Having spent much time with a particular friend lately, I have noticed that despite her being quite organized in nearly every aspect of her life, she cannot seem to get her “purse life” together. I know that sounds strange but I estimate the amount of time spent waiting for her to rummage through her purse searching for keys, prescription glasses, sunglasses, a different set of keys, a coupon, a slip of paper, her cell phone…to be at least 20 minutes every time until we find it. Each situation involves hunting, upside-down purse-emptying, back-tracking to the house, the restaurant, the car, the last place we were in…surely I am not the only person who does not want to spend time doing this. Have I mentioned the stress it causes her every time this occurs?

Purses, and most ladies’ handbags, have sections inside. There are zippered sections and pouches in the lining, all for compartmentalizing. It doesn’t take a lot to simply put the keys, phone, glasses, etc. in the same place every time. Et voila! There it is when you need it again!

Ladies, I implore you, whether you carry a small or large handbag or a backpack, there is no need to spend time and energy riffling through everything when a simple system will save your nerves and your friends’ time. There is a place for everything, and everything should be in its place.

This is a shameless plug for my Chicken and Lentil Salad recipe, which Sunset Magazine was so kind to publish (October, 2011, p. 94). The link, if the magazine is not available, is http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-lentil-salad-50400000116284/

I developed this decades ago while in college, trying to figure out something cheap, healthy and delicious to eat. I still eat it frequently after all these years.

If you are inclined, you can omit the chicken completely and still have a satisfying meal. For my vegetarian friends, you might substitute tofu, or for an Italian twist, substitute cubed fresh mozzarella. I usually eat this with crackers but feel free to experiment as you all wish. Buon appetito!

I am always surprised at the number of clients, as well as personal friends, who don’t keep track of their household’s income and expenses. Your household’s expenses are really no different from a business’s. You need to know how much income you have and how much you are spending against that income, and keep track of it on a weekly basis. You should also have a budget and financial goals set for yourself, which can be monitored if you are checking yourself weekly. It seems even more important than ever before in the economic times in which we currently find ourselves.

The way I have set up my own bookkeeping is that I keep one folder to store all receipts and deposits as soon as I get them. This includes any cash expenses for which you don’t have a receipt—just jot down the amount/what it’s for on a piece of scratch paper and put it in the folder. Choose a day in the week— I prefer the weekend—and take out the receipts and record them into your bookkeeping system. There are computer software programs for this that are very easy to use. They might seem intimidating at first but the basics of it are that it looks like a checkbook register and it categorizes your expenses/deposits. You can then easily generate reports every week that tell you exactly how much you are spending and for what purpose.

When entering credit card bills, it’s a great time to check to make sure all the charges are correct. I realize that for some people who charge nearly everything on one or two cards, this can seem like a daunting task, but believe me, it’s worth every minute and should be done!

You can run a profit and loss statement every month to see how you’re doing, and of course tax time becomes a breeze since you have already categorized everything throughout the year and can run an annual report at the click of a mouse. No more frantically scurrying about the house in the beginning of April looking for receipts, trying to add up deductions, or trying to locate one missing bank account statement!

I hope that in 2010 there are a lot more people willing to do the work necessary to maintain good financial records on a regular basis. Bookkeeping is not difficult and shouldn’t be intimidating. It’s your money, you worked hard for it so respect it, keep track of it, and stay on course when it comes to achieving your financial goals.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about two clients I’ve worked with recently, one earlier this year and one last fall. At the time, they were truly inspiring—-and still are, otherwise, why have they been coming to mind lately? They embraced all the attributes a professional organizer yearns for in clients: both had a genuine desire to understand their challenges, the courage to change undesirable habits, and the willingness to be completely receptive to all suggestions. They were open-minded and open-hearted, cooperative, creative, flexible, passionate, and determined. Absent were the fears, exhaustion, walls, and even fortresses that I often encounter.

I realized that these mental blocks often extend to relationships we have with everyone, including ourselves. The walls that people build over a lifetime are often impenetrable, and don’t allow true engagement or intimacy with others. Fear follows people around like a shadow. I’ve heard people say that their walls are their protectors and their power. I can’t imagine feeling that the walls you’ve built around yourself are protective or powerful in any way. They are quite the opposite—nothing but a prison that you’ve condemned yourself to and the only environment in which you feel safe.

It reminds me of a Yogi Berra-ism that I have always loved: We’re lost, but we’re making good time….Lost in your fears, spinning your wheels, getting nowhere, feeding into more fears, expending valuable energy for nothing.

Ask yourself how “scary” the situation really is. Are you really happy holding on to whatever you’re holding on to? What’s keeping you from jettisoning it? Keeping people at bay? Isn’t it time you stepped out in to the light and let that shadow of fear disappear?

I am always delighted to visit certain friends of mine who invite me to their home on one special day in December to share gifts, make dinner together, and decorate their Christmas tree. I cannot admit, however, to eager anticipation of the annual ritual of untangling miles of stringed lights, which inevitably occurs, causing much unnecessary frustration all-‘round.

I ask myself: why would friends who are usually quite organized have such an aversion to winding the lights in a systematic fashion when taking them off the tree, so they’re easy to use the following year? Better yet, testing the string for burned-out bulbs, then replacing them before storing the lights for another year? Why is yanking them off the tree and stuffing them haphazardly into bags preferable? Is it laziness? If you think I know the answer, well, I don’t.

I write this today to ask all kind readers of this blog to make 2010 the year of dissolving as many bad habits as possible and replacing them with good ones—stringed lights or no stringed lights!

I also want to take this opportunity to express my sincere wishes for a healthy, joyful and prosperous 2010 to all of you, and hope that all your dreams come true.

I’m not a psychologist, but I’ve observed and learned much from working with so many people over the years and I know that the HOUSE is often used as a metaphor for the SELF. Even in dream interpretation, the house represents the self.

                                       WHAT DOES YOUR HOUSE SAY ABOUT YOU?

Is it cluttered? Are things broken, not working properly, tough to close, squeaking, creaking, leaking, crammed to the rafters, old and run-down, begging for new paint or plumbing? Been that way for far too long?

Are your thoughts scattered? Can’t remember where you put things? Don’t know where to put things? Find yourself postponing the inevitable? Constantly feeling unmotivated? Are your relationships suffering? Seems as if nothing ever goes smoothly? Or are you a compulsive cleaner? Are you clinging to old beliefs, fears, and attitudes?

It’s time to make a major House/Self shift! Move that energy around! Rearrange the furniture, get new art for the walls, clean up that clutter once and forever, get rid of that old stuff you haven’t used in years, toss those empty boxes in the attic, dissolve those fears and blocks! Get your house in order and change your life! Out with the old house/self, in with the new!