Heather K Powers

Possibilities-WOTY 2021

December 26, 2021 by Heather Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Planning & Goals Leave a Comment

Possibility
I love the visual map below of possibility. Possibility feels like an opening, it is an outlook, and I’m able to release my grip on expectations. There is no failure, there is only what is possible! The future is certainly filled with LOTS of possibilities. Not every single thing will come to be, but as I navigate through what is happening, I have the choice to pursue or release whatever possibilities come across my path.

Possibilities are limitless.
Possibilities are an invitation.
Possibilities are the seed of the future.

So many possibilities lie ahead as I lean into my final semester of graduate school and as we emerge from two years of living in the shadow of pandemic impossibilities. I hope to fully embrace what is new, undiscovered, around the corner, and unexpected ahead.

Reflecting over the past DECADE of this practice, here are some of my previous words and I love how they connect and flow into one another.

2011: CLARITY
2012: SOAR
2013: RADIANT
2014: PLAY
2015: CHOICE
2016: HARMONY
2017: ACCEPTANCE
2018: FEARLESS
2019: INTENTION
2020: INTEGRATION
2021: POSSIBILITY

I would love to hear your thoughts on the word of the year process. Hit reply and let me know your word (s)?

7 Simple Steps to Tidy Your Kitchen

December 2, 2021 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Organizing Projects, Systems & Techniques

Start the holidays with a Tidy & Clean Kitchen!

This time of year is great to deep clean the kitchen and fridge. Especially after summer and fall trips to the farmers market and before all your holiday cooking, baking, and entertaining. This year, it’s especially important to keep our homes and kitchens cleaner than ever! Any time is a good time to take a deep dive to tidy your kitchen. I recommend it at least a couple of times a year.

7 easy steps to your most Tidy Kitchen

Re-arrange as needed for things that might not be working well in their current spots-I just moved appliance I don’t need further out of the way and made baking items more accessible over the weekend.
Purge– including out of date food (toss), things you don’t like (give away) things like plastic cups, containers-missing lids (recycle), and cozies that somehow made their way home from summer festivities. No thank you Freebies!
Tidy and sort food and other items by category. Add containers to corral and labels to identify items as needed. Post purge is the best time to do this!

7 easy steps to your most Clean Kitchen

Give everything a sanitizing wipe down including the cabinets, switch plates, counters-moving everything out from the walls, and wiping the backsplash.
Clean out appliances such as the microwave, oven, toaster and make note of anything broken or missing that I might want to add to a wish list.Take a quick look through the pantry and make a list of staple items needed for upcoming baking and cooking (sugar, flour, chocolate chips, spices, herbs, etc), this way you can be spontaneous when the urge to get creative in the kitchen strikes!

Finally, the Fridge! Remove and wipe everything including contents, the shelves, and drawers. Toss expired food (see gide below). If you can, remove “parts”, clean and scrub the crevices with an old toothbrush and baking soda. Repeat the process for the freezer, defrosting according to your manufacturer instructions if needed. If you have a water filter built in, it’s a great time to check and replace that too.

Break each step down over a weekend or a whole week (7 steps-7 days!) depending on the time you have. As you pull things out, use up leftovers (especially in the freezer) to make room for all the great food you’ll prepare and eat over the holidays.

If you ever question keeping or tossing, HERE is a great list of food expiration. Learn how to read these labels for safety and to prevent waste. Common sense should prevail. With a “toss it” mentality there are probably lots of things you-should-never-have-bought. These things can be donated if you hate to waste but know you won’t use it. Use your judgment, and follow your intuition…and FYI-Sugar never expires!

Happy pre-holiday cleaning!

Save

There SHOULD BE no judgment about organizing

November 4, 2021 by Heather Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Organize, Tips & Resources, Wellness & Mindset Leave a Comment

There should be no judgment about organizing. Unfortunately, there are a lot of very distinct ideas and stigmas about what it means to be organized. When I tell people I’m an organizer it prompts many conversation and comments like, “I’m totally organized, I love to organize, it’s in my nature” or “I NEED YOU”, or “really, you like peoples closets?” Yes, to all of that. Then there are those who shy away from saying anything. Their quiet hesitance leads me to think they feel less than organized or feel others might judge them (or maybe the subject just BORES them:).

It makes me sad when people feel ashamed about being or not being organized; there should be no judgment about organizing.

A space like the one above might make us feel ashamed but sometimes, this happens and it’s okay!

When I start working with someone new, I asess their organizing style and needs through both conversations and a tour of their spaces. An asessment includes alot of questions about how we learn our organizing habits and how we feel about being organized (or not). I never want someone to feel they are being judged for how they organize their life!

Wouldn’t you hate someone coming into your home and telling you that how you’re doing something is WRONG?

I work with many clients who are chronically disorganized. It’s a real thing, and it’s not a judgment. There’s a non-profit dedicated to better understand how different people think about organizing! ICD does a great job of dispelling myths about disorganization through both education and research.

How did you learn to organize? Did someone teach you and if so, how (through words or actions)? Most of the time, we pick up habits around organzing and they are neither intentional or necessarily the best way for us to organize. That’s exactly why we need to go easy on ourselves, and others when it comes to how we organize.

There is no RIGHT or WRONG, there are just differences! There should be no judgment. I feel nothing but compassion for anyone who wants to learn new organizing skills. This can be through a combination of hands-on, one-on-one training with an organizer, reading books, watching video’s etc., it’s all good!

Your home or business doesn’t have to look like a magazine to be functionally organized for you! We all get messy, clothes pile up, kitchen counters get cluttered (my kitchen is tiny and this can’t be avoided) and tables and surfaces are rarely bare.

Being messy isn’t the same as being disorganized.

If you know where things go and are able to maintain, than organization isn’t too far away.

The example above is better. It migh not be perfect but it’s functional with room to breath, space to find things & work. It’s all about how you feel in the space.

Once you have successful systems in place, it’s not too difficult to keep things in order. If you’re looking for help in creating systems because what your doing is a good fit, or you don’t think you ever learned how to be organized… please send me an email and lets talk. Even if we don’t work together, you will learn something helpful and I promise, there will be no judgment about organizing, I promise.

Save

The Sacred Space of Home

October 6, 2021 by Heather Filed Under: Art & Design, Home, Inspiration & Education, Organize, Wellness & Mindset 2 Comments

This is the time of year that I find myself craving the sacred space of home. How about you? Even while the weather can not make up it’s mind which seasion it wants to be, my attention begins to turn inward. I’m happy for rainy cooler weather when I can stay inside, wrapped up with a blanket and a book, knitting and a movie or cooking in my kitchen.

Lets dive into cultivate the practice of creating the sacred space of home.

Each of us needs to define what makes a place home. I invite you to explore all of your senses.

How does home feel? Cool, warm, dry, soft, cozy, clear, cluttered, bohemian, calm, energetic, loving, nurturing etc…

What does home look like? Is it colorful, minimalist, bright and sunny, eclectic, sentimental?

What are the smells of home? Fresh, like baking or cooking, do you use aromatherapy, candles, what scents do you love?

What do you hear? Children playing, birds singing, trains, pets talking, traffic, sirens, the school nearby, filled with music, stop and notice.

What do you taste? Does home mean homecooked meals and nurturing food or are you happy to have coffee and grab something elsewhere.

Each of our senses invite us to explore what makes home meaningful for us.

Through the journey of our senses we come to notice the objects, the light, the people, the smells, the memories that we create and evoke when we cultivate home as a sacred space.

When our homes are overly cluttered, overflowing with so much stimulation that we begin to feel crowded out and confused, we need to re-connect with how we want our homes to feel. I invite you to take some time before the holiday season to get clear about what defines the sacred space of home for you. Spend some time clearing out or at least packing away what no longer feels sacred. Life can become so busy and overwhelmed with obligations, we frequently turn away or ignore things that no longer serve our lives.

The popular books The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and Spark Joy by Marie Kondo have become quite popular over the last several years. I personally think it is because Marie hit on this idea of sacred space and sacred objects in our home. She invites us to hold and gather our objects to determine if they “Spark Joy”. At the root of what she is cultivating is the process of reconnecting with our life as sacred!

The things we invite into our home and our lives should express who we truly want to be but so often we settle for less.

How sad is that? Having spent so much time in our homes over the past year and a half, have you created a sacred space for yourself and family? Have you cleared out clutter and celebrated the sacred through objects that have meaning? Special mementos and objects carry energy and I certainly want to be cultivating a practice of surrounding myself with what feels sacred, meaningful, has the least impact on our planet…things that are well designed and function beautifully!

What does Creating Sacred Space of Home mean for you?

Take some time to envision and intentionally edit out and create this space for yourself and your family to nurture you in everything you do.

I’m here to support you if your feeling overwhelmed, having a hard time envisioning your home as a sacred space or just need a fresh perspective and helping hands. If so, please let me know how I can help. We all deserve to feel supported and nurtured in our homes.

Essential Documents for Everyone

August 19, 2021 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Paper management, Productivity, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources 2 Comments

Being prepared for the unexpected means having essential documents (and copies of them) in order and easy to find. Some people call these their Vital Documents. Whatever you call them they are really important! I recently learned that 98% of all South Carolina residents have no will! If that’s your situation and you don’t know where to start, let me know and I can guide you in the right direction!

Absolutely Essential Documents-The Short List

[Read more…]

« Previous Page
1
…
5
6
7
8
9
…
65
Next Page »