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Indoor Gardening for a Healthy Home

by Filed Under: Home, Inspiration & Education, Wellness & Mindset

I absolutely love to garden and it brings me so much joy. As we go into the coldest seasons my craving for the garden moves Indoors. I garden for maintaining my well-being and that includes indoor plants. Today I’m specifically sharing tips for how indoor gardening can bring a sense of well-being into your home. Fresh air, lush greenery, beautiful flowers, and hands-on interaction with the texture and touch of the plants and soil are just some of why I love to garden and all of this can be done indoors or out.

I spend a bit of time tending towards my indoor garden each fall, bringing plants that have been outdoor for the summer in, pruning, fertilizing, and replacing any plants that need it. I “freshen up” my terrarium collection, cleaning the glass and replacing leggy or unwell plants so they can bring me joy all winter long, not to mention fresh air! In the spring, I do another freshen up, fertilizing, pruning, and preparing plants to spend the summer outdoors. When temperatures are about the same indoor and out and all chance of frost has passed (or as you get close to frost in the fall) is the perfect time to move plants in or out.

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Many people don’t “think” they have a green thumb or that they can’t keep a houseplant alive. But there is no mistaking how popular indoor gardening has become again. Have you seen terrariums like the one above? I hope these tips will encourage you to try (or expand) your indoor garden which is especially nice to do after the holiday season is passed and before we open our homes again in the spring. It takes a little practice to find and maintain indoor plants in the ‘right spots’ but I hope you will keep trying.  I’ve got a big leaf philodendron that’s over 20 years old! Here are some of the reasons to garden indoors.

  • Plants are natural air filters!  They literally clean toxins like formaldehyde, benzene, xylene, toluene, and trichloroethylene (among other toxins) from the air. Certain plants do a great job with certain chemicals but about 1 plant per 100 sq’ has been proven to significantly purify the air.
  • Expressing personal style through plants and indoor gardening can add so much beauty to really round out your interior rooms.
  • The act of caring for and nurturing a plant can be a meditative and calming practice.
  • You are bringing a piece of nature’s beauty (and in some cases bounty) inside where you can appreciate it more often.

What can you grow successfully inside? Start by observing your surroundings and lifestyle habits since these are the two most important factors for plant selection. Determine which direction your house and windows face and have this information available when you go to select plants. Your success will be much enhanced by selecting the correct plant for your conditions.

Some factors to consider are light/exposure (N, S, E, or W windows?), humidity (you can always run a humidifier if needed), the time required for maintenance needs (watering, pruning, fertilizing, re-potting, etc), design style and colors in your home. Armed with this info you will be able to make the best selections for your space. If you have pets, check out the ASPCA list of pet-safe plants here. I find that my kitties love and find irresistible anything resembling grass, so pointed narrow leaves are especially attractive to them!

Do your research before you head out to buy anything, check out a variety of reputable local garden centers or floral shops (rather than big box shops), and talk to the people who work there. They can usually make excellent suggestions if you know the direction your windows face and the size and space you want to add plants too.

If you travel often and are super busy and have minimal light you will be making many different choices than someone who can spend a bit of time each day (5-10 mins) misting, watering, etc.

Indoor Gardening for Wellbeing

The little maidenhair fern above will dry out quickly and probably end up making you feel like a failure if you can’t give it daily attention.  On the other hand, the ZZ Palm or Snake plant below both require low light and very little moisture to thrive. I love the website Gardenista for great images (those below), inspiration, and practical advice on the best houseplants for different settings (low light/low/maintenance, non-poisonous, you name it!).

The ZZ Palm above is great for low light: image via James Saper

Sansevieria or snake plant image via Gardenista

The biggest mistake people make with houseplants is overwatering (I worked in the tropical greenhouse of a local garden center). Let plants dry out completely before watering again deeply (there are some exceptions, like ferns). Potted plants are more quickly depleted of nutrients, so I generally re-pot every 2 years and the potting mix I use has a slow-release fertilizer in it or sprinkle a little slow-release once or twice a year (see package for the rate of use).

There literally is an indoor plant for just about every situation.  Again though taking the specific factors of your situation into account will lead you to much more success.  It’s also important to buy plants from reputable sources that are knowledgeable about both the plants they stock and helping you decide what’s best for your situation.  A good source will help you select things given the information you provide and should tell you the proper name (both common and botanical), maintenance requirements, and any other information you might need.  Ask questions and do a little homework before you head out shopping so you can make the best choice for yourself.  Hopefully, the plants that you live with will bring you joy, a sense of calm and beauty, and even a bit of cleaner air to breathe.

Do you have an indoor garden?  Are you trying something new or have you had some complete failures (we all have!)?  I’d love to hear about your indoor gardening experiences.

Homing

by Filed Under: Art, Handmade, Home, Inspiration & Education, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Homing-an act of resistance in a fast-paced world.

What is home?

It a place where we can set our own pace.

What is home?

Homebodies make time and space to create a home through their senses.

What is home?

Home is the objects we carry with us.

What is home?

Ritual creates home-home is a relationship between bodies, spaces, and objects.

A collaborative video project between Heather K Powers & Sarah Kelly, created January 2020, Asheville NC during the MA Critical Craft Residency.

Spring Clean your Bath, Laundry and Pantry first!

by Filed Under: Home, Organize, Organizing Projects

Small but high traffic utility areas and can make a big impact on your daily life.

Why Spring Clean the Bath, Laundry and Pantry first?

These areas can be great place to start with when your doing your annual deep cleaning (Spring/Fall). These areas take very little time (a couple hours each) and can be a low or zero cost space to organize and clean when using existing containers and supplies.

Spring Clean the Bath, Laundry and Pantry

In the bathroom, minimize what was on the counter…have you noticed the trend of builders to no longer install medicine cabinets, towel rods, rings and toilet paper holders? It’s not only annoying, it adds to the bathroom clutter by forcing us to put things on the counter! Instead of keeping everything out, go through and kept out the only items used daily and contained the rest. Less frequently used items can be moved to drawer, cabinets or a bathroom closet if available. Toss expired and old toiletries and makeup, if your not sure what to keep, this post has a more in depth guide to your Toiletry Toss!Spring Clean the Bath, Laundry and Pantry

Again, take everything in your pantry (or pantry cupboards) out, sort and toss expired foods. Donate food you don’t want to someone else in need. Think about how you use the space before you pu In the pantry, put items that are less frequently used towards the deep inside corners and “adult only” stuff on the top shelves. Use containers including boxes and baskets (nothing fancy) to gather kids snacks and lunch making items and beverages that are “mom approved” within easy reach for the kids on lower shelves. We moved most items off the floor but kept more utility items like paper towels, bulk drinks and pet food there due to space constraints.  Laundry room

In the laundry room, we created zones on separate shelves to separate laundry, cleaning and other household supplies and made sure to keep hazardous items up high out of kids reach. If you don’t already have categories in your laundry area, pull everything out, sort, purge and give the space a good deep clean before you return items to their new zones, using baskets labels and easy to access storage.

Bathrooms, laundry, and pantries are frequently used and therefore need constant maintenance. Schedule regular maintenance that’s easy to remember like 2x/yr in spring and fall and get rid of expired food, toiletries, and medications…for your health and overall wellness!

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Learn to see like an organizer…

by Filed Under: Home, Inspiration & Education, Organize, Planning & Goals, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources Leave a Comment

How can you learn to see like an organizer? When an organizer a designer, space planner, realtor and others walk into a space they are trained to “see the possibilities”. By using this process yourself you can also begin to see your space with a fresh set of eyes. I co-presented on this topic at a local home and design show and along with a kitchen designer and another organizer, we shared how we have learned to cultivate the practice of seeing with a fresh set of eyes! It’s something that I hear over and over, “I just need a fresh set of eyes” and it’s something we can all cultivate!

see like an organizer

So often we put things where we put them and forget about them. Sometimes we literally forget where we put things, sometimes we put things in certain spots out of habit and sometimes we just glaze over and stop seeing what’s right in front of us.

[bctt tweet=”Practice cultivating the art of seeing by shaking things up!” username=”hkpowerstudio”]

  • We get accustomed to seeing or rather, not seeing what surrounds us daily.
  • Be willing to try something different, be open to other peoples suggestions & ideas.
  • Seeing things with fresh eyes is a creative process, look for inspiring ideas (magazines, websites, experts).
  • The skill of seeing things differently can be cultivated.

Pausing and asking ourselves to take a fully conscious moment in our space to learn to cultivate the art of seeing can begin by asking ourselves a few questions.

How do you feel when you walk into a space? 

  • What feelings are evoked when you walk into the space? Something pleasant, or stressful? How do you want the space to feel?
  • What do you do in the space and how do you use it?
  • What doesn’t need to be here?
  • How would you use the space differently?

Rethink how you use your space. Does a space feel uncomfortable or off somehow? Spend some time there and determine why you are unable or uncomfortable in the space. If you had a blank slate, how could you use the space differently? Sometimes it’s a simple matter of re-arranging the space, other times, replacing furniture with something more functional might be a simple solution. Now, close your eyes & Imagine the space transformed!

Learning to see like an organizer might mean de-cluttering and imagining a home for everything that is used in the space, or maybe it means completely re-imagining how the spaces are used. Practice envisioning your space transformed into exactly what you need and imagine how it feels.

Common pitfalls that can prevent us from achieving our newly envisioned organizing goals can include, lack of labels, lack of lighting, buying containers before the stuff has been purged and sorted and overfilling containers. Leave yourself a bit of extra space in each bin, overstuffed spaces are hard to maintain!

seeing like an organizer

Organize by Category

Transform awkwardly defined spaces by determining specific uses first. Think about how you want to use the spaces. Determining your needs and assigning the space a specific category for use can lead you to unexpected surprising and successful solutions! Below, the solution started by defining a need for easy access snack storage!

seeing like an organizer

Make the Most of Unused and small spaces

  • Go Vertical-Hang it! Look up in the Rafters, or store narrow items on the wall
  • Consider Inside/backs of cabinets & doors
  • Awkward spaces like under the stairs, unused closets or niches can create beautiful and functional storage

Store things where you can see them

Hang things like jewelry, accessories, small tools, hardware where you will see them and use them daily!

Create simple customized solutions

seeing like an organizer

Tricky spaces sometimes need clever solutions. If you know what you need to store in a certain spot and can’t find an off the shelf solution, work with a handyman or carpenter to build something to your specifications. Custom doesn’t always mean expensive or complex! Above, a custom closet created just for overflow paper goods and ironing supplies-closer to the clothes, away from the laundry area)

Finally, Make it Easy + Make it Fun!

  • Aim for organized…not perfect
  • Repeat what works
  • No right or wrong way
  • Your space, your style
  • Have a friend help

If you have been able to cultivate the art of seeing like an organizer but have lost your momentum once you begin the process, head over to this post to check out how to maintain the momentum of your organizing project! Do you have examples of how you have transformed a space by re-organizing or design? I’d love you to join us and share them over in our Facebook group!

Kid-friendly kitchen organizing

by Filed Under: Home, Kids & Family Organizing, Organize, Systems & Techniques

Our kitchens are becoming increasingly multi-functional so it makes sense to have some kid-friendly kitchen organizing system to manage multiple schedules and all of our busy lifestyles.

10 kid-friendly organizing tips to keep your kids and kitchen happy and healthy!

1. A Household Command Center might include the following items:

  • A weekly or monthly calendar
  • Menu’s, shopping lists
  • Meal planning tools
  • Coupons (these can also be kept in the car)
  • A drawer or cabinet with a few basic office supplies (scissors, tape, envelopes, stamps, pens & pencils)
  • A contacts list or
  • A “household management binder”, see my post here on what to include
  • An area to keep keys (hooks or a tray)
  • A white/blackboard or note pad jot down notes or ideas

2. Create a “perpetual” calendar and utilizing insides of cabinets or a Household Binder, especially if you do not have space or want to create a full command center. Include menu’s, shopping lists and household management info.

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Source: bhg.com via AHG on Pinterest

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Source: simplifiedbee.blogspot.com via HKpowerStudio on Pinterest

3. Use over the door accessory organizers. Here they are put to use holding snacks.

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Source: indulgy.com via Lois on Pinterest

4. Use low drawers, shelves and baskets for kid-friendly foods and lunch-meal making supplies. This will make it easier for your kids to help out in the kitchen with small tasks like putting things away. It also makes lower cabinets safe for kids to access for play and snacktime.

kid-friendly kitchen organizing

5. Label it! This includes shelves, drawers and containers so that everyone knows where things go. Picture labels can be a great solution for smaller children.

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 Source: google.com via Jen on Pinterest

Smart companies are starting to market to this need with low drawer refrigerators and “Kid-Zone” cabinet options!6. Keep cleaning products up high, especially if you have very little kids and keep only kid-safe items like clean rags, extra paper products, a stool, drying rack etc. under the sink (use kid proof cabinet locks too).kid-friendly kitchen organizing

7. Portion out snacks into small containers that are stored in a basket or bin in a kid accessible area so they can help themselves.

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Source: bhg.com via Ashley on Pinterest8. Corral small items into a mesh bags when it comes to cleaning (or baskets) to throw into the dishwasher so they don’t get lost!

9. Keep an island or open counter space where you can have your kids participate will surely keep them more interested in cooking and eating healthy.10. Incorporating kids artwork using chalkboard paint or another display area makes your kids feel they are a part of the household activities that probably center around the kitchen.

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Source: designismine.blogspot.com via Kimberly on Pinterest
Bonus! If your kids like to participate (or you want them to) be sure to have a safe step stool (10) that gives them access to counter space (or a stool they can sit at) and kid safe tools they will want to use!

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