My girlfriend, who’s more of a sister, recently called from Atlanta in a frenzy. I could hear it in her voice. “Missy, what you doing?” she asked. She went on to tell me that she was just leaving the furniture store, where she’d been shopping for the perfect new family-room sectional that would comfortably seat all the out-of-town in-laws expected for Thanksgiving. She wanted to get a second opinion about her choice, so I went online to the store’s website.

While the sectional was nice, it really seemed too big for her space, so I gave her my honest opinion. Over the next couple of days, I provided my long distance decorating consultation, and then my sister had a sudden epiphany; all the stress about the seating was self-imposed and unnecessary. The sofa she already owned, although well used by her family of six, was still in good shape; it just needed cleaning. It even had removable, washable covers on the cushions. In addition, she concluded that instead of making a rash decision under pressure, it would be much wiser to work with what she already had. She decided to take her time, save up, and buy the sofa she really wanted.

I’ll never forget a conversation I had with one of my closet childhood girlfriends. Having just had a baby, she was lamenting about how her visiting Jamaican mother-in-law was stressing her out. When I pressed for details, I learned that my girlfriend had a problem with the fact that her mother-in-law did not wash her own pants after every single wear. It drove my girlfriend crazy, so her solution, between frequent nursing sessions, was to wash grandma’s clothes every night for her. Really?! I had to keep it real, “Girl, I don’t wash my pants after every wear either-you better leave grandma alone and let her help you with that baby!”

Based on that conversation, I started taking an informal poll among friends and researched “rules” on frequency of washing and wearing clothing. Of course, we all must use our common sense-if it stinks or it’s dirty, wash it-but I thought it might be helpful to consider a few helpful guidelines for caring for clothing, especially winter wear. These tips are sure to save you time and money, which you should never wash.

(TEWire) - Congratulations to Michelle Obama who ranks #1 as the world's most powerful woman.  Among the Forbes Top 10 most powerful women in the world are two other sisters: Oprah Winfrey and Beyonce Knowles. Wow!  That should make you proud to be a Black woman.  Sisters are incredible!

Three out of ten!  That's awesome when you think about the One Nation March  (10-2-10) held recently - and many of the programs we often attend - where not even one Black women's organization that works for the rights of women and their families had a slot to speak on behalf of Black women at an event billed as "most diverse". 

Hope is contagious. That is the first sentence that appears inside of the Urban Homeworks (UHW) brochure. Usually, you hear about the spread of a contagious condition, people start running away and it produces fear and panic. There is no need to worry this time-you’ll want to catch this. Hope is at the heart of this community development ministry that provides dignified housing for lower-income families. Not only that, but Urban Homeworks helps to rebuild neighborhoods, reconnect people, and reweave a sense of community that has gone missing in many of our neighborhoods. It’s done through partnerships with other concerned community members and organizations.

Last week I arrived at home around 3:30pm after a long, busy day.  A message was on my voicemail from my friend, Harvey, telling me about a special one-day-only deal at the Children’s Theatre for the performance of Robin Hood.  My heart rate sped up (one-day-only deals get me very excited) and I quickly called him to get the juicy details.   Harvey explained that he had just snagged tickets to Robin Hood for his family of four for only $28!  What?!  Normal ticket prices are $20-$40 each.  He said that I should call right away, because when he called to make his purchase there was a long hold time, and the special was over at 4pm.  Click!  I don’t even think I said thank you or goodbye to my friend, because my whole focus was on securing this deal before it ended and I only had about 20 minutes!  I raced to the computer, googled www.childrenstheatre.org , quickly found the phone number, and started dialing. 

Can you tell that I have lost weight? Although I can’t be sure, I think it had to be about two-hundred pounds or so. See I just placed another big load of clothes, coats, shoes, household items, unwanted (although appreciated) Christmas gifts, and other miscellaneous stuff on my front porch. The charity pickup truck from the Lupus Foundation, www.lupuspickup.org, then came and carried it all away. I feel great about it for two main reasons: The donated items will ultimately go towards helping those battling the disease. Also, I have less clutter in my rooms, cupboards, and closets, helping to create a greater sense of order and peace in our home. So together let’s wage a war on clutter, set ourselves free, and lose some much-needed weight!