How to Fix Your Life in the New Year

Jan. 1, 2007 — -- If you're dying for a fresh start in 2007, take a cue from Wall Street Journal editor Wendy Bound. Her simple solutions to common problems will have you on the road to a streamlined, easier year.

Ditch your old brick-sized cell phone with all your phone numbers. Most companies let customers back up and update contact information on the carrier's server for a few dollars a month. That way you can update the information on the Web, instead of punching the numbers into your phone. However, you can't take your changes with you if you change carriers.

Also, you can buy devices for about $40 that will back up the information. Plug them into the charger port and transfer the information between two phones.

For people who don't have the time or talent to be a "do-it-yourselfer," call a handyman. It may sound like old-fashioned advice, but a number of franchises around the country are reliable. They will pull up carpet, hang doors and take furniture to the dump. Some will even do small-scale remodeling projects.

House Doctors Handyman Service (www.housedoctors.com), Handyman Connection (www.handymanconnection.com), and HomeFIXology (www.homefixology.com) are a few of the franchises that are growing around the country. Check for branches in your area on their Web sites. The average job is $400 to $500.

Almost everyone received loads of new tech gadgets for the holidays. To get rid of your old laptops and TVs, your first stop should be the Web site for the Electronic Industries Alliance (www.eia.org.) They have information from all 50 states about what local recycling programs will tale and when they will take it.

Best Buy and Circuit City can haul old TV sets away when they deliver new ones.

Dell and Apple will take old versions of their computer products. If you're buying a new Dell, they will take your old machine, no matter what the brand. They will even pay postage.