Did one of your New Year’s resolutions include the promise to finally get your home organized?  Are you already off track?  Fear not, you can still make it happen!  All you need is my easy-to-implement ‘one-weekend-a-month’ plan and you will be well on your way.

Organizing your entire home can seem like a daunting task, which is why people tend to give up. But my 2012 monthly plan will help you ‘chunk it down’ into manageable weekend projects.  The first step is to promise yourself that – no matter what – you will set aside one weekend a month to do one home organization project.  Depending on the size of your home and how much ‘stuff’ you have your monthly project can take you one day or the entire weekend.  The following is your January to June schedule.  Feel free to change the order as long as you keep to the one-project-a-month plan.  Next week I will give you July through December’s projects – no sense overwhelming you right at the start!

January: Charger Station

Does your home have four, five or even six chargers laying around? Do you or your family members sometimes scramble to find the right one?  Then you need a charger station.  You can either purchase one or make your own. What’s essential is to select a designated area in your home for the sole purpose of keeping all chargers together. For example, if you live in an apartment consider using one of the drawers from a console table. Remember this console needs to have nearby access to an outlet. If giving up a drawer is not possible then a shelf on a bookcase can do the same job. It may take some time for everyone to develop the habit but within weeks you will see each of them placing their phone, iPods, or miscellaneous electronic device to charge in the same location without giving it a second thought.  And I promise you won’t miss being asked, “Have you seen my charger!”

Click here to read more.

Check out Part Two of my  Month-to-Month, Home Organization Calendar in Fox News Latino’s Lifestyle section this Friday.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you could wave a magic wand and make your New Year’s resolutions come true? Nice maybe but, alas, not an option.  However there are simple steps to take that will make it easier to fulfill your promise to transform your health, energy and body in 2012.

Our friends at Topical BioMedics have teamed with Alexandra Jamieson, celebrity health and nutrition counselor, chef and author of The Great American Detox Diet, Living Vegan for Dummies and Vegan Cooking for Dummies to provide some health tips for a delicious and vital 2012.

Get Clear

In order to transform your health, energy and body, you need to take stock of where you are now, what you’re eating and what you want to change.

Write down everything. How you feel when you wake up? What cravings you have? What your diet is like? What is your exercise routine (if any)? What do you like to feel and look like?

Get Support

Talk with someone who has been there before. Read the blogs of experts, watch inspiring movies online or listen to radio shows on the area of health that interests you the most. Find a “tribe” of people who are dedicated to making the same changes you want to accomplish.

There is power in joining forces – they’ll pull you along, and you’ll help them at the same time.

Make A Plan

Do you want to eat more vegetables? Eat less sugar? Kick your caffeine habit completely? Do you want to lose 20 pounds, or clear up your skin?

What is the first step towards your goal? If it’s eating less sugar, maybe it’s time to learn about natural foods that give you the sweet sensation you’re looking for without robbing your energy (more on that in a minute).

Or maybe you need to throw away the sweets or chocolates lingering from the holidays. Or maybe there’s something in your lifestyle that triggers your sugar cravings that you can address in a non-food-way.

Whatever the issue is, there are steps you can take to make it a non-issue: start brain-storming on what to do first, then what you can do tomorrow, and in no time you’ll be free and clear.

Be Seasonal

Use seasonal, local produce as much as possible.

When you eat veggies from a nearby farm, they offer you the energy and nutrients that support you where you are and when you are.

For example, eating iceberg lettuce and watermelon north of the 45th parallel in winter does not support your body in the cold, sunless months. Instead, choose winter squash, cabbage, other hearty wintergreens, and apples and pears that winter over well. These fruits and veggies give you great, fresh nutrition rather than arriving depleted from half way across the world.

Sleep More

The human body is built to follow natural rhythms. Our inner body clock, called circadian rhythm, triggers the natural impulses to wake up with the sun, sleep when it’s dark, as well as a host of other natural body processes.

When your natural circadian rhythm is thrown off, due to jet lag or just staying up too late night after night, your body and brain work at half-speed, and your body feels off balance. Years of staying up late and not getting enough sleep during the darker, winter months, makes caffeine necessary, and cravings for sugar more intense.

This winter, try an experiment: go to bed early and wake up early. Get into bed by 9pm and wake up at 4 or 5am. Even a few days a week of this pattern will help you feel more refreshed, healthier, and those intense food cravings will release their hold on you just a bit more.

Make Breakfast a Priority

Now that you’re sleeping better, you can wake up earlier and get a good breakfast in your body. Everyone is different and you might need something that your partner or child doesn’t like or desire. Experiment with different types of food for your morning meal, alternating savory, sweet, liquid or combination breakfasts.

You might notice that a protein rich meal keeps you filled longer. Or perhaps you find that a light meal of fruit and herbal tea is perfect.

Try it out and notice what happens during the day with your cravings. Your first meal can determine your energy for the rest of the day.

Skip the White Foods

Any white, refined food is going to steal nutrients and energy from your body. This includes white flour, white sugar, and white table salt.

All of these foods are stripped of nutrition, vitamins and minerals, and offer only the jolt of carbohydrate or sodium. Without any supportive nutrients, your body must draw on its own precious stores to metabolize the refined food, leading to depleted energy over time.

Sweeten the Deal

Use more naturally sweet foods instead of relying on white foods, candy, and soda for energy.

Include sweet root veggies, fruits and even whole grains to satisfy your sweet cravings.

Sweet potatoes offer carotenoid antioxidant and help your body respond to insulin better. Parsnips are high in silicon and fiber and are high in calcium. Beets are high in boron, a mineral critical for the production of human sex hormones.

Adding daily doses of sweet veggies, you’ll crave less sugary treats, and you’ll be giving your body necessary nutrients for long-term health.

Move Your Body Like Your Life Depends On It – Because it Does

Whatever form of exercise you choose: running, walking, swimming, biking, dancing, weight lifting or machines – just move. Daily. As if it were your last day on earth.

If you incorporate anything from the list above you will be on your way to preserving or regaining your health and vitality in the New Year.

Come January most of us are on a roll with New Year’s Resolutions – give back, be more green, lose weight, get organized – come March, many of these resolutions have passed as quickly as last year’s holiday rush.  Rather than forfeiting promises to improve ourselves, simplifying popular resolutions with these four tips can help get us well on our way to an accomplished New Year. 

Resolution One: Give Back

Tip – Everyone benefits when helping those in need.  Often the volunteer and the recipient leave feeling uplifted, which is perhaps why this resolution is so popular.  Rather than letting one’s schedule fill up to push this altruistic resolution aside, one way to follow through is to sit down and schedule volunteer activities either bi-weekly or monthly a few months in advance.  By planning ahead and adding activities to the calendar, it will be easy to make sure time is spent in 2011 giving back.

Resolution Two: Be More Green

Tip – One doesn’t have to rebuild a rainforest in order to be greener in the New Year but can make simple alterations to daily routines in order to cut down on energy and waste.  One way is to carry a porcelain or stainless-steel travel coffee mug and a reusable grocery bag.  By using these alternatives rather than disposable paper and plastic, one can easily be more environmentally-friendly all year long. 

Resolution Three: Lose Weight

 Tip – It’s all too common to ambitiously tackle extra holiday pounds right after the New Year and be unable to keep up with a strict diet or workout regimen after a few weeks.  While overcrowded gyms die down after January has passed, one way to stick to it in a balanced way is to vow to simply exercise 30 minutes to an hour each day with a few days off.  Whether taking a walk in the morning, going on a bike ride or attending an aerobics class, every little bit goes a long way and is more likely to last. 

Resolution Four: Get More Organized

Tip – It not only reduces stress but also saves time and energy to have everything in order.  A strategic way to honor this resolution is to look for areas that were often a mess in the year past, such as desk drawers, scattered kitchen cabinets and overbooked schedules, and think of new habits or tools to streamline them.  One easy solution to stay on track of activities and appointments is by using WallPops Dry Erase Boards, Calendars and Dots.  With designs ranging from psychedelic swirls and youthful flowers to circular motifs and intricate Balinese designs, this peel-and-stick collection is offered in four formats.  All come equipped with a WallPops Dry Erase Marker.

It’s December.  Time to start thinking about New Year’s resolutions.  A recent Google search revealed that “getting organized” inevitably falls into the “top ten” category of New Year’s resolutions. Casa Latina is proud to present  IKEA’s smart and affordable ideas for getting organized in 2011 and beyond.

Tips For An Organized Home

In The Living Room

• Don’t let technology consume the living room! Modular wall units store all the “pieces” and can be reconfigured as media equipment evolves.

• The living room has become THE multifunctional room of the home.  Products like sleep sofas with built-in storage for guest linens, and laptop tables that fold closed help create a room that keeps everything organized and at hand when needed, hidden away when not.

• Control visual clutter and help impart a sense of order and unity by using storage containers of different sizes and shapes, but in the same color.

In The Kitchen

• Freeing up counter space gives a more organized feel and makes the kitchen easier to clean. Add wall organizers that make use of overlooked wall space.

• Organize drawers from a bird’s eye view. It’s easier to look down into a drawer to find necessary items. Use drawer dividers to designate sections for each item.

• Take advantage of every available space, like under the kitchen sink, by adding slide-out garbage and recycling bins. Use behind the door storage racks for items like sponges, brushes and plastic wrap.

In The Bedroom

• Control clutter by clustering small bottles and containers on attractive trays, and maximize space with benches and ottomans that provide both seating and storage.

• Extend the life of shoes by storing them where there is sufficient air circulation to prevent damage from perspiration. Also, use shoe forms to help them maintain their proper shape.

Everywhere Else

• In the hall or entryway, try a seating area with built-in storage and hooks to keep jackets, shoes and gloves at hand for the morning rush!

• In the home office, make it a resolution to stay organized by sorting mail and recycling excess paper daily.

New Year’s Resolution: Give Yourself a Financial Checkup

It’s that time of year again where you make promises to improve yourself in one way or another. Whether it’s to eat better, exercise more or improve your lifestyle, setting goals for the upcoming year helps increase the possibility of making improvements on your quality of life versus the prior year.

One of the best resolutions you can make this year is to take better control and have a clearer understanding of all of the moving parts in your financial life.

I have outlined 13 primary issues that you should review, with the help of a financial advisor, to make these goals a reality:

1. Investments: Review your current asset allocation, funds and managers as well as the correlation and diversification of all your investments.
2. Insurance: Review your life, long-term care and liability policies as it pertains to types, premium, ownership and beneficiary of each policy.
3. Liabilities: What types of debt do you have and what are the balances and terms?
4. Qualified Retirement Plan/IRA: What are your plans for future distribution of the plan at retirement and who are your beneficiaries at death?
5. Stock Options: What types of options do you have and what are the vesting and exercise issues?
6. Business Succession Plan: What are your plans on selling or passing ownership to someone else (pre- and post-death)?
7. Durable Power of Attorney: Who have you given legal authority to act on your behalf in the event you are unable to handle your own affairs?
8. Gifting To Children And Descendants: How do you want your assets to be distributed to them?
9. Charitable Gifting During Life: If interested, what organizations would you want to donate to during your life? (whether it’s cash or securities in kind)
10. Titling Of Assets: How is the ownership of your individual assets titled as? (Jointly, Tenants In Common, Individually, etc.)
11. Executor/Trustee: Have you named an executor/trustee of your estate?
12. Distribution Plan at Death to Spouse/Descendants: How do you plan your assets on being distributed when you die? Directly to named beneficiaries? To trusts?
13. Charitable Inclinations at Death: If interested, what organizations would you want to donate to after you die?

It should be understood that some of these 13 issues may not be applicable to everyone but it does encompass everything that will give you a better grasp on your financial affairs and certainly provided a trusted advisor everything they would need to know to help guide you and perhaps get these issues on paper to provide actionable ideas.