gratitude

i am so grateful on many levels.









1. wonderful husband
2. healthy life
3. great family
4. wonderful home
5. my ability to pursue my passions
6. living in san francisco
7. my organizing clients
8. guests coming to the yoga retreat
9. prana del mar and most importantly the people there
10. books

those are just the first 10 things that come to mind.
what's on your list?

the car

It is time to organize the car. Grab a trash bag and a box. 

Everything that does not belong in the car put in the box.

Everything that is trash goes in the bag. 

Take the box into the house and put away everything in its proper place.

Take the bag and dump contents in the bin.

Put the empty garbage bag in car.

Put the empty box in trunk or back of vehicle.

Once a week - pick the same day - take box and repeat above steps.

Every time you fill up the car with gas empty the trash bag. 

let's see where i am at with this one.

be grateful - i am. i am so grateful for everything...wonderful husband, amazing friends, happy and healthy family.

act with love - i think i take action with love at my heart.

check your motives - this one is always a work in progress. what motivates me and what is my motivation are the questions that i routinely ask myself.

watch your attitude - i think for the most part i have a positive attitude. yes, things can bring me down but for the most part i feel my attitude is on the up side.

forgive - save the best for last right? and this is the one that i must really work on in all aspects of my life. i have work to do.


have a great day.

Dad

I had copied a bunch of great sayings and saved them in an editing folder on my blog to write about daily. I then just open the next one saved to see how it can be applied to what I am thinking about at the time.
I woke up 20 minutes ago to a voicemail from a client who is not sure when we can meet today because her father has been hospitalized and sounds like he is extremely ill. She debated getting to the hospital to be with her family or staying at her home for me to come and help clear the clutter. She wants to be with her family but she also wants the stuff gone. She had great difficulty making a decision. I encouraged her to just go to the hospital and then call me later and I would come over then. She went back and forth and really could not make up her mind. The clutter in her life is so all consuming that it even takes away from making some important life choices.

Immediately after that phone call, I got an email from a potential guest regarding questions about coming to my yoga retreat. He would like to bring his Dad, who is in a wheelchair as a birthday gift. He wanted to know if this was possible. The retreat center is in Mexico and is not wheelchair accessible. There are many obstacle - stairs, widths of hallways, bathrooms, etc.

How does this apply to William's words? I don't know exactly but for sure there is a common thread.  I think when we live in chaos and clutter, that unsettled feeling distracts us. But when we have just what we need and love then our focus can truly be on what is important to us in life.

today

i really don't think that i am ready to write about this post. but hey no time better than the present. ok, roughly 4 months until my yoga retreat. i gotta get my act together and get in shape. i got all sorts of yogis coming and the best way to be prepared and ready to go is to get my game on.
thankfully today is the last day of my vacation in san diego - crab eggs benedict, grilled cheese sandwich, flat bread, cookies, beer. my friend rebecca said yesterday that we did not eat one green thing! so today we have fun and tomorrow the games begin!
hurray for today i say!

it is not about the stuff

i just met a friend of a friend who shared that he lost all of his belongings - the things that mean the most to him - in hurricane sandy. he was at a point in his life where he had to downsize and had to move his belongings to his mother and stepfather's house in ny. then hurricane sandy hit and the items were unknowingly thrown away. his stepfather who is 80 mistakenly had what he thought were damaged items removed. this gesture created a drama between two grown men that included the step son (a grown man) not speaking to his step father for two weeks.
when the step son shared the story he cried for his lost grateful dead t-shirts and his other life long items. sure he had been drinking when he told the story but you could still feel his pain. but finally he realized his lack of communication was painfully hurting his step father who had been so traumatized by the events of the hurricane. he now can feel love and compassion again for someone he loves and not feel the resentment for the lost stuff. yes, i can still feel some anger in his voice but i believe that will also pass with time. it is such a clear reminder that we are not defined by our "stuff" and as we so often hear, you can't take it with you.
so today, i dedicate my post to the people i love - my husband, my friends, my family and all those i whose path i cross.
namaste.

the clutter

What is the one room in your house that becomes the dumping ground for everything that doesn't belong there? Is it the living room? The family room? Let's get that room back together. 

Go get a laundry basket and bring it in to this room. Pick up every item that does not belong in this room and put it in the basket. Take the basket around your home and re-deliver the items to their proper homes.

Now if this seems to be a constant catch all room. Consider keeping a basket in this room so at the end of the day you can just pile all the items that don't belong in the room and return them to their proper place. 

this is a two part task

I think you are ready for this two part task!

Go get all of the towels from around your home and collect them in one spot. Get rid of any that are crunchy to the touch, ripped, soiled. Set a limit as to how many to keep and then fold and put in one place.

Now it is time to move on to the linens. Do the same thing as you did with the towels. Set a limit of no more than two sets per bed. Keep sheet sets together.

This is a tip I got from professional organizer Peter Walsh "Never lose a pillowcase again! Here's how: If the clean set of sheets isn't going directly onto a bed, fold and stash it in one of the pillowcases to keep everything together."

pens and pencils

this should be easy.
get a shoe box and walk around the entire home...gather up all and yes i mean all of the pens and pencils.
have one area where you keep your office/school supplies.
throw out the duds first.
second, downsize. keep a manageable number for your house and the rest...donate to the office at your local public school.

back to the kitchen

we seem to have more than enough of...small appliances and pots and pans!

you need to really stick to your guns with this one. 

start with pots and pans - get rid of rusted pots, ones that the teflon is coming off (not good for your health) and of course the pots you just don't use.

next stop - appliances - get them all out. yes, at one time you thought you were going to become a bread maker but did that really happen. be honest. all of the appliances you don't use - donate them.

when you have open space in the kitchen and in the cabinets it is way more inviting and motivating to create healthy tasty meals.

happy cooking.

we are stepping out of the kitchen

hello people. let's step out of the kitchen for a moment.
one of the first steps to organizing is...
make your Bed every day!
yes, every day.
start the day on the right foot.
just having your bed made already gets you set.
and you know once you start doing this regularly you may even find that you are picking up the clothes that were tossed on the floor yesterday.
this is my step one for every day of my life. have your bedroom pulled together and who knows this might get you to tackle the other rooms in the house.
have a great day.

this is a must!

ok it is not a glamorous job but it must be done.
yes, it is time to tackle the cabinet underneath the kitchen sink.
take everything out. discard any thing that is old, damaged, not used.
in this day in age when cleaners are so good, it is not necessary to have lots of supplies.
put like items together. and for your daily cleaning products put those into a bucket. makes it easier to tote them from room to room.
now before you put them away, clean out the cabinet.

the refrigerator

what can be organized in the refrigerator? the condiments.

take them all out.
grab a garbage bag.
toss, toss, toss...first get rid of anything that is expired, and then anything that you really shouldn't be eating. oh and don't forget to toss all those items that you NEVER use. condiments are just wasted dumb calories.
now sort the remaining like items. if you have more than two salad dressings...yes, toss!
put back remaining items on the door.

the junk drawer of the kitchen

yes, next stop...kitchen utensils.
i know many of us envision using the small little spoon for melon, or the special brush for glazing but we both know this never happens.
so let's tackle this area.

ok walk around the kitchen - and grab all the utensils - from the stove top, the drawers, the canisters on the counters and put them all together.

now it is time to be brutal....time to get rid of these items!

duplicates
damaged
ones with with gunky funky bits of food
never use (and you know there are many of these)

now you know what to do - say bye bye

you should only only have items that you use. now put them away in no more than two spots - perhaps one container for the spoons and one drawer for the remaining items.

make sure you have enough room to grab what you want when you want it.

happy cooking.

time to move to a new room

let's move to the kitchen. it can be our favorite room in the home but at the same time behind those cabinets it can be a disaster.

first stop, plastic storage containers.

get them all together on your kitchen table or your kitchen counter.

toss the ones with out lids, that are stained or just look like they have seen a better day.
put the good ones away. 

i say keep no more than 10-15

my personal tip - at the end of the year, i toss them all out and get a nice new fresh set that all matches...oh yes, i also do that with my underwear!

happy valentine's day!

the last clothing tip...for now!

last clothing organization tip for a while!
what is it...the underwear drawer!
i know this can be a delicate issue but come on, you know it's time.

1. take out all and i mean all the underwear
2. discard the old, soiled, ripped, "I will never wear", and basically unattractive
3. sort the rest - put back in drawer
4. oh and commit to wearing all of them...including the fancy ones

back to organizing tips

day 5 - the closet
Do a quick scan through your closet...what doesn't fit, you no longer wear, you just don't like. Toss those on the floor.
Now regroup your remaining clothes...shirts, sweaters, skirts, pants, dresses, jackets.
Clothes on the floor - put them in a bag and donate them.

it is always nice to free up some space in the closet. 

today we divert from organizing tips

hello monday. i wonder what you and this week have in store for me.
it is now 8:11 am and i am lying in bed, drinking my coffee and pondering any thoughts that might be worth noting. it the living room my husband fiddles with the printer and i await his call of "it is time to go". i am giving him a ride this morning. the original departure time he said was 8:00 but that has come and gone.
so i guess this week starts off with me waiting. it is certainly not something i do well at nor enjoy. in fact having my last name as Wait is somewhat ironic. it is a task that i have had to take on via marriage as well as a couple friendships. there are those of us who are incredibly punctual people and live by the code of being ready and those that simply are not. i think it can be challenging for both sides. but i have learned a few tricks on how to deal with it for me.
i am using one technique this morning. i get myself totally ready to go so when my husband says it is time i just get up, put on my shoes and walk out the door. and in the meantime, i occupy myself with things that i can easy put aside - drinking coffee in bed, reading a magazine, looking at postings on fb. it helps.
i don't know what this week has in store for me but so far i am tackling some of the little life challenges...right from my bed.
time for another drink of coffee. cheers.

day no. 4 - t-shirts

we all know how the t-shirt drawer can get out of control. it gets so full that you can't even see what t-shirts you have. so it is time to reorganize the shirts.

get all your t-shirts together
sort by color

get a plastic bag
too many of one color - take out the ones you don't love and put in bag
take the ones that don't fit - put them in bag
take the ones with stains, rips, not in good shape - either thrown them out or put them to good use as a dust rag
fold the remaining ones
put them away based on color
make sure to keep only the ones you LOVE
take bag and bring to goodwill for donation

day no. 3 - belts

this is an easy one! 

get ALL the belts you have together and match them up by color.
disgard - those that don't fit, that you have repeats of, that are worn, that you just don't wear
hang them in one spot in your closet 

i use this hanger for my belts and can be found with many other styles at the container store.

day no. 2 - shoes

the shoes...i know this one can be challenging so let's make it easy.

this should take no more than 10 minutes.

one, match up all your shoes.
two, grab the pairs that are dusty, don't fit, you don't wear.

three, put all of those in a bag and bring to the Goodwill for donation.

four, put the remaining shoes back - according to style and color...makes it easier match shoes to outfits.
five, bring home a new pair of shoes then donate an old pair of shoes (in and out)

organizing - day no. 1 - socks

so it is time for me to start offering advice on organizing. for ten minutes a day i will give you projects to get your home on the road to organization...just 10 minutes.

1. sock drawer
empty the drawer on your bed. put the pairs together. discard any that are single socks, those with holes are frayerd, and the ones you no longer wear. arrange remaining pairs by color and type. put them back in the drawer.
less than 10 minutes and you are done!

just say ahhhh

yesterday i complained about dealing with going to the doctor. i so don't have anything to complain about and i got a big reality check when i met up with a brand new client. she has an undiagnosed illness and has been suffering from it for the last two years. she has tested positive as well as negative and has been sucked down the rabbit hole into the life of going to the doctor. and she is not my only client in this position. i have worked with a variety of people in the last couple months who either directly or indirectly through a family member have found their worlds consumed with medical appointments and as a result their home lives have turned into clutter chaos. not only are they impact physically but even more challenging is the mental component. having an illness can consume your life and the lives of those around you. wow. i have nothing to complain about.
i am going to make a doctor's appointment today to deal with my little things and then be done with it. there is work for me to do to help those who currently can not help themselves.

don't you hate medical stuff

despite my somewhat healthy lifestyle, i have had my fair share of medical issues. so now when something presents itself i have a tendency to ignore it. and that means when i finally actually seek medical attention and the doctor asks me "how long have you been experiencing this symptom". i really have no idea because i ignore the symptoms for as long as possible.
ugh. hate it.
so why am i talking about it?
because darn it all i have a couple minor things i need to deal with which means going to the dr.
ugh. hate it.
maybe if i just wait one more day...

hello monday

                    time 12:22  - update

what a great monday.

730 am yoga
juicing day - 6 juices made fresh for me
hired to organize an sf home
now working on getting guests for my retreat
started a nutrition program

this week is off to a good start!

happy monday.

sunday

sunday for me brings two things to mind.
1. enjoy the day as it is the "weekend" even if i am weeking
2. the optimistic plan of all that i am going to accomplish for the week ahead

so on this sunday, i prepare to go to work for a couple hours and then after meet up with my husband to watch the san francisco forty niners in the super bowl.
i also will take part of this day to play my schedule to practice yoga, eat right and achieve work goals.
it is on sunday that all is possible and i am mentally focused on getting it done.

but for the next 9 minutes, i am relaxing in bed, drinking my coffee and enjoying the feeling of nothing to do.

happy sunday. i hope you get as much out of it as i do.

can i take it to the next level?

i am beginning to realize that in order for me to take my businesses to the next level i have to go bigger. my friend matt who is advising me on advertising has made me understand that i have to be brave, assume some risk and believe i can do it. to just struggle to get by is not enough. i have to have bigger goals and dreams which will get me to my ultimate goal in both the organizing and the yoga businesses which is to reach a larger audience.
currently i have been focusing on getting just enough people for this current retreat and with that my scope of customers is small. matt is teaching me about growing an audience from a larger pool of people to build an ongoing retreat business.
it is fun and exciting and nerve wracking...all at the same time. we are making videos, giving give away gifts, attempting to develop a data base. as matt says he wants to streamline my ad campaign to the point that i am inundated with people. then we can use these same tactics on my organizing business.
i still have some trepidation but i think he is right.
anything is possible right?

222

can these hands support me?

for so long i have always relied on myself and at best my husband john to achieve any goal i set. well i am learning quickly that i am surrounded by some really great people with some really great ideas who can say goal bar even higher. i am having trust and faith to put myself in their hands. at first it feels uncomfortable and then it feels freeing to let go of the need to try to cover everything on my own. and with that i have faith that everything is going to turn out great...
i hope!