The Solutions Organizing Simple
eNewsletter

As we approach the end of 2010 we all reflect on our accomplishments and dreams for us and our family. With hope and peace for everyone we look forward to the New Year and new beginnings.

My family and I would like to express our sincere gratitude to all of you for the support we received this year which contributed to the incredible growth of our business.

We will continue with the same dedication and passion to serve you and your family as we have for the last eight years.

We would like to wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a happy and prosperous New Year.

New year; New Team Members:  We are pleased to announce the addition of Bill Konnert to our S.O.S. team.  With over 35 years experience, Mr Konnert, a Senior Financial Consultant with Investors Group, specializes in helping seniors secure their savings with holistic financial planning allowing them to live comfortably and debt free.  For more information call Bill directly at 604.531.3635 or email.

S.O.S. December Newsletter Checklist

Simple Ways to Enjoy the Holidays

It doesn’t matter what you celebrate; Christmas, Hanukkah or Kwanza, you and your family are looking forward to a few days of traditional food, music and fun. Yet year after year many of us feel overwhelmed, frazzled and tired, not to mention, financially depleted. We all have one question. Does it have to be a struggle? I don’t mean to diminish the importance of celebrating our family traditions, but we don’t want these celebrations to feel like a chore or obligation.

Here are some simple tips to have a great and enjoyable holiday:

• Avoid Martha Stewart Syndrome, everything doesn’t have to be perfect.
• Start new traditions and simplify your celebration by being grateful for the love and peace you have in your life.
• Have a 30 min. meeting with your family and brainstorm what food to eat, desserts to enjoy, games to play, and music to listen to.
• Make a main course and ask your family and friends to bring vegetables, desserts and drinks. It isn’t so overwhelming for one person if everyone contributes a little.
• Choose a day and time to bake, decorate the tree and do crafts. Make it simple and enjoyable for everyone. Use natural materials such as pine cones, acorns, popsicle sticks, wool, fabric, cotton balls etc. to create a masterpiece for the whole family. I know this works because my granddaughter Natalie, who is twenty now and an aspiring artist, still remembers the holidays when we did crafts and baked pecan pies; her favourite.
• To avoid crowds and parking lot madness shop on-line; always keep your budget in mind.
• Choose gifts that will last: go to a resort like Harrison Hot Springs, Whistler or a friend’s cabin in the woods, a movie or a play, having dinner at a favourite restaurant, going skiing or tobogganing, making a ginger bread house or a snow man. Remember, take lots of pictures. Make memories, not clutter.
• If you dislike sending cards, just don’t do it this year. Instead, email or call the people you love.

Finally, don’t get caught up in the frenzy of buying, doing the errands and activities you don’t enjoy because of outdated family traditions. Be yourself and do what’s important for the people you love. Enjoy and celebrate every moment and have a happy and festive holiday season!

We are booking fast for December and January. If you need a little bit of help preparing & organizing your home for the holidays, the S.O.S. team is ready. To avoid disappointment book your time now.

S.O.S. Organizing & Cleaning Services, Our All-Natural Cleaners and Our Book S.O.S. Guide to Organize and Clean Your Home make a perfect gift for those you care about.

The Pacifica Festival of Trees

Solutions Organizing Simple is proud to join The Pacifica Resort Retirement for the Festival of Trees and to contribute to the CKNW Orphans’ Fund. Come and see the beautifully decorated trees and help this very important organization.

At Christmas time the lobby and upper level of the Pacifica Resort Retirement Living located in South Surrey/White Rock will turn into an Enchanted Christmas Forest where local companies can provide a personalized decorated Christmas tree.  This is a great way for local companies to increase their exposure in the community and contribute to the CKNW Orphans' Fund.  This fundraiser is an excellent opportunity to showcase community leadership, creative flair and innovative themes.  The Festival is open to the public who are invited to browse and cast a ballot for their favourite tree.  There is no admission but a minimum $2 donation to the CKNW Orphans' Fund is suggested for each vote.  Click here for more details on casting your vote and/or being a sponsor.

S.O.S. Team Gratitude

Thank you to everyone who has written in response to our last newsletter about the very sensitive issue of information hoarding. My intention was to give our readers and clients information and the consequences of hoarding. Even though we see these situations on a daily basis I wasn’t prepared for the overwhelming response from people we have helped and those that might need help. The comments have been extremely compassionate and sensitive. Quite a number of people wrote about their heart breaking experience growing up with a parent who had severe hoarding struggles, only to find themselves inheriting the same hoarding problems as their parent or guardian and passing it on to their own children and grandchildren. This is a vicious cycle and it can affect many generations of people. I believe that with willingness and proper counselling people can overcome this challenge that literally traps them and their family.

Here are some of the comments from people who read the article. Due to the very sensitive nature of our service, the identity of people who wrote is protected.

“Ranka, you and your daughter are incredible team. I was stuck in chaos for the last fifteen years and my kids suffered because of my collecting. In two days you managed to make a beautiful home for me and my family, you made a big difference in my life. Thank you."
TL, White Rock, BC

“Ranka, your last newsletter woke me up and I cried like a baby. I keep everything from plastic bags, rusty food cans to old and broken appliances that I might fix one day. My two closets are full of clothes and accessories, with price tags going back 10 years, yet I wear old and faded jeans every day. I’m ready to do something about my issues, can somebody help me?”
NS, Burnaby, BC

"Dear Ranka, I have been reading your newsletters and your books for the last few years. I want to do everything at once, the whole house. Then I remember your mantra: “one drawer at a time”.  I’m happy with the progress I have made, I will call you to “tweak it” as you call it.  Thank you for offering this incredible service to our humanity." 
KZ, Vancouver, BC

If you know anybody who is ready to be helped please recommend the books I suggested. You will be doing a good deed for somebody in need of help. Or tell them to contact us and we will be happy to provide them with a confidential, in-depth, complimentary consultation to help them get and stay organized. Let them know we are here to help, not judge.

Recommended Reading
Overcoming Compulsive Hoarding by Fugen Neziroglu
Buried in Treasures by Randy O Frost
Or my book “S.O.S. Guide to Organize and Clean Your Home”

Submit Your Tips

If you have a proven, green, organizing or cleaning tip, we’d love to hear from you.  Click here to email us your tip today with your name, city and province.

Your tip may be printed in one of our future newsletters or published in one of our future books with your name, city and province. By submitting your tip you agree to allow us to reprint your tip(s) in our publications. Be sure to read our newsletter to find out if your tip was chosen. Feel free to forward our newsletters to your family and friends.

If you have good quality furniture and accessories to Sell:
Champagne Taste Home Consignment
1101 Royal Avenue
New Westminster
604.524.6068/info@champagnetaste.ca

If you have good quality items to Donate:
Developmental Disability Association 604.273.4332

To learn how to Reduce*Reuse*Recycle
GVRD Information
604.432.6200

Have a wonderful week!

Ranka Burzan
Professional Organizer, Speaker & Author

604.538.3240
info@SolutionsOrganizing.com

www.SolutionsOrganizing.com