Guest Blogger Archives - Page 3 of 3

June 5, 2013 by changescapeweb Leave a Comment

6 Tips for Spring Cleaning

My friends at Rubbish Works provide some more great tips on Spring Cleaning!

It’s that time of year again….time to spring clean! The early warm weather in St. Louis has posed a difficult decision: take advantage of the weather and outdoor activities or clean the house? If you’re like me, outdoor activities generally trump any cleaning projects; however, I know the cleaning has to be done sometime, right? Here are a few quick tips I use to help the cleaning process go faster to enjoy more time outside.

1.) Focus on eliminating stuff before organization. Don’t even think about how you wish to organize newly clean space. Focus on what you want to get rid of (donating or throwing away). Once you’ve purged the items in the area you are cleaning out, and then come up with an organizing plan of the items you have left.

2.) Start with the garage if it is not already cleared. We’ve worked with a number of professional organizers who utilize cleared space in the garage for staging. The idea is to remove items from inside the home and then create zones in the garage for donate and trash piles. Getting the donate or trash items out of the house will help you resist the urge to include them in the organizing process. Items you are keeping still remain inside the home to be organized after getting rid of items you no longer want.

3.) If you touch it, take action. If you pick up an item, decide what you would like to do with it then. Are you keeping it? Donating it? Trashing it? Don’t put it in pile to decide later.

4.) 6 month rule. If you haven’t use it in 6 months (excluding holiday and seasonal items), it is probably time to remove it from your home.

5.) 5 second decision. I spoke with a woman a few months ago. Her general rule of thumb when clearing space in her home: Within 5 seconds of looking at or touching an item, I should be able to decide why I have it and if I use it. If it takes longer than 5 seconds to decide, it’s time to get rid of it.

6.) Once you finish determining which items you would like to keep, it is time to organize it all for easy, convenient access! Not good at organizing? Look into hiring a professional organizer. Professional organizers offer a wide variety of services from literature, classes as well as onsite organizing.

Time to tackle those spring cleaning projects, and then reward yourself with time out in the nice weather!

Originally published March 19th 2012

P.S. Spring is here! It is never too early to start your home search or get your home ready for the market. This past year was the busiest year we had in home sales in 5 years. This year could be even better! There are large numbers of homes at below-market prices & the Interest rates are hovering around 3.5% !! Contact me for details today!

May 28, 2013 by changescapeweb Leave a Comment

Spring Cleaning – Where To Start

My friends at Rubbish Works provide some great tips on where to get started for Spring Cleaning!

Spring cleaning is in full swing. For some, it only takes a few hours to wash away the dirt, clutter and grime from the winter. For others, like myself, it can be a real chore that takes an entire weekend, sometimes a week. Occasionally, I get delayed starting spring cleaning because I simply just do not know where to start.

This weekend, Parade Magazine, which comes in the Sunday Post Dispatch, featured an article about decluttering the home. Within the article, they described 10 things that you can get rid of in your home today. This seems like the perfect place to start for spring cleaning! Here is a summary and a few of our own ideas on where to start:

From Parade Magazine:

1.) Computer Print Outs: Save a digital copy of what you need or bookmark an article/blog

2.) Paper Copies of Bills: Refer to internet or bank for proof of payment if you need it

3.) Old Technology: VHS tapes, cassette tapes, etc. This technology is outdated and obsolete. VCR’s and cassette players are no longer manufactured.

4.) Work Out Equipment: Use it or lose it.

5.) Worn-out Linens: Rule of thumbà # of people in house x 2=how many of each linen item (towels, sheets, etc.) you should have (I didn’t know this! I’ll be going through our linen closet soon.)

6.) Old Hair Accessories: Keep what you use daily or weekly. Toss the rest.

7.) Old Cell Phones: When you get a new phone, donate the old one to be refurbished to someone who can use it

8.) Coat Hangers: Excess hangers only tempt you to buy more

9.) Reminders of Past Hobbies: Interests change. Get rid of the old, to make room for the new.

10.) Single Use Kitchen Gadgets: Get multipurpose items to declutter the kitchen

Other places to start:

1.) Expired Food: Check the pantry and freezer for expired food

2.) Food Storage Containers: Recycle those that are missing a lid or lids that are missing containers

3.) Clothes that do not fit: Rule of thumb à keep one size lower and one size higher than you wear

Purging a few items today will make of spring cleaning a breeze!

Here’s a link to the article in case you missed it in the paper. https://www.parade.com/news/2012/04/22-is-your-stuff-weighing-you-down.html

Originally published on Thursday April 26th 2012

May 7, 2013 by changescapeweb Leave a Comment

Teachers Matter – National Teacher Week

Did you know that this week is National Teacher week?

by Lory Fabian iStock_000017956327XSmall-300x199

Teachers in St. Charles, St. Louis and in communities across the nation will be in the spotlight on National Teacher Day, as students, parents, school administrators and the general public learns how teachers are making great strides to improve our Public Schools for every student.

Few other professionals touch as many people as teachers do.

National Teacher Day is a good time to show appreciation on the contributions educators make to our community every day. Teachers are role models. Teachers spend more time with our kids than most parents do. As a community, we need to be more grateful and show more appreciation. Ask your teachers how YOU can help.

Sending a card or gift of appreciation is an opportunity for all of us to reach out. A heartfelt, handwritten thank you note goes a long way to sharing the love. Is your child’s teacher doing an A++ job? Send appreciation cards to teachers who have inspired you’re children. Send a Starbucks, a Target or a Home Depot Gift Card. It’s the perfect way to let them know they are appreciated.

Make it even more meaningful by including something specific the teacher has said or done that has made a difference to your child, like offering extra guidance in math, helping your child make friends on the playground, or teaching a science or art module that sparked your child’s interest and passion.

Another simple and more meaningful idea is to have your child design their own card & write a note or poem about why he or she appreciates their teacher. You’re child can design a special card or decorate his or her poem with pictures that show what their teacher has taught them.

If you want to send the SUPER HERO teacher in your life a real card, in a real envelope from you or your child or both at NO COST, please visit: www.sendoutcards.com/loryfabian.

TEACHERS MATTER!…PLEASE MAKE TIME TO THANK THE TEACHERS IN YOUR SCHOOL THIS WEEK.

March 23, 2013 by changescapeweb Leave a Comment

The Value of Sending a Real Handwritten Card

How many of you attend networking events with the intent to sell? How many of you ever sell at networking events? When Virginia Muzquiz of Referral Institute asks those two simple questions, almost every hand is raised at her first question & only a few hands are raised after her second question? Now, ask yourself, “Do I go to networking events to sell or buy?”

I totally agree with Virginia that attending networking events is about building relationships, not about buying or selling. If our statement is true then, “Why do so many of us continue to attend networking events over and over again and expect different results?” Another way to put it, quoting Dr. Phil is “And how is that working for you?”

During one of Virginia Muzquiz’s recent Fill Your Pipeline Workshops, she explained that following up with a note or a card is a good first step in building a new relationship. As a Send Out Cards Manager, I totally agree with Virginia that we should target only a couple of people we want to meet at any given networking event.

A new term I heard recently when referring to sending out a note or card is called ‘pinging.’ The word 'ping' comes from a submarine sonar search, meaning if you send a short sound burst and listen for an echo or a 'ping' coming back. In networking terms, when you send out a ping, whether with an email, a phone call or a hand- written note, you’re inviting that person to 'come back' and communicate with you thus beginning a relationship with that person…one that is, hopefully, mutually beneficial.

A hand-written note differentiates your business from every other business. I love sending a Send Out Cards card because I am almost guaranteed the recipient will open my SOC card and make time to read it. When was the last time you received a hand-written note from someone you met at a business setting was? Chances are if you received a card, you almost always remember who sent you that card.

I run into people all the time who thank me for a card that I sent them. Because I am always thinking of the next company, the next friend, the next prompting, I don’t always necessary remember I sent a card, until I hear those magical words, “Thanks for the card.” I see a smile or hear a smile in their voice over the phone. The ‘ping’ comes back to me & I know then that the bridge of a new friendship is being created.

The next time you are out networking, why not try following up with sending 2 or 3 personalized cards instead of a form letter or an email to 50 or 100 people you don’t know or met? Doesn’t that sound so much easier and more likely to get accomplished? (*send 2 or 3?)

SendOutCards.com builds businesses one card at a time. It’s an old fashion way of doing business with great results. If you want corn, you have to plant the seeds first. If you want to grow your business, try sending a card of gratitude and appreciation today. Just click on the link and make sure you include the referral code of 128092

Guest Blogger – Lory Fabian, Marketing Distributor for Send Out Cards, LLC

Did you know that this week is National Teacher week?

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