Clearing Clutter in the pantry or in the cupboards where you keep your canned foods is so important when you have limited space. I am still doing Show and Share week. This is my tiny pantry.

What is important to clearing clutter in these cupboards is to only keep things that you use. If you have bought a can of something and you never use it, donate it to a food bank or make a menu right now using that ingredient and get it out of your cupboard.

Keep spices together to save time and make finding a spice a snap. Use a turn table, a “stair step” spice rack, a rack that fits on a wall or a spice drawer to keep all spices together and within easy reach.

How do you store your spices?

Marilyn Bohn is an energetic, lively, compassionate, hard working and creative organizer. She was born to organize! Before becoming a professional organizer she worked professionally in diverse environments. She is involved in her community, providing her clients with a broad base of experience and knowledge.  She is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO).

There is little question as to Michelle Obama’s fashion prowess, but he judgement maybe a bit lacking. After all how does she justify wearing $450 sneakers to volunteer at a food bank. Isn’t that just a bit insensitive to the very poor people she is trying to help?

According to the NY Daily News: “Michelle Obamahas taken casual to a haute new level.

While volunteering Wednesday at a D.C. food bank, the First Lady sported her usual J.Crewcardigan, a pair of utilitarian capri pants and, on her feet, a sneaky splurge: trainers that go for $540.

That’s right: These sneakers – suede, with grosgrain ribbon laces and metallic pink toe caps – are made by French design house Lanvin, one of fashion’s hottest labels. They come in denim and satin versions, and have been a brisk seller all spring.”

She could have worn a $40 pair of Keds, and given the extra $400 to the poor.

Michelle certainly has a style unlike any first lady since Jackie Kennedy. Now she just needs to work on her tact a bit and she will be a great first lady.

All things being equal people want to do business with people they know, like and trust.  That includes Not For Profit Organizations.

I am speaking a the AFP or Association of Fundraising Professionals on Friday.  I am the opening act in a line up of highly professional speakers on the topic of Social Networking, or Web 2.0.

I will be speaking about how Online Networking enhances your Face to Face networking and builds stronger networking relationships.   But, I am a little perplexed, I am not sure that many Fundraising or Not for Profits really do face to face networking.  I have met very few of them at a BNI meeting or at a Rainmakers meeting.  Thinking of the chamber events I go to, I meet few if any of them there.  So, I ask myself why don’t I ever meet them?  Where are they networking?  Do they network? Are they meeting the Small Business Owers, or are they just looking for the big guys?

Gleaners Food Bank is an example of a Not for Profit that networks face to face and does it well.  They are active in BNI and have even taken leadership positions in their chapter and in the region.  Because of their participation, many BNI members have taken tours, BNI Indiana does an annual fundraiser for them.  We learned that Gleaners does not just feed the hungry,  they help pantries around the state feed the hungry.  Not just the hungry but children who get backpacks of food and senior citizens who get food delivered to them.

They have gotten volunteers, like Stacie Shipley with JNS Electric who delivers senior boxes for them every week.  They have create positive word of mouth when the had Aaron Prickle of Lushin Associates take a tour so he could understand what they really do, and he now clears up a lot of misconceptions that he and many of his associates were once under.  Victoria has educated a lot of BNI members about the organization all because she believes in face to face networking.  Unfortunately they have embraced less of the Social Networking.

The Indianapolis Human Society has done a good job with social networking, I see them on Smaller Indiana and on Twitter, but I have never met anyone from the humane society at networking meeting.

If you are a NFP or a Fundraising Professional it is important to understand that people want to volunteer and donate to people they KNOW, LIKE and TRUST.  Getting out to business networking events are important activities, it allows people to get to know you and your mission, to build a relationship, to volunteer, to spread word of mouth and to be advocates.

Using Social Media to amplify those relationships is the icing on the cake.  It is a new economy and everyone is holding on to their dollars, it is time for Fundraisers to come out of the offices and board rooms and meet the small business people in the community.  After all small business owners want to help, they are the fastest growing sector of the economy, but they also want to know who they are helping and why.  They want to meet you face to face.

Hazel M Walker, owns three award winning franchise’s. She is a 10 year owner of two BNI Franchises where she teaches members how to leverage their time and network to build each others businesses. She is also a Referral Institute franchise owner and teaches Business Owners how to harness the Science of Referrals to develop Referrals for Life. Hazel is a published author in New York Times best sellers Masters of Networking and Masters of Sales. As a member of the National Speakers Association she travels the world speaking to businesses and women’s organizations on the topics of networking to create a life you love.

Most Americans recognize the day after Christmas as a day to box up all the unwanted gifts to return them to the stores and exchange them for other items.  Of course, it’s also a day to take advantage of reduced merchandise and after Christmas sales.  

Although Boxing Day may sound like a good opportunity to throw an uppercut at an unsuspecting person, it has nothing to do with gloves or punching bags.  However, I can think of a few people that deserve a few sucker-punches. 

With my DH being a transplant from Scotland, we’ve attempted to capture the true essence of this British holiday and have adopted some of the Boxing Day traditions into our holiday season.   

Carb loading typically begins our Boxing Day festivities.  Each Boxing Day, Allan prepares a big cooked English breakfast, which includes scrambled eggs, sausage, fried tomatoes and mushrooms, bacon (the American kind unfortunately), Heinz baked beans, warm buttered toast and chunky sautéed potatoes doused in malt vinegar.  A traditional, “sweaty” breakfast (as Allan calls it) is absolutely necessary to offer the fuel required for the rest of our Boxing Day festivities. 

To honor this British holiday, I provide each of my girls with a box to fill with items to give to the needy.  With all the excitement over all their new Christmas toys and clothes, they are usually more willing to part with their old belongings.  As they carry their box from room to room, they gather old toys and clothes. 

On occasion, new items are added to their boxes as well.  Every Christmas, my girls receive a mountain of gifts from family members and some of these gifts remain sealed in cellophane only to suffer the same fate as the inhabitants of the Island of Misfit Toys.  Therefore, over the years, we’ve taught our girls to share their extra gifts with children less fortunate.  Children in homeless shelters still long for gifts after Christmas and our excessiveness could help make a needy child’s birthday a happier one. 

In addition to toys and clothes, I also weed through my cupboards and pantries to find items to help restock a food bank.  We often think of food banks during the holidays, but their need continues through the year. 

As I mentioned in a previous post, homeless shelters have seen an increasing number of families in need this year.  Yet, donations to charitable organizations in the Tampa Bay area were down nearly 50% this holiday season. 

If you choose to shop today, please remember those in need while you hunt for bargains and join us in celebrating Boxing Day the way it was originally intended.

As we assembled our boxes for a photo to record our Boxing Day observation for my blog, I heard a slight jingling sound coming from Allana’s box.  This year Allana decided to add a coin purse full of 30 pennies, a 20 pence coin and a 5 pence coin, because she wanted to give money to the needy as well as food, clothing and toys.  Though I was deeply moved by Allana’s generosity, it struck me funny to discover a touch of Britain in our American version of Boxing Day.