Each Wednesday:
• Pay Your Bills
• Check Your Simple File System for any business that needs to be brought up to date
o Are there any issues you need to follow up on
o Phone calls to make
o Emails, notes or letters to send
• File anything you MUST keep. If you keep unneeded items you will have to search through that much more material to find what you are looking for.
• Below I have information on keeping junk mail out of your home. Better than dealing with it when it arrives in the mail is preventing its delivery. Don’t miss this information!!
To reduce junk mail you can contact the following companies:
The primary place to contact —
Direct Marketing Association
Mail Preference Service
P.O. Box 282
Carmel, NY 10512
212-768-7277 x1500
http://www.dmachoice.org
To eliminate credit card offers:
http://www.optoutprescreen.com
Other direct mail sources—
R.L. Polk & Company
Name Deletions, List Compilation Dept.
6400 Monroe Blvd
Taylor, MI 48180-1814
1-800-873-7655
By recording your name and address on their automated system, you are requesting that the consumer credit reporting agency Equifax not share your information with other parties.
Valpak
1 Valpak Ave. N.
St. Petersburg, FL 33716
1-727-399-3000
http://www.coxtarget.com/mailsuppression/s/DisplayMailSuppressionForm
Have the Valpak mailing label handy and fill in your information exactly as it is printed.
If you like coupons but don’t want to receive all that mail, go to http://www.valpak.com to choose and print coupons by geographical location.
Valassis Direct Mail, Inc.
Consumer Assistance
PO Box 249
Windsor , CT 06095
1- 888-241-6760
http://www.valassis.com/1024/Contact/contact_home.aspx
Select “consumer” and then “I would like to go green & be removed from your mailing list.”
InfoUSA
Attn: Consumer Requests
1020 E. 1st St.
Papillion, NE 68046
1-888-633-4402
Send a letter with all the different ways your name is listed, address and phone number asking to remove your name from their lists. They are a large provider of marketing lists.
Epsilon Data Services
Abacus Cooperative Databases
P.O. Box 1478
Broomfield, CO 80038
303-410-5100
abacusoptout@epsilon.com
Again, the best place to stop clutter is at the door (or even before 3;-)
Area of Focus:
This week our Area of Focus is The Entry, Front Porch, and Dining Room. Get rid of the clutter, put each area in order, thoroughly clean each area, and then make it a pleasant place to be. You do not do this by frenetic activity over a couple of days. It took time to create the mess and while it can be somewhat better quickly, it will take time to make each area both functional and beautiful. Focus each day for 15 to 30 minutes on a specific area. I am sharing an Area of Focus for each week of the month. We give that area its time and focus and then move on to the next area. We return next month, having maintained our progress during the month. In other words, keep up with what you have done, don’t let it get back to where it was. Put things away. Throw trash into the waste basket and empty the waste basket into the trash can each day. Wash your dishes by hand or put them into the dishwasher and run the dishwasher and then put them away. Hang your clothes up or put them away. Do your laundry and put it away.
The time and energy I spent years ago avoiding work was more than what it takes to clean my home and put it in order. I know I do not work anywhere near as hard as most of you. I keep grandchildren most days so my house has a fair amount of traffic through it and they often spend the night. My house is clean and orderly, my laundry is done and ironing and mending up to date, my bills are paid and papers filed—everything is up to date. I want to work in my craft closet but there is nothing I must do. This is because I am committed to working smarter, not harder.
Involve your children, even toddlers. It is not a favor to anyone to let your children sit on the couch playing games while you dust, vacuum, do dishes, and laundry. In the beginning it will take longer and be less than perfect but involve your children and then take time to play with them and just be with them. That is well worth the effort. Your future sons- and daughters-in-law will thank you, too.
Hugs,
Mary
My Heart is at Home 