It’s spring time and you know what that means – time to clean.  For me, cleaning usually means getting rid of all the junk I collected over the past year.  Case in point, check out my closet.

Yikes! I should say, I share half of this closet with two men (but their side is super empty).

Step 1: Separate your clothes (or other objects) into objects your need/love, objects you’re on the fence about and objects you know you need to get rid of.

Step 2: For the things you love, put them away in their proper place.  If you don’t already have a proper place, make one. Now. And stick with it

For things you’re on the fence about, try this tip I found in O’s website.  (Yes, I know it’s for kitchen utensils, but this could really work with anything.)

For things you know you need to get rid of, get rid of it.  I thought this would be easy, but the last time I tried it, I only took the clothes off the hanger and that was it.  They are still chilling in my overcrowded closet.

So you’re going to get rid of some things, where do they go?

• clothes: donate to goodwill or salvation army (and get a tax deduction…holla) or a homeless shelter.  If the clothes are stained or dirt (or underwear), you can either throw them our or use them as dust rags.
• electronics: if they still work you can try selling on craigslist. If you want to donate, try good will or salvation army or one of these places in your neighborhood.  If they are broken, you can safely dispose of them.  If it’s an apple product, they will take it back and either recycle it or dispose of it properly.  You can donate your old printer cartridges at Staples and get $3 back and most companies let you mail them back for free.
• cell phones: I’m a fan of donating old cell phones to battered women’s shelters.

How’s your spring cleaning coming along?  I’ll post after pictures when I finally manage to clean it all up.

Good luck ladies.

peace,
e.

Oh man, I just got my taxes done and I was not happy about the results.  Of course after I got them done I ran across this article about a ton of overlooked tax deductions.  Looking forward to saving some money on taxes next year.

Among my favs were:

• Hearing aids, eyeglasses, contact lenses
• Education expenses to maintain or improve job skills
• Job-related professional journals and newspapers
• Employment agency fees or commissions
• Home office expenses (if you work from home)
• Moving expenses
• Donated clothing or other goods; note the estimated value (see “Valuation Guide” at goodwillpromo.org) on the receipt
• Student loan interest
• Accounting or legal fees involved with taxes (oh word?)
• Jury duty pay reimbursed to employer

Check out the entire article here.

Hey, if you haven’t done your taxes yet and want some face time at an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center and get answers to any last minute questions, today (March 21st) is your lucky day.  Click here to find out where your nearest IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center is  and get some help with your taxes.

peace,
e.

Source: Real Simple

So Pope Benedict XVI is in Africa this week and is maintaing the Vatican’s strict no condom policy.  I really don’t understand the research the Vatican has used to come up with a policy that does exactly the opposite of what it is supposed to.  Abistence only programming has been shown to be ineffictive.  In an age where people are having sex at a younger age, when partners are not being monogamous, when partners are not being honest, condoms seems like the best solution we have to fight AIDS.  For the Pope to go to Africa, especially sub-Sahara Africa, and continue to condemn condom use is completely irresponsible. I truly hope the Pope, the Vatican and the Catholic Church can really get with the times and stop living in the fantasy past.

I know 3% doesn’t sound that high for a rate of anything, but this is cause for concern.  Let’s look at it as a number, 3% of DC is 15,120 people in DC.  That’s up 22% since 2006.  Yikes.  The report says all modes of transmission, homosexual and heterosexual sex and injection drug use, are on the rise.  The jump in the AIDS rate has affected all races and both genders.  This is some scary stuff.

Please get tested, even if you don’t live in DC.  And as always, if you’re going to have sex, use a condom.  If you’re going to have oral sex, use a dental dam. Just be safe ladies.

peace,
e.

Ok it is really getting crazy out there.  By now I’m sure you’re heard about Deputy Paul Schene beating the daylights out of 15 year old Malika Calhoun because she was being “lippy.” It’s graphic.

And then I was lurking over at PostBougie, and see that 2 NYPD officers are charged with raping an intoxicated woman.  What in the world is going on with the police? These are the people who are supposed to protect us and they are beating and raping us?  I’m just beyond frustrated.  Jeez, what a young woman to do in the 09? Thoughts ladies?

peace,
e.

Quiana‘s going to run book club this month (hip hip).  We are reading Steve Harvey’s book, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment.  We’ll discuss the book in two weeks.  You can buy it here.

SASSY Women out there, I just wanted to remind you all to love yourselves first.  This is partly inspired by all the drama around Rihanna taking Chris Brown back, watching this on Friday, and Steve Harvey’s new book (Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment – I’ve got to get my hands on that), I wanted to offer a friendly reminder to love yourself.  It’s a rough world out there and you need to remember to care of yourself and your needs first.

peace,
e.

Can you believe it’s been one full year since I started SASSY?

SASSY was created for for smart, ambitious, sexy, sophisticated and young women.  Over the year, we’ve celebrated the election of our first Black President, dealt with relationship drama, discussed what it means to be Black in America (twice), talked about ways to excel in our careers,  reviewed books, restaurants and movies, dished on fashion, strategized ways to get (and keep) our finances together, ways to survive grad school and had girl talk. Be on the lookout for more from Team Love and Ask Bari.  Get ready for more financial and health advice.  We’ve also got some give-aways in the near future.

Stay connected to us on facebook (we’ve got a new fan page), myspace and twitter.  Rock some SASSY gear (on sale now).

I wanted to thank Allison, Althema, Anairo, Bari, Christian Law, K fresh, La Donna, Lady D, Leah, Manny Fresh, Megan, Mia, Mo, Moira, Quiana, Roxanne, Sara, Stacey and Tara for coming on this journey with me.  Thank you for reading!

peace,
e.

And quite frankly, that’s kind of scarey. According to their new terms of use, facebook has license to do whatever it wants with whatever you upload (even if you delete it).  Don’t believe me, check out this article on the consumerist.  Here’s another article on these new terms.  So basically, be careful with what you put on the net because it looks like facebook is keeping it all and trying to find a way to profit from it.  Think you’re off the hook because you’re not on facebook?  Think again.  If you have friends who are on facebook (and I’m sure you do), if they post any pictures of your or any of your work, facebook owns that too.  To that, I give facebook two thumbs down.

peace,
e.

h/t – Perez Hilton (crazy I know)

UPDATE: Facebook totally pulled an about-face this morning. Your stuff is safe(r).

Yes, you read that right.  We’ve got SASSY gear (lots of SASSY gear – tee shirts, tote bags, hoodies, hats, undies and pins).  Go check our shop and buy something!