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| Choose to do
the actions you do because they will improve the quality of
your life. |
People sure seem to be rushing and
hurrying these days. Next time you’re on the road, peek into the car
next to you and notice the harried driver. Can everyone be on their
way to an Emergency Room? And what about the trend to accumulate more,
often based on the belief that we don’t have enough? What is going
on with this overall sense of chaos, this need to rush, these feelings
of impending financial disaster?
Eliminate Chaos
Take a minute and review your life. What parts are going right?
Appreciate what you do have and what is working. Now, realistically,
look at those parts of your life that are in chaos. Are your actions
truly in line with your life goals? What could you do to minimize or
eliminate these actions? Many of the things people get involved with
are the result of what someone else wants or is interested in, though
not necessarily in line with their own goals.
The panic to have more has some funny side effects. People who had
a lot of “stuff” before are buying even more “stuff.” Within
the paradigm of chaotic enthusiasm, the folks who were somewhat
disorganized before are now even more disorganized than ever!
A simple solution to all of this is to decide now to eliminate
chaos from your life. Ask yourself: what are you doing with your life?
Is there too much movement going on? Remember your dreams and life
goals. Then, look at one week in your life. Does each action during
the week aim at positive success for either you or your partnership
with others? Are there some actions that you can lessen or eliminate
totally? Get rid of what doesn’t work in your life. Eliminate
something stressful! But don’t just live for the future – make
sure to take some time to enjoy yourself now!
Create Space
In many lives, there is no longer space to grow. When your life is
already full to the brim, new things don’t have room to come into
it. Make some room. What is in your life that is old? Many of us have
boxes of stuff from what we “used to be,” made up of what we used
to collect. Those boxes full of stuff just clog up our lives and our
current quality of life goes down. Some people love to display items
for visitors to view. But quite often they have so many things
displayed that their home is like a curio shop in which visitors are
overwhelmed. To create space and calmness, choose a few of each type
of item to display rather than lots of anything.
When people begin tripping over their stuff, they dream of moving
to a bigger house. But many people who move to larger houses, buy even
more stuff and the problem quickly returns. Most people’s houses are
just fine. It is not the house that needs to change, but the stuff
that needs handling. Once my clients begin to empty a room or area,
there is a huge feeling of relief as space becomes available again.
Additionally, there is a great sense of comfort in having completing
something.
Make Room for Completion
Many people have too many things in motion at the same time. It is our
nature as humans to want to complete things. Too often, however, we go
from partial action on one project to a partial action on another. Try
to schedule enough time on one project so that you can fully complete
that project. Make appointments with yourself to get it done. We need
to feel we completed something; even if it is a small task. Once you
complete something, make sure to acknowledge yourself!
For example, here are a few ideas on how you can both simplify and
complete projects in your home:
Laundry and clothes: Set up special containers for laundry
in various rooms. Create a schedule with specific responsibilities
within the family so that each person knows their role and what is
allowable and expected. Give all family members, even young children,
some role in the laundry process.
Food and groceries: As often as possible, pre-plan food for the
week to minimize shopping trips and putting items away. Have backups
on hand (soup, rice, frozen meals) for quick meals when needed.
Instigate an “our favorite meals” family list and have the
specific ingredients on hand in quantity for these meal choices.
Mail and getting bills paid: These needs require specific
locations and just a bit of organization. Make sure that all mail is
placed in one area. Pull out all critical mail and create a separate
pile for mail that you will review at your leisure. Put Bills to Pay
in a folder and set up a specific time and location for handling bill
paying.
Appreciate What You Have!
It is amazing to me how many people have everything they need and
more! All their basic needs are fulfilled and yet they are brainwashed
into believing this idea of “not having enough.” This only results
in chaos. Choose to do the actions you do because they will improve
the quality of your life, not just because they are things you can
do.
Linda Herr (The Mess
Arrester™) is available for productivity improvement, clutter
control, project completion, workshops and personal bookkeeping.
689-7744.
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Natural
Cleaning Methods for Everyone
by Lorrie Montgomery
Under
the ground, deep in the earth among the roots of the trees,
the little root-children were fast asleep all winter long.
When at last winter came to an end and the sun began to melt
the snow, Mother Earth came along with her candle to wake
them up again.
"Wake up, children" she called kindly. "Time
to get up now. You've slept long enough. Spring is coming
and there's work to be done."
The
Story Of The Root Children ~ Sibylle von Olfers
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With the coming of spring, many of us
feel energized. We enjoy more sunlight each day and feel a sense of
anticipation as the snow starts to (slowly) melt away. It’s time to
get some fresh air into our homes and clear away winter’s stale
odors! Unfortunately, if you use cleaning products most often sold in
stores, you may be bringing dangerous toxins into your home.
In Poisoning Our Children, author Nancy Sokol Green
writes that women who work at home have a 54% higher death rate from
cancer than women who work outside the home. This figure came from a
fifteen-year study, which concluded that the increased death rate was
due to daily exposure to ordinary household products. Some experts
report that 30% of all cancers are from exposure to toxic chemicals.
Any chemical that touches the skin or is inhaled can be absorbed into
the bloodstream and spread throughout the body. Dangerous cleaning
products release toxic vapors even when they are just sitting in your
cupboard, it’s called “out gassing.” Because many of our homes
are so energy efficient, they trap those gasses - and we breathe them
into our bodies.
So what can you do to protect your family? First, get rid of the
existing poisons in your home. From now on, only use products made
from natural, safe materials. Make sure the products you choose use
only renewable, biodegradable ingredients and are free of artificial
dyes and fragrances. There are many good choices available in the
“health food section” of the grocery store and, of course, at
natural food stores.
Even with natural cleaning products for sale, the most effective,
safe and inexpensive cleaners I have ever used are vinegar and baking
soda. I use baking soda to clean sinks, bathtubs, toilets, glass
baking pans, anything that is greasy or needs scrubbing. Vinegar
cleans windows and many surfaces. Vinegar mixed with baking soda is a
powerful, safe cleaner and will “bubble” things clean. These two
products can do it all and help to get rid of the clutter under your
sink - another step towards healthy spring cleaning!
Safe Alternatives to Toxic Household Products
From How to Make the World a Better Place by Jeffrey A.
Hollander (Morrow Publishers)
Air Freshener: Set out ½ cup vinegar in an open dish, or
open a window.
All-Purpose Cleaner: Use 1 cup vinegar and 1 cup baking soda in
2 quarts water.
Drain Cleaner: Pour 2 cups baking soda or salt down the drain;
follow with 2 cups vinegar. After ten minutes, pour 2 quarts boiling
water down the drain. This method will keep drains running clear and
free of odors.
Furniture Polish: Use 1 teaspoon lemon oil in 1 pint of mineral
oil.
Oven Cleaner: Mix equal amounts of baking soda and salt. Add
enough water to make a paste; scrub and rinse.
Spot Remover: Treating the stain immediately is the trick. Make
a paste out of laundry detergent for most stains. Use shampoo on a
grease stain. Use cool water so you don’t “set” the stain.
Silver Cleaner: Soak silver in 1 quart warm water containing 1
teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt, and a piece of aluminum foil.
Soak for ½ hour, rinse thoroughly and rub dry.
Window Cleaner: Mix equal amounts vinegar and water in a spray
bottle. Spray and wipe dry.
Lorrie Montgomery is a
volunteer for Healing Toby Network/Kid’s Clinic. For information
call 243-1420.
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Space
Clearing Tips
Christan
Hummel
|
Remember: energy flows where attention goes! |
While feng shui and space
clearing has become a multi-billion dollar industry, catering to the
likes of corporate CEO and
Hollywood
celebs, there are many simple things we can all do to clear the
energies of our home or office. It is always wise to pay attention
to the energies of where we live and work, and change that which no
longer serves us. Remember: by getting rid of the old, we make way
for the new.
Listed below are a few simple
space-clearing tips that anyone can use to clear out some of the old
energies of home or office. They are by no means comprehensive, yet
offer some quick and easy ways to align the energies of your
environment with your own intentions. By incorporating the following
6 C's of Space Clearing, you will be able to move out the old and
make way for the new in your personal environment:
1. Clutter: To our subconscious mind, clutter triggers images
of stagnation, stuck energy and places where life doesn't
move. This usually represents the things we are resisting and where
we don't want to put our attention. Simply put: clean out the
clutter. Piles of laundry, papers, boxes, mail—whatever it is,
when we see clutter, our mind equates it with chaos and dead energy.
So, make a point to dive into your clutter like a heat-seeking
missile. Go straight for it, put it away, find a home for it, make
decisions about it, and address it! Once you move that dead energy
in your home, you will be surprised how it moves in your life!
2. Corners: Keep these spaces free of clutter. Corners are
the places where the life energy or Ch'i
of our environment comes to a stop like traffic at a
four-way stop sign. Put things in your corners which move
energy: a fountain, wind chimes, or even a plant—all these will
keep the energy moving and flowing instead of stagnating. Use some
common sense and trust your intuition. When arranging things, ask
how it makes you feel. There are many rule books out there, but
ultimately, if you feel more harmony, peace and joy when you look at
that space, you will usually be on the right track. An altar is
usually a nice way to redirect the dead energies of a corner. Put
things in the corners of your home or office with intention because
these are special energy spots in the house.
3. Closets: Clean them out! Closets are the bowels of our
homes and offices, the storage bins for old, dead energy. If you
don't use it, lose it! Keep your closets clean, neat, and free of
unwanted, old, unused items. Yes, you looked marvelous in that dress
you've been holding onto for the last five years, and one day you'll
lose that extra 10 pounds and will fit in it again, but for now,
give it to a friend, or family member who can actually use it. When
you lose that weight, you'll owe it to yourself to buy a new dress!
Don't allow your closets to become black holes—otherwise, they
will reflect that energy back to you.
4. Ceremony: This is sadly lacking in our modern society.
Where we do have any kind of ceremony, it is usually around a
sporting event, food, or commerce. Ceremony is a time when we honor
life, the seasons, and those aspects of living beyond the physical.
Ceremony can bring us in touch with the worlds beyond our everyday,
and remind us of the vastness of life beyond our immediate
attention. Make time for ceremony in your life and you will open a
doorway into another dimension to allow fresh new ideas, inspiration
and energies to flow into your home.
A ceremony can be as simple as
a ribbon cutting to initiate the new energies of your place, or
popping of a champagne cork to signify the New Year. No matter what
you do, do it with intention and awareness. Even the simple ceremony
of smudging a new dwelling can be quite profound when done with a
focused awareness of intention. Burning a candle each night and
ceremoniously letting the problems and worries of the day burn in
the fire, is a simple way to keep the energy of your home clean and
clear of the burdens of the day. Ceremonies to acknowledge and honor
the ancestors of our past (through music, song or dance) are another
way to keep the energy of your space clear and clean. Keep
ceremonies simple and heartfelt, and they will do wonders to keep
the energies of your space aligned with higher dimensions and
energies.
5. Consciousness: The power of this cannot be
overstated. Where we put our consciousness, we put our life energy.
So, find the aspects of your home or office where you have vacated
your consciousness—all those closets, corners, and dead zones that
you pretend are not there, or wish weren't. For some people, it
could be a room where their dead parents used to live, or where the
kids used to live before they went off to school, or the pile of
paper in the office that calls out for help that we continue to
ignore. Put your consciousness into that space, with intention and
ceremony, and notice the magic that happens when you do!
Remember: energy flows where attention goes!
6. Cycles: There is a rhythm to life, a time for growth and a
time for death. Cycles are important to observe: moon cycles are
often used for planting, cutting hair, beginning new projects.
Similarly, we can observe and align ourselves with the cycles of the
sun, of day and night, being more active during the daylight hours,
and winding down in the evening when there is less energy available.
There are the larger seasonal cycles as well: solstices,
equinoxes, and the times in between them (what the Celts called the
Cross Quarter Days.) When we are in tune and align consciously with
these cycles of nature, the rhythms of life, we find more harmony
and balance in our lives. When we follow these cycles, we harness
the life energy of the planet and begin to dance to the same beat of
Life. By paying attention, we begin to work with the cycles of life
and receive the gift of their energy.
With some small investment on our part, we can dramatically change
the energies of our environment, making our homes and offices a
sanctuary to reflect our highest intentions and dreams.
Christan Hummel is
the author of the “Do-It-Yourself Space Clearing Kit.” She
travels internationally lecturing and teaching people how to access
nature in a co-creative spirit. For more information see: www.earthtransitons.com
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Help
for Moms in Chaos
by
Linda Herr
Let’s
get real… Here are a few simple ways we can all begin
to bring some clarity and confidence into our lives…
|
Having professionally organized for over 30 years, I find it
interesting that I am currently receiving calls from an entirely new
group of clients: young mothers in their mid-20s to mid-30s who are
finding it more and more difficult to cope.
A
growing number of articles focus on this distressed group of
Americans. The trouble,
however, is that much of the media suggests that the only good mom
is a perfect one. The
idealized television version of this perfect young mom often has a
huge array of resources available to her: babysitter, personal
chauffeur, hair stylist, costume provider and coordinator, and a
make-up artist.
Let’s
get real!
The
young mom in today’s world has to do and be everything herself.
Quite often she is working 30 to 40 hours per week, and must
additionally attend to home-making tasks as well as shopping,
cooking, cleaning, and providing taxi service to the kids for
school, after-school activities, medical appointments, etc.
While some moms do have helpful partners who share in the
work, the typical TV mom is depicted as one who can do it all—and
smile and look ravishing and
be energetic and happy. Of course, this mom may also run some
corporate business besides!
So,
who is trying to live up to this model?
Unfortunately, countless young women compare themselves to
this idealized version of a mom who has it all. As a result, many
are feeling exhausted, frustrated and depressed even though they
accomplish amazing things each day. Worse yet, they constantly feel
not good enough. They may love their children and their partner, but
hate their lives.
What
can be done?
Here
are a few simple ways we can all unhook from television stereotypes
and begin to bring some clarity and confidence into our lives.
Be
realistic.
Realize that each character and situation on television is simply
that: a televised version of reality and not a real life situation.
Don’t compare yourself with anyone. You are wonderful in your own
right! Televised super
moms and models in magazines are paid to look wonderful!
Acknowledge
what you do accomplish.
This is critical! So many people only see what they didn’t get
done. As children, we are often told how great we are doing. As
young adults, that praise often becomes infrequent, if we get any at
all. Generally, even our partners are not necessarily good at
noticing most of what we do. Try to change this by making an
agreement to compliment each other for one thing each day. In
addition, learn to be your own cheerleader and support person. Count
up at the end of the day all that you did
complete. Keep a list or journal in order to show yourself what
you did do! Then, be sure to build into your life some way to treat
or reward yourself for that success.
Keep
things simple.
Limit the number of events you will take part in and stick to it.
For after-school events, allow each child to choose one
activity per semester rather than several. Alternately, help your
children select individual events where they can be at the same
location on the same day, rather than driving to many different
locations. If you must be involved with an association or group
activity, promise yourself to take on only one leadership role at a
time. Decide not to get
involved at times. At home, attempt to limit the number of clothes,
cookware or miscellaneous items you have lying around.
Not only does this free up some space, it also minimizes the
number of decisions you need to make each day. Making a multitude of
decisions each day is exhausting for most of us!
Keep
things where they will be used.
This helps things to work more smoothly and efficiently. In
addition, you don’t waste as much time searching for items you
need.
Keep
like things together.
This is the easiest and most important rule of organizing!
Schedule
some time for order.
If things have gotten out of hand in a particular area, schedule a
two or three-hour period with no interruptions in order to put it
back together.
Work
in one area at a time.
Focus on one area until it is finished or for as much time as you
currently have. Once you leave that area to get something or put
something away, it is easy to be distracted by something else. Thus,
you fail to complete the original task. Make specific piles near the
door of things that go to other areas. Have boxes or laundry baskets
handy to place items to take to other locations.
If
your time is seriously limited, at least set up an appointment to do
a quick scan through the house.
While working in one area is preferable,
this approach helps you to re-group and get a little more
control back in the overall picture. All you need to do is walk
through the house and put everything back in its place (or, at least
to the room in which it belongs).
Get the kids to help. This can actually be fun, if you make
it like a game.
Keep
in mind that any action
is better than no action:
Simply giving up can put people in an unhappy frame of mind. Set up
a schedule to get at least a few necessary tasks completed each day.
Being able to complete something is essential to each of us
for our own personal self worth.
As
you put things back in order this summer, you may be delighted to
find that you have additional motivation and energy. Remember that
your children are only young for a short time. Take time to enjoy
them and have fun in creating special times with you. Know that
those are the memories that will be cherished rather than some
memory of a perfect mom who was no fun at all.
Linda
Herr, The Mess
Arrester®, is a
professional organizer, coach, trainer, author, speaker and
completion consultant in
Alaska
since 1995.
Call 907-689-7744 for information.
Her books are sold at local bookstores.
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