotional support structure can help calm your nerves. Close your eyes and visualize someone dear to you (children are great) in an affectionate moment. Hold that thought as you take a few deep breaths.

9. Gratitude: Another emotional shifter is gratitude. In the midst of a crises, taking a few moments out to remind yourself of all the good elements in your life can help you re-center. Make a mental list of all the people, things, and experiences you are grateful for.

10. Self-Distancing: A little more abstract, this technique is often used in anger management programs. When you start to feel angry, take a moment and mentally ask the question ‘Who is it that is feeling angry?’ The idea is to begin to separate yourself from your own angry emotion, strengthening your self-awareness and impulse control. Over time, you can refine your ability to choose which emotions you want to draw upon, and which you want to let recede.

Regardless of what technique you choose, the important thing is not to turn your stress-busters into stress-creators! In other words, don’t judge your efforts, and don’t get caught up in trying to find the perfect setting or time. Bathrooms stalls, parked cars, or even your office chair, are all you need to practice most of these techniques. Just set aside one minute, pick your method, and let yourself relax.

Lisa Erickson teaches stress management and meditation classes in both corporate and community settings. Go to www.TheMaatInstitute.com for information on her offerings, or visit the meditation section of www.MommyMystic.com to read more on meditation research and techniques.

Source: Working Mother

The 2009 American Baby Best of the Year Award Winners:

1. Boppy

2. Johnson’s Bath Washes

3. Desitin

4. Fisher-Price Cradle and Swing

5. Johnson’s Baby Lotions

6. Boudreaux’s Butt Paste

7. Baby Orajel

8. Dr. Brown’s Bottles

9. Huggies Wipes

10. Infants’ Mylicon

11. A+D ointment

12. Bumbo Seat

13. Playtex Diaper Genie II

14. Fisher-Price Bouncer Seat

15. Fisher-Price Jumperoo

Act Like You’re Moving

Say you had to uproot and relocate. What would you take with you? You don’t actually have to pack up anything―just set aside the few things that you love and use and see what’s left over. “Chances are, you use only 20 percent of your stuff regularly,” says Sally Allen, owner of A Place for Everything, an organizing service in Golden, Colorado.

Toss-It Tips

* Envision your home as a prospective buyer might: Uncluttered spaces make the best first impression. They’re also a lot easier to keep clean and dust-free.

* Imagine the potential buyer (or, worse, a relative) going through your closets or drawers. What would you not want him or her to see?

* Buy containers and baskets only after you’ve decided what to keep. This way you’ll have a much better sense of the kind of storage you need.

Why It Works

* You don’t have to get rid of things you love or need―you just have to determine what those things are.

* If you’ve ever packed and paid for a move, the motivation for paring down your possessions will be all too clear.

Assess Your Rooms

Walk through your house with a pen and a notebook, writing down the activities that take place in each room and the items associated with those activities. “Then ‘purpose’ your space,” says Vicki Norris, president of Restoring Order, an organizing company in Portland, Oregon. “Note your desired use for each room, even if you are not using it that way currently.” Remove anything that doesn’t relate to your proposed activity for that space.

Toss-It Tips

* Start with one room, but keep the whole house in mind.

* Think of rooms that have multiple purposes as several smaller areas, so it’s clear where items should be returned if they stray. If gift-wrapping is the designated activity for a certain part of the study and you find a spool of ribbon in the kitchen, you’ll know exactly where it belongs, and so will other family members.

Why It Works

* This strategy lays the foundation for long-term change. “By taking an `aerial view’ of your entire home, you’ll see how certain activities and their supplies are strewn throughout the home―like paperwork, memorabilia, or toys,” Norris explains.

* Tackling clutter without knowing your priorities can be counterproductive. “People who take a `tidy up’ approach are actually rearranging rather than organizing,” Norris says. “Sooner or later, the space relapses to its original condition.”

Shop in Your Closet

Next time you’re putting away laundry or dry cleaning, grab an armful of clothes that you haven’t worn since you can’t remember when and try them on in front of a full-length mirror, suggests Jeanine Baron, founder of Streamliners Inc., an organizing company in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania. Put the ones that you would want to buy again back into circulation; donate the rest.

Toss-It Tips

* “The keepers must fit, be in style, and not need major alterations or repairs,” says Baron.

* Don’t let the mere fact that you paid a lot guilt you into keeping something. Your closet is prime real estate.

Why It Works

* You have to deal with only a few items of clothing at a time―not your whole closet.

* If your weight has fluctuated over the years, this method lets you pinpoint what fits now and bag memories of your body-size history.

* You might enjoy it, especially if you unearth a long-buried treasure.

Clean Out for a Worthy Cause

Getting rid of things will be easier if you can picture someone else benefiting from them (instead of how they just signify wasted money for you). Pick an organization to donate to, and learn as much as you can about it. Read the literature, check out the website, and visit the facility, if possible.

Toss-It Tips

* Don’t just leave your stuff outside the charity’s storefront or in a donation bin, to be ruined by the elements. Deliver it in person, or find out if the organization will arrange a pickup from your home.

* See if there are specific items the charity needs; this will make those things easier to give up. If it doesn’t accept certain items ask if it knows of a group that does.

* If an item is truly worthless or beyond repair, don’t make the organization deal with it. Find out the proper way to junk it instead.

* Get your kids involved, too, so they can see what it’s like to give.

Why It Works

* Discarded items will most likely be used, worn, or appreciated a lot sooner in someone else’s hands than they would in yours.

* You can earn a tax deduction for donated goods. But you are responsible for keeping track of donations, determining their worth, and itemizing them on your tax return.

“Edit” Your Rooms

Start in the upper left-hand corner of one wall and start “reading” from left to right and from top to bottom. “The room is a book, a dresser is a chapter, each drawer is a paragraph, the boxes or trays or Ziploc bags in the drawers are the sentences, and the things in the containers are the words,” says Alice Winner, an organizing consultant in Hummelstown, Pennsylvania. “Get rid of the extra words―things―that are making your life more complicated and unmanageable.”

Toss-It Tips

* Any time you feel your attention straying to another part of the room or house, take a break or simply repeat, “Left to right, left to right.”

* Resist the urge to skip “chapters.” If you jump around the room, dealing with a pile here and a pile there, the room might still look cluttered after a three-hour session.

* Find a motivator for your work. Tack up an image from a magazine or book of a room you’d like to emulate.

Why It Works

* It’s difficult to determine the best place to plunge into an organizing project. This eliminates that problem: Just go straight to the upper left-hand corner of one wall. It also curtails aimlessness, because you always know what to tackle next.

* You provide yourself with a prototype as you go. Say you’re editing your filing cabinets, and you feel your focus flagging as you encounter another overstuffed folder labeled “Miscellaneous.” Look at the drawer you’ve just completed for a visual reminder of what all the drawers will look like when you’re done.

By Amanda Hinnant for Real Simple