Alright.  This is short and sweet and so very fabulous.  A tip anyone can get good use out of.  Keep a small notebook with you at all times.  Seriously.  That is it.
This is how it works.  I have my planner with me pretty much all of the time, but sometimes you need to whip out something real quick. Picture scraps of paper flying out of your pocket or briefcase and realize a tiny notebook is the perfect answer.

Mine is one of those coil ones you can get at any pharmacy.  It costs less than a dollar and one lasts at least 3 months.

I really keep it simple and keep all the pages so  I can reference old info if I need it. To prevent getting buried in old business, I put an “X” through things on the list as I go through it and use a paper clip to keep track of my page.  This is wonderful for the stuff you don’t need in your planner, like  phone messages or measurements.  

I go through my mini book a couple of times a day.  Anything that needs to be transferred into the big planner goes in.  Otherwise, it gets done and gets the “X.”

Grab yourself a mini notebook and give this a try.  It is a simple strategy to keep you from losing information and from losing great ideas that slip into your mind and can just as easily slip away.   I keep my notebook in my handbag and can grab it at a second’s notice.  When I needed paint measurements last week, it just took a minute to page back to my notes.

And another thing, if you need to, keep a file of old notepads.  Maybe for the last 6-8 months? Just in case, then let it go!

Get free tips and tools at my website at simplyputtogether.com.

Valentine’s is over, our flowers are soon to wilt and the chocolate box is probably close to empty.  What a wonderful day to celebrate those we love!  And speaking of which, how about that very special person we like to call “me?”

How is your love affair with yourself coming along?  As women, we are consumate pro’s at caring for everyone else. We care for our kids, spouses, friends, family and somewhere at the bottom of the list sits little old “me.”

Valentine’s is a time to show our love for those we care about.  We can feel hurt when someone forgets to “share the love.”  But how often do we forget to reach out and love ourselves, to nurture ourselves with kind words, gestures and even gifts?

Maybe this year as Valentine’s fades away, we can decide to love ourselves up, to listen to our own “wish lists” and surprise ourselves with treats and kindness and loving behavior.

This February, take my Valentine’s Challenge.  How much are you willing to love yourself?  Are you willing to do one good thing a day for yourself for the next month?  Are you willing to listen to your wishes and grant them?  Will you listen to your body when it is tired and let it rest?

Try it and see how centered you feel after one month of loving yourself up!

Learn more about Maria at simplyputtogether.com  

Share your wishes for yourself here!

I had a radio interview last night and the topic of “purging” your junk came up.  Someone asked, “Isn’t there a better way to talk about getting rid of junk besides ‘purging?‘”

Oh yeah, baby.  When my friend survived stage 4 breast cancer, she came up with a slam dunk.  We were talking on the phone about how she was doing and she told me she was “pruning” her life.  What?  She told me she was “pruning” the junk, whether it be stuff, thoughts or even people, out of her life.

She told me life was short and way to precious to spend it tending to a bunch of things that aren’t meaningful.  She’s right.  I mean, the truth is, pruning allows us to see all the beauty of our garden, right?  pruning makes our garden healthier too.  Hmmm...

Just a thought.  Why not make the garden of your life beautiful?  Why not get rid of the things that cover up the things that really matter to you.

Give it a try.  Forget purging and begin to prune.  See where it takes you.

Share your thoughts and what you have pruned here.

Go to simplyputtogether.com  and request my free download, 10 Ways to Prune the Garden of your Life.   Also, feel free to sign up for free weekly tips and tools to make your life simpler, happier and easier to manage.

Well, I just read yet another research study(Cohen, Brigham and Young women's Hospital, Boston),  reminding us what we all know.  Lack of sleep is a bad thing.  According to this study, a 24-hour lack of sleep produces reactions similar to those when we have a blood alcohol level of .10.  Yipes.  Imagine that on the road.  But seriously, the study also reinforced the old belief that we cannot "make up" sleep.  When it comes to sleep, what's gone is gone.  

The truth is, we all can get caught up in not having enough sleep.  It is so easy to squeeze in one more chore, to watch one more show on TV, and that doesn't even account for the epidemic of sleep disorders in our country.  Well, sleep is important and here are some simple tactics to get you the rest you need.  These are tried and true, what they use in big-time sleep clinics.  So, if you suffer from a lack of sleep, find out the cause and give these strategies a try.

The Cause  

You have to start by figuring out why you aren't getting enough sleep.  Can't sleep?  Waking up in the middle of the night?  Just not stopping your day?  

Just not stopping your day  

Guilty!  That's my M.O.  If this is the case, if you are expert at taking care of others but fail when it comes to good old you, try these tools.

1.Set a time for your chores/ work to end.  Discipline yourself to stick to your commitment.
2.Unwind time. Set up unwind time for yourself at a decent hour. If you are crawling into bed at 11pm, have to wake at 6 and are all keyed up and need to watch a video.... Not good!
3.Stop yourself in your tracks if you are obsessing.  Remind yourself to think of you and relax!

Can't sleep?  

If you struggle with getting to sleep, try these tools.
1.No heavy exercise before bed.
2.A light snack, but no big meals before bed.
3.Give yourself transition time to unwind. No TV or cell phones! And no work, either.
4.Use your bedroom only for sleep, relaxation and sex. You don't want to associate your bedroom with the stressors of life.
5.Assess your room for temperature, light and sound.

Early morning awakening or waking up in the middle of the
night  

If you find yourself waking in the middle of the night, restless, obsessing and unable to fall back asleep, try these.
1.You should practice sleep hygiene, which includes all the things written above.
2.Keep a note pad and paper next to the bed. Write down all the "to do's" that are racing around in your head.
3.Don't drink! Too much alcohol leads to fragmented sleep as in passing out like a log and waking up restless in the middle of the night.
4.Consider getting a light snack.
5.Don't drink too many fluids before bed.

Give these a go and see how much your sleep improves.  And don't forget to share your sleep tips in the comments section!

Check out my site at simplyputtogether.com for more free tips and have a great week!

Maria

We have had so many New Year’s traditions over the years.  As a child, it was always tons of late night movies and junk food and the whole family just being together.  As an adult, my traditions have included everything from banging pots and pans with my step-kids to lighting fireworks on the beach with friends and family.  Imagine the time the fireworks were duds and my husband and his friend Kenneth did a fireworks performance with only matches.  Hysterical, albeit, pathetic.

One tradition I try and keep is watching the ball, the apple now, drop in Time Square.  The first year I missed it ever was when we were in California and were coming back from San Francisco into L.A.  I was all stressed out thinking I was going to miss that ball, but then I looked around me and a motorcyclist completely lit up in Christmas lights passed our car.  And I realized, sometimes you just gotta let tradition go and ride that moment.

For me, finding simplicity is about sticking to traditions while they fit my life, going with the flow when they don’t and grabbing new ones when it makes sense.  Traditions, after all, are about passing on customs and beliefs.  So, maybe it’s not so important whether we are banging pots or lighting fireworks.  Maybe it is really about setting aside the time to be together, to celebrate the New Year coming, honor the past year and dream together of futures that lie ahead.

Happy New Year and tell me, what are your thoughts on tradition and what are your New Year’s traditions?

Learn more about Maria at simplyputtogether.com

A few years back, the movie, Elf came out, which has ended up being one of my favorite holiday movies ever.  In the movie, Will Farrell plays a human who is raised by elves.  This movie is about living life to the fullest, the importance of spending time with those you love and the value in believing in goodness.  How great is that?r

Anyway, we have watched that movie probably a hundred times.  One of the things Farrell’s character does is decorate.  He takes white paper and makes tons of paper snowflakes and white paper chains and fills ooms with them.  Remember them from your childhood?  

Well, the kids and I were watching that movie - again - the other day and I thought, maybe WE could decorate like Elf.  So, we watched the movie and stapled and cut and taped.  And I have to tell you.  The living and dining rooms have never looked so festive.  We have snowflakes hanging over doorways and white paper chains draped all around.  I know, I know.  Probably not so great to use so much paper.  But it really wasn’t that much.  A few sheets of copy paper makes a really long chain.  

So, who would have thought?  Something so simple, so easy, so inexpensive could be so fun to do and so beautiful to look at.  I think from now on this will be one of our simpler traditions.  Watching Elf and putting together some paper decorations.  Oh, and by the way, we also packed up some of those snowflakes and sent them to family in their gift packages.  I think grandparents will love getting some Florida snowflakes, don’t you?

Happy Holidays.  Keep it simple and full of love.

For easy ways to keep it simple, check out my website at simplyputtogether.com