A few years ago a friend called to tell me how grateful she was to me. She had been reading over past thank you notes and she thanked me for my ’sweet’ note. She shared with me that she had kept all the thank you notes she had received over the past 30 years and as she was going over them it brought back memories of her friends. I enjoyed our conversation even though I had no memory of the note I had sent her. I thought it rather strange to keep thank you notes. But then as I thought about it I decided to keep thank you notes that were sent to me. I put them in a note book and once in a blue moon I look back at them. I can’t remember doing most of the things people have thanked me for, but their note conjures up past friendships and gives me a good feeling. I love getting thank you notes; it shows consideration, appreciation and gratitude. We are all so busy in our lives we sometimes forget to be considerate and show gratitude. Sending thank you notes is one small way we can do this. Most of our mail each day is filled with advertisements and bills. A handwritten note or a letter immediately moves that correspondence to the top of the pile. When a note is written by hand it shows the other person that you cared enough to take the time to think of them and go to the work of sending them a note. Written notes are also permanent, which means they can be saved by the recipient and passed around to share with others. I have a friend who has even shared with me thank you notes my adult children have written to her. Not only does she feel good about being appreciated but I feel like I must have done something right. • The acceptable length of time for sending thank you cards for wedding gifts is within three months. • I am not sure this is acceptable etiquette but when my daughter got married she was working and going to University as was her husband. They were super busy so to help them get out their thank you cards we all three spent one Saturday together writing notes. He wrote to those who he knew and she wrote to those she knew. For those whom they didn’t know well I helped by writing some of the notes. I would chose a name and tell them who it was from, and what the gift was and then they would tell me what they wanted said. Within two to three weeks of their wedding all thank you notes had been sent out. They received many compliments on getting their notes out so quickly. This made the recipient feel good and they felt good too. (For one thing it didn’t weight on their conscious that they had to get the thank you notes done). • Once I received a note thanking me for going to their receptions that it meant a lot to them. I had dropped the gift off at the bride’s home a few days before the wedding as I was not going to go to the reception. I knew that was an insincere thank you. Okay, so how do we go about writing thank you notes? • The first thing is to have all the supplies needed, note cards, envelopes, stamps, pen (blue or black preferred), address of person note will be sent to. • Send thank you notes as quickly as possible. Within 72 hours is preferred, that way you don’t forget about sending one. They also seem more sincere when they are expressed promptly. 1. Start with Dear————– We all love to read our name in ink. 2. Express Your Gratitude and appreciation. Write in the present-perfect tense, which means to write as if whatever you say is happening at the moment. “Thank you for the beautiful sweater”. 3. Mention the gift’s usefulness. “It is just what I needed and it is so cold here I want to wear it every day”. If you don’t like it, don’t tell them that, there is always something that can be said positive. 4. If it is appropriate mention the past, allude to the future. 5. End with your regards, use whatever works for you: Love, Yours Truly, With love, As Always. Then sign your name and you’re done. Put it in the addressed stamped envelope, and mail it. Always send notes for: • Wedding gifts • Sympathy flowers • To the hostess after a party that was hosted in your honor • For bridal or baby shower gifts • Gifts received during a hospital stay • After being hosted as a houseguest for one or more nights • For gifts of congratulations Another kind of thank you note is the Job Interview Thank You Note The purpose of a job interview thank you note is to express appreciation to the interviewer for taking time out of their busy schedule to speak with you. These notes also serve the added benefit of keeping your name in front of the company as a candidate for the job. Jill Bremer, AICI,CIP of Bremer Communications says, “The impact of a handwritten thank you note is often overlooked in today’s fast paced “why write something when I can email it” world. A note written promptly and sincerely is an important ritual of etiquette that is much more effective and appreciated than a phone call or electronic message”. Never underestimate the power of a thank you. Kim Izzo, etiquette columnist, says, “It’s making the effort. People really appreciate getting mail that’s not a bill, for one thing, and just taking that extra bit of time to write a thank you note really means everything.” They are such a simple concept. A thank you note is an expression of appreciation for a thoughtful act, expression, or gift. The wording does not have to be perfect, an imperfect note with heartfelt sentiment is better than a perfect note that is never written or sent.
Marilyn Bohn’s Bio Marilyn is a creative organizer who has been organizing for over 20 years. She is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and is working towards becoming a Certified Professional Organizer. Professionally she has been organizing homes and offices for over two years. She holds a bachelors degree in Social Work. She has reared five daughters and currently lives in Utah.

Go to her website http://www.marilynbohn.com where you can find free organizing tips and interesting blogs and helpful articles on organizing.

About the Author
Marilyn is a creative organizer who has been organizing for over 20 years. She is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers.She holds a bachelors degree in Social Work. She has reared five daughters and currently lives in Utah. Go to her website http://www.marilynbohn.com where you can find free organizing tips and interesting blogs and helpful articles on organizing.