1) It’s an old rule, but it works: If you haven’t worn it in a year, pass it on! Donate items or get together with friends and have a clothing swap party. Weed through your closet at the end of each season and pull what you haven’t worn.

2) Add a second hang bar and immediately gain lots of usable space.

3) Add some light (battery powered is fine). Keeping a closet well lit helps make it easier to keep track of where everything is stored.

4) Add hooks and use them for items you use often – pj’s, purses, belts.

5) Store as much as you can on shelves: knitwear, t-shirts, jeans and corduroys, scarves and workout wear.

6) Ditch the plastic drycleaning bags. They trap moisture and cleaning chemicals which are bad for clothing.

7) Keep the closet dry and odor free with a box of baking soda (it works here just as well as the fridge!).

Vacuum the closet regularly to remove dust, hair and lint.

9) A simple lavender sachet helps to repel moths and adds a nice scent.

10) Store shoes in boxes to help keep them in good shape and to better utilize floor space – you can stack boxes, but not shoes. Just be sure to let them fully dry after wearing to protect them from moisture damage.

- Tips are from all over the web and Martha’s Homekeeping Handbook.

For some crazy closet inspiration and a wardrobe worksheet, visit the InStyle section on “Star Closets”…it will make you feel positively frugal about your amount of shoes!

Photo: Jamie Lynn Sigler by Paul Costello/InStyle

Swap Household Cleaners
Switching to green cleaners reduces air pollution both indoors and out, minimizing exposure to both asthma and allergy triggers as well as chemicals that can be harmful to your health. Look for plant-based products from companies that have a complete list of ingredients on their labels.

Go Meatless on Mondays
Having pasta or a vegetarian soup on Mondays might not seem like a big deal, but adding one meat-free meal per week (for a family of four) has the same impact as driving a hybrid car. Raising livestock produces a large amount of greenhouse gases, so cutting back, even one night per week, makes a big difference.

Shop for Sustainably-Raised Meat
While sustainable isn’t a term certified by the USDA like organic is, it generally means that the animal was given ample room to roam, and wasn’t treated with hormones or antibiotics. Look for labels like free-range and organic as well as no-hormone and no-antibiotic.

Find more on this topic at practicallygreen.com.

Upgrade Your Insulation
Adding insulation to prevent leaky ducts, walls, windows, and doors can improve your home’s energy draw by 20 to 30 percent. If totally redoing your insulation isn’t in your budget, try thermal shades, which block the sun in the summer and retain heat in the winter, or even something as low tech as a draft guard on your outside doors.

Leave Your Shoes at the Door
Think of removing your shoes when you enter a home as the equivalent of washing your hands. First, it couldn’t be easier. And second, it prevents the outside gunk like car exhaust, chemicals, and pesticides from being tracked all over your home.

Microwave Glass, Never Plastic
Heating plastics can cause leaching into food and many contain hormone-disrupting compounds (not just the much maligned versions made with bisphenol-A or BPA). Plastics that are labeled “microwave-safe” can simply withstand a higher temperature before losing their shape. So when popping anything in the microwave, opt for glass or microwave-safe ceramics.

Don’t Dump, Donate
By some estimates, for every item of clothing donated, 27 pounds of carbon emissions are reduced based on the fact that you don’t another item being produced while one is headed to the landfill. Take items to a thrift store, a charity that accepts donations, or list them on Freecycle.org.

Choose Safe Pots and Pans
The materials you cook with do have an impact on your food. The three safest options are cast iron, enamel coated cast iron, and stainless steel. Non-stick pans, while convenient, can be problematic if you scrape the coating and it gets into your food.

Select Fragrance-Free Products
Conventional fragrances often contain chemicals believed to disrupt hormones, and they can be harmful to the ecosystem when washed down the drain. If you like perfumed soaps, cleaning products, or cosmetics, read labels to find those made with essential oils.

Reduce Use of Bug Sprays and Pesticides
To control pests, prevention is your best bet. Keeping your kitchen crumb-free and sealing any holes in the walls or cracks in the foundation means you won’t have to use harmful chemicals in your home. If you do require pest-control, reach for greener alternatives or home remedies first.

Well folks, 2012 is here at last! And with the New Year comes a time for goal-setting and resolution-making. But if you’re like most people, you’ll make and break your New Year’s resolutions within a matter of months, or weeks or even days. Let this be the year that you actually keep your New Years resolutions, and let social media be the tool that helps you achieve your goals!

This post is an update of my January 1, 2011 article, ‘How To Use Social Media To Achieve Your New Year’s Resolutions.’ Feel free to read that article for more insight. Oh, and Happy New Years! Now…on to the goal-setting!

Step 1: Set Attainable Goals
I am the queen of making and breaking New Years resolutions. In past years I’ve vowed to work out six days a week, cut out sweets entirely (I’ve got a wicked sweet tooth) or make a video every single day. For me, those goals were way too lofty and there was absolutely no way I could have achieved them. If you set a goal that is too difficult to achieve it’s easy to become overwhelmed and just stop trying entirely. Be reasonable with what you expect from yourself and it will be easier to stick to the plan.

Last year I decided to pick a resolution that was a little more reasonable than my lofty resolutions of the past. Feeling a bit dry in the creative department, I decided to do one creative project a week for the year—52 Creative Projects in 2011. For me, this seemed reasonable. In the end I made it to 40 creative projects in 2011. Some of the projects I worked on extended into multi-week territory and some weeks I just had too much on my plate to get a project done, but I feel more than happy with what I accomplished. I achieved my overall goal, to be more creative, and I am excited to work on 12 more creative projects in 2012.

Think about the resolutions you made for yourself in 2011. Did you accomplish them? If not, could it be that you expected too much of yourself? Try to be a little more reasonable this year.

Step 2: Use Your Social Networks As Cheerleaders!
There’s nothing like positive feedback from others to help you achieve your goals and social networks like Twitter, Facebook and Google+ are the perfect places to go for this positive reinforcement. Announce your resolutions to your friends on Facebook and your followers on Twitter. Let your Path friends know what you’re planning, share pictures of your resolution in Instagram—you get the idea. Tell as many people as you can about what you plan to do in 2012. Doing this will not only make you feel a little more committed to your goals (after all, you don’t want your friends and followers to see you fail) but it will also rally support.

I posted pictures of all of my creative projects on Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr and I got all sorts of great feedback, from likes and comments to personal messages from friends. This not only felt great, but it also inspired me to keep going. So shout out your resolutions to your social networks and build your own virtual cheerleading squad. Trust me—it will help a lot!

YouTube suggests making a video to let your friends (and the rest of the world) know what you’re planning for 2012. Use the hashtag #awesome2012 so other people can find your resolution video.

Speaking of YouTube, in the video below YouTube partner and fitness guru Amanda Russell provides some tips on how to actually stick to your New Year’s resolutions.

Step 3: Track Your Progress
Last year I talked about tracking your progress publicly via your social networks (Twitter and Facebook) and via Tumblr or other blogging platforms. Let your friends and “virtual cheerleaders” know how you’re doing. Every morning when you wake up you can Tweet out “Day __ without caffeine!” or “I ran __ miles this morning!” If you do this every day publicly then you’ll be less inclined to skip a day—after all, as I said above, you won’t want your friends to see you fail.

In 2011 I wrote, “Tweet your progress, as in the example[s] above, create a Facebook group where you share pictures and updates with friends that decide to join, create a weekly vlog on YouTube where you talk about what you’ve been up to and how you’ve been working to accomplish your goals, or start a blog. Take pictures of your progress, keep notes, announce the major turning points. It’s exciting and talking about your progress with make you feel good!”

This year I’d like to add keeping your progress privately (or publicly) with mobile apps. There are so many mobile apps that let you keep track of your goals, especially in the Health & Fitness department. There are also more general goal-setting applications like Traxitall, which my mom actually recommended to me. Traxitall helps you keep a record of your goals and progress. They explain, “By keeping a record of such thing, Traxitall becomes your partner, your ‘personal trainer,’ making you accountable for yourself actually doing what you said you were going to do.”

Step 4: If You’re Not Feeling Inspired, Just Ask!
Sometimes you may want to give up on your resolutions and goals. Don’t do it! If you’re feeling like you want to throw in the towel, reach out to others for inspiration!

Social media is the perfect place to find inspiration. Sent out a general tweet or a general Facebook status update asking your friends for inspiration, or dig a little deeper to find inspirational people. On Twitter and other networks you can do a little bit of keyword searching to find other people who are doing similar things to what you’d like to do. Befriend or follow them and start a conversation. Ask them what they’re doing to stick to their goals and follow their lead. It’s a lot easier to stick to your goals if you’ve built a strong, inspiring network to help you.

Looking for creative inspiration? Pinterest, the social online pinboard community that’s been blowing up over recent months is perfect! Just browse through other creative people’s boards for inspiration. Tumblr is also great for inspiration. You’ll be surprised how much inspiration you can glean from social networks.

Step 5: Brag About Your Success
At the end of 2012, when you’ve achieved your resolutions, you can brag to all of your friends on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Path and the plethora of new social networks that are bound to be released over the coming year. Go ahead, you deserve it! Oh, and don’t forget to thank your friends and followers for helping you to achieve your goals!

Now, take a moment to share your New Year’s Resolution in the comments below…I’ll be the first to give you a cheer towards realizing all of your goals in the New Year!

Megan O’Neill is the resident web video enthusiast here at Social Times. Megan covers everything from the latest viral videos to online video news and tips, and has a passion for bizarre, original and revolutionary content and ideas.

By KJ DELLANTONIA
Anonymous donors have been going into big box stores — Kmart in particular — and paying off layaway accounts. NPR and The Associated Press picked up the story five days ago, and in it a reporter described a young father stepping up to the layaway counter with three kids behind him to pay something on his account when a “mysterious woman” approached.

“She told him, ‘No, I’m paying for it,’ ” recalled Edna Deppe, assistant manager at the store in Indianapolis. “He just stood there and looked at her and then looked at me and asked if it was a joke. I told him it wasn’t, and that she was going to pay for him. And he just busted out in tears.”

When I heard that, I nearly burst into tears myself, and I wanted to do the same. I’m not the only one. A search for “layaway angels” brings up stories of donors paying off accounts from Oregon to North Carolina to Washington, D.C.

We’ve talked a lot, of late, about having and not having, 1 percent and 99 percent, about homeless children in Florida and about the impulse to help that moves so many of us when we see someone getting by on less than anyone needs. I haven’t fulfilled my desire to be a “layaway angel” yet, but one of the things I appreciate about it is that it’s simple, direct and without any material reward to the giver, not even a tax deduction. It’s just … giving. And hearing about people who give, in that way, is a gift in itself.

This is a time of year when charity is on our minds along with decorations and presents, and many of us have annual rituals that put our family in the role of giving to others and not just each other (or just things we ourselves do, like the “layaway angel”).
Share yours here, and maybe we’ll inspire one another toward doing a little more in what’s been, for many families, a tough year.