Despite the economic recession, or perhaps in spite of it, the merchants of Palma Ceia are banding together. ...more

December 10, 2008

Margaret Hoggatt was overwhelmed after her mother died in 2006. It wasn't just the grief of losing a beloved parent. Her mother, Rosemary, had lived in a small house on Tropic Boulevard in Largo for nearly 30 years. The 1,300-square-foot home was crammed with the things she collected and adored - elephant knickknacks, angels, ceramic roses, kitchen gadgets, cookbooks. ...more

August 24, 2008

Last Monday we drove past the Kenilworth Lodge road sign. The message for the day read something like, "Today is National Clean Off Your Desk Day. Just toss it all on the floor!" Back home, feeling comfortable at our messy desks, we checked it out on our computers. Sure enough, the second Monday in January is National Clean Off Your Desk Day. It has been since 1982 when Ann Chase Moeller, daughter of the Chases (of Chase Annual Event Calendar fame), wrote it into their record book. According to Organizing Resources, "Desktop management is critically important to our well being - physically, mentally and psychologically." They say, "It is extremely difficult to concentrate on a particular task when bombarded with myriad piles of paper. The only papers that should be on your desk are the ones you are referring to at that particular moment. The only miscellaneous objects should be ones you use all the time, except for a few special mementos and a living plant." ...more

January 18, 2008

Professional organizer and author Donna Smallin is a neatnik; her husband of 18 months is more like the rest of us. Peaceful cohabitation is a matter of negotiating boundaries and agreeing on "clear-free zones," Smallin says. ...more

December 27, 2007

For every New Year's resolution, there's a person with hope: Hope that, finally, he'll get the nattering monkey off his back. ...more

December 26, 2007