10 Thoughts on Whole Living New Year Edition

1 NOURISH YOUR MIND AS CAREFULLY 

AS YOU NOURISH YOUR BODY.

2 BRISK, CRISP, INVIGORATING-REMEMBER

ALL THE POSITIVE SIDES OF WINTER.

3 FINDING BALANCE IN YOUR RELATIONSHIP REQUIRES ALL YOUR SENSES. 

4 If you feel the need to be critical,

BE SURE THE URGE IS COMING FROM A PLACE OF KINDNESS.

5 WHEN YOU BREAK A SMALL BAD HABIT,

YOU TEACH YOURSELF

THAT YOU CAN CHANGE ANYTHING.

6 PROSPERITY BEGINS WITH THE ASSUMPTION

THAT THERE;S MORE THAN ENOUGH FOR EVERYONE.

7 Willpower is sometimes a biological issue,

not a moral one. Don't judge yourself harshly.

8 THE BEST WORK ENVIRONMENTS FOSTER PERSONAL

CONNECTION AS WELL AS PRODUCTIVITY.

9 SPEAK YOUR MIND. Unmet needs create resentment when they go unexpressed.

10 THE NEW YEAR ISN'T A DO-OVER; 

it's an opportunity to take your next big step.

This post, written by Terri Trespicio, was taken from Whole Living Magazine, January/February 2012.

The Happiest Mom

The Happiest Mom:

10 Secrets to Enjoying Motherhood

By Meagan Francis 

How to Conquer Clutter Around the House

3 tips to reduce household messes

Our lives can be busy and chaotic and, often times, our house or apartment is the casualty of this fast-paced lifestyle. Things pile up, and messes are created. Your desk is a disaster, and your bedroom looks like a fashion war zone, not to mention that the garage is so full that you need to park your car on the street. You want to have the perfect Martha Stewart home, but keeping out the clutter is difficult. In order to help you help yourself manage your cluttered home, here are some tips from Good Housekeeping writer M.P. Dunleavey on how to conquer the clutter around the house.

Step 1: Don’t try to conquer the clutter alone

Many people get overwhelmed with the amount of work that needs to be done, and this can be especially true when it comes to removing clutter. You don't have to do it alone. Recruit a friend or your family to help you. Everyone who lives in the home should be a part of the organizational process. If you do it alone, all the systems will be made with your brain and your logic, which means that others may have trouble following them. If you recruit friends and family to assist you, they can then help maintain the new systems and lighten your workload.

Step 2: Keep, store and toss

Go through everything. Even if you think it’s all stuff you need to keep, you might find that you don’t need to keep it in such an accessible place. Sometimes the attic or the basement would be a more suitable storage place. As you are sorting, make three piles: a keep pile, a store pile, and a toss pile. Remember, though, toss doesn’t have to mean throw away. You can always have a garage sale and sell things you don’t need anymore or donate them to a local charity. By purging yourself of things you don’t use, you'll have a leg up on clutter, create more space and feel better. If you don’t need an item on a daily basis, put it in storage. Holiday decorations are only used once a year, so they should go deep into storage: on the top shelf of a closet, in the back corner of the attic or far under the bed.

Step 3: Create a place for everything

Give everything a home. Don’t just stick things in places to get them out of the way. Designate a spot for each item so that a week or a month down the road you will know both where to find it and where to put it back. To organize the clothes in your closet, make a system of grouping, either by color or style, and then stick to it. Having a system will help you later know where clothes are, where to put them back and help keep the scene of that fashion war zone out of your bedroom. When dealing with children's toys, be sure their most favorite toys are easily accessible so they have no trouble getting them out or putting them away.

Getting organized may seem an intimidating task, but the benefits of conquering clutter far outweigh the work it may take to get it done. Coming home to a well-organized and clutter-free house will bring you a sense of relaxation you'd never get when returning to a cluttered home.

This post was written by E.C. LaMeaux for blog.gaiam.com.

Myrrh

-Rejuvenates the skin

-Stimulates digestion

-Assists in wound healing

-Has antifungal and antiseptic properties

-Soothes respiratory problems

Add a Dose of Creativity to Your Day

1. Take a ten minute blog break during the workday. Gathering inspiration is the first part of the creative process, and one easy way to do this today is to visit creative blogs and creative websites. You can do this just about anywhere or at any time. If you eat lunch at your desk, take a few minutes to browse blogs then. Use your smart phone to check in on a few favorites while you’re waiting for a meeting. 

2. Schedule small blocks of creative time into your calendar. You may not be able to put aside large blocks of time for creating, but you can probably block out small chunks of time to work on projects. I often sew a garment over the course of a week or two by putting aside enough time each evening to sew just one or two seams after my daughter is in bed for the night. It’s not the fastest process, but it allows me to feel a sense of accomplishment when I can see something gradually coming together.

3. Connect with other creative people. It’s important to be part of a creative community. This gives you the opportunity to bounce ideas off other people and to inspire each other. Find a creative group in your community or on the internet and become an active participant. This doesn’t necessarily require a big time commitment, and the rewards can pay off in new friendships and a renewed sense of creativity.

4. Don’t be afraid to try it. We all tend to self-edit way more than we should. Don’t talk yourself out of starting a new project because you’re afraid you won’t be able to pull it off. And don’t feel down on yourself if your finished creation doesn’t live up to your expectations. It’s about enjoying the process and improving your skills over the long run. This piece by Ira Glass summarizes it perfectly.

5. With a little planning and discipline, you’ll be able to find time to be creative each and every day, even if you have a full schedule.

This post was written by Liesl Gibson for HealingLifestyles.com.