happy easter!

that's what friends are for!

ok ladies this one is for you...time to de-stuff your closet. how? with the help of a friend. get your best girlfriend to come over - make sure you have food, beverages of choice, and large garbage bags! take out ALL the clothes in your closet. go through piece by piece and with the help of your bf you will truly down size the amount of clothes in your closet. don't stop there - yes, you need to tackle what you have stuffed in the dresser as well! at the end of the session, two things need to happen. 1) donate the clothes 2) set a date to perform this wonderful service for your friend.p.s. resist the urge of - oh i should give this to "so and so". unless you take that item to the car and drive it to "so and so's" house. this rarely happens and in some cases the item winds up back in your closet.

is this you?

do you feel like this when it comes to your paper work at home? solution.

1. put your bills and bank statements on line
2. stop saving every bill that you get. i promise if you haven't paid your cable bill, your macy's bill...they will send you another bill. amazing how that works.
reduce the amount of paper and you won't have to work so hard to manage it.

meaningful work

as i lie in bed and reflect on the past week and ponder the coming week, i am suddenly overcome with a feeling of content. to hear over and over from my clients the simple words of thank you. i am so fortunate that they feel that i have helped them with the clearing of clutter from their lives. witht that, i become increasingly aware that i have been given a gift. some of you who know me know that i follow numerology and i am often given numerical signs that i am following my life's direction.  to know that and believe that, it just feels so right in my soul.
there was a time when i struggled and wondered about the meaning of life. why am i here? what is my purpose? i still don't know the answers but i do know that i am working to figure it out.  to be able to help someone and to be good at doing it, well there are no words to describe how amazing that feels. sometimes there are initial consultations that i think that "there is no way i can help this person". but then i come back and little by little i figure it out. as one guy said to me today "there are no rules". and that is exactly it. i often feel like i am working with a Rubik's cube. sometime the direction is clear and sometimes i have to go back a step in the process in order to go forward. regardless how i get there, the impact for the person is always life improving.
thank you universe for guiding me in this direction. i am grateful.

happy weekend

taking my own advice

i often tell my clients that we should create the home environment for the place they live in now. so in other words - "live the present moment". well, it is time that i take some of my own advice. sure, i am always editing out clothes and knick knacks that i don't use but i haven't completely set up my home how i would like it. specifically our seating situation.
when john and i first moved in to our apartment we went out and bought a corduroy couch with a pull out couch (the advice of my mom). it was a nice couch but it wasn't the perfect couch so i shipped that thing off to our house in tahoe to replace an ugly one we had there. nice solution but left us again in the dilemma of the couch for san francisco. the challenge is to be good looking, comfortable and a sleeper sofa. for some reason i got it in my head that a leather couch would be nice. sure it has worked fine for guests staying over but leather...not so much. i don't like that your butt slides off it. so i moved it to the sun room and basically it is just used for house guests when they spend the night. and now that wonderful sun room is not being used as the couch is slippery and not comfortable. in the back of my head i have rationalized that i won't live in this place forever so for now, it is just fine.
wrong.
time to practice my own advice.
so, finally i have found a nice looking couch that also easily converts to a bed for that random house guest. i also got rid of a couple other items that seemed to have taken up room in my sun room and are no longer desirable. thank god for sf people who want things for free. i put those items on the side walk and bye bye.
the new couch is ordered and will be here in june. so it is the leather couch for a little longer and then i will be living in the room that i want now. oh and i am going to go look for a coffee table tomorrow to go with it.
yep, i am living present moment. sure hope my husband likes my choice! and if you know of anyone that wants a leather couch i know where you can get one for a steal!

yeah baby!

good morning thursday. update on my work out progress - good. i am not making any big splash in the trx classes but i am surviving. sure the teacher has had to pinpoint a bunch of stuff for me to work on but i love that. i am feeling the small pings and dings as a result - you know that stabbing feeling in the gut when i try to get out of bed but hey that is just a sign of results! 

and now it is time for me to suit up and head out the door for morning class. 

here is what i am doing!

yesterday i realize was just a teaser about my spring routine. so what exactly am i doing? have i done?

1. got so tired of looking old - aka grey hair. yep, after a solid year of growing out the grey hair and at the prodding of my friend rebecca i am, for the moment, grey free.
2. focus on what i am eating - i had a pretty sugar friendly holiday season and now, again for the moment, i am sugar free. i am back to my routine of grocery shopping, cooking meals and mostly just paying attention to what i eat.
3. yoga - i have my ups and downs with my regular practice depending on the business of my life. the more work i get, the less yoga i do. so what i am working on is balance. when i work i need to keep the yoga routine balanced. so far so good.
4. new exercise options - i have shared with a few close friends that i can't do a push up. i know it sounds silly but i don't like it. i have a couple people show me how to do a push up and still it doesn't happen. i don't remember ever doing push ups as a kid. it feels totally unnatural to me. so i have started taking trx classes which is based using suspension ropes. one of their objectives is improving strength and i am all for that.
5. skin - i have tried a variety of peels and laser to get rid of sun/age spots with minimal success. well now at the advice of a dermatologist i am trying the obagi skin program. it takes 3-4 months to see results which is a little painful but with the combo of all of the above, i am cautiously optimistic about my overall results.

i will post the results in june. happy spring everyone.

spring

there is something about the beginning of spring that gets me jazzed. it could be that the days are longer or that i feel the need to shed that winter layer but regardless of the reason i am oh so digging it.
i don't know about you but with the change of season i seem to get into my healthiest groove.
i am eating better.
getting regular sleep.
exercising more.
and i have a tendency to take care of the exterior - skin, hair, nails. yes, i think i even look better.
ka pow.
i feel good.
thank you spring! i am so glad you are back.

to teach

recently i had a fun conversation with two friends about the qualities of being a good teacher.  all three of us had taken a fitness class from the same instructor on different days and had three completely different reactions to the teacher. one loved the teacher, one didn't like the teacher at all and then me - well, my focus was on the quality of teaching.
when i look up the word teach in the dictionary i find that the definition of the word is "to cause to know how". would i say the teacher i had provided that? no. would i say that makes me like him or not like him? no. instead i use it as a reminder to improve my own teaching skills. my goal is to be able to teach to all levels of experience in my class - from the beginner to the advanced and everyone in between.
so i guess the long and short of it is that i am enjoying being the student as i am learning way beyond what is being taught in the fitness class.
thank you.

learning to let it go

i am trying really hard today to try and let something go.

it's hard.

i was recently told a re-cap of a conversation that was indirectly about me and the conversation hurt my feelings. the short of it was that there was a chance for someone to acknowledge me and who i am and well that didn't happen. 

but i wasn't there. this is a third hand report. and yet, it sticks with me. 

i hate that. 

i have been reminded that it really has nothing to do with me but it certainly feels that way. 

so you know what i am going to do? for a short time i am actually just going to feel this feeling of sadness and then i will acknowledge and put it to rest. 

i know ultimately it is important to let it go but first i must feel my feeling. 

go green

saturday

lids and/or baking pans

this is a tip from a reader, kristina kovach. enjoy.
(i have also seen this used with baking pans)

Hello Andrea. I saw your Organize with Andrea page. Fantastic! we can all use a little extra help with that. I don't know if this is a commonly used item for this particular area of the house but one I find most helpful.
I used a simple folder file organizer and used it for a lid organizer in my kitchen. Really helps for easy access and to keep things tidy!

help

on occasion i will post one of my organizing tips to my business page on fb. from that i get a variety of readers as well as a variety of responses. lately i have been hearing from these readers that they are really enjoying the posts and some have actually used one or two to much success. i have also heard that some realize the organizing solutions are fairly simple and yet for them seem to difficult to perform.
my answer is two words..get help.
first start with a friend. ask your friend to come over and tackle one of the daunting tasks - the tupperware, the t-shirts, and choose whatever is a quick easy task.
not comfortable asking a friend. my answer to that is three words...get professional help!
check out yelp for your area and look up professional organizers. sometimes it is just a matter of getting the organizing process going for you to feel comfortable enough to keep it going.
happy spring organizing (i know it is really springing cleaning but you need to organize everything first and then you can do that cleaning!)

forcing the closet door to close

lately i have been hearing from my clients that their friends don't understand why they have hired an organizer. the famous line is..."your house always looks so organized". yea, well ask to look in the closets, the dressers, under the bed. in fact these are the homes that need it the most. sure we have friends who live in homes where there is just stuff everywhere but in these homes at least the residents can actually see what they have. the hidden stuff homes are the most challenging and stressful places to reside because they can never find anything. so...if this is your home, this is your assignment. 

pick one closet.

yep, just one.

empty it out completely.

sort - like items with like items.

anything that does not belong in this closet bring to the appropriate place.

anything that is damaged, ruined, etc. toss.

anything you no longer need that is in good condition, donate.

and now is the best part.

reorganize the space so that you can see everything in the closet to access it. if you can't see what is in there, it is too full and you have too much stuff in there. 

oh and one more thing...make sure you have enough light in the closet to actually see in it. if the light bulb isn't enough go to the store and get a battery operated light that sticks to the wall. you push the button and the light turns on. voila. you can now see everything you have and you no longer have to force the closet door to close. 

shopping as a family event

i have a theory that shopping has become a family event. when my mom and my mother in law shopped for household items they just went to the store when we kids were at school or when our dads were home to get what we needed. well that family dynamic has changed - two working parents, single parents, cost of childcare increased and so more and more parents are splitting the responsibilities. that then turned into the entire family going to the store. i get it if you are a single parent and can't get childcare that you have to take the kids with you but other than that...leave them at home. ikea actually has a logo - ikea family. on advertising standpoint, that is brilliant. plant that seed early. ikea is the place for everyone. ikea also pipes in the smell of Swedish meatballs and cinnamon buns. this is similar to las vegas piping in oxygen so gamblers don't get tired...create the environment that everyone wants to stay and in both places spend money. again brilliant. but you know what happens? shopping becomes an event. in today's society a family going to the store now is similar to going on adventure where are pretty much guaranteed to get a treasure.  you know what happens, a whole lot of stuff gets purchased. going to the store means coming home with stuff and we all know...we have too much stuff. 

if you don't want all the stuff - stop making it an event. i know some people that go to target every day. suggestion - pick one day that is chore day. yep, shopping for household stuff is a chore. make a list of items NEEDED. one parent does the shopping (if you have a teen bring one to help with lifting, putting stuff in and out of car). the other parent stays home with the kids to take care of household chores - laundry, dishes, picking up bedrooms. then when parent gets home with NEEDED items they are put away by everybody.  the entire family going to ikea takes way longer than what i just described. now not only do you have what you need, the house is also a little cleaner and all of you just might have some to have...

go to the park, take a walk in the neighborhood, play outside. 

let's have less stuff and more experiences instead...that is way more fun then being pushed around in a shopping cart.

ii

too much stuff

i took a field trip today to ikea and target to see what is everyone buying. the one constant...items to store their stuff. dressers, shelves, cubes, containers, boxes. we don't want to see the stuff so we look for items to contain it.
quick solution...stop buying so much stuff!

less is more

i think sometimes we over decorate. if you look at all the photos i have here of these sort of zen like rooms, the one common thread is that there is not a lot of "stuff" in each room.  i am not opposed to decorating a room but there can be a fine line where between pretty deocrations and just having a place to put everything.  take a look around your house. do you have a room that just has that feeling of a lot of stuff? maybe it is time for a little de-cluttering. start with the bedroom and then hit up the family/living room.

the put it away rule

Put it away now. 
The one truly simple thing I practice every day is...put it away. Whatever I use - any item, tool, article of clothing, face cleaner...when I am done using it - it gets put away. That way I know where everything is and I never have to look for it. I can close my eyes and know where everything is in my home. 

clutter

i am watching a show about clutter and learned a statistic...4 out of 5 couples argue about too much stuff in the house.

questions to ask yourself...

1. without looking could you find car keys, unpaid bills, general stuff

a. i know where everything is

b. not sure where some important things are

c. i need an hour to do this

(takeaway - it is important to have a place for everything.)

2. could you have a party at home with out cleaning up first

a. yes, my house is always ready

b. i need to clean up first

c. i can't ever throw a party in my house

(takeaway - if you declutter your home, it will save you 40 percent of the time you currently spend.)

3. do all of your clothes fit easily and well in your closet

a. yes, of course and they are beautifully organized

b. i have no idea what's in the closet

c. when i open my closet, the clothes fall on my head

(takeaway - we wear 20 percent of the clothes 80 percent of the time...yes, it is time to declutter the items you really don't wear. this will also save time when you are getting dressed in the morning...imagine a few more minutes sleep. ahhhhh!

basic rule of organizing

Everything in its place. If you follow just one tip, this is it. 

So how do you do it? It’s simple. For everything that you own, designate a place for it. Find something that doesn’t have a place? Designate a place for it. Then simply put things back where they belong when you’re done using them. It sounds simple, but it actually takes a lot of practice to get this habit down. 

cooking 101

so you decided you wanted to make a meal from a recipe that you pulled out of the latest cuisine magazine. that sent you to the store to buy spices you never heard of. maybe that dish didn't turn out how you had hoped and now 1-2-3 years later you still have the spices from unsaid dish.
yes, it is time to conquer the spices.
take out all the spices.
wipe down the shelf.

get rid of anything that's been in there longer than two years or that you seem to have taken with you anytime you have moved.

have what you need. need what you have. that is all.,

the mail

the mail. those two words of dread. 

many people find taming the mail to be a huge obstacle. but if you tackle it daily and have a destination for it, well it does not have to be so daunting.

first, you must make a decision about the mail before you even put it down.

create three areas that i like to call F - A - T

File

Act 

Toss

When the mile comes in put the items in the appropriate place.

Finally cut down on the amount of mail that actually comes in to the house. Get paperless bills, get off mailing list (catalogchoice.org).

Less mail can be so freeing and who knows maybe when that mail slot opens an actual from a loved one will slide through that slot. 

the medicine cabinet

Do you or anyone in your house take medication. Time to tackle the medicine cabinet.

Get all the medication in the house together and pick one place for the "medicine cabinet".

Wipe down the shelves in the cabinet.

Group like medicaitons together.  

Collect out-of-date medications together for return to your pharmacy (don't flush or put them in the trash!) 

Use small plastic containers to keep like medications together. 

really?

i was working with an organizing client yesterday who is also a former yoga student of mine. she was telling me the news of other former yoga students and shared an unsettling thought with me. she told me that one of the students doesn't like a teacher because she thinks the teacher is overweight and so he should not teach. really? on some level i get it but gosh as a yoga teacher myself that adds an element of pressure i really don't like. i am in the process of putting a yoga retreat together for june and have been focused on getting students, setting up an awesome week and have not spent much time on "what i look like". i know students want to be inspired by their teacher and part of that is how they look. sure for the average 47 years old woman i probably look good but rock start buff...nope, not even close. hmm. i have 4 months. i think that i am going to try...not rock star buff but yoga looking good.

i still don't like what my former student said and have lots of reasons to debate it but screw it. i want to feel and look good when my students arrive to mexico. yoga game on.