Hi,
I had an idea to write on and then something happened and now I am writing this. :) How many of us try writing lists only to get frustrated with what we didn't get done on the list? I am not here to tell you to not write lists, they can be very helpful. Some people thrive on them. So then what am I bringing these lists up for?
It's more on forward thinking really. When we look at the list we only see a part of the picture and too often we are not seeing on the bright side of the circle. When you look at your list I'm going to guess that you tend to see what isn't checked off. How about spending some time looking at what is checked off! What about those things you did that weren't on your list?
My suggestion is a lot like keeping a gratitude journal. Write down the things you got done. Woohoo I got three things on my list done! A long with that I did this and this that and they weren't on the list! Spend time with yourself at the end of each day recognizing all the great things that happened.
So far today here is my list, which I share to make a point. I dyed my hair, and while it was on my head I took that time to start cleaning the laundry room so my mom could empty her storage unit. I also started sorting my baskets of clothes that need packing away into piles by size. Kids are gone this weekend so it's ok if the piles get left for a few hours. Then my son woke up after a short nap and he was crying and his arms were freezing. I held him in a blanket and he went back to sleep. He needed more sleep so I enjoyed holding him and lucky for me some books were within arms reach so I read too. When I send this it will be on my got done list too. There are other things like changing diapers and some other reading that I can think of.
My point was about my son. So often I get caught up in the idea of my doings needing to look a certain way. Getting the house in order is important but my baby is only young once. I need to give myself credit for times like holding him and times I play with my kids. How neat it would be for my kids if every night I had on my list that I had spent some time with my kids.
Let's start giving ourselves credit for what we do. We can't get more done than we did by beating ourselves up while looking back. If we can see we didn't do much with our day then acknowledge those little things (heck some days it's just enough to give credit for getting out of bed!) Then put your effort into have a good now.
Hugs!
Michele
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Saturday, November 6, 2010
November ideas and kids
Hi there again :)
Today we had a lot of fun and it worked! We made "Indian" hats. We also had a discussion about Native American vs. Indian and how I know a lot of Native American's, shock to my 7 yo that I even went to high school with a whole school full. lol Our feathers were to be worn while we cleaned. The biggest thing I think happened is that the kids had some fun so they were happy and more willing to do their part to keep the house clean.
So this letter is kind of two subjects. The first part is some of the ideas I've had to make November different. So we made our feathers and we are probably going to do some other pilgrim type things later in the month. Another idea I have is a little harder for my younger ones to grasp. My kindergartener and 2nd grader should catch on real well and if the senior doesn't, then give him about 7 years and he'll get it. That is the attitude of gratitude. This is one area that it is ok to compare. We are going to compare what we have now that the pilgrims didn't have. Running water, electricity, etc. It is a great time to remember to be thankful as we have a perfect reminder. For schedules you can draw a hand turkey on a sheet and put the chores on the feathers, or use your own creativity!!!
The second part is about getting the children to help. This is the huge thing I have learned with my kids. The happier our relationship the more willing to help they are. They need my time, my service, my positive words (no nagging as that slows the process!), my hugs and my "gift" or rather their allowance. Each child responds to a different thing. One of mine really responds negatively to words. Others respond more than others to time with them. Some respond better to allowances. It is really important to create a love relationship with the kids and remember they are individuals and won't necessary respond to what you would have if you were a kid.
Hugs,
Michele
Today we had a lot of fun and it worked! We made "Indian" hats. We also had a discussion about Native American vs. Indian and how I know a lot of Native American's, shock to my 7 yo that I even went to high school with a whole school full. lol Our feathers were to be worn while we cleaned. The biggest thing I think happened is that the kids had some fun so they were happy and more willing to do their part to keep the house clean.
So this letter is kind of two subjects. The first part is some of the ideas I've had to make November different. So we made our feathers and we are probably going to do some other pilgrim type things later in the month. Another idea I have is a little harder for my younger ones to grasp. My kindergartener and 2nd grader should catch on real well and if the senior doesn't, then give him about 7 years and he'll get it. That is the attitude of gratitude. This is one area that it is ok to compare. We are going to compare what we have now that the pilgrims didn't have. Running water, electricity, etc. It is a great time to remember to be thankful as we have a perfect reminder. For schedules you can draw a hand turkey on a sheet and put the chores on the feathers, or use your own creativity!!!
The second part is about getting the children to help. This is the huge thing I have learned with my kids. The happier our relationship the more willing to help they are. They need my time, my service, my positive words (no nagging as that slows the process!), my hugs and my "gift" or rather their allowance. Each child responds to a different thing. One of mine really responds negatively to words. Others respond more than others to time with them. Some respond better to allowances. It is really important to create a love relationship with the kids and remember they are individuals and won't necessary respond to what you would have if you were a kid.
Hugs,
Michele
Soft Cleanser
HI!
Well Halloween did it. So I am posting twice this weekend. This post is the subject intended for last weekend. I was pretty busy last weekend with the kids so I didn't get the blog post. Sorry.
I didn't even bother with having the kids do their part of cleaning. As for me, I didn't really make it fun, but I got it done. I did a great multitask moment! I wanted curly hair for Halloween. I curled part then cleaned, curled then cleaned. It got the work done and my curling iron had time to heat up. The kids loved the Halloween named rooms and still are calling the laundry room the dungeon. I'm thinking that one will stick. lol
I want to try to share tips once a month. This one is a recipe. It's a soft scrub type idea. The original recipe called for 1/2 c baking soda and enough Dr. Bronner's pure castile soap to make it like a frosting type stuff and then add some essential oils. They said if you add glycerin and put in an air tight container it would last for a while. Well I don't have glycerin and didn't feel like finding an air tight container. So it set solid. :) I however use a spoon to scrape off the top layer and use a wet rag and it still works. Most often though I just put a small amount of baking soda and add a few drops of soap and a drop or two of doTerra Lemon essential oil (or orange, Melaluca, etc.)
I personally like using it. I used to use baking soda on grease all the time, adding the liquid soap is amazing to me. I find it works really well on soap scum in the bathtub. I've thought about letting it set and then scraping it or grating it into a shaker, one for parmesan cheese with the bigger holes would work great. There are times when I don't care for the smell. These are times when the water I use is super hot. The smell comes from the fact that liquid soap is made with oils. To remedy any odor that may occur you can rinse with vinegar. Vinegar smell only lingers for a very short time. This doesn't happen too often so go ahead and use it. :)
Happy cleaning!!!
Michele
Well Halloween did it. So I am posting twice this weekend. This post is the subject intended for last weekend. I was pretty busy last weekend with the kids so I didn't get the blog post. Sorry.
I didn't even bother with having the kids do their part of cleaning. As for me, I didn't really make it fun, but I got it done. I did a great multitask moment! I wanted curly hair for Halloween. I curled part then cleaned, curled then cleaned. It got the work done and my curling iron had time to heat up. The kids loved the Halloween named rooms and still are calling the laundry room the dungeon. I'm thinking that one will stick. lol
I want to try to share tips once a month. This one is a recipe. It's a soft scrub type idea. The original recipe called for 1/2 c baking soda and enough Dr. Bronner's pure castile soap to make it like a frosting type stuff and then add some essential oils. They said if you add glycerin and put in an air tight container it would last for a while. Well I don't have glycerin and didn't feel like finding an air tight container. So it set solid. :) I however use a spoon to scrape off the top layer and use a wet rag and it still works. Most often though I just put a small amount of baking soda and add a few drops of soap and a drop or two of doTerra Lemon essential oil (or orange, Melaluca, etc.)
I personally like using it. I used to use baking soda on grease all the time, adding the liquid soap is amazing to me. I find it works really well on soap scum in the bathtub. I've thought about letting it set and then scraping it or grating it into a shaker, one for parmesan cheese with the bigger holes would work great. There are times when I don't care for the smell. These are times when the water I use is super hot. The smell comes from the fact that liquid soap is made with oils. To remedy any odor that may occur you can rinse with vinegar. Vinegar smell only lingers for a very short time. This doesn't happen too often so go ahead and use it. :)
Happy cleaning!!!
Michele
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Fun in clean?
Hiya!
For a lot of us who search for methods to keep our house clean we need to address a basic need. FUN! I for one am one of these people that need to have fun and variety. When I take the fun out of anything, even when it started that way, it becomes hard for me to do and I will often quit. I am going to write this as if everyone that reads it is bright and animated like myself. I know that others will read and you can glean from this what feels right to you. Also if some of these seem a little out there for you, remember others don't have to know if you do it and only do them if they fit for you.
Ways to keep it fun. Change it up where it can be. Routines are great for some but for me it doesn't seem to work. Even after a month of doing the same thing everyday I still have to consciously make it happen, it never does become a habit. I don't even do things in the shower in the same order every day, it's just how I am.
Ideas for fun:
Making charts and lists, and decorating them, can be really fun and we can get sidetracked in it. I still think it is a great idea, as long as we don't get too caught up in them and forget to actually do the housework. If we make charts we need to add a little sparkle and shine of our personalities. Stickers and colors and fun stuff. We know what we like. If we make charts for the walls we might want to make new ones every few months just so that it is different.
Naming things different then what they are. We could easily create this around a certain season. Like Halloween time, if the laundry room is in the basement you might call it the dungeon. How bout making some witches brew (cleaning the toilet)? I know it may sound silly at first but I am sure you can make it work for you, even if you don't go full into it. If you have kids this could be a great way to get them involved. We've had fun with this at out house this last weekend! We also did "Mummy fold" and put them in the coffin (kids are too young to say sarcophagus, heck I struggle with it.) In case you are unsure the mummy fold is where we roll our laundry (folding would work too) and put them in the drawers.
Picking some upbeat cleaning songs might help. It sure helped Giselle in "Enchanted", this would obviously be music to your own preference. You could even have certain tasks to each song and race the song, or finish the task where you are when the song is over.
Costumes sound great to me. This could include something as simple as wearing a tiara when you clean. You could take this into make-believe as well, being Cinderella who has to earn her way to the ball. I think it would be great fun to have a maid outfit. The idea is it's cleaning time when it is worn.
I would love a cleaning buddy. Someone that could come clean with me or talk to me as I clean. It always seems easier to get things done if the focus isn't on the dread of the task itself. There obviously has to be some ground rules to make sure that the cleaning gets done as getting side tracked is really easy. Make sure this person isn't going to throw things away without asking you. Also if you care that things are done a certain way you might not want to have them clean at all, but just sit with you while you clean. Of course there would have to be some kind of trade whether it be one day at your house and another at hers or something else you agree on.
The biggest thing to remember is that if it starts to feel heavy and like you have to force yourself to do it then you need to find a way to lighten it up.
Hoping you find fun! Halloween clean for this next week! :)
Michele
For a lot of us who search for methods to keep our house clean we need to address a basic need. FUN! I for one am one of these people that need to have fun and variety. When I take the fun out of anything, even when it started that way, it becomes hard for me to do and I will often quit. I am going to write this as if everyone that reads it is bright and animated like myself. I know that others will read and you can glean from this what feels right to you. Also if some of these seem a little out there for you, remember others don't have to know if you do it and only do them if they fit for you.
Ways to keep it fun. Change it up where it can be. Routines are great for some but for me it doesn't seem to work. Even after a month of doing the same thing everyday I still have to consciously make it happen, it never does become a habit. I don't even do things in the shower in the same order every day, it's just how I am.
Ideas for fun:
Making charts and lists, and decorating them, can be really fun and we can get sidetracked in it. I still think it is a great idea, as long as we don't get too caught up in them and forget to actually do the housework. If we make charts we need to add a little sparkle and shine of our personalities. Stickers and colors and fun stuff. We know what we like. If we make charts for the walls we might want to make new ones every few months just so that it is different.
Naming things different then what they are. We could easily create this around a certain season. Like Halloween time, if the laundry room is in the basement you might call it the dungeon. How bout making some witches brew (cleaning the toilet)? I know it may sound silly at first but I am sure you can make it work for you, even if you don't go full into it. If you have kids this could be a great way to get them involved. We've had fun with this at out house this last weekend! We also did "Mummy fold" and put them in the coffin (kids are too young to say sarcophagus, heck I struggle with it.) In case you are unsure the mummy fold is where we roll our laundry (folding would work too) and put them in the drawers.
Picking some upbeat cleaning songs might help. It sure helped Giselle in "Enchanted", this would obviously be music to your own preference. You could even have certain tasks to each song and race the song, or finish the task where you are when the song is over.
Costumes sound great to me. This could include something as simple as wearing a tiara when you clean. You could take this into make-believe as well, being Cinderella who has to earn her way to the ball. I think it would be great fun to have a maid outfit. The idea is it's cleaning time when it is worn.
I would love a cleaning buddy. Someone that could come clean with me or talk to me as I clean. It always seems easier to get things done if the focus isn't on the dread of the task itself. There obviously has to be some ground rules to make sure that the cleaning gets done as getting side tracked is really easy. Make sure this person isn't going to throw things away without asking you. Also if you care that things are done a certain way you might not want to have them clean at all, but just sit with you while you clean. Of course there would have to be some kind of trade whether it be one day at your house and another at hers or something else you agree on.
The biggest thing to remember is that if it starts to feel heavy and like you have to force yourself to do it then you need to find a way to lighten it up.
Hoping you find fun! Halloween clean for this next week! :)
Michele
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Energy Profile
HI!
Ok today's post is about Energy Profiling and Dressing Your Truth which are both systems by Carol Tuttle. I should be a good little affiliate and give you a link but alas I don't feel like looking them up. Oh well! So you can learn more at myenergyprofile.com Carol Tuttle has done many things that I love. She wrote Remembering Wholeness which is one of my favorite books. Another is It's Just My Nature also by Carol which is great at explaining the Energy Profiling. She also has a book that is geared more towards the fashion side of Energy Profiling.
Remembering Wholeness is a great way to bring healing and harmony to ones life. One of the best things that I have done for bringing healing and harmony to my life is learning my Energy Profile. I learned that I am a bright and animated type 1. This has shown me so much of why I do things the way I do.
I know I will never have routines in the way that some people do. I know that I can't set goals in the traditional manner. Knowing these things helps me to set goals and routines in a way that works for me. I know that I have to make everything fun.
It has helped me immensely with my relationship with my son who is a type 4. He excels with traditional routines and goals. I learned that I just ask for one thing at a time from him as he focuses on what he does and completes them in order. I tend towards asking a list of things and then wanting to throw in another thing in the middle which drives him nuts.
I have learned why so many of us struggle with cleaning. I have used my knowledge of Energy Profiling as I study other systems and I can see where each type has struggles and why. This is valuable when trying to solve a problem. Most of us type 1s keep looking to type 4 systems to solve our problems, then we get frustrated because they don't work.
I am not here to tell you what type you are or even tell you more then what I have about each type. I will probably not refer to types in the future, the biggest reason being Carol's stuff is registered and I wouldn't want to be in trouble. :) Go to her site and learn for yourself. She has amazing stuff in her blog. I wish everyone I knew was familiar with her work.
I am going to recognize that we all are individuals and that there are some general habits for the 4 types. When I feel impressed I will refer to the tendencies of the types without labeling them.
Have a super duper happy day!
Michele with love and light! Lots of light :)
Ok today's post is about Energy Profiling and Dressing Your Truth which are both systems by Carol Tuttle. I should be a good little affiliate and give you a link but alas I don't feel like looking them up. Oh well! So you can learn more at myenergyprofile.com Carol Tuttle has done many things that I love. She wrote Remembering Wholeness which is one of my favorite books. Another is It's Just My Nature also by Carol which is great at explaining the Energy Profiling. She also has a book that is geared more towards the fashion side of Energy Profiling.
Remembering Wholeness is a great way to bring healing and harmony to ones life. One of the best things that I have done for bringing healing and harmony to my life is learning my Energy Profile. I learned that I am a bright and animated type 1. This has shown me so much of why I do things the way I do.
I know I will never have routines in the way that some people do. I know that I can't set goals in the traditional manner. Knowing these things helps me to set goals and routines in a way that works for me. I know that I have to make everything fun.
It has helped me immensely with my relationship with my son who is a type 4. He excels with traditional routines and goals. I learned that I just ask for one thing at a time from him as he focuses on what he does and completes them in order. I tend towards asking a list of things and then wanting to throw in another thing in the middle which drives him nuts.
I have learned why so many of us struggle with cleaning. I have used my knowledge of Energy Profiling as I study other systems and I can see where each type has struggles and why. This is valuable when trying to solve a problem. Most of us type 1s keep looking to type 4 systems to solve our problems, then we get frustrated because they don't work.
I am not here to tell you what type you are or even tell you more then what I have about each type. I will probably not refer to types in the future, the biggest reason being Carol's stuff is registered and I wouldn't want to be in trouble. :) Go to her site and learn for yourself. She has amazing stuff in her blog. I wish everyone I knew was familiar with her work.
I am going to recognize that we all are individuals and that there are some general habits for the 4 types. When I feel impressed I will refer to the tendencies of the types without labeling them.
Have a super duper happy day!
Michele with love and light! Lots of light :)
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Back on track & doTerra
Wow has it been a long time or what? :)
I'm deciding to get back on track. I think I am going to go for a weekly blog in hopes that I post often, but hey I may miss some cuz that is just how I am.
First thing as I will probably be mentioning them often I need to tell you about doTerra essential oils. They are CPTG I can't remember what the P stands for but the rest is Certified Therapeutic Grade. This means that they have been tested for impurities, chemicals and fillers as well as that they have the right properties. It seems that a plant will have different properties if harvested in the spring vs the fall. This of course makes sense. So in order to have the proper strength doTerra tests them. I can't tell you how many people I have heard say they can smell the pureness.
Here is my doTerra website www.mydoterra.com/michelealewis and if you have any questions about the oils please feel free to contact me about them. I love oils! I use them for healing and cleaning.
I hope you have a super duper day and lots of fun!
Michele
Thursday, April 29, 2010
My English assignment for you to enjoy :)
Hey guys it’s me again!
I have been having so much fun reading about color for my English class (you’d think I’d do it for my color class but that’s just me. lol) I am so excited to share with you what I have been learning! Did you know that colors actually affect us? A little of it is cultural upbringing and but most is actually physical and energetic!
There are all kinds of studies on the matter. One did a bunch of tests with computers using different colors. They found out that blue contributes to creative thinking and red detailed thinking. Who knew? Another used lights of red and blue. The people in red lights would have heart rate increase and their blood pressure go up, while those in the blue lights would have the opposite happen. These are some of the examples of how colors affect everyone in the world the same.
Did you know that in China the color for mourning is white? Here in the U.S. we usually use black. This is an example of how colors can be culturally influenced. In my text book “Color: the Secret Influence” it says that in France they eat canned peas that are gray but in England they won’t eat them gray so they put dye in them to make them green! Makes me wonder what choices I make because of cultural influences.
My book also says that people in the US chose blue as calming and people in Spain chose white. I decided to test this. I don’t like statistics though because they leave things out. I asked one question, “What color calms you?” I got a lot of responses. My results did show a high number of people choosing blue, but I also could show that most of the people specified a lot of different light colors, although a lot didn’t even specify. I could have asked further questions like does it look dusty or is it just blue? Is it light blue or dark blue? I didn’t.
In another study they talked about how different languages come up with different color categories like a word for dark blue and one for light blue whereas we just call it all blue. So is it possible that the Spanish chose white because it represents all light colors? Hmm I wonder.
Energetically there is an idea that we need different colors throughout the day so what calms us now might not calm us in an hour because it’s not what our body needs. There is also a system called Energy Profiling® by Carol Tuttle. I’ll be writing more about this in a future blog.
For now here is a brief overview. Her system puts people into 4 general categories based on movement. She then created a system of dressing that harmonizes with each type. It would be like putting me in a black suit and sending me to a meeting. I’d be giggling and cracking jokes and not in any way behaving in the “proper” way you’d expect in a black suit. However, if I went to that meeting in a springy yellow suit with a flirty skirt people wouldn’t be at all surprised at my giggles and jokes. I think this would probably explain why some people choose light blue as calming and others choose dark blue. Yet we all get the same affect by ’blue’ it calms us. Lots of interesting thoughts to ponder on!
Have a super duper day!
Michele
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Forward Focus
Hi,
I keep thinking I need to blog this but then I think I have so much to do. Well to shush the persistent voice in my head here I am :) I probably need the message I am feeling to write about. LOL
I have this fantastic book, I've lent to a friend so I can't even refer to it right now, which I think is called The 10 Greatest Gifts I Give My Children. I got it at Deseret Industries for a dollar and it was by far the best dollar I have spent in my life! I think anyone, parent or not, would benefit from the info in it.
The author, sorry don't remember his name, explained focus being like a circle. One side is in the light the other the dark. So people that are always negative would be on the dark side of the circle and people that are positive would be on the light side.
There are ways to get the people around you and yourself into forward focus thinking. Forward being the side of the circle facing light. Questions! Asking, "What are you learning?" You don't have to wait until you are out of a trial to look back and learn. "What are you going to do about that?" Things like that.
How do we apply that here? Well, ask yourself questions. Say you just can't bring yourself to do dishes. You can ask yourself things like "How can I make this fun?" or find a way to focus on the good parts of doing dishes, like having dishes to eat off. :)
Have fun and stay focused on the good.
Hugs till next time,
ME!
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Cleaning Angry
Hi there,
I am posting twice in one day. How cool is that? I recently had a thought about cleaning while angry come to mind. I was thinking about it further in my mind and am excited to share my thoughts with you here.
When you do things physically such as cleaning house while you are angry you are putting that anger into the muscles. Have you ever noticed that although you clean very quickly at the end you are often still angry, even though sometimes more calm? That anger, or even anger residue is then left in your muscles which will eventually manifest itself as dis-ease. The same would also be true of exercise which I know a lot of people choose while angry.
So, I had to ask about that and some remedies. First, let me address cleaning. I would rather hear that you find another motivation for cleaning. We leave an energy residue in everything we touch and instead of blessing our home with love while cleaning we leave a negative residue with everything. Do you feel satisfied when you finish cleaning after being angry? I don't. So choose a different way of releasing anger and calming down and find a different motivator for cleaning.
Second, exercise or such while angry. I am not here to tell you to not do it, I know that processing the thoughts while you are moving can be very healing. Here is what I have realized. Keep going until you are thinking positive. Work all the way through it and leave the positive residues in your muscles. Chances are if you keep working until you are in a positive outlook on the subject you have worked through most if not all of the anger.
Here's one more tip for anger. Ask yourself, "What thought triggered this feeling?" We spend so much time saying "I am angry" or whatever feeling that we forget that we aren't the feeling we are just feeling the feeling. So let's start saying, "I am feeling angry. What thoughts triggered this feeling?" It is amazing where this kind of thinking leads.
Hugs,
Michele
I am posting twice in one day. How cool is that? I recently had a thought about cleaning while angry come to mind. I was thinking about it further in my mind and am excited to share my thoughts with you here.
When you do things physically such as cleaning house while you are angry you are putting that anger into the muscles. Have you ever noticed that although you clean very quickly at the end you are often still angry, even though sometimes more calm? That anger, or even anger residue is then left in your muscles which will eventually manifest itself as dis-ease. The same would also be true of exercise which I know a lot of people choose while angry.
So, I had to ask about that and some remedies. First, let me address cleaning. I would rather hear that you find another motivation for cleaning. We leave an energy residue in everything we touch and instead of blessing our home with love while cleaning we leave a negative residue with everything. Do you feel satisfied when you finish cleaning after being angry? I don't. So choose a different way of releasing anger and calming down and find a different motivator for cleaning.
Second, exercise or such while angry. I am not here to tell you to not do it, I know that processing the thoughts while you are moving can be very healing. Here is what I have realized. Keep going until you are thinking positive. Work all the way through it and leave the positive residues in your muscles. Chances are if you keep working until you are in a positive outlook on the subject you have worked through most if not all of the anger.
Here's one more tip for anger. Ask yourself, "What thought triggered this feeling?" We spend so much time saying "I am angry" or whatever feeling that we forget that we aren't the feeling we are just feeling the feeling. So let's start saying, "I am feeling angry. What thoughts triggered this feeling?" It is amazing where this kind of thinking leads.
Hugs,
Michele
What is the goal for the space?
Hi,
I was just sorting through a magazine. I pull out the pictures I need for my interior design classes and anything else I may feel a need to reference later. Today I came across some tips for keeping rooms tidy and such. This got my mind to thinking.
These are the thoughts that came to me either directly or indirectly from what I read. Decide what you want to see when you walk into the room. Create goals from that. What are your daily goals, weekly goals, monthly goals, and if you can, yearly or bi-yearly goals.
To help you know what you really see when you walk into a room, we see it but become so used to it we don't always notice it, take a picture. It's amazing how awful a room will look in a picture when you thought it was clean. This can be overwhelming too. If the room is obviously a mess you can either choose not to take a picture until you think you have it clean or you can take pictures as you go so you can see where you have been. I find this quite helpful when I'm overwhelmed.
A long these lines you can ask yourself what the most important space in the house is and why. For many this is the entry and living room as that is what visitors most often see. For me it is the kitchen, with the bathroom following as close second. I am not as concerned with what people think. I know that I am a busy woman with lots of kids and my house often reflects that. I feel much better if I know that I have a clean kitchen and bathroom.
From this I choose which things in a day are most important when it comes to cleaning. I have things that I'd like to see done every day and I set them in a priority so that the rooms that are important to me get taken care of first. This can be a problem when you live with a person that has different priorities so open communication on the subject is in order.
A side note, when you find out what is most important to you in the cleaning process you can see where you judge yourself and others ability to keep a clean house. Being aware of how you make judgment is how to stop judging. Remember also that someone that has a dirty house may be very overwhelmed or have other activities that they choose over their housework, such as family time. Be kind to yourself and others.
Hugs,
Michele
I was just sorting through a magazine. I pull out the pictures I need for my interior design classes and anything else I may feel a need to reference later. Today I came across some tips for keeping rooms tidy and such. This got my mind to thinking.
These are the thoughts that came to me either directly or indirectly from what I read. Decide what you want to see when you walk into the room. Create goals from that. What are your daily goals, weekly goals, monthly goals, and if you can, yearly or bi-yearly goals.
To help you know what you really see when you walk into a room, we see it but become so used to it we don't always notice it, take a picture. It's amazing how awful a room will look in a picture when you thought it was clean. This can be overwhelming too. If the room is obviously a mess you can either choose not to take a picture until you think you have it clean or you can take pictures as you go so you can see where you have been. I find this quite helpful when I'm overwhelmed.
A long these lines you can ask yourself what the most important space in the house is and why. For many this is the entry and living room as that is what visitors most often see. For me it is the kitchen, with the bathroom following as close second. I am not as concerned with what people think. I know that I am a busy woman with lots of kids and my house often reflects that. I feel much better if I know that I have a clean kitchen and bathroom.
From this I choose which things in a day are most important when it comes to cleaning. I have things that I'd like to see done every day and I set them in a priority so that the rooms that are important to me get taken care of first. This can be a problem when you live with a person that has different priorities so open communication on the subject is in order.
A side note, when you find out what is most important to you in the cleaning process you can see where you judge yourself and others ability to keep a clean house. Being aware of how you make judgment is how to stop judging. Remember also that someone that has a dirty house may be very overwhelmed or have other activities that they choose over their housework, such as family time. Be kind to yourself and others.
Hugs,
Michele
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The Law of the Vacuum
This is my first blog post. I have written newsletters in the past and am excited to again be sharing my thoughts and knowledge with others.
There are natural laws in existence. Even Father in Heaven has to follow the laws of nature. One of the laws is in essence the law of a vacuum. Whenever there is "empty space" it must be filled. When we clear out bad thoughts and habits they must be replaced with something else. Whether this is good is dependent upon our choices. An example is when a smoker decides to quit smoking, they sometimes use things like suckers to still have something sticking out from their mouth. Then find they are addicted to the sucker.
Now let's use an example in our homes. My husband had a lot of clothes he never wore. One day he decided to get rid a whole bunch. Within a very short time he was given a whole bunch of clothes. He ended up with a lot more that he would wear. When we get rid of things we open the space for more to flow to us.
There is also another thing that sometimes happens. Sometimes we have an emotional reason for keeping stuff. When we haven't replaced that negative emotional need with positive emotions and then get rid of stuff we can send the system into panic thereby attracting more of what we don't want to us. This is evident in the fact that my husband got twice as many clothes as he had gotten rid of.
There are many techniques for clearing the issues inside us. There are also many issues for clearing out our homes around us. I am excited to be bringing your awareness to some of those techniques.
There are natural laws in existence. Even Father in Heaven has to follow the laws of nature. One of the laws is in essence the law of a vacuum. Whenever there is "empty space" it must be filled. When we clear out bad thoughts and habits they must be replaced with something else. Whether this is good is dependent upon our choices. An example is when a smoker decides to quit smoking, they sometimes use things like suckers to still have something sticking out from their mouth. Then find they are addicted to the sucker.
Now let's use an example in our homes. My husband had a lot of clothes he never wore. One day he decided to get rid a whole bunch. Within a very short time he was given a whole bunch of clothes. He ended up with a lot more that he would wear. When we get rid of things we open the space for more to flow to us.
There is also another thing that sometimes happens. Sometimes we have an emotional reason for keeping stuff. When we haven't replaced that negative emotional need with positive emotions and then get rid of stuff we can send the system into panic thereby attracting more of what we don't want to us. This is evident in the fact that my husband got twice as many clothes as he had gotten rid of.
There are many techniques for clearing the issues inside us. There are also many issues for clearing out our homes around us. I am excited to be bringing your awareness to some of those techniques.
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