Little improvements go a long way in the New Year

Dear Readers: Happy new year! I hope the first day of 2008 is going well for you and your family, and will help set the tone for the rest of this year. My resolutions for 2008? Not to make any resolutions! I will simply work toward making little improvements in many areas. Here are some random thoughts for today that might give you a little incentive:

Clean one shelf in the refrigerator, freezer, or makeup or medicine cabinet. Throw out dated, old, smelly or just plain bad items.

Write one thank-you, hello-how-are-you, or thinking-of-you note or letter a week. I mean a real letter/note that is mailed with a stamp and you hand-address the envelope. Not e-mail, but handwritten. It can be just a few lines, but it will be much appreciated and probably kept!

Take a few minutes each week to clean out and toss trash from a purse/briefcase/auto glove box/etc. A favorite hint from my friend Jura that I have adopted is to clean out your purse (sit next to a trash can if possible) while waiting (and sometimes waiting and waiting) in a doctor’s office.

Have a houseplant that needs a little extra care? Move it to a spot that you will see daily so you can give it the PLC (plant loving care) that it deserves.

Go through magazines/books and see which ones (even if only a few) can be passed on or recycled.

Little steps throughout the week can add up to big changes (and less to do) in the long run.

If you want to hear me share some New Year’s hints and a few funny hints that have gone wrong, listen to my weekly Heloise podcast. Visit www.Heloise.com for the quick link. Hugs, Heloise

Dear Heloise: This has made sorting my pills so much easier. I receive my prescriptions by mail in three-month allotments. I write on the lids, with a permanent marker, whether it is one or two before meals, and a.m. or p.m. times. When my new supply comes, I just transfer the lids, and then I can easily refill my seven-day dispensers once a week.
Yvonne Wallis, Laguna Woods, Calif.

Dear Heloise: Every morning when I take a walk, I break open a vitamin E capsule as I start and massage the oil into my nails and cuticles. By the time I get home, the oil has been absorbed, and I have given myself an inexpensive beauty treatment. My cuticles were ragged; now they are more pliable, and I don’t have to maintain them as often. Rose from Jupiter, Fla.

Dear Heloise: I bought two of those under-bed plastic bins, and that is where I keep my pillows. At night I pull the bin out, take out my pillow for sleeping and store my decorative sham in the bin. When I make my bed, the sham goes on my bed and the pillow back in the bin. No longer do they get tossed on the floor. Lois, Farmington, N.M.

XSend a money-saving or timesaving hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795000, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or you can fax it to (210) HELOISE or e-mail it to Heloise@Heloise.com.

King Features Syndicate