Wellness & Mindset-it's an inside job

Sorting & Storing Kids Stuff

May 28, 2026 by Heather Filed Under: Collections, Kids & Family Organizing, Organize, Productivity, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources, Wellness & Mindset Leave a Comment

Create a system for sorting & storing kids’ stuff this summer. From schoolwork to your children’s school-year memories, use these simple tips.

Summer is perfect for getting a handle on all those sentimental school objects and creating a system for sorting & storing kids’ stuff, from papers and artwork to old school projects. Perhaps you have a designated spot where you dump things throughout the year? Before you sit down to sort through the sentimental savings, it helps to understand how sentimental you are. Do you want to keep everything, be detached, or be somewhere in between?

Being aware of what we learned from our upbringing will be a great guide for your decision-making process moving forward!

Reflect on your childhood and how your parents handled your memorabilia. Sometimes, the way our family “taught” us shapes how we respond; other times, we want to do the exact opposite. Did your parents keep everything and then hand it over to you after college or when you moved out? Or did they dump it in the trash? What did you do with your sentimental treasures from childhood? Do you still have those things? When was the last time you looked through your memory albums, boxes, etc.? Be aware that what you do today will affect your kids’ behavior tomorrow, and they may already have strong opinions about what they want to keep or discard (which might differ from yours).

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Healthy Cleaning Tips: Greener ways to Clean

March 29, 2026 by Heather Filed Under: Health, Inspiration & Education, Organize, Tips & Resources, Uncategorized 1 Comment

The change of seasons is the perfect time to declutter, organize your closets, and create a clean and fresh start in your home. The following healthy cleaning tips are meant to help you understand what you’re putting into your homes and bodies.

There are so many cleaners and cleaning products on the market, but do you really know what’s in them?

With the recent focus on sanitizing since COVID, it’s important to understand how to make cleaning choices that will keep our homes and bodies healthy.

How healthy are the cleaners that you use?

Non-toxic, more healthy cleaning should be part of your everyday home cleaning routine – and especially if you have small children. The benefits of these healhty greener cleaners include; fewer toxins and chemicals being absorbed into the skin, less damaging to the environment and better air quality in your home and they are less expensive in some cases (DIY cleansers!). If you want to better understand the toxic chemicals to look out for in your cleaners, check out my previous wellness post on the subject.

GreenWorks Multi-Purpose Cleanser is a great cleanser to use for virtually any room in your house. It can be used for a variety of different tasks and is safe for your home and your children. Not only is it made with 97% organic materials, but it also works on those stubborn stains or hard to handle messes.

Method is another cleaner that has the environmental seal of approval. The method product line comes in a variety of different cleaners including hand soap, dish soap, laundry detergent, bathroom cleaners, all-purpose cleaners and even a body wash for men and women! They come in a variety of scents and uses all biodegradable materials. They’ve thought of everything!

Mrs. Myers is a wholesome midwest cleaning brand started by Mrs. Thema A. Meyer. She created Mrs. Meyers because of her penchant for keeping things neat and tidy and the scents were inspired by her garden. Her line of cleaning products which range from hand soap, body soap, laundry detergent and air fresheners are all made with natural scents like mint, basil, and lavender. If you want your home smelling like a bouquet of roses this Spring, you better get cleaning with Mrs. Meyers!

For those who want to know EVERYTHING that is in their cleaners, DIY is the way to go! Many homemade cleaners are made with ingredients you probably already have around your home. Vinegar, essential oils, baking soda, olive oil, and water are the key players in most of your homemade cleaners.

Bathroom

Vinegar is a key ingredient to getting rid of bathroom dirt and grime! For tough toilet stains, add ½ baking soda along with a few drops of essential oils into your toilet bowl when you’re ready to tackle the toilet add ¼ cup of vinegar and scrub away the mess as it works its magic.

A spritz of pure vinegar can be used in your shower and sink on soap scum and hard water residue. Add it to a spray bottle and spritz it on, letting the vinegar soak for 20-30 minutes before wiping off. If that doesn’t work, add baking soda to the mix and try again in 15 minutes.

Kitchen

Most kitchen surfaces can also be treated with vinegar, but if your surfaces are made from marble, granite or stone stay away from the high acidity and use vodka or rubbing alcohol instead- which both have anti-viral properties. Mixing equal parts water and vinegar/alcahol will make a very effective multi-purpose cleaner that can be used on most surfaces including countertops, floors, and walls. Add your favorite essential oils to increase the anti-viral (think tea tree, thyme, lavendar or citrus sents) properties and make your home smell wonderful!

More healthy cleaning tips

To tackle greasy frying pans just add salt – and give it a good scrub! If you need to clean a cast iron pan add olive oil and a teaspoon of course salt and rinse well with water. The best way to sanitize surfaces is with a lemon, simply cut it in half and run it over the surface you would like to disinfect.

Having the right ingredients is only half of the job, having the right cleaning tool is the other half. Sponges that have a harder edge are good for scrubbing stubborn pots and pans. Rags or microfibre clothes are excellent for disinfecting surfaces and the magic eraser is great for removing soap scum, scuff marks and any other war wounds your child puts into it!

Laundry

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The laundry room is where most people run into trouble with the homemade detergents because if you throw a cup of vinegar in with your clothes, they wouldn’t come out smelling very nice. Laundry detergent is a bit tougher to make, only in the sense that you have to add more ingredients. Combine bar soap (chopped and processed), baking soda, essential oils, vinegar and washing soda and you will have created a very effective and pleasant-smelling laundry detergent.

Instead of using dryer sheets that lose their scent after one use, try using laundry ‘scenters’ that will stay fresh for up to 30 loads of laundry, or more! Add your favorite herbs or loose tea to a sachet (one that has holes that the herbs can aerate is best). For more laundry organizing and cleaning tips, check out this post.

Floors

Every room in your house has one and floors can be tricky to keep clean. Anyone with hardwood floors can keep it simple by washing (or steam cleaning) with warm water, just be sure not to over soak your mop when washing the floors.

Click to view image and make recipe larger

If your floors still aren’t looking as clean as they should, add a bit of dish soap in to bring out the dirt and let those floors shine.

Laminate floors are very delicate and steam mops shouldn’t be used on them. When cleaning a laminate floor clean with a light mop and spray the cleaner onto the mop, not directly onto the floor. Using a mixture of three parts water, one part vinegar and a squirt of dish soap should do the trick.

Most other floors are easy enough to care for and don’t require any special precautions. A typical all-purpose floor cleaner is a cup of water, ½ cup of vinegar and a tbsp of vegetable oil to bring out the floors natural glow.

There are hundreds of different homemade cleaner recipes out there, all have different purposes and work differently for all homeowners and their grime, but the one thing we can all agree on is that they are made from natural ingredients and have a positive impact on your home and the environment. If you have any recipes you’d like to share, please leave them in the comments below!

Sanity Saving Holiday Organizing Tips

December 15, 2025 by Heather Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Organize, Wellness & Mindset 2 Comments

Each of these holiday organizing tips will help you get through the season with a bit more sanity and joy!

After receiving new holiday gifts, donate used items you no longer need to charity (One in, One out Rule).
Ditch the photo holiday cards…generally, they end up in the trash (recycled, hopefully), especially since people can see you more frequently via social media. How about a digital holiday card? I compromised and began sending recycled content postcards a few years ago.
As you put out holiday decor, donate old, unloved ornaments and outdated decorations. Many thrift shops set up significant holiday display areas! Pick up new or vintage items from thrift stores as needed.
Begin memento boxes for your kid’s holiday traditions, and keep these separate so they can be given to your older kids when they leave home.
Clean out your attic, garage, or basement holiday storage space before you return your decorations (vacuum, wipe down shelves, etc.).
Have a Grab-A-Gift bag or bin with an assortment of “anyone” appropriate gifts (for last-minute hostess or holiday gift exchange items).
Clean out your spices as you cook and bake. Toss the old items and make a note of anything that needs to be replaced (include the purchase date at the bottom).
Spruce up your kitchen whenever you have 10-30 mins. By tackling small areas or appliances (fridge, stove, toaster, sink, etc.) a little at a time. You’ll feel healthier & I bet you’ll eat healthier! See this kitchen organizing post.
Get your gift & wrap organized. Use a gift tracking list & invest in or DIY a great wrapping station—see Pinterest for ideas
Gift heirloom, vintage, or unused items from your home. Why wait until you’re gone? Shop what you have and share your beloved collections with those you love.

How to care for yourself with purpose this season.

Don’t overbook your holiday calendar. If you’ve been invited to a million parties and events, occasionally, say no to a few and leave yourself some evenings at home, either alone or with your family, and relax!
Schedule a date with your honey or yourself for a bit of holiday pampering. Dinner and a movie, a bubble bath and champagne, your pick, but keep it easy and fun.
Plan for the next year! Get a planner or calendar to map out significant events such as vacations and business travel, important family occasions, and to set personal and professional goals for at least the first 1-2 quarters of the year.
Create a vision board to envision and imagine what you want to create!
Pick a Word of the Year-AKA-#WOTY
Subscribe to my mailing list for more frequent tips and inspiration!
Keep your body moving, dance, hit the gym, take a walk…whatever your thing is, this is a great way to get out of your head and feel your way through the season.

My final and most important Holiday Organizing Tips: take time to celebrate what is truly sacred to you.

Is there a tradition, time with family, or a treat that you honor yourself with?

Whatever it is, this is the season to celebrate the sacred!

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Fast and Slow Organizing

September 18, 2025 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Productivity, Systems & Techniques, Wellness & Mindset Leave a Comment

What does fast and slow organizing mean, and how can our approach improve our outcome?

This post has its roots in the systems thinking I became curious about when I read the book Thinking Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman. It’s a great book, but somewhat technical. There are numerous excellent summaries available, a TED talk, and interviews with the author, Daniel, a Psychologist and Nobel Prize winner in economics.

First, I’ll provide a summary to serve as a starting point for exploring Fast and Slow Organizing. To preface this summary, I will share in the author’s own words that the origin of this book “…presents my current understanding of judgement and decision making…” (Kahneman, pg. 8). This is important to keep in mind because a lot of organizing involves decision-making. Understanding how we make decisions will give us greater insight into how successfully we get and stay organized.

System 1 Thinking=Fast Thinking

The premise behind this kind of thinking is that it’s automatic, intuitive, and effortless. It relies on skills or knowledge built over long periods of time. This allows us to make quick judgments based on skills, instincts, or easy-to-recognize patterns.

System 2 Thinking=Slow Thinking

The premise behind this kind of thinking is that it is deliberate, analytical, and requires effort. It kicks in when problems are complex, require logic, reasoning, or close calculations.

Many decision-making processes and everyday tasks are governed by fast thinking. If we had to slow way down to think about how to make a cup of coffee, tie our shoes, or think about changing car lanes, we would not be very productive; it could even be dangerous. If we know (or think we know) something about a subject, chances are that System 1 thinking will kick in quickly and give us an answer.

System 2 thinking is what we rely on when we are learning new skills, making significant and complex decisions, or are faced with anything that makes us vulnerable. It can be delightful to revel in this kind of ‘beginner’s mindset,’ where being curious and exploring topics from a range of perspectives is welcome.

From Thinking to Organizing-Fast and Slow

Since we use both systems of thinking for our day-to-day activities, it’s clear that we probably default to one system or the other based on our understanding of how to organize. Have you ever just gone about doing a task on autopilot, not really thinking about it, and doing it the way you have always done it? We all have.

When it comes to organizing, we all fall into these thinking habits. We continue to do the same thing, even though it no longer works for us. This is when fast thinking can become a hindrance or trap. We become so reliant on it that we don’t stop to question the impulsive but perhaps not efficient method behind our process.

Until we slow down and allow our slow-thinking system to kick in, we can become stuck in the system one rut.

Curiosity or frustration might be equal motivators that lead us to slow down and look at things more deliberately. This is one of the leading factors I see when I begin to work with someone who has become stuck with organizing. The process I employ involves helping people become more curious by asking questions and slowing down the ‘automatic’ processes so we can find the best solution, which might not be the quick solution.

Slow organizing might feel like a massive waste of time, a big headache, and a never-ending task, but I promise that is not the case. Slowing down and being deliberate allows us to identify what aspects of our organizing systems are already working effectively. With these, we can continue to employ our quick thinking responses. But it’s the things that are not working that involve more cognitive awareness so that we can navigate our path to a better solution.

The great news is that over time, and with practice, even solutions that are new to us will become routine, and eventually our fast thinking system one mind can take them over too.

It can be helpful for all of us to step back and pay attention to where we are relying on each system in our day-to-day lives. Sometimes, specific systems and solutions may require a bit of evaluation and tuning to run more efficiently.

The Benefits of Personality Testing

July 23, 2025 by Heather Filed Under: Creative process, Health, Inspiration & Education, Organize, Planning & Goals, Productivity, Tips & Resources, Wellness & Mindset 1 Comment

We are all born unique and with different personalities. Are you curious to know more about your personality and how it can affect your day-to-day life? If so, the benefits of Personality testing include giving insight into how we think, handle stress, how we process information and make decisions.

Personality tests are very popular, with many employers requesting a candidate take a personality assessment during the job application process. If you were to Google ‘Personality Test’ you would be flooded with many claiming to be the best. I will showcase a few here that I believe are the most accurate and helpful when we want to learn more about ourselves. No personality test is the same, just as no person is the same.

Myers Briggs

The most popular and well-known Personality Test is Myers Briggs. It gives you insight into many different personality traits and identifies the 16 most distinctive personality types. It is a 15-20 minute assessment that asks you about the way that you think, how you process information, how you make decisions, how extroverted (or introverted) you are, and how you perceive information.

Once you have taken the assessment and receive your result you will also be given information on your personality type and how understandings your type can benefit you in your daily life. You can further research your personality type to help you connect you with like-minded individuals or understand those with strikingly different personalities.

Enneagram

You may have heard people toss around their enneagram ‘type’ as a number, similar to how people talk about their MB above as a series of letters. The test for your enneagram personality type is

done by a simple multiple choice quiz (which some might describe as pseudoscientific), which takes about 10 minutes.

There are nine types of enneagram personalities. Like many other personality typing systems, there are overlaps between types, and you will see/recognize characteristics of yourself in each. The premise behind the enneagram is that you are ‘born’ with a specific dominant personality type, which predisposes you to learning styles and relationship orientations. This premise helps us understand how to apply aspects of the enneagram to both learning and interpersonal skills. There is much more to say and learn about this personality type tool, and the institute (linked above), as well as many books, can help you understand how to use this as a tool to refine your understanding of your personality and how you interact with others with different personality types.

Predictive Index – PI Learning Indicator

The Predictive Index, better known as the PI Learning Indicator is the go-to personality test for employers. It gives a fairly accurate insight into your personality and working style focusing on four main elements; dominance, extraversion, patience, and formality.

The PI takes anywhere from 5-25 minutes depending on how thorough you are with the test. The results might look a bit confusing at first but there are always professionals for you to speak with and a detailed breakdown on their website.

While the PI is very accurate, it is also important to take it every 6 months to a year, depending on the personal changes you are experiencing in your life. Everyone’s personality changes throughout their lifetime and it is good to recognize these changes and adapt to them.

Kolbe

Kolbe offers a variety of different tests for their users including a youth test, finance test, and a relationship test. It is unique as they don’t measure your intelligence or your personality but how you naturally do things in your life.

Kolbe focuses on your motive, goals and what drives you to achieve your goals. It is a great test to help you recognize what motivates you, and how to achieve your goals.

This test is also very beneficial for business owner’s or managers who have lost motivation, direction or are looking for ways to keep their success going. The test dives into your creative instincts and showcases how best to utilize your personality.

This tests take 20 minutes and it gives you an in-depth look at your personality and driving factors to your success. Kolbe offers a lot of information and a clear breakdown of their methods and results on their website.

Different Personalities

There are often misconceptions among people that take personality tests. On the surface, it may seem that if we don’t have the correct personality for a job, relationship or friendship that it will never work. On the contrary, personality tests can be taken to learn more about yourself, your strengths and challenges and how to better relate to others in work and personal life. They should never be considered negative. After all, it’s better to know best to have these helpful insights into future challenges before you begin new relationships or ventures!

There are many criteria that personality tests don’t measure specifically including; work ethic, kindness, interests, and ability to learning style (more on this soon!).

I recommend that everyone take at least one personality test in their lifetime. The Benefits of Personality Testing include not only knowing more about your personality but to learning how you can use it to create success in your life. It takes so little time, less time than a favorite TV show, yet can supply both new and reinforced information about yourself. Please share what personality tests you have tried over in our Facebook group.