When was the last time you thanked your big toes? If you haven’t thanked them lately then you’ve probably never thanked your pancreas. (Out of sight out of mind.) I really don’t know that much about the inner workings of our bodies, but I do know there are trillions of doings going on in them that we can be thankful for even though we don’t know what they are.

We sure don’t need more to add to our “to do” lists, but we can get in the habit of being thankful while we’re doing other tasks. For instance, while you’re in the shower as you wash each body part, love it and thank it. Then, while you dry off your parts thank them again. It’s fun to thank your feet as you put socks and shoes on them and as you dress and groom each part of you it’s fun to fill your awareness with thanksgiving. Thankfulness is a habit and it’s quite fun to mentally become aware of what a gift your body is.

 

Do you have a reputation for being late? Have you ever thought that to be on time could be fun? If not, maybe that’s why you’re always late! Do you know punctuality is a habit? It is as much as being late is a habit too. I was habitually late until I realized that punctuality is part of gracious living and then I discovered it’s actually fun to get there early! There’s just too much stress in being late but you already know that. The good news is, tardiness is an easy habit to fix! Here are 4 ways not to be late.

1. The Victoria Secret Technique

Have you ever had a super bra? Victoria Secret has an amazing one. It literally takes all the fat from under your arms, and I think some of it from your back and pulls the excess fat into its cups! Voila, whatever cup-size you are, they get overloaded and you’ve got cleavage! What does this have to do with being punctual? Well, time is like fat. We all have it and we can manipulate it to our advantage.

Here’s how it works. Say you make a dental appointment for 3:00; put it on your calendar for 2:00 (be sure to write what it’s for). By the time the appointment rolls around, of course you’ll have forgotten your “Victoria Secret” and you’ll get to the appointment at the average time you run late (you do have an average) so say around 2:14.

The Victoria Secret Technique has just given you several gifts, including 46 minutes. First, you get the exhilaration of being early! If you’re always late you just don’t know what it feels like to be early! Second, in order to follow through with this gift from the secret, you need to have a BUT bag (BUT stands for Back Up Tasks). So, in that 46 minutes, you’ll have time to take care of tasks you’ve put in the bag to do while you wait. Your cup over-floweth with time!

Punctuality is showing high esteem for other people and their time.

The Victoria Secret Technique will help you fix your relationship with time and improve your relationships with those you’ve caused to wait for you. After all, punctuality is showing high esteem for other people and their time.

Contents of my BUT Bag    

1.Small note pad and pen for writing down brilliant ideas Nelly (my inner child) or I come up with

2. Needle and thread (white, black and beige), scissors and items to mend or hand stitch as they present themselves
3. Thank You Notes/envelopes/stamps
4. Inspirational book
5. Manicure kit
6. Dental floss
7. Magnifying mirror and tweezers

8.Cell phone (has addresses in it)

9. Back up projects

2. The Cheap Ugly Watch Trick

 

 

 

 

If you drive down any neighborhood street in America, no matter what the cost of the homes, you’ll find at least 50% of the drive-ways have a car parked in them. That doesn’t mean the people in the homes have company, it most likely means the garages are full of stuff and there’s no room for the cars.

I was recently on a television talk show in Portland, Oregon and I talked about how we Americans have too much stuff. The hostess of the show told me she’s embarrassed to pull out of her garage because it’s crammed full. I said, “Well at least you can get your car in the garage!” She said, “It barely fits and it's a three-car garage!”

 

Once you accept your circumstances as being alright, that doesn’t mean it’s wrong to want to improve. When you're troubled by being disorganized, it can be exciting to know you can get organized if you really want to. If I could get organized, anyone can! The urge to change something for the better is why you're reading this blog. Be grateful you have the ability to change. Be grateful for your circumstances and know that as you change them you'll learn more about YOU. You'll grow in self-respect and love for the awesome woman you are. Once you're organized just enough to please you, you’ll look back on your old circumstances and thank God for them because you'll have gotten to know yourself better.

In my latest book,"The Joy of Being Disorganized" you'll learn about all the famous people who were successful in spite of their disorganized natures. Your path to self improvement has to be your own personal path. You can get ideas from others, but ultimately your successes will come because you end up doing it your way. Take how you fall asleep as an example. If you're a good faller asleeper, your methods won't work for everyone. My procedure for falling asleep is unique to only me. If I tried to impose my falling asleep techniques on you I would be remiss. Only you can figure out the best way to fall asleep (that goes for getting organized too).

Do you enjoy opening a fortune cookie after a nice Chineese meal? I was thinking about fortune cookies this morning and it tickles me how we all love to open them! I closed my eyes and imagined holding both ends of one and snapping its little, carbohydrate back into two pieces, exposing the secret note written especially for me. I’m not sure why I find such delight in reading those messages, but I always do.

Have you ever saved a fortune cookie note? I know I’ve saved several in my lifetime, and I’ve asked around and found that many have also tucked away the tiny words of wisdom for some personal reason and future reference. Fcs are like puppies, we just LIKE ‘em.

 

I don’t think I’ve ever eaten with a group of friends in a Chinese restaurant when we didn’t read and share our fortunes with each other. And why is it, there’s always someone who brings up the rather off-color comment of reading their note and adding the words: between the sheets, to illicit a semi-porny edge to the innocent words? (It’s a tradition I hope our younger generation hasn’t been stuck with.)

Fortune Cookie Delegation

Some men are weird when they're hungry....

especially tall ones. I learned this early in my marriage to Terry. When it was dinner time he used to always be ravenous and, quite frankly, I didn’t like him when he was that way. He was six feet, three inches of uncontrollable hunger and he’d drive me nuts! He didn’t act mean or cranky like some men do; he just acted like he’d skipped his meds. He’s sort of a combination of Cramer (in the sitcom Seinfeld) and Barney Fife (in The Andy Griffith Show). But when he’d get hungry he’d be like those two characters on speed. He’d dart around the kitchen trying to get closer to the pending meal. He’d find difficulty concentrating and our kitchen just wasn’t big enough for both of us, when he’d be famished.

 

 

When I got organized in the late seventies, I decided to keep my “project” a secret from my husband, kids, parents and best friend. I’d read that when you want to make an important transitional change in your life, keep it to yourself and wait for “them” to come to you and say, “What’s happened to you?” or ”You seem happier and you’re always on time lately, what’s up?”

What I discovered by keeping my mouth shut on my plans was I had more energy! There was a certain excitement in “my secret.” Also, those closest to us have heard us talk about needing to change, wanting to change and planning to change, so to make a chronic announcement, “This year, I’m going to get organized,” “lose weight” or “budget and get out of debt,” your friends and family are liable to say, “Yeah, sure Martha, what’s new?”

I also think there is power in sharing your intentions with those who have the same goal. I’m so thankful for the platform I've been able to create so we can help each other and share our triumphs as well as our failings. I’m just talking about keeping it a secret from our loved ones, until they start seeing results.

 

 

There’s a wonderful cartoon by Gary Larson depicting two mosquitos on the skin of a human and one of the mosquitos has her sucker in her victim's arm and her body is swollen up like a balloon that’s ready to pop. The other mosquito says, “Pull out! Betty! Pull out!!! You’ve hit an artery!”

Most of us know that learning lessons from illness is a must if we want to grow spiritually.

During my illness, which turned out to be a virus that had to run its course, I really learned a valuable tool for mind control. I noticed that when I’d start to entertain scary thoughts (mainly of dying) it was like dipping my toe into a stream of thought that if I allowed myself to go there, I’d get swept away in fear.

That’s when the image of Gary’s mosquito cartoon came to me. So whenever I’d start to think a negative thought that could go into a rushing stream of more negative thoughts, I’d say to myself, “Pull out! Betty! Pull out!!!”

So far it has stopped me every time and made me giggle! It was great to put such humor to my situation and I know it aided in my healing. I love the name Betty for a mosquito and I love Gary for his incredible humor.

 

Actually, cleaning the toilet shouldn't be any more distasteful than brushing your teeth. And just like brushing  your teeth, if you don't do it every day (after every meal) you'll end up at the dentist with the distasteful task of having the plaque chipped from your teeth.

Same goes for the toilet. Keep distasteful away by cleaning the toilet every day. 

In this video, the Cleaner Guy also shows you how to make an environmentally friendly soft scrub that works as good as anything sold on the market.

The Cleaner Guy (Jeffrey Jones) has created a series of how to clean videos just for you. Here he is showing us how to clean the toilet.