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Makeover Monday::His & Hers Walk in Closet

by Filed Under: Closets, Home, Organize, Organizing Projects 1 Comment

This was a case of a beautifully designed closet that just wasn’t functioning so well.  Without calling in anyone to redesign the closet or purchasing anything new we made do with what they had and re-organized some things so that more of what was needed fit into the closet in a neat and tidy way.

Her Side (Before left: After right)

About 4 hours later (mostly working by myself on this project) I had this closet finished.  On her side I sorted tops, bottoms and long dresses and jackets by clothing type and color.  I re-located less used special occasion items to a second guest room closet, created drawers designated for specific items such as hats, jewelry, belts and lingerie.  This freed up space for the client to use other bedroom furniture drawers for items that should not be hung such as sweaters, other knits and casual/frequently used items.

His Side (Before left: After right)

On his side I sorted full suits by season putting the warmer season suits to the front since we are shifting towards summer (at least here in the south).  This client also has quite a collection of bow ties and suspenders which I hung on a multi section hangers (often used for scarves or pants).  Again I sorted shirts and pants/shorts by type and color leaving suspenders attached to several pairs of pants in this case.

We got rid of almost everything on the floor and many of the decorative boxes and items cluttering up the shelves.  We used the shelves for shoes (both in and out of boxes and drawer bins), bags, hats (on the top shelves) and photo albums.  She liked keeping these albums in the closet but if she needed more shelving space she could remove them to another area in the future.  The closet is a nice space to keep photo albums if you have the room and you can always pull out a few at a time to have on display in a more public room of the house.

Tip: Store items that are not needed often in the back of deep corner shelves in containers that are easily pulled out.  For example shoe; a shoe shining kit. Label the edge of shelves so you know what’s hiding in the back of each.

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Friday Fieldtrip::Springtime in the South

by Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Photography Leave a Comment

I have a lot going on behind the scenes and I’m not quite ready to share as I mentioned in a previous post BUT…I want to share some of what I’ve been doing!  I recently decided to apply to volunteer at Brookgreen Gardens and last Tuesday I was “interviewed” and “oriented” to become a part of that team.  I am so excited, as a Master Gardener in both Maryland and Georgia I’ve been itching to get my hands in the dirt here and begin to learn more about the coastal plants I’m not familiar with.  The Master Gardener program in SC is run through Clemson and I missed the cut off for the first class of the year so while I’m waiting and deciding if I want to continue as a Master Gardener here I opted to jump into the Brookgreen opportunity!  This place is one of my favorite public gardens, anywhere, ever!

Here is the daily display of the flowers in bloom.  This is not a comprehensive display but it represents alot of what’s blooming on any given day.  It’s the sneak peak of goodies to be seen and smelled.

This bottle tree is in the education center garden which includes edible crops such as rice, corn, medicinal herbs, greens and other seasonal crops.  I love the Southern tradition of bottle trees in the garden, they are said to catch evil spirits as they get caught the colorful bottles after being entranced.

Look at all these blooming beauties!  Azaleas, Delphinium, Larkspur, Poppies and many other springtime favorites were in bloom.  With the warm winter and spring we are having, the daffodils were almost done blooming but there were some incredible combinations of flowers not typically in bloom together.  March is typically a “dangerous” month in low country gardens that border marshy areas, snakes and alligators are coming out of hibernation and I was startled by one in an unexpected spot as I was trying to get some shots.  I’ll be learning a lot more about where they like to hang out and I’ll be using extreme caution!  I am typically a pretty fearless gardener but I have a healthy respect for these potentially deadly creatures.  Avoidance will be my main tactic, along with long pants, closed toe shoes and gloves when reaching into hidden areas.

I am thrilled to just be able to go soak in the beauty and contribute to sharing that with all the visitors who come there.  I’m sure you will be hearing and seeing more of my Brookgreen experience over the months to come.  If you ever get to Myrtle Beach or Charleston, it’s worth the little extra drive to visit this garden which also includes a comprehensive sculpture collection and a lot of plantation history.

Wednesday Words::Amazing Alliterations

by Filed Under: Inspiration & Education Leave a Comment

Alliterations are all over the web these days.  I guess with so much info being thrown at us we need to find ways to more easily remember what interest us.  A lot of the blogs I follow (and many others) use alliterations on certain days of the week to highlight specific themes such as “Makeover Monday”, “Texture Tuesday”, “Wednesday Words”, “Favorites Friday” or “Silent Saturday/Sunday” to name a few.

Sure, I use them too!  I love a good alliteration and I hadn’t realized it runs in my family.

February’s field trip to Florida found family fascinating and fun!

At every meal that my grandparents dine in the dining room in their community they create a short note for their server, written on their check.

Gregarious givers greet glorious “Grands” graciously grazing on grapes.

In response to the generous service given in the dining room the guest are encouraged to interact with their server and since my grandparents love to write so they make it fun by writing an alliterative note using the first name of their server to start it off.  One might go something a little like this:

Sandy’s smiling soul serves sweet sensations.

I found it a ton of fun and it’s had me thinking of more creative alliterations to use in my daily life.

This lovely poem by Robert Frost uses Alliteration.

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay.

Watch wonderful words as they wisely work wonders!

Do you write for fun using alliteration or other forms of word play? It’s fun, it’s everywhere and not just for kids so give it a try!

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Wednesday Wellness::Intentions for your Wealth

by Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Wellness & Mindset Leave a Comment

I’ve been following along with Danielle LaPort’s blog for a couple years now and I love how she gets to the meat of a topic with poetic and direct wording.  Recently she has begun a weekly series called The Burning Question.  A recent question really caught my attention:

what’s your purpose for money?


I’ve set my intentions in so many areas of my life and I often set my intentions for money and wealth as I sit down to balance my checkbook, pay bills etc.  Her question and some of the responses posted really shifted my awareness to my own intentions around money.  Without consciously realizing it I have many intentions surrounding my wealth and perception of wealth and money.   Not all of them have been positive but right here and now I’m shifting my intentions around my personal wealth! 

With My $$ I will…

  • Support local sustainable food production
  • Purchase art and hand crafted products made with loving hands
  • Broaden my awareness and education (through books I read, coaching series, therapy, workshops, classes etc)
  • Travel to new places to experience new cultures, meet new people and see the beauty of the world
  • Volunteer and donate to others less fortunate or causes that I love and feel passionate about
  • Own a beautiful comfortable home with a pool, garden and an art studio with a view of the water
  • Spoil my friends and family with my generosity
  • Care for many pets and animals (including beekeeping, chickens, cats, dogs and possibly a sheep or goat someday?)
  • Live in comfort and security knowing I never have to worry about the future
  • Collaborate with other creative souls by cultivating creative, sustainable design and organizing solutions!
  • Create beauty…
  • Share the love!

What are your intentions around wealth and money?  How do your conscious or unconscious thoughts steer your financial future?

I invite you to make a conscious shift to define your wealth by setting your intentions around the money that flows in and out of your life.

Home office remodel makeover

by Filed Under: Organize, Organizing Projects, Systems & Techniques, Tips & Resources Leave a Comment

This client recently began working from a home office and although the design of the room and built in desk are beautiful there were some issues with the functionality. The clients punch list included one part design and remodel and one part organization and efficiency.  At our first meeting I took an assessment that included the following: [Read more…]

Wednesday Wellness::Granting yourself permission

by Filed Under: Inspiration & Education Leave a Comment

Do you really give yourself permission to do, be, feel who you are?  As I’ve been traversing the path of the Mondo Beyondo Big Dreams course I wrote myself the following permission slips…personal get out of jail free cards.  It’s liberating and maybe you would like to try it to?

I give myself permission to make mistakes.
I give myself permission to take it slow, take my time.
I give myself permission to be compassionate towards myself so I can do the same for others.
I give myself permission to accept my faults and be imperfect.
I give myself permission to be an explorer and try new things especially if I’m afraid.
I give myself permission to be sad and grieve.
I give myself permission to be self confident.
I give myself permission to be happy and silly and fun!
I give myself permission to love and be loved.
I give myself permission to listen to my intuition.
I give myself permission to follow my dreams even if they are not always clear.

“The gift of honor unwraps the gift of permission and together these two establish a place for you to stand in confidence in regards to the future unfolding before you.”- Andrea Scher and Jen Lemen (Mondo Beyondo)

Organizing a Painting Studio

by Filed Under: In the Studio, Inspiration & Education, Organizing Projects 1 Comment

It’s always a dream job to get to help with Organizing a Painting Studio. I was excited to begin working with this artist and be able to help get this beautiful new home studio space set up!

The artist was not yet using the studio space so the project began by sorting items into categories for use and designating spaces and systems for organizing and using the space and materials. I also helped with furniture placement, to make the space both comfortable and functional when in use and for relaxing and finding Inspiration. After all, when an artist isn’t working in their studio, they should still LOVE to be in their space, so creating a relaxing and inviting environment is very important to the process!

[Read more…]

Making room for Dreams!

by Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Photography 1 Comment

Wow, January went by fast!   Instead of setting a bunch of goals and resolutions for myself I decided to take a different approach to preparing myself for the year to come.  A big reason for our move to SC is to live the life we have DREAMED of living!  So, I’ve spent the better part of the month digging deeper, visioning, exploring the possibilities and really allowing myself to dream of what my life can be if I get out of my own way!

I love what Kahlil Gibran writes about dreams in The Garden of the Prophet; “You grow in sleep, and live your fuller life in your dreaming.”

I am exercising my ability to open to my dreams is by taking the online Mondo Beyondo Dream Big in the New Year course.  So far we are about half way through and the daily exercises have invited me to explore my hidden dreams.  What I’ve come to realize is that sometime after graduation from college I kind of forgot how to dream!   This may sound crazy but when I left school I had dreams of becoming a well known designer, designing my own line of products (or license designs) and traveling to exciting and inspiring locations.  Part of this dream came true but I also let insecurity creep in and listened to the naysayers until I eventually buried my own dreams in the daily grind.  It’s taken some coaxing but I’m slowly un burying those dreams, bringing them back to the surface, inviting the possibility of new dreams into my life and casting off the ones that I’ve decided I no longer need to hold onto.

Creating a vision board is one powerful way I’m expressing what I dream for my life.  In the past I’ve done vision boards with images but this time I decided to stick with words, which were easier to find and I added my own where I could not find them in magazines etc.  Words are very powerful and now I’ve got this vision board in a place where I can be reminded every day what I’m attracting into my life.

I am learning that allowing myself to dream involves faith and casting aside my worries.  I took this literally and wrote each worry on a shell and cast them into the ocean.  Now, each time a worry automatically creeps in and threatens those tender sprout’s of my dreams I remember that I’m no longer going to feed my worries, they are gone, out of my hands and cast to the sea.

As I’ve been exploring the possibilities of my dreams I’ve met some fantastic people including Business Coach, Mary Anna Lewis.  During a Dreams and Visions strategy session with her I wrote out “my perfect day” which was a truly powerful exercise!  I invite you go give it a try.  You can use any format you like, I used a letter as if I was writing to a dear friend who I hadn’t spoken to in awhile, telling them all about my life in general and explaining in more detail about how I spend a typical day.  I was asked to share this letter with the other participants that day and voicing it out loud gave it even more power!  Eveyone in that room said they could see me living it! 

Texture Tuesday-Kim Klassen “Confidence” texture (one of several layers)

Allowing yourself to really dream can be a scary proposition for some people.  If you haven’t actively allowed yourself to dream for awhile it might take some practice to get back into that place where you can let go of your own limitations, worries and rules.  When was the last time you sat down and wrote down some dreams?  Isn’t it time you do so?  Don’t let your life go by without really living the life you’ve dreamed of!

Unplug for wellness

by Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Wellness & Mindset 1 Comment

This post was inspired by an interview I heard yesterday on NPR. I can’t find a link to it but there’s been plenty of research about the science and befit of unplugging. Certain college professors are challenging their students to hand in their cell phones and not check email or social media for a week and even some news broadcasters have taken the challenge (for news assignments or while on vacation). All these devices are meant to make our lives easier, not to make us slaves to them. Here are a few of the benefits of the practice, on a daily, weekly or monthly (just do it sometime!) basis. Some ideas to help Unplug for wellness…

Unplug for wellness

  • Give your brain a rest.
  • Give your eyes a rest.
  • Extra time, and who couldn’t use a bit of that!
  • More productivity (less continuous distractions).
  • More relaxed (De-stress).
  • Better focus.
  • My personal favorite~MORE CREATIVITY~ideas begin to flow more freely!

I do not personally have a smart phone (in 2012 no but now, yes!).  I joke with friends and family that I have a stupid phone but secretly I’m glad to be able to have an excuse not to check social media even more frequently. There is a recent trend (2017) for phone manufactures making older models that don’t have as many “connections” (think flip phones and blackberries). It’s bad enough that society has now made it acceptable for individuals to expect to be able to reach one another instantly.

I have a pet peve; when I’m hanging out with friends or family and they instantly stop having a conversation with the people they are with to respond to someone elses text or call!  I get that sometimes your expecting a call or need to respond to something urgent, if you do, please excuse yourself, otherwise chatting over the people you are with is pretty RUDE!  Relating to the people you are with should come first, respond to others who are not physically present at a more appropriate time if possible. We need to give people our attention and be fully present, if only for a portion of our time together. If you really need to answer or respond, politely excuse yourself and return to the conversation after you are done. This goes for business situations as well as personal ones and if your company doesn’t have a policy of turning your ringers off in meetings maybe you should make it your personal policy and suggest it to co-workers. I’m not even going to mention laws about talking on the phone or texting while driving…Just. Don’t!  Okay, rant’s over…sorry!

I sometimes forget to my phone with me and there have been a few times that this mistake caused others quite a bit of worry which I am truly sorry for but just 10 years ago if someone left to run errands and it took longer than expected people didn’t rush to the worst case scenario just because they couldn’t reach them instantly.  We need to learn to trust one another’s boundaries and give people more space!

  • Here are some of the ways I personally practice being unplugged for my own wellness.
  • I try to go without news/media at least 3 days a week, that goes for radio, TV and internet.
  • I try to go without my computer (checking email and social media) at least one day a week.
  • I don’t use my phone every day for texts or calls. Some-days it can wait!  Just ask friends or family who might have tried to reach me:)
  • My cell phone is not in my bedroom at night, I have a separate battery powered (to minimize EMF’s) alarm clock.
  • No texting while driving and because I lived in a state that talking on the phone was illegal without a hands free device, I’ve adopted that habit to.

Do you unplug?  If so to what extreme, daily, weekly, part or totally unplugged?  If not, maybe you should give it a try for a day…you may love it!

Oouosji and the art of Living with Less

by Filed Under: Inspiration & Education, Photography 2 Comments

Today’s post was inspired by this article I read about Oouosji, the Japanese tradition of cleaning out for the new year. The article got me up out of my chair clearing out the holiday decor and giving the house a little spiffing up!

January is also the official Get Organized month (Go-Month) and Organizers, magazines and media across the nation are promoting getting more organized.  The new year is a perfect time to start fresh and getting organized ranks a top resolution for many people.   I always love getting a little more organization, especially after letting a few things go over the holidays.  Since most of our belongings are in storage I’ve turned my attention towards digital and electronic organizing, including unread emails and blog posts in my RSS reader.  Here are some of the ways I’m simplifying, getting things organized and trying to live with less.

  • Whittled the blogs I subscribe to down to those I really enjoy reading and those that didn’t focus on stuff-I love the eye candy but don’t need the additional temptation! (I didn’t keep track of how many I got rid of but this is my second round of clearing out in the past month).
  • Evaluated the twitter feeds I follow and reduced them by about 15%.
  • Went through my two email accounts (one for personal use the other for newsletters, stores, coupons etc…) to delete and unsubscribe (see Unroll.me) from anything that no longer interests me.  I usually do this a couple times a year at minimum.
  • Went through all my digital photo files and deleted unwanted images and duplicates.  At the same time I’m adding tags and ratings in Lightroom and backing it all up to an external drive. (This is an ongoing project since I have Thousands of photo’s)
  • Sorted through music to delete unwanted or duplicate songs while creating playlists and rankings.  (This is an ongoing project I will finished at the end of January 2012)

Among all those emails I was clearing out there was this great article over at Becoming Minimalist.

“Owning less is far more beneficial than organizing more.“-Joshua Becker

I got to thinking about how we are currently living with all our stuff is in storage (when I wrote this in 2012-for 8 months!).  I’ve found myself craving a few of my things over the past 6 weeks, which consists mostly of clothes I wish I hadn’t packed, cooking tools and craft supplies.  Everything else I can live with out for now.  I’m sure after living without most of our possessions for months we will be much less attached and more likely to purge when we unpack.  Remind me of this will you when I get to that point?! 2017 update, Purging is a regular (weekly) practice for me but I’m as attached to my stuff as the next person and certainly don’t consider myself a minimalist but I am always looking for ways to embrace living with less!

Living with Less

I came across an article about this guys who only owns 15 items! I wouldn’t consider myself a minimalist but I constantly work to embrace a less is more philosophy and lifestyle. I am glad to say that our Christmas holiday was not “stuff” centered (true for the past 5 years or so!) and I mostly give consumables and donations (love Heiffer Intl).  I took some advice from the Joshua Becker article and grabbed one of the boxes we had gifts shipped in and filled it with stuff to give away…the process of living with less is one we have to continually re-evaluate and participate in.

Now as I take regular walks on the beach, I try keep this in mind and rather than pick up each little beautiful treasure I take a photo of it and release it (most of the time:).

Stuff comes, stuff goes and the less you let come in the less you have to let go of!

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