Organizing Your Mind: Checking in on Resolutions

By now most people have failed in their New Year’s resolutions.   As we are nearing the half way point of the year (wow has it flown!) check in with your goals so that you can start the second half of the year off with a bang!

Were your resolutions the priorities in your life?  Have things changed and you need to focus on something different?

The more organized you are in your mind the more organized you will be in your physical environment. For example, if you make losing weight your number one priority, you will want to keep your kitchen organized and de-cluttered because you will quickly realize that a cluttered kitchen is not conducive to cooking; you can see why you would want to rely on take out and frozen foods instead of cooking healthy meals.

Here is to a great second half of the year!

Questions about Eco-Organizing? TONIGHT 6:00

I have been invited to talk on Laurel Nicolosi’s blog talk radio show about green organizing.  Call in if you  have questions!  More information here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/queen-of-wellness/2010/06/24/healing-through-organization–is-it-possible

Streamlining Your Beauty Routine

Being organized with your cosmetics and hair products can help you get out the door more quickly in the AM.  Here are some products that might help you get organized:

KangaRoomOver-the-Door Organizer (kangaroomstorage.com)

Store & Tote Beauty Organizer (qvc.com)

Axis 139 Expandable Cosmetic Draw Organizer (amazon.com)

Lips n Eyes Cosmetic Organizer (solutions.com)

If you would like to be green here are some suggestions to repurpose what you have around the house:

I use a cake stand to hold my everyday cosmetics in my downstairs bathroom.  It pretties up the bathroom and I have everything where I need it.

You can use a pretty pitcher to organized your hair brushes and combs or use an antique glass to hold cotton balls or q-tips. Use a mug to hold makeup brushes.

What other creative ideas do you have?

Feng Shui & How Clutter Affects You

When things are feeling a little out of whack for me, I look to feng shui to see how I can use the its energy to help make changes in my life.  While we can talk about the physical cost of clutter, Karen Kingston’s Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui lists several ways clutter affects you energetically:

• it can make you feel tired & lethargic
• it can keep you in the past
• it can congest your body
• it can adversely affect your body weight
• it can confuse you
• can affect they way people treat you
• can make you procrastinate
• can cause disharmony
• can make you feel ashamed
• can depress you
• can put your life on hold
• can create excess baggage
• can dull your sensitivity and enjoyment of life
• can cause extra cleaning
• can make you disorganized
• can be a health & fire hazard
• can create undesirable symbology
• can cost you financially
• can distract you from important things

If you feel out of sorts, consider dealing with your clutter first and foremost!

Clutter & Feng Shui

I first heard of Feng Shui while living in Los Angeles.  I had someone Feng Shui my apartment because it just didn’t “feel” right.  Maybe you have never heard of Feng Shui, but I bet you can “feel” the difference when you walk into a cluttered room and then into an organized room!

Feng Shui is the art of balancing and harmonizing the flow of natural energies in our surroundings to create beneficial effects in our lives.  Clearing clutter can be considered one of the most powerful transformative aspects of Feng Shui.  When clutter accumulates it represents energy stagnation.  Clutter begins as as a symptom of what is happening with your life and then becomes part of the problem because the more you have of it, the more you will attract.

Check out Karen Kingston’s Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui if you want to learn more.

How much is disorganization costing you?

1 hour lost daily due to disorganization = 5 hours lost per week = 260 hours lost per year.  How much is disorganization costing you?

Annual Income                                                                     Cost

Organizing Toilitries

Even though I am a planner, I am ready to roll in case some last minute come up. I keep all my toiletries packed and ready to throw in a suitcase. When I return from a trip I fill the empty bottles.   After I finish unpacking from my trip, I fill up.  Or use all those samples you have from hotels or the beauty counter.

Another great use for the samples is to donate  to a homeless or women’s shelter.

Or have a swap party with your girlfriends and part with all those half-empty bottles of shampoo, conditioner or other products that just weren’t quite right for you and find something you have always wanted to try!

Do not donate something that has become trash or unsanitary; if  it is in such bad shape you would not use it, do not donate!

Organizing for the Beach

I had a fantastic week last week at Emerald Isle.  I have never been before and it was great to see my family (they live in WV so I don’t get to see them all the time.)

With three children under 5, my sister in law asked me for some help in organizing what the kids would need for the beach.

I am a big fan of color coordinating for children. It makes it easier not only for the kids, but also the parents!  Get a big tote bag and coordinate towels, water bottles, toys.  The kids could only pack what fits in the tote.  We also reminded them that if they wanted to bring back seashells there would have to be room. It was easy to unpack and pack again.  Don’t forget sunscreen and sunglasses!

Here are some great eco-friendly options for the beach:

Recycled sailcloths bags:

http://www.bangalla.com/

Organic beach towels:

http://www.sustainablog.org/categories/bathroom/towels/beach-towels

Eco-bobble water bottle BPA recycle plastic:

www.containerstore.com

Zen Organizing

A lot of clients tell me they hate organizing; they would rather have a root canal. Even if you have a professional organizer come in you are still going to need to maintain that system and continue to declutter.  I have modified this from Elisha Goldstein’s The Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook.

Imagine you are doing this chore for the first time.  In your mind, you are recycling or getting rid of trash; look for the treasures instead.

Use your five sense and focus on one at a time.  Appreciate the texture of the clothes you are donating.

Consider it a neutral workout.  Incorporating mindfulness-based techniques into every day life can make you calmer and your brain more adaptive.

Don’t think of organization as punishment!  You are cultivating kindness towards yourself.

Summer Newsletter

Attached is my summer newsletter with lots of tips!

Starting next month the newsletter will be monthly!

Summer2010