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For the last few years Thursday's have been my favorite day.

Every time I walk through my front door to find my house immaculately clean I find myself automatically distressed, content and happy.  

Now, don't get me wrong, my house is usually clean. However, we have so much "family traffic" that unless you have someone cleaning up through out the day every day, it's impossible to have it always looking spotless.

We usually have at least 10 people at our dinner table, and at least that many teenagers in and out of the house on a daily basis. With access to a cleaning lady only once a week, this system is imperative in up keeping a clean and vibrant household.  

That's where my "Get Organized System" comes in.

Follow these simple steps only 15 minutes a day to have your house organized in 20 days or less.      

No one plans to fail, we just fail to plan.        

    

1.Make a plan of what needs to be done for the next 14 days.
Write down what supplies you will need such as boxes, containers, trash bags.      

2. Start with the highest trafficking area such as your kitchen counter.
Most of the stuff on the counters gets there because we are too lazy to put it in the proper place to begin with.
For the next 15 minutes examine your counters and see if anything can be put away or tossed, such as junk mail, or stuff you no longer need. Don't save it,
TRASH IT.    

If you can make your counters clutter free, every time you walk into the kitchen you'll have a feeling of accomplishment.
If your counters are clean, skip to the next day.

3. The Hidden Drawer.      

We all have them and they are usually filled with mostly junk that we haven't used and need to toss.
For the next 15 minutes go through each drawer and after you are done tossing all the junk, arrange everything neatly.

 Continue to the next drawer until every drawer in your kitchen has been done.
This is a great exercise to do with your teenage kids. I remember once I had three of them doing different drawers, and we were actually done with all
of them in half in a hour.

                            

 

4. Don't forget the cupboards.    

Your cabinets need order too.
It's always a good idea to keep your shelves organized by a certain product.
For instance you should have shelves separately for:  

Canned goods.    

Pasta and Rice.  

Cereals and Breakfast Products  

Oils and Spices

              

Keep in mind that you need to organize your shelves in the order  

    you use them. Place the most frequently used items in the most  

    conveniently used shelf.            

 

5.Now it's time for your Fridge Door.          

I love my kids too, but enough with their projects, notes, and all kinds of phone numbers plastered all over the fridge door.
Strip everything from your fridge door and watch your kitchen shine.
This is also a good time to check your freezer and throw away old frozen meats, poultry, etc.
Inside the fridge you should have everything that you will use. Get rid of anything that has been there for over two or three weeks that haven't been used.

                                                  

 

6.Your Medicine Cabinet requires attention.

I keep my meds in the kitchen; so I'm attributing this task to go along with my kitchen chores. If your med. cabinet is in your bathroom, skip to the day that we are focusing on the bathroom cabinets.
Going over your medicine requires attention. Check all of the expiration dates on each bottle, and toss the ones that expired.
Check to see that your first aid kit is in tack and make sure you have enough band aids, Neosporin and sun screen on your shelf.

      

 

7.Laundry Room.

I'm not sure why, but my kids just love to throw things in the laundry room and shut the door.
Laundry Room is your next destination.
Buy different color bins that stack on top of each other and can be easily pulled out. Store things neatly inside them, such as detergents, rags, and soaps.
Pretty bins and neatly stored items make your laundry room a place you actually want to visit.

 

   

8.Your Front Entry.

When my children were small, they would come through the door and throw their back packs all over the front entrance, immediately making the house look like a mess.
It took me a while to find out how I can prevent this from happening, the following method works really well.

Make your child feel special, assign a color to each family member
Buy Nice Looking Bins to place by the door. That way when they get back from school everything going inside their bin.
At this point I would recommend buying everything for that child that has to do with school in the same color. If you find a green notebook laying around the kitchen table, you no longer have to ask everyone who's it is. It can now go back to that green bin by the door.

The best thing about these bins is that they are light, and can be picked up and moved out of site during a dinner party or if you are expecting guests.

    

 

9.The Bathroom's.

This drill has to be applied in every bathroom of your home.
Go through drawers and toss everything that's old and spoiled, or not going to be used.
Wiping shelves with baby wipes always makes my cabinets smell fresh.
Your make up drawer needs your attention. Many make up products such lipstick, mascara and liquid foundation go bad quickly and need to be changed frequently to maintain healthy skin.

                            

   

10. Bills, Holliday Cards and & Reminders.  

With on line banking available by every bank, it has never been easier to pay your bills and keep track of everything that's going on with your finances. If you haven't done so already set up your on line banking account today.

1. Buy an expandable filing folder from Staples with dividers for every month. (This is where you keep your paid bills, so when the tax season comes around all the bills are sorted by month and are very easily tracked) Buy another folder, and every time you get a bill in the mail, it goes inside that folder.
2. Every month on the 1st and the 15th, pay all the bills from the bill folder, and file them in the other folder under the appropriate month. Simple enough, right?
3. Birthday's, Anniversaries and Special Occasions.
   Let's Face it, everyone likes to feel special?it's part of our human nature! Why not develop a personal system that remembers birthdays, family and friends wedding anniversaries and a schedule that sends holiday cards on time, every year, so that the process is fun, rather than, a dreaded experience!. Read More ?
4. I have a special folder that is dedicated to all of the warranties for appliances in our home. Within that folder is a calendar that outlines annual check ups, filter replacements, batteries, etc. It also has all of the phone numbers of the people I use to service my appliances, plumbing and repairs.

                                                                                                                                                        

 

11. Now you are ready for every room in your home.      

Remember it should only take you 15 minutes a day to access and re-organize. If it cannot be done in fifteen minutes break it up in a few days.
Don't go to the next room until the room that you initially started is done.
Trash/Charity/Other
I would imagine that by now you have a pile of "stuff" that you don't know what to do with. This is the time you separate this "stuff" into three piles. Give away to charity, to someone you know can use this, or simply trash the pile. Package accordingly and MOVE IT OUT, remember to always have MOVEMENT; you need to clean it up and take it out.

            

 

12. Bedrooms.

Time to declutter your bedside tables and everything that's on top of them. Are you really reading these three books at the same time?
Do you really need two bottles of lotion on your bedside table?
Choose only what's necessary and put the rest away in the appropriate cabinet, drawer in your bathroom, or hide it in the lower shelf in your nightstand.
Remember not to clutter.    

 

13. Closets.        

1. Begin with your closet, and do not get overwhelmed.
2. One area of the closet at a time. Start with the shirts, progress to pants, then jackets, etc.  
3. Set aside clothes that you haven't worn in two or more years, because chances are that you are not going to wear them. And about these jeans?if you haven't been able to get into them for the last 5 years, give them away or throw them out.  If you happen to loose that weight again, you will reward yourself with a new, in style pair.
   You deserve it.
4. If you are planning to have more kids and would like to store kids clothing, make a box with a label on it describing for example, Girls Clothes ages 7 to 8.  That way when you need to locate a box you don't have to go through all of them.

                                                                                  

 

14. Family Room.      

The coffee table is not a storage space for your old magazines. Leave one or two on the table, and take the rest to your car to read while your kids are playing soccer, or while you are waiting for an appointment. After you read a magazine, discard appropriately.

This whole process should not take more than two weeks, but should organize your house and put you in a better mood.

This is also a great way to engage your children to help you with keeping the house neat. If you follow this method several times a year, you’ll never have to blush again by opening a messy drawer.

I have always been fascinated by how different we women all are. And amazingly, short or tall, skinny or fat, pretty or plain, each woman has something that men are drawn to.  I've always believed that looks didn't have a lot to do with it.  Sure they help, but believe it or not that is not necessarily sexy to every man.

I've asked David M. Matthews  to join me so that we might compare how similar (or different) the male and female viewpoints on this topic actually are.  In case you haven't met David, or had a chance to read his "A Male's Perspective" column or read his book Every Man Sees You Naked: An Insider's Guide to How Men Think, here is a chance to get into the mind of a man and see what he thinks.      

Is being confident an important part of a woman being sexy?

My Take:

Yes.  Confidence is what attracts a "normal" man beyond the physical characteristics. Men are attracted to women who are not afraid to talk about their goals, dreams and aspirations. In my opinion a woman who is poised, intelligent and has something to say, intrigues men.    

David's Take:

Don't be afraid to exude a confident manner.  You know how sexy you find confidence in a man. Well, a confident woman who is obviously comfortable in her own skin can be a real turn-on for the right guy.    

How important is appearance?

My Take:

If you don't feel attractive it will be apparent through your actions. Use what you have, and dress it up, but don't go overboard and don't wear anything to flashy or too open. Less is more.  

David's Take:

I've got a lot to say on this one. Since men are very visually oriented, how a woman looks is usually the first thing that arouses his sexual interest. And while there is no one particular look that all men find appealing, there are a few things that guys generally agree cause a tingling in their loins.  

And what are these visual "cues" that cause men to practically drool as they gaze in your direction?  First and foremost, you must look like a woman. Show off your shape. Don't hide it under layers of shapeless, baggy clothing, no matter how stylish or chic. We want to see your womanly form ? that's sexy to us.  It doesn't matter if you don't fit the mold of what the fashion magazines say is the perfect bod. Those publications are generally not written by straight men, so they're woefully ill-equipped to make any assessment of what gets your average guy hot. Even if you're sporting a few extra pounds, the additional fleshiness simply gives you more curves?and we love curves ? because generally we don't have them (beer bellies and love handles aside).  So let us see 'em.      

Don't be afraid to show off any and all of your best physical features. Show some cleavage (guys are nuts about boobs, as if you didn't already know that), the more the better, regardless of how bountiful your endowment. With today's wonderfully-engineered, cleavage-enhancing bras, any woman can now draw admiring attention to this popular male point-of-interest. And if you've got great legs, wear the shortest skirt you can stomach, and the tallest heals you can walk in without doing a pratfall.  If you've got a bitchin' butt, he should see it straining against some snug-fitting jeans. Nice, tight tummy? Flaunt it in his face. And unclip your hair and let it fall luxuriously to your shoulders (or beyond). A swept-up 'do may be "elegant" and "sophisticated," but flowing tresses are "hot." The key here is to take pride in your femininity ? that which makes you appear to be most unlike us in our eyes.  Because the more you look like a woman, the more appealing you are to a man.      

Is there a particular attitude a woman can project that a man will find sexy?

My Take:

Be mysterious. Don't feel compelled to tell him your "whole story" on your first date, or the second, for that matter. Don't share your intimate secrets - the less he knows about you the more mysterious you are to him.  Be flirtatious, but at the same time shy and discreet.  And be positive.  No one wants to be around negative people. If you are upbeat, happy and cheerful, every man and woman will want to be your friend.  

David's Take:

Do you want to positively ooze an irresistible sexiness? Then smile. Showing off your "pearly-whites" lights up your whole face and makes you seem more approachable. And "approachable" is sexy. Also maintain eye-contact with the man with whom you're conversing.  It indicates your interest. And if you're interested, chances are good, so are we. And being upbeat and cheerful is far more attractive to most men than sullen and sarcastic. Your clever put-downs may make us laugh, but we may shy away from getting involved with you to avoid inevitably being on the other end of your venomous barbs.      

Is there anything else that might raise my level on the "sexy meter?"

My Take:

Don't always be available. Yes, dating has changed, and yes, men have changed, BUT, that doesn't mean we have to go with the flow. There are still men out there that do not text  but call, pay the bill when taking you on a date without expecting you to pay your half, and court you just like your mother wanted you to be courted. Don't settle for less.  Remember, sexy is not about long legs, silky hair and a pretty face. It's about your inner beauty and your ability to deliver yourself. Love yourself and believe in yourself, and watch those men turn their heads and ask for your number.      

David's Take:

Like women, men are affected either positively or negatively by smells (though guys generally have a less highly-tuned olfactory sense). Wearing a not-too-overpowering, contemporary fragrance can make a definite, sexy impression on him. But be careful which scent you choose.  Avoid any perfume that some would call classic (spelled "dated"). Smell is the sense that is most-closely connected to memory, so if you douse yourself in something that reminds him of his mother, or worse, his grandmother, your aroma may have exactly the opposite of the desired effect. And finally, go light on the jewelry. Whether it's real or costume (like we'd know the difference), when a guy sees a woman dripping in bling, he will often make the assumption (rightly or wrongly) that she might be a wee bit high-maintenance. And no matter what you've heard, most guys don't find that a particularly sexy attribute.      

So there you have both female and male perspectives on what makes a woman sexy. And while hardly the definitive say-so on the matter, it does make for interesting "food-for-thought." So?what do you think?

French actress Catherine Deneuve's famous declaration that, after age 30, a woman has to choose between her face and her ass, now has scientific backup. Age has always been beauty's enemy.  Women have always been desperate to find ways to keep their youth and good looks for as many years as possible.  The mirror is the enemy, becoming more cruel as the years pass.  There's a whole smorgasbord of wrinkle creams, pills and plastic surgery options available to women seeking the magical and nearly effortless fountain-of-youth results.  Weight is a whole other issue; these days it's all about getting that Barbie figure and keeping it until the day we die.  

But trying to fit yourself into the mold modeled by society's most beautiful is hard to do without spending a big wad of cash or stress-dieting.  Women across the nation battle with the problem of continuously going in and out of their goal weight ranges, finding almost zero success maintaining the lost weight.

Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, recently published study findings that indicated being thin is what ages us most. In the study, nearly 200 pairs of identical twins were studied over a two-year period and their observable differences in their appearances were compared to create the data. "A BMI higher by four points was found to result in a younger appearance of between two to four years in women over 40 years old," said Dr. Bahaman Guyuron, research designer and plastic surgeon. Rajiv Grover, secretary of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, welcomed the findings. "It gives scientific credence to what we always thought but couldn't prove, which is that it is not what your mother looks like, but volume-loss that makes you look older," he says. "Excessive dieting will give a woman a gaunt appearance by leading to volume loss in the midface [cheeks]," adding, "volume loss can be compounded by yo-yo dieting." Other factors found to contribute to aging include sun damage, smoking, drinking, failure to cope with stress and long-term anti-depressant use.

Can I get a hallelujah!? Ladies, forget about keeping a house full of diet foods and no sugar, non-fat pre-made meals and supplements?it's time to eat like a human being again.  Give the "model diets" a rest and pick up a sandwich (mayo and all).  Keeping a few indulgences in the house will not do you in, in fact they can keep your cravings appeased and cheeks rosy.  Happiness is priceless, and any woman that has dieted extensively or repeatedly can attest to how low their joy-level is throughout the weight-loss process.  

So stock up on the sunscreen, ditch the cigarettes and booze and get a good therapist if you need to straighten out your personal life?but don't leave the food behind.  Aging is an unstoppable process, but it can be a graceful slide if the correct precautions are taken.  Live well, treat yourself to a massage and mini Snickers bar and pat yourself on the back for making it through the 40+ years you have walked this Earth and remind yourself that you are fabulous.

 
And The Winners Are.... from victor Iggy on Vimeo .

It's seems that there is a lot of stress surrounding the spring season.

Everyone has their own agenda and their own list of stress factors. To add to that list, spring season is known to aggravate various medical conditions.

The wild swings in weather can cause changes of air pressure and leave us feeling lethargic and edgy. Blooming trees bring allergies that cause stuffy noses and watery eyes.  

The stomach for instance doesn't like Spring Season. Several studies in Europe confirm an increase in gastritis, ulcers, and all kinds of stomach related problems during the time of spring.

Knowing the cause of the problem is part of the cure. Anticipate what's coming and plan a prevention strategy.  

We are responsible for our health, so let's start there.    

Plan for any tests that you know that you need, such as mammograms, OBGYN exams and all other tests that we need not forget annually.  

Check you medicine cabinet for any out dated pharmaceuticals. You will be amazed at some of the out dated bottles that are taking up space in your cabinet.

Kitchen Cabinets should be your next stop.    

 

I like to buy often and a lot, before I started regular Spring Cleaning, I found cans that have been in my cabinet for more than I care to admit.

                

 

Attack your closet. If you haven't worn that jacket for two years, chances are you are not going to. Oh, and let's not kid ourselves, the jeans that you are keeping from the time you were 18, just in case you will lose those extra twenty pounds, forget it. They are out of style anyway, and NO they are not coming back.

                                                                    

 

Decide where you want to vacation this year. Plan your vacation ahead of time, especially when you have children. Ordering your tickets and booking your lodging ahead of time is ideal. Remember procrastination cost a lot of money.

Finally re-evaluate your stress level and see if they are "stress" contagious. I find that when I'm stressed so are my family members. Find ways to de-stress yourself.  Whether it's yoga, meditation, walking or even reading finding a way to calm your nervous system will not only keep you healthy but happy at the same time.

Now roll up your sleeves, Spring Fever is in the here.  

All the best,

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Anyone can take a guess but only three members can win! This prize is a surprise, you will only find out what you won when you receive it in the mail!

Question: One of the Gray Beaver Club product's shares the nickname of the owner/founder of the Gray Beaver Club.  What is her nickname?  

Hint: You may be able to find a clue on their website  

Once you know the answer email us at:

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