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By subscription only! Welcome to another issue of:

"THE BALANCED WOMAN".
Thanks to all of you who have encouraged your friends to subscribe!  You are important to us.  So rest assured we will NEVER sell or give away your email addresses to anyone!!

We realize that not all of the email programs available can accommodate our size.  So you can also find this issue of The Balanced Woman at: http://angelfire.com/sd/BalancedWoman/issue12.html

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              IN THIS ISSUE
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       => Welcome
       => Feature Article: "Running  a Home Like a Business"
       => Household Tip
       => Guest Column:  "A Beautifully Organized Home"
       => Parenting Tip
       => Guest Column:  "Frugal Freedom"
       => Pampering Yourself
       => Classified Ads
       =>  Subscribe/Un subscribe information
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                       WELCOME

Spring has finally sprung bringing with it a time for new starts.  Along those lines, a good friend of mine has come  out with a wonderful, new ezine called Limericks.  It contains, well, limericks.  A Limerick is a short composition, normally consisting of five lines, rhyming 'aabba'. The 'a' rhymes have 3 beats, 'b' rhymes have 2 and the rhythm is predominantly anapestic. Originally it was an 'indecent' form of humor in verse, but now even 'clean' Limericks are abundant. If you'd like to add more humor to your life, subscribe to Limericks (it's free).  Just send a  blank email to limericks--@topica.com

As yet another new start, we'd like to ask you to help one of our readers.  She writes, "Any ideas on how to keep white clothes white? It seems that no matter what I try -- bleach, etc., my whites always get dingy after a few washings"  If you can help, please send your suggestions to to me at jahale95@yahoo.com with "whites" in the subject.  If you have a website, please include your URL.  We'll print the best few responses in an upcoming newsletter.  If your response is printed, we'll include a link to your site.

Well, that's it for now.  I hope you enjoy this issue!
jackie

PS:  Don’t forget to visit our site at: http://www.betweenfriends.org. !  It's full of articles, tips and links to help you bring more balance into your life.  It offers information on household hints, parenting, finances, self improvement and home businesses.  We've changed the look to make it easier to read and we update regularly!

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                  This Month's Sponsors!

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Feature Article: Running a Home Like a Business
By:  Jacqueline McLaughlin Hale
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I spent 15 years studying the habits of successful businesses and unsuccessful business.  It always intrigued me that although two businesses could appear to be exactly alike; one could be amazingly successful while the other could be a dismal failure.  I always wondered what made the successful business successful and what made the failed business fail.  I talked to TONS of people and asked tons of questions. In return  I received tons of answers.  But the more answers I received, the more confused I became. There were as many different answers as there were successful companies.  I just couldn't make sense of them all.

Then one day, I got ONE answer that summarized and clarified all of the others I had received.  Glenn was a location manager for the company I worked for.  His location was incredibly successful.  He literally made millions of dollars a year.  Meanwhile, some of the other offices lost hundreds of thousands of dollars per year.  They had the same product, the same senior management, the same sales training techniques, similar customers, the same pricing and VERY different results.  So I asked Glenn what it was he did that made him so much more successful.

Like most accomplished people, he refused to take credit for all that he had done.  He praised his staff and his salesmen, all of his support people and even his vendors.  But when it came right down to it, he revealed that the secrets of his success were:

1. 4th grade math
2. Systems

A few years later it occurred to me that running a home and running a business are very similar.  Therefore, I reasoned, I SHOULD be able to use all the lessons I learned in Corporate America and apply them to my home.  What I discovered was that if I ran my home LIKE a business, it ran more efficiently, it ran better and I made more time for myself in the process.  The secrets were in Glenn's advice:

1. 4th grade math
2. Systems

HOW ARE A BUSINESS AND A HOME SIMILAR?
 
A business exists to serve its customers and to make a profit.  A home exists to serve its family and to make a profit (i.e. savings).

A HOME EXISTS TO SERVE ITS FAMILY!  I repeated that one very important statement because so often in our day to day lives it seems as though our families exist to serve our homes.  We get so caught up in what needs to be done who's going to do it, how they're going to do it and when it will be completed that we can feel like slaves to our houses.  That's just WRONG!

Your home's most basic purpose is to serve as your shelter and nothing more.  It's not your showcase or your work of art.  It exists to protect you from the elements.  And it's easy to forget that.  It's got to be in good repair and it's got to achieve a relative degree of cleanliness (after all, you don't want the health department coming in).  It doesn't have to be spotless!  Think of it this way, when the end of your life is near do you really think you'll wish you had had a cleaner home?  I don't think so!  So don't wait until it's too late before you realize that a sparkling clean home is FAR less important than close family ties!  Enough said!  Back to my original point.

A business and a home ARE more similar than they are dissimilar.  Therefore, 4th grade math and systems should work to run a home more successfully.  And they do.  So let's start with an overview of what they are.

 4TH GRADE MATH

Fourth grade math simply means that when you subtract your expenses from your income, you better get a positive number!  That's all there is to it! In future issues we'll cover how to quantify your expenses so that you can do this and how to change a negative number into a positive one.

 SYSTEMS

Systems are procedures you put in place on a daily, weekly and monthly basis to keep your home running.  Once you establish workable systems, all you have to do is follow up regularly to make sure they're implemented correctly.  That's it.

Sounds easy doesn't it?  Glenn warned me his advice is SIMPLE, not easy.  And he was right.  Stay tuned.  Next month we'll cover 4th grade math more thoroughly.

Jacqueline McLaughlin Hale is a CPA and the editor of  Between Friends, a website dedicated to the support and success of women.  She is also the author of "100 Ways to Pamper Yourself" and "Don't Mess with the IRS!"  These publications are available at Between Friends (http://www.betweenfriends.org)

Webmasters and publishers may use this article in their ezine or website, as long as the *entire*
article is used, and the *copyright notice* and *resource box* are left in tact, including this notice

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HOUSEHOLD HINT OF THE MONTH

When running errands, make a list of all the stops you need to make, then start with the one farthest away.  This way, if you don't complete your list, you can always squeeze in the "close to home" stops on another day

Excerpted from Tipomatic at http://www.emazing.com.  EMAZING delivers FREE greeting cards, tips, news, comics, and horoscopes to your email box daily.

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A Beautifully Organized Home
By Vicki Nace
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You cannot have a beautiful house without organization.  It's that simple.  So where do you begin?  I used to keep almost everything because I was sure I'd regret it if I threw it out.  I'm an organizer by nature, so I naturally found a place for everything until "everything" grew to be too much to store.  Now I live by the rule that if I haven't used it in a year, I probably never will.  Oh, sure, there are those exceptions.  But we all know which ones are and which one's aren't.  So free yourself from the clutter and get rid of those things you don't use.  I find that it's often times easier to get rid of something if I am able to donate it to a good cause.  Places like the Salvation Army or Goodwill for example.  I prefer, however, to give my things to local shelters or churches that I know can give them directly to those who need it for free.  If you have a strong enough reason for giving something up, it's more likely that you will.

The next step is organizing what's left.  Organize things by how often you use them.  If it's a once-in-a-while item, go ahead and put it in the back of a closet.  Put things you use often within easy reach.  I store blankets in the front closet, but had trouble keeping them on the shelf.  An inexpensive solution was to buy two laundry baskets at a local dollar store.  The blankets fit perfectly and the baskets are easier to handle than those wobbly piles of blankets were and I did it all for about $5.00.  I prefer to use pretty whicker baskets to hold magazines, books, and the TV remote - anything that I want to remain out.  (I also seem to live by the rule-out of sight, out of mind, so if it's something I know I need to get back to, I like to leave it out.)  Baskets are a prettier "catch-all" than the living room floor is!

In the kitchen, I like to have all of my cooking utensils in drawers.  If space is limited, use a crock or basket for those utensils you use the most.  I also put smaller appliances like the toaster, teapot, etc. in my cupboards and made covers for those that I leave out.  It took some disciplining (for my husband) and myself but the extra counter space is well worth the effort.  I no longer feel like knocking walls out to make space!

If you have kids, you well know how difficult it is to have an organized home.  Though I have only one child, his toys make up for the lack of additional children.  Somehow they find their way into every corner of the house!  I've found that I can put most of his toys like blocks, puzzles, the train set, etc. in a closet and he's perfectly content to play with the few toys that stay out.  When a toy comes out of the closet, another toy is put away - unless, of course, he wants to play with them together.  This not only teaches him discipline, but also keeps the mess at a "minimum" and makes it easier to get him to help pick up his toys.

Organization is important if you want a beautiful home.  Try things out and change them around from time to time to see what works for you (and keep yourself from getting bored).  A little organizing now and you'll begin enjoying your home once more.

Vicki Nace is publisher of Welcome Home!  A FREE newsletter dedicated to providing you with decorating ideas to help you create a haven for your family, and owner of Floral Seasons, a wonderful source of silk floral decorating accessories for your home or office.  To subscribe to Welcome Home!  send email to: mailto:welcomehomelist-subscribe@listbot.com or visit Floral Seasons at: http://www.floralseasons.com

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PARENTING TIP OF THE MONTH

In the heat of anger, parents sometimes impose a punishment too severe for the child's infraction.  Afterwards, they may feel they'll lose their authority if they don't follow through with their original statement of discipline, even though they realize it's too harsh.

Sometimes it's better to let your child know he will be disciplined, but you will decide later on the punishment (how long he'll be grounded, for example).  This way, you can make a rational decision after the heat of the moment has passed, and impose a penalty appropriate for the situation.  Besides, the child's anticipation of a coming punishment will remain in his memory far longer than the actual penalty.

Excerpted from Tipomatic at http://www.emazing.com.  EMAZING delivers FREE greeting cards, tips, news, comics, and horoscopes to your email box daily.

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Frugal Freedom
By:  Blythe Elspeth
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There is a trend these days towards frugality or paring down. Some people call it, "Voluntary Simplicity." Whatever it is, it is catching and it's oh-so enlightening.

Frugality means listening to yourself and not the world around you in its rush and rhetoric. Frugality means being quiet and aware of what it means to be nothing else but YOU. It also means listening to the earth and its needs which, in all truth, are ever so simple and ever so important. Listen to the messages that are bombarding our lives by the media and, closer to home, by the people around you at work, at the park, at the checkout. Examine your financial woes and whys and ask yourself, "what do I need to be fulfilled?" You'll find that, perhaps surprisingly, you need very little. Become aware of outside manipulation and let it go. Freedom will follow. Why? When we let go of outside influences and outside interference, our true nature can shine through and an understanding of who we are and what makes us unique resonates loud and clear.

How much money do you spend on "little things" every day without really thinking about them? Do you really need to "reward" yourself with "things" when a really true reward would be simply some silence and a refreshing lungful of fresh air? Why do you need a new designer name outfit for that morning jog when an old beloved pair of shorts and t-shirt would do the job just as well? Who are you living for and why is it not for YOU?

Frugality and simplicity allow you to become more "inner aware" which ultimately means coming to terms with your life, how you live it and what you need in it in order to make you happy, content and fulfilled. For most of us, change is difficult in that what we would LOVE to do is not necessarily the most lucrative and therefore not the most practical since we need some kind of financial backing in order to live. That said, examining where you are and where you would like to be can be a stepping stone to change and your ultimate goal.

Perhaps you love the country but have a well paying job and a cramped, overpriced apartment in the heart of a busy city. Can you set a goal towards perhaps relocating to a smaller town thereby saving money on housing and settling for a train ride into work? Do you long to paint professionally but work in sales to meet your debt load? Perhaps a reexamination of your spending habits, housing costs and what's important to you will open your eyes to the possibility of realizing your artistic endeavors.

As in all things, outside influences are detrimental to our inner health. If we allow others to dictate how we should live our lives, we get lost in the shuffle and expire with nary a realized dream. Frugality and simplicity allow us to shut out those niggling voices, reconnect with what is right and good for ourselves, and live our truth.

Blythe Elspeth is a stay at home mom who, in addition to caring for Elyse and Arden, finds the time to write, draw and paint. She contributes to women's publications, investigates paranormal activities, and strengthens her spiritual base through Feng Shui and New Age studies.  Visit her website at: http://www.arcanamatrix.com
 

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Pampering Yourself

Take a picnic to the beach or to a park.  Find a spot where people are sparse.  Take a book or a magazine.  Write that letter you've wanted to write or just sit and think.  Watch people.  Enjoy the outdoors.  Completely fill your nose and lungs with the natural scents of the flowers and trees around you, with the air you're breathing.  Watch with wonder and awe as the birds fly about you.  Listen to their songs.  Be in the moment!
 

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IT WON'T COST YOU A DIME TO FEED A STARVING CHILD FOR A DAY!

Please take 15 seconds of your valuable time and stop by The Hunger Site daily. Every 3.6 seconds, someone dies of hunger on this planet and 3/4 of those deaths are children under 5 years old! Every time you click their button, food is donated to help feed starving people. The equivalent of two cups! That means it takes LOTS OF US to do it. Daily! Make them your" Start Page" and it only takes 2 seconds of your time! Many of us are making lots of money on the net but there are others that need a "life net" so please lend a hand. Trust me- you'll feel better about yourself all day. It is supported by sponsors - and costs you NOTHING! http://www.thehungersite.com

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                    Disclaimer
The appearance of advertising in The Balanced Woman should not be interpreted as an endorsement by the editors of the service, product, business, or program being advertised.  We take no responsibility for claims or representations made in any ads.  The Balanced Woman is for informational and entertainment purposes only.  The ideas and information expressed in it have not been approved or authorized by anyone either explicitly or implicitly.  In no event shall Jacqueline McLaughlin Hale be liable for any damages whatsoever resulting from any action arising in connection with the use of this information or its publication, including any action for infringement of copyright or defamation.  The opinions expressed by our columnists are not necessarily the position of The Balanced Woman.
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Copyright 1999, 2000 JA Hale
Editor's Comments: If any of you have any ideas, comments and suggestions on how we can
improve this e-zine please let me know.  Just send an email to: jahale95@yahoo.com

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