I know a lot of people are very into "spring cleaning," but winter is my time to spruce up inside my home. I don't think of myself as a hoarder, but I do find it difficult to make the time to go through all of the accumulating stuff when it is beautiful outside, and so it sits, waiting to be ruled upon. At last, the cold temperatures, not to mention our daughter's wedding next year, inspired me to call for a dumpster.

I made a new friend today under pretty unusual circumstances. It was the last thing in the world that I ever expected.

I recently surveyed my friends, business associates and long-time Bottom Line contributors asking them to share their favorite ways to save money. While I was looking for new ideas, nearly all of them were tips that we've already published over the years in our newsletter and I was ready to scrap the column.

I just received a wonderful -- and quite complimentary -- e-mail from Judith Fox, author of the new book I Still Do: Loving and Living with Alzheimer's, about an article that we ran with her in Bottom Line/Health. Being human, I must admit that it felt quite good to get that e-mail, so after responding to Judith, I immediately forwarded it to the newsletter's editor, Rebecca Shannonhouse, with the message to print it out and put it in her "Attagirl!" folder. Until today, Rebecca didn't have such a folder. I'm so sorry I never suggested it to her earlier, because I think everyone should have one. (Or "Attaboy," of course, for men.) I learned about this from a former boss. It's simply a folder where you collect nice things about yourself.

My father recently sent me an article from Commentary magazine entitled "Punctuality Improvement Program." I didn't take it in a bad way. He knows, and I know, that I am "time-challenged." In the end, this article was nothing but headline -- since it was actually the title of a short story rather than offering useful advice. But, believing that there was a message for me in this... I looked back into our archive for something we've done on this topic. Clearly, it's time (no pun intended) for me to refocus my efforts on timeliness.

I have a friend who has just been diagnosed with breast cancer and who recently went through a very difficult divorce. Despite all this, she hasn't been able to cry.I have a friend who has just been diagnosed with breast cancer and who recently went through a very difficult divorce. Despite all this, she hasn't been able to cry.

"Falling back" with the clocks, as we did this past weekend, always reminds me of a college friend who would not reset her watch until she came to a point later in the day when she really needed that extra hour. While the rest of us viewed it as simply an extra hour of sleep (and an excuse to stay up extra late), Susan saved that fall-back hour, protected it, relished it, and always put it to good and special use, be it to give herself a break from homework, an extra hour of cramming before a test, or the time to do final edits on a paper before handing it in.

A friend called last week to tell me that she couldn't go to work that day because she tripped over her cat and hurt her hip. She already knew to take Epsom salt baths to reduce inflammation and promote healing. I also told her about arnica -- my first-course remedy of choice for most muscle aches and pains.

don't usually make dramatic changes in my life, but after reading the cover article of the November 15, 2009 issue of Bottom Line/Personal"Don't Stand in Front of the Microwave: Radiation Dangers from Phones, Plasma TVs and Computers, Too!" -- I've done just that. Our houses have become electromagnetic hubs and it's affecting our health. So, as radical as it sounds, I've replaced the cordless phones in my house with old-fashioned corded ones... turn off my cell phone at night -- and have been sending more texts rather than making calls on my cell phone during the day... shopped for a new cell phone based on it's SAR rating (a measure of the radiation it gives off) rather than its bells and whistles... stopped standing in front of the microwave and make sure my kids are far away from it when it's on…and unplug our wireless modem when we're not using it. Whew!

I just got back from one of my most relaxing "vacations" ever. We merely went to visit friends, away four nights. What made this more relaxing than our typical family vacation?