What to Do When You Are Alone for the Holidays Written by Margaret Paul, Ph.D.
The following article is offered for free use in your ezine, print publication or on your web site, so long as author resource box at end is included, with hyperlinks. Notification of publication would be appreciated.For other articles which you are free to use, see http://www.innerbonding.com Title: What to Do When You Are Alone for Holidays Author: Margaret Paul, Ph.D. E-mail: mailto:margaret@innerbonding.com Copyright: © 2004 by Margaret Paul URL: http://www.innerbonding.com Word Count: 723 Category: Self Improvement What to Do When You Are Alone for Holidays By Margaret Paul, Ph.D. Being alone for holidays is a major challenge for many people. Holidays often conjure images of family, of warmth and sharing of special time. Loneliness can be overwhelming when you have no one with whom to share holiday time. Many people, however, miss point of what holidays are really about and what makes them special. Holidays are not about what you GET – they are about what you GIVE. Many people are under misconception that joy of holidays is about what you receive rather than about what you share. Our hearts get filled with love when we give and share love, rather than from getting love. This may seem like a paradox. Many people spend their time with others attempting to get love, attention and approval, thinking that this is what makes them feel happy and worthy. But getting attention from others to fill ourselves is like eating chocolate when you are lonely – it works for moment but then you need more and more of it. Eventually it becomes an addiction. What really fills emptiness is giving of love. If you are alone over holidays, question becomes, “How can I give love in ways that will bring me joy?” Below are some suggestions for sharing your love and caring over holidays: * Gather toys from friends and store donations and bring them to children who would not otherwise have toys. You can find these children through schools, churches and various other organizations. * Find a battered women’s shelter in your area and help to create holiday there – preparing food, decorating tree, and just spending time with them. Last year a friend of mine organized a number of her local markets to donate food over Christmas to local shelter that housed mothers and their children who had left abusive husbands. She got to know mothers and children and received great fulfillment in providing them with an abundant Christmas.
| | Organizing Tips to Help You Conquer the Laundry MonsterWritten by Bridget Messino
Laundry. You sort, you wash, you fold, you blink – and pile of dirty clothes has grown all over again. Laundry is a fact of life, but approaching task in an organized way can make it more manageable. Preparation is Half Battle If you have a large family (or lots of clothes!), sorting laundry can be a daunting task all on its own. Sorting as you go not only ends need for this part of project, but also may encourage you to do laundry more often because it's all sorted and ready to go! Use a multi-compartmented hamper or several laundry baskets and as you throw in your dirty clothes just drop them in appropriate section (even kids as young as pre-schoolers can learn to do this -- make it fun for them, give them a small reward (an extra 15 minutes of TV? staying up 10 minutes later?) each time they get everything in right spot!) Toss items that need dry cleaning into a special basket or bag as soon as you take it off. This way, when you are ready to go to cleaners you can just grab them, rather than having to hunt for them in all dirty laundry (ugh!) Make a habit of always keeping a spare of laundry detergent, dryer sheets and whatever else you use regularly. That way you never have to drop everything and run to store to complete your laundry (or use that as a reason to not complete laundry...) Put Away Clean Clothes in a Flash! Keep hangers and a folding hanging rack near dryer. Save steps by putting hanging items directly on hangers rather than folding and toting them first. As you fold clean laundry, place items in baskets by person to simplify process of putting it all away. Get everyone in on act. Even small children can help put away some of their own clothes -- socks, underwear, etc. Older kids can put it all away. If you share burden, it's not so overwhelming.
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