The Refresh Orlando Heirs

In a fit of Martha Stewart-induced organizing frenzy you’ve completely emptied your cluttered bedroom closet. So now what?

Before you return all those clothes and other items to the closet… Have you initiated the S.P.A.C.E. program? Consider following the 5 simple steps listed below to help you de-clutter, organize and get the most out of your now empty closet.

Sort your clothes/belongings into three piles or boxes:

1.To Keep
2.To Donate
3.To Trash

Be ruthless. (You have never and will never wear that sweater that great-aunt Bessie made you 8 years ago.) Be honest. (The last time those jeans fit President Carter was in office!) And sort without hesitation. (Why exactly have you kept your old high school marching band uniform?) Keep what you actually use and wear, donate what you can, and toss the rest.

Purge your sorted piles to rid yourself of everything except those items you actually wear and use (meaning you’ve worn it more than twice in the past year). There may be a multitude of reasons why you don’t wear something– doesn’t fit, out of style, dislike the color, scratchy fabric… It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if the article of clothing is old or new, expensive or cheap, a gift from a relative or picked up from the lost-and-found box. The bottom line is that if you don’t wear it then it’s stealing valuable space. If the item is still usable, donate it to charity– Goodwill or the Salvation Army. If it’s too far gone, toss it in the dumpster… today!

Assign everything to a particular place/storage area. When items have a designated storage area they have a greater tendency to find their proper home rather than end up on the living room floor or in the infamous “junk drawer”. The key to maintaining organization is to make it convenient to put things away in their proper place. It will always be easier in the short run to just drop what you’re using on the nearest shelf, but what about finding it the next time? The 10 seconds you save now by not returning the item to its proper place will cost you 10 very frustrating minutes searching for it later.

Containerize and label everything you can. That may mean placing items in actually containers (see-thru plastic is best for most items) or it may mean, as mentioned above, simply designating a space for each item or type of item. Always try to put complimentary or like items together. For example– all pants on one hanging rod, all your make-up in one drawer, your red belt in the same cubby as your red shoes, etc. Needing something and then finding it quickly because it’s right where it belongs can be a surprisingly gratifying experience.

Evaluate your closet and your method of keeping it organized at regular intervals in the future. Is your system working for you– 1 month, 6 months, 12 months later? If not, you can change yourself and your habits, or you can modify your system to best work with your personality. When possible, modify your system to match who you really are. You’ll be far more organized and happy in the long run, and that, of course, was the ultimate goal to begin with.

About the Author

Chris Rasure is the owner of InnerSpace Custom Storage Solutions, located in Tyler, Texas. InnerSpace provides computer-aided design and professional installation of custom closet systems as well as organization systems for the garage, laundry room, pantry and home office. The InnerSpace website provides information and example photos of their professionally designed and installed systems as well as helpful organization tips and links to purchase closet and organization accessories for the do-it-yourselfer.

http://www.innerspacesolutions.biz

Take control of your life… Start with the closet. TM

Some dating manners

When it is time to meet in the real life it usually feels a
little nervous. But when people get prepared everything usually
gets a little easier. The following articles I am going to
publish here are some thing I believe people should have in mind
when they are taking the next step in Internet Dating. Meet in
real life that is.

Smiles can take you far!

Seek eye contact. You just Can’t say this to often. Then be
brave enough to keep up the eye contact a few extra seconds so
the other person can get a confirmation that you where looking
at him/her and didn’t just took a look around. When you
eventually have let down the eye contact you really should try
to pick it up again a few seconds later to show the other person
that you are looking for a serious flirt. This is where the
smile comes in hand. If the other person that you are now
flirting with is looking at you to and if you are not smiling
you are not very wise. A smile in this situation is probably
better then buying her ten drinks in the bar
Next step is probably the most critical and daring. It is to be
brave enough to take the first step. Usually it’s enough to just
say Hi to get a nice conversation started. But my advice is to
be on the safe side. Prepare yourself with 2-3 questions or
comment and maybe finishing comment if the situation should make
you feel uncomfortable so you can excuse yourself and walk away,
maybe to come back later to go for it again.

Ted Ljungqvist www.youngpartner.com

Feel free to use this article on your own site or anywhere else
for that matter, but ONLY if you link back to youngpartner.com

Thanks

In the past year, I have heard a lot of people complain to me that they have taken yoga with bad experiences. They got injured during the class or received no benefit because they could not follow the instructor. This experience left them with not only an injury, but a bad impression of the benefit of yoga.

Yoga was invented to help everyone, no matter what their physical ailments are. The word yoga is a Sanskrit word meaning joining. It was developed to join the body, mind and spirit of an individual into an integrated human being. When we are integrated, we are more able to interface with the outside world. We become more harmonious and more effective in all of our interactions. Our productivity improves.

So, why do we get hurt at yoga class? A community yoga class instructor may not have knowledge about special populations. They may not be able to look carefully at each and every student. In addition, the instructor may not be aware that some asanas or poses should not be carried out by some people with physical limitations.

For example, if you have had back surgery, then there are many asanas that are detrimental for you. Such a person would need to seek an educated yoga instructor who has the necessary expertise and background to guide them appropriately. Yoga is beneficial to people with back ailments, as long as you know the correct method of practising it. It is important to look for a yoga instructor who has a physiologically based yoga degree. If the instructor has a degree from the prestigious Yoga Institute in India, for example, you can be sure their understanding and instructing of yoga will be beneficial and safe for the student to practice.

I recently had a client with a facet joint injury. She could not attend any traditional fitness class for fear that the instructor may not have sufficient physiological knowledge to guide her to health. She hired a qualified yoga instructor to do one-on-one sessions with her. Those sessions consisted of asanas that were not detrimental to those with lower back injuries. After these sessions, her ability to stand and walk improved. Her tension from pain was decreased enabling her to work more effectively during the day.

A variety of personal interests and professional paths have led Siva to her current role as a personal trainer and yoga instructor with over 20 years experience. Siva is listed in Who’s Who in the World and is an author, lecturer and Can-Fit-Pro certified personal trainer who specializes in body-mind-spirit consulting and training women. Siva has helped many clients overcome fitness related issues in their lives using yoga and meditation.

For more information on how Siva can help you through yoga, contact Shanti Consulting today for a free consultation at http://www.getshanti.com and sign up for the free newsletter.

Securities:

There are several areas of security that are in extreme need of attention. Any company that obtains and retains personal information is liable for that information. This being said, there are certain protocols to follow to ensure that the information provided is kept safe.

Personal Information Collection.

Let’s look at an E-commerce Store environment. Whether you are a multi-million dollar operation, or simply a small specialty E-commerce store, you are responsible for the information that is collected from your various shoppers. Anytime information is collected, security becomes a significant factor.

The Internet is not a safe place. Data is sent back and forth through various servers through which personal and non-personal information is housed. The problem with data transfer is the ability to intercept and record that data that is moving from server a to server b. Hackers have the ability to intercept and use that information, such as credit card numbers and expiry dates, to falsely do transactions. Now that being said, there is technology out there that can eliminate this serious threat.

SSL - The encryption of data passed through server’s means that anyone illegally intercepting data transfers will not have the ability to read whatever data is contained there within.

This is an especially important tool for any E-commerce operations. You must use SSL technologies to ensure that your consumer data is protected from fraudulent activity.

Shopping Cart Technologies

The shopping cart built with ASP technology is secure enough that the average user will feel safe using the systems. One of the features for keeping the site secure is identifying users through credentials typed into a login form. This system will automatically display a login from an unauthenticated user accessing a protected portion of the site.

OPT-in/out Procedures

Having both opt-in and opt-out measures will allow customers choose whether they want to receive various sales and advertising emails throughout the year. Some customers want the option of not receiving emails because they view them as spam. But others want to be kept up-to-date about sales and different advertisements so they can shop during those times.

Another technique that can be used is a double opt-in method. Customers will get an email verifying that they have signed up to receive emails from the organization.

At the end of every email will be an opt-out/unsubscribe link if the customer does not wish to receive anymore emails. This will automatically remove them from the emailing system but keep the email on file for future reference.

Maintaining Privacy

Your Implied Consent

In some cases, your consent is implied if we ask you to provide personal information with a stated purpose. For example, we can only deliver the product you have purchased if you provide us with your address and phone number.

Your Express Consent

In other cases, we will ask you to give your express consent to use your personal information to advise you of products or services that may be of interest. You always have the opportunity to “opt out” of having your information used for this purpose. For example, when you subscribe to the Future Flash newsletter, we will also ask for your express consent to send you promotional information.

Withdrawing Your Consent

If you have “opted in” or subscribed to one of our newsletters or mailing lists, we will always provide you the opportunity to “opt out” or unsubscribe. For example, each e-mail we send you will tell you how to decline further e-mail.”

Transaction Security

This is one of the most important aspects for businesses operating online. There are always stories in the news about credit card numbers being collected by individuals online. To combat this, all transactions will go through a secure transaction line, provided through the company’s financial institution. All processes are handled by the bank, ensuring a highly secure line that will instill customers with trust.

Transaction Cancellations

Customers will have the options for canceling transactions within a predetermined amount of time. This enables the customer to have a grace period, or ‘cooling-off’ period, the equivalent to a retail stores grace period for returns. This will also ensure that the actual customers are making the purchases, and not a customer using pirated information.
Information Divulgence

What staff have the ability to view what information and for what purpose.

Disclosure of Information

To full-fill orders and ship orders, information collected from users may be needed by service providers to complete transactions. In this event, only information needed to complete the sale and or delivery of the purchased products will be disclosed to any service provider.

Alex Simms is a content writer for Avalon Studios, a Web Design & Development firm working with small businesses.