A few things that almost always goes into my settings.py

gistfile1.pyw

from os.path import abspath, dirname, join as pjoin
PROJ_ROOT = abspath(dirname(__file__))

DEFAULT_EMAIL_FROM = 'abc@edf.gh'
ORDER_EMAIL_TO = 'abc@edf.gh'

MEDIA_ROOT = pjoin(PROJ_ROOT, 'media')
MEDIA_URL = '/media/'
ADMIN_MEDIA_PREFIX = '/media/admin/'
TEMPLATE_DIRS = (
    pjoin(PROJ_ROOT, 'templates'),
)

try:
    from local_settings import *
except ImportError:
    pass