Creatively Organized Spaces for Organizing & clutter clearing tips for simplified living

Indoor Gardening for a Healthy Home

October 21, 2022 by Heather Filed Under: Home, Inspiration & Education, Wellness & Mindset

I love to garden for the joy that it brings me and to maintain my well-being. As we move towards winter, my craving for the garden also moves indoors. This week, the temps dropped into the 30’s at night, signaling TIME to bring my houseplants indoors. It snuck up on us here this year and I have a feeling it will warm back up. My plants might just get a little outdoor day visit here and there over the coming weeks.

In today’s post, I’m sharing simple tips for indoor gardening for a healthy home. Fresh air, lush greenery, colorful flowers, and sensory interaction (check out the sound of plants!) are a few reasons I love to garden. All of this can also be done indoors.

Many people don’t think they have a green thumb but with a little practice, anyone can grow at least one or two plants indoors. There is no mistaking how popular indoor gardening is. This is especially true over the last couple of years while our homes have become our everything!

Each fall, I spend a bit of time tending to my indoor garden, before bringing plants indoors. Some of my favorite ‘house’ plants are a 20-year-old philodendron, orchids, ZZ palms, pass-along ‘Christmas’ cactus, and an assortment of terrarium plants. If you have ever been to tropical climates, you might have recognized some of your favorite houseplants growing as outdoor tropicals. This trend began in the victorian era when lush tropicals filled parlors and conservatories. Some of us still can’t get enough!

Seasonal plant tips

To freshen up indoor plants seasonally (Fall & Spring), prune, fertilize, repot or replace leggy or unwell plants. For your terrariums, do the same as above but start by cleaning terrarium glass (with H2O only on the inside). The best time to move plants in/out is when temperatures indoors and out are about the same. Be sure all chance of frost has passed-or as it dips below the 50s in the fall.

I hope these indoor gardening tips will encourage you to try (or expand) what you grow indoors. It can take a little practice to find and maintain indoor plants in the ‘right spots’ but keep trying. My friends over a The Botanary do a great job of sharing the right plants for the right spots and ‘paring plants with people!

Good reasons to garden indoors

Plants are natural air filters! They clean toxins like formaldehyde, benzene, xylene, toluene, and trichloroethylene from the air. Certain plants do a great job with certain chemicals. About 1 plant per 100 sq’ has been proven to significantly purify the air.
Express personal style through plants and indoor gardening to add beauty and round out your interiors.
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 inside where you can appreciate it more often.

What grows successfully inside?

Start by observing your surrounding, especially the quality of light and the location of airflow/vents. Also, be honest about your lifestyle and how much time you want to spend with your plant babies. These are the two most important factors for plant selection. Determine which direction your house and windows face. Have this information available when you go to select plants. You are sure to be more successful by selecting the correct plant for your conditions.

Factors in plant selection

light/exposure (N, S, E, or W)
humidity (run a humidifier if needed)
maintenance time (watering, pruning, fertilizing, re-potting, etc),
design style and colors in your home
pets, check out the ASPCA list of pet-safe plants here

With this, you will be able to make the best selections for your space. Do your research before you head out to buy anything, check out a variety of reputable local garden centers or floral shops, and talk to the staff. They can usually make excellent suggestions if you know the direction your windows face and the size and space and will tell you the common and botanical names, and maintenance requirements.

The maidenhair fern above will dry out quickly and make you feel like a failure if you can’t give it daily attention. Alternately, the ZZ Palm or Snake plant below both require low light and maintenance to thrive.

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

Sansevieria or snake plant image via Gardenista

Plant maintenance and troubleshooting

The biggest mistake people make with houseplants is overwatering (I worked in the tropical greenhouse of a local garden center). Generally speaking, let plants dry out completely before watering again deeply (some exceptions, like ferns). Potted plants are more quickly depleted of nutrients, so re-pot every 2 years using an appropriate potting mix with a slow-release fertilizer in it or sprinkle a little slow-release once or twice a year (see package for the rate of use). Otherwise, fertilize according to a regular schedule when you water, prune out dead leaves and sections and keep an eye out for pests. If you spot something moving, take a good picture and look up pests online or take the plant/photo back to your local garden center for help.

There literally is an indoor plant for just about every situation. Ask questions and do your homework before you head out shopping so you can make the best choice for yourself. Your indoor plants can bring you joy, a sense of calm and beauty, and cleaner indoor air.

Do you have an indoor garden? If so, drop a comment about what your favorite or oldest plants are, or who you got them from. 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.

Piles of Paper and no system in sight?

January 27, 2022 by Heather Filed Under: Organize, Organizing Projects, Paper management, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources, Uncategorized Leave a Comment

Does paperwork pile around you at home and office? Piles of Paper might mean unopened mail, and papers can lead to cluttered horizontal surfaces. There are many reasons for paperwork to pile up. Getting to the cause can help you create a functional solution. Conquoring these piles can be overwhelming or totally rewarding! In this post, I share an easy first step to Purge the Paper Piles.

Piles of Paper might feel beyond our control but they don’t have to

Many organizers, including Marie Kondo, recommend gathering everything by category. In this case papers. Instead, we are going to start differently. Before you gather all your paper piles its helpful to consider and identify how you got to into this situation. I don’t have those answers for you. I can share what I’ve learned from my working observations with clients, friends and family.

A “Trigger Event” such as an injury, death, move or birth put you off course. This event caused you to go totally off track and loose your system or maintenance of it.
Maybe you had a system started, but that system wasn’t a good fit and you were unable to maintain it. This is often the case when people feel they “should do” something a certain way or learned a system on the job, from a family member or friend. This can be incredibly frustrating and lead to feelings of shame.
Or maybe you never learned how to create or maintain a paperwork system, it’s certainly not taught in school or even at home (in most cases)!

We all have our breaking points. There are more urgent, fun and important things than dealing with a paper piles that seem so unimportant. We push them aside and make a lot of excuses for not getting around to them. Day after day, week after week and sometimes for years. When you get to this point, it’s easy to see how overwhelm creeps in and we don’t where to begin.

When we fall behind we tend to ignore what is present because we are worried about what is past.

Instead of going back through everything in the past, start where you are. In my experience if you lost every single paper in your house, there is very little that can’t be fairly easily replaced. Just ask almost any millennial, they live with very few papers. Most of what we need to keep can be replaced with a few phone calls and emails.

Before gathering everything in your home/office, sit down and open your most current paper pile of mail, receipts etc. Consider what mail and papers you have coming in. What categories do they fit in? Here are some general and sub categories.

Household-Utilities, improvements, reciepts, insurance etc
Medical-You & your family members
Vehicles-loans, DMV/MVA info, insurance
Financial-Banking, credit cards, investments, taxes
Professional-continuing education, employment, resume etc

Make a list of YOUR categories. Don’t think about what you had in the past or what you “should have,” start simple. As you sort, consider going paperless with utilities, insurance, bank statements or anything you can easily access online. Consolodate sub categories into one general category. For example, one file for all utilities (to keep track of account numbers etc). Simplifying your incoming mail and filing will help create a system that’s easier to maintain.

Simple systems work best. Over-organized systems are cumbersome to maintain.

Before you purg past paperwork, create a “staging” area and gather your supplies:

A file box or two depending on how much you have. I prefer any that hold hanging folders and still close, like these. Bankers boxes will work, just don’t use the hanging files
File folders-new or used, different colors or one color. Don’t buy them unless you need to.
Hanging folders are optional but they do make the job easier (recycled is fine)
Sticky notes for temporarily labeling categories
Pens or pencils (pencils for starting, sharpies or labels for permanent labels)
Labels or a Label maker

Now pick up and begin to sort through a pile to see how it fits into your new simple system. Depending on how long this first step took, you can estimate how much time you will need to sort and purge all your Paper Piles! If you don’t have a good system for your mail when it comes in the house, check out this post on Creating a Practical Command Center. Looking for a stylish, yet practical file cabinet or container? Check out my inspiring round up here.

*Some people may prefer a flat filing system like the drawers below or binders, but for the purpose of purging I will focus on file boxes of some sort.

Paperless organizing; Going digital

January 10, 2022 by Heather Filed Under: Digital Organizing, Organize, Paper management, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources, Uncategorized 1 Comment

Are you digital with some, or all of your “paperwork”? Get started with paperless organizing; going digital might help you cut down on paper clutter. For example, some people try to be totally digital and do almost everything on their computer, phone etc. Others are totally uncomfortable and will never go paperless. Most of us fall somewhere in between.

Ready to go digital?

You might still be a little tentative, that’s okay. Dip your toes in the water and acclimate as you go.

8 Questions to assess if your ready to go paperless (less paper)

Answer these questions to learn how comfortable you are with technology. Keep track of how many of the following you answer yes to.

I read books on my kindle or another electronic reader.
More of my shopping is done online than in stores.
I access account like my banks, utilities and others I use frequently.
Paperwork is piling up everywhere!
My calendar is digital (on my phone, computer or both).
I check my emails regularly (more than once a day).
I’m on social media like Facebook, Twitter etc.
I read blogs or other media online to stay informed and connected.

Digital Novice or Paperless Pro? Where do you fall in the Tech Savvy Spectrum?

If you answered yes to 3-5 of these then you are definitely ready to go digital, at least partially!

The most frequent concern I hear is the issue of security. Your personal information could be stolen via many online sources. Assessing your adversity to risk will help you determine which accounts you are more comfortable with going digital. Large financial institutions and municipal utility companies have comprehensive systems in place to protect your identity, but nothing is fullproof! The great thing about going digital is that if you do encounter a problem with your account security, you will be able to respond to it more quickly. Which’s often the best defense!

Where to start? Based on your answers to the questions above, pick one or two areas to add to your “digital” workspace.

Getting started with digital organizing:

Go to the business website, create an online account and save your username and password in a secure location.
Go through a “tutorial” or just click around until you are familiar with the basic layout of the pages. Look for “tabs” or hyperlinks that will help you navigate the different menus and tools.
Find your profile and settings. Often they are near one another and settings sometimes look like a little gear wheel. Check your personal information in your profile to be sure it’s all correct.
“Go paperless”-this is usually under settings and you can choose all or nothing depending on the company.
Check your email and “verify” your account (sometimes you must do this before you can even log in and navigate around).
Check your account regularly and download statements or pay bills online. In some cases you can set up a bank account to do this, in other cases (financial institutions) you can link utilities and other bills to be paid to your checking or savings accounts.

Site specific resources are usually available for setting up varius online accounts, such as tutorials or videos. In general, most banks, financial firms, utilities and phone companies have probably sent you “go paperless” inserts in your snail mail. If you have one of those handy, that’s a great place to start! This simple guide to paperless organizing will help you to determine if your ready to go digital. Try setting up a digital account or two to reduce the paper clutter in your home or office. Once you’ve transformed your paper clutter to digital, keep you digital files organized with my helpful guide to creating a digital file structure.

Healthy Cleaning Tips: Greener ways to Clean

January 6, 2022 by Heather Filed Under: Health, Inspiration & Education, Organize, Tips & Resources, Uncategorized 1 Comment

The beginning of a new year is the perfect time to de-clutter, organize your closets and create a clean and fresh start in our homes. The following healthy cleaning tips are meant to help you understand what your 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

Click to view image and recipie larger

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 recipie 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!

2022-HOPE for what is possible

January 3, 2022 by Heather Filed Under: Creative process, Inspiration & Education, Planning & Goals, Productivity, Uncategorized, Wellness & Mindset Leave a Comment

The beginning of a new year fills me with HOPE for what is possible.

My word for 2021 was Possibility. In 2021, possibility felt like an opening, and an invitation to release my grip on expectations. There is no failure, there is only what is possible!

Not everything I envisioned came to be, but I was conscious that I had and have a 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.

Reflecting on the past DECADE of my practice of selecting a WOTY, here are some of my previous words. 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

2022: HOPE

Hope is one of the three ethical Christian virtues, along with faith and charity. Although this is not what drew me to the word, my choice for hope is an expansion of the possibilities of 2021. Hope is related to faith, and trust. It may for some, require those qualities, yet it is an expectation.

With hope, I envision something better-I give myself permission to dream again, to invite, to anticipate, to DESIRE.

Word Cloud Created with Thinkmap: https://www.visualthesaurus.com/

Hope is a Promise and an Invitation, an Outlook, and a State of Mind.

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

Fuzzy Goals-Smarter than SMART?

December 9, 2021 by Heather Filed Under: Art & Design, Home, Inspiration & Education, Organize, Wellness & Mindset Leave a Comment

Recently, I learned about Fuzzy Goals!

I have been so accustomed to SMART Goals I had never heard of this contrasting term.

But, I liked the sound of it enough to do a little research. I think of Fuzzy goals as a spectrum.

Fuzzy Goals: A different strategy for goal setting

At one end there is a quantifiable goal (such as a SMART Goal) and at the other end, there is something vague you might wish for but have no idea how to achieve. At this end of the spectrum, there might be an emotional or intuitive feeling that motivates you to act in a certain way and gives you a sense of purpose.

They land somewhere on the spectrum I describe above and you can work through them using the following tips.
They align with your sense of passion or purpose, giving you an emotionally compelling feeling that motivates you.

Fuzzy Goals consist of several elements

They are sensory, they elicit a visual or imaginary reaction that gives you something concrete to recreate.

You can enact these sensory components by drawing, mapping, or collaging your ideas, dictating them into a voice recorder, singing them, writing them in poetry, whatever creative sensory expression that helps you get your ideas flowing.

They can change due to their nature of being fuzzy- they may shapeshift or morph from what your original vision was into something slightly different, and that’s okay!

Think of fuzzy goals as progress over perfection. Perhaps what is perfect is not what you originally envisioned and that the outcome might be even better than what you could imagine.

This might be just the right thing to explore if you’re struggling with goals, now or in the future.

I love the creative, flexible, forgiving nature of fuzzy goals. Sometimes you just can’t force clarity and there is no sense in trying to, but that does not mean you have to remain stuck or paralyzed.

Please let me know what you think of using Fuzzy goals for planning your future!

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!

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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.

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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

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