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Archive for the ‘inspiration’ Category

Friday’s Fresh Five! (3/5/10)

Posted in Aging, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Organization, Style and fashion, tagged , , , , , , on March 5, 2010| 1 Comment »

As we breeze into March here are some ideas to get the cobwebs out of your closet and out of your brain as well. When you’re done doing those things, do a little something to feed your soul.

#1 – Brain Power
Exercise your brain with fun crossword puzzles, word bubbles, speed match games, memory matrix challenges, word searches, and sodoku puzzles at realage.com. I could have played them all day, but more appropriately, I need to play them all day! For more creative play, go to this site and try designing your own snowflakes!

#2 – Closet Couture
If you go to closetcouture.com, you can have fun organizing your closet! Create an online closet by either photographing your clothes and uploading the photos to the site and/or by dragging images from provided retailer sites which have clothing and accessories. You can even share your closet with friends.

A nice aspect of this site is you can drag photos of your clothes to the calendar feature to help you keep track of what you’ve worn on which dates, as well as creating visual packing lists.

You can even hire an online stylist to help you develop your style, hone your shopping strategies, or figure out your packing list.

#3 -Tips For Cleaning Out Your Closets
Cnn.com has an article called, “10 tips for Organizing Your Closets” that offers practical tips for organizing different types of closets in your home. I particularly like this practical advice:

Distinguish clothing and shoes that you wear and items that you need to get rid of. You can do this by the golden rule of closet organizing: If you haven’t worn it in a year, toss it.

Also, if it doesn’t fit you well, it is time to get rid of it. Instead of hanging on to your “skinny jeans” until you lose a few pounds, donate them. Then, when you get down to your goal weight, treat yourself to a new, stylish pair of jeans.

If you are on the fence about an item, “flag” the hanger. As you wear each item, remove the flag. At the end of each season, items that are still marked with a flag should be donated. If the item is in good condition and/or if you paid a lot for it, think about selling it at a local consignment store or online at a site such as eBay.

#4 – Feed Your Soul
If you want free art that you just download, print, and frame, then go to Feed Your Soul. Every month a different artist is featured.

#5 – A Soulful Quote
“You have the need and the right to spend part of your life caring for your soul. It is not easy. You have to resist the demands of the work-oriented, often defensive, element in your psyche that measures life only in terms of output — how much you produce — not in terms of the quality of your life experiences. To be a soulful person means to go against all the pervasive, prove-yourself values of our culture and instead treasure what is unique and internal and valuable in yourself and your own personal evolution.” Jean Shinoda Bolen

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (2/26/10)

Posted in Aging, Community, Helping Others, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Recipes, Style and fashion, tagged , , , , , , , on February 26, 2010| 2 Comments »

The Olympics are almost over! It’s still raining! And the month of February is almost history for 2010! Now it’s time to celebrate the promise of Spring!

#1 – A Photo Sharing Idea
Look into using photo sharing services such as Shutterfly, Photobucket, or Snapfish to bridge the generational-technological photo sharing gap. Your children may post photos on their Facebook page, but these photos are normally inaccessible to grandparents. Some of this is on purpose, of course, because some photos just shouldn’t be seen by other generations! There are some photos, however, that grandparents would enjoy viewing. Have your child set up a photo sharing account and post photos he/she would like to share with his/her grandparents and then email the link to the grandparents. An added bonus is that grandparents can order print copies of photos if they wish.

#2 – Rules For Leftovers
These guidelines are from my most recent issue of Nutrition Action and are worth reviewing:

2 Hours from oven to refrigerator.
Refrigerate or freeze leftovers within 2 hours of cooking. Otherwise throw them away.

2 Inches thick to cool it quick.
Store food at a shallow depth – about 2 inches – to speed chilling.

4 Days in the Refrigerator – otherwise freeze it.
Use leftovers from the refrigerator within 4 days. Exception: use stuffing and gravy within 2 days. Reheat solid leftovers to 165 degrees F and liquid leftovers to a rolling boil. Toss what you don’t finish.

#3 – Fashion Trends
I  just watched Fashionair’s spring summer 2010 trend video and I have to say it’s a mixed bag. Here are my comments about the trends:

Sports – Layered tanks and asymmetrical sports bras are on the runway. This look is better left in the gym or on the track.

White Out – Fresh and clean looking with different whites together, but why not pop the white with some pretty spring color?

Utility and Khaki – This style is really in right now. Cargo pants and military and utility-looking tops. Style is okay, but color is drab, drab, drab.

Lingerie – Corsets, bustiers, and lace. I’ve never been a fan of wearing undergarments on the outside.

Trouser Gown – A  fashion hybrid that I actually thought was well done.

Digi Prints – These printed fabrics could be colorful and interesting.

YouthQuake – Mini and madcap – not for this over fifty chick!

Trench – Not new, but everywhere. One of the few trends I like because of the dress-up or dress-down ability.

#4 – No Sour Cream or Buttermilk?
Your recipe calls for a cup of sour cream, but you don’t have any? Just substitute cottage cheese. To 1 cup of cottage cheese add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice and 1/3 cup of butter milk and blend until smooth.  If you don’t have buttermilk just add one tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice to one cup of milk.

#5 – A Positive Quote
“How you think about a problem is more important than the problem itself. So always think positively.”
Norman Vincent Peale

Enjoy the last few days of February!

Note: The opening photo of a Peace rosebud is for my friend Michelle, an aspiring painter of roses!

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Walls Have Doors

Posted in Art and Crafts, Helping Others, inspiration, Jewelry, tagged , , , , , on February 25, 2010| 1 Comment »

Building walls to exclude others is something people do to protect themselves. Emotional walls are constructed the same way as physical walls: brick by brick, slat by slat, or incident after incident. To protect our hearts from further hurt or abuse, we build up emotional walls and once erected they can be very hard to tear down.

Rejection is a tough emotion to deal with, especially if it is repeated throughout life. I have a friend who has dealt with these issues and builds walls as a result. Thinking about my friend and her upcoming birthday, I thought, “What about designing an affirmation necklace for her?” In January I wrote a post about affirmations and the making of affirmation necklaces for my nieces for Christmas.

The most difficult aspect of designing these necklaces occurs before I pick up a single silversmithing tool. It requires a lot of brainstorming to distill the feelings into thoughts and then to transform the thoughts into three little words.

For my friend I chose these words, “Walls Have Doors.” Although she may build walls, she must remember that walls have doors, too. She ultimately holds the keys to her doors; she chooses who she shuts out and who she lets in.

I designed her necklace to allow her to wear this affirmation with a modicum of privacy.

I placed a sterling silver leaf over the affirmation word charm. This way, she can wear the necklace without a lot of people questioning the meaning of the words. A wonderful thing about the leaf charm is that stamped on the reverse side of it are the words, “Love Life.”

I don’t know if she will ever wear the necklace or not, but I think it has given her food for thought and a bit of joy. For me, the whole thought process gave me pause to reflect. Have I built any emotional walls and if I have, do my walls have doors?

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (2/19/10)

Posted in Gardening, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Photography, Recipes, tagged , , , , , , , , , on February 19, 2010| Leave a Comment »

The saying, “Stop and smell the roses,” is one we’ve heard many times before, but do we actually do it? Most of us get stuck on autopilot day after day and do not take time to appreciate the beauty in things around us. Sometime back I took such a moment to capture this daylily at it’s prime. It was delicate in appearance, yet strong in stature, and I marveled at how the sun’s spotlight gave it an ethereal glow. In the back of my mind there was sad acknowledgment that even the most magnificent of daylilies lasts only one day, but my consolation was that I was a witness to its glory.

#1 – Speaking of Roses
In a tattered and yellowed newspaper article that I’ve kept in my rose journal for years, Don and Mary Marshall, members of a rose society said, “Early spring, just after pruning, is the time to scatter a tablespoon or two of Epsom salts around the dripline of the plant. Several generous handfuls of alfalfa meal may also be added at this time, lightly scratched into the soil and watered in.” I’ve added these supplements to my roses in the past and have been happily rewarded with healthy plants and luscious blooms.

#2 – Gives Me Hope
At GivesMeHope: Life Is Beautiful Today! read entries posted by people regarding things in life that give them hope. With all the negative news in the world, it was refreshing to read some of the uplifting entries.

Here’s an example:
I work with kindergarten children, and when a little girl wet her pants, we decided to give her dress up clothes to wear.

She was very upset and embarrassed so a little boy in the class put on a cinderella dress and held her hand the rest of the day, saying “look – everyone’s laughing at ME!”

His kindness gmh (gives me hope).

#3 – A Kitchen Tip
If you are making a recipe that requires Italian Seasoning and you don’t have any on hand, just make your own by mixing together 1 tsp. oregano, 1 tsp. marjoram, 1 tsp. thyme, 1 tsp. basil, 1 tsp. rosemary, and 1 tsp. sage. Store any unused spice in an airtight container.

#4 – Got Ants?
Many years ago one of my friends called out a pest control company to help her get rid of ants. The exterminator told her to use Terro. She passed this advice on to me and I’ve found it to be a very effective product. Don’t buy the Terro Ant Baits. Buy the Terro bottle in the box that has the cardboard circles that you tear off. Squeeze out enough Terro to fill the circle and place the cardboard circle near where the ants are entering. Obviously, do not put Terro in areas where children or pets can reach it. Ants will come and swarm the glob of Terro and take it back to the nest. Patience and restraint are virtues here; it takes time for the ants to discover the Terro circle and it’s not a good thing to kill the ants you see crawling around, because they have to be alive to take the poison back to the nest!

#5 – Quote For The Day
Nothing is worth more than this day.
~Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Stop and enjoy something beautiful this weekend!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (2/12/10)

Posted in Holidays, inspiration, Recipes, tagged , , , , , on February 12, 2010| Leave a Comment »

With Chinese New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, and President’s Day creating a triple-treat long weekend for us, what’s not to celebrate? Having posted about the first two holidays, I feel it would be remiss of me not to write a post about President’s Day. Although President’s Day is specifically a celebration of George Washington’s birthday, I’d like to pay homage to some of our other American Presidents as well.

#1 – Why I Would Have Voted for George Washington
Any man who says this about his mother gets my vote: “My mother was the most beautiful woman I ever saw. All I am I owe to my mother. I attribute all my success in life to the moral, intellectual and physical education I received from her.”

#2 – Presidential-related Biographical Novels
I’ve always enjoyed reading historical fiction and Irving Stone’s novels are among some of my favorites:

LOVE IS ETERNAL: A Novel of Mary Todd and Abraham Lincoln

THOSE WHO LOVE: A Biographical Novel of Abigail and John Adams

THE PRESIDENT’S LADY: A Novel about Rachel and Andrew Jackson

#3 – Presidential Trivia Quiz
Courtesy of Apples4theteacher.com:

1. Who was the only bachelor president?
a. James Buchanan
b. James Monroe
c. Andrew Johnson
d. James Polk

2. Who was the heaviest president?
a. Grover Cleveland
b. Ulysses S. Grant
c. James Madison
d. William Taft

3. Who was the oldest elected president?
a. George Washington
b. Thomas Jefferson
c. Ronald Reagan
d. Woodrow Wilson

4. Which president was NOT born or did NOT die on the 4th of July?
a. John Adams
b. Calvin Coolidge
c. Thomas Jefferson
d. Benjamin Harrison

5. Which president was related by either blood or marriage to eleven other presidents?
a. John Quincy Adams
b. Franklin D. Roosevelt
c. Benjamin Harrison
d. John Kennedy

6. Which president was the youngest person to become president?
a. John F. Kennedy
b. Franklin Pierce
c. Theodore Roosevelt
d. William Clinton

7. Which president did not die in office?
a. Millard Fillmore
b. Franklin D. Roosevelt
c. Warren Harding
d. Zachary Taylor

8. Which president’s face is not part of Mt. Rushmore?
a. Thomas Jefferson
b. Franklin D. Roosevelt
c. George Washington
d. Theodore Roosevelt

Answers:
1. James Buchanan was the only bachelor president. He was the 15th president.

2. The heaviest president was William Taft, who weighed 300-340 pounds. He was the 27th president.

3. Ronald Reagan was the oldest elected president at age 69. He was the 40th president.

4. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson died on the same day – July 4, 1826. Calvin Coolidge was BORN on July 4, 1872. Benjamin Harrison died on March 13, 1901. He was the 23rd president.

5. John Quincy Adams was the son of the 2nd president, John Adams. Benjamin Harrison was the grandson of the 9th president, William Harrison. Franklin D. Roosevelt was related by either blood or marriage to eleven other presidents: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Ulysses S. Grant, William Henry Harrison, Benjamin Harrison, James Madison, Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, Zachary Taylor, Martin Van Buren, and George Washington. He was the 32nd president.

6. The youngest person to become president was Theodore Roosevelt, who, as vice-president, took over the office when William McKinley was assassinated. Roosevelt was 42 years of age. He was the 26th president. Kennedy was the youngest ELECTED president, but not the youngest to become president.

7. Millard Fillmore served from 1850-1854. He died in 1874. He was the 13th president.

8. Mt. Rushmore honors 4 past presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Franklin D. Roosevelt was the 32nd president.

#4 – A Presidential Soup Recipe
Here’s a recipe for Laura Bush’s Bake Potato Soup, courtesy of Presidential Recipes:
6 cups left over mashed potatoes
2 tbsp. butter or margarine
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 lb. of bacon, diced, cooked and drained well
1 large red pepper, diced
2 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup chives, minced
4 tbsp. sour cream approximately
2-3 cups of whipping cream, half and half or milk
Kosher salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

In a large soup pot, saute onions and red pepper over medium heat in 2 tablespoons butter until onions are clear. Add bacon, potatoes and whipping cream to desired consistency.

Skim milk or chicken stock may be used to reduce calories. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with a garnish of a dollop of sour cream, grated cheese and chives.

#5 – Presidential Quotes
“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
Theodore Roosevelt

“He has a right to criticize, who has a heart to help.”
Abraham Lincoln

“Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you.” Thomas Jefferson

“Men are not prisoners of fate, but only prisoners of their own minds.”
Franklin D. Roosevelt

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”
John F. Kennedy

Enjoy your long weekend!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (2/5/10)

Posted in Helping Others, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Recipes, Recycling, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 5, 2010| 2 Comments »

Despite the soggy weather, my daffodils are beginning to bloom. These beacons of cheer brighten the dreary landscape. Read about how your gift of daffodils can help brighten other people’s lives.

#1 – Daffodil Days
Proceeds from the American Cancer Society’s Daffodil Days program not only raise funds, but give hope to people facing cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, Daffodil Days “is about more than just giving beautiful flowers: it is everyone’s opportunity to create a world with less cancer and more birthdays where cancer never steals another year from anyone’s life.” Please give a gift of hope by donating to this worthwhile event.

#2 – My Most Requested Recipe Update
This information just in from one of my co-workers! A few months before I posted My Most Requested Recipe in September, a co-worker asked me for it so she could prepare it for her husband. He’s been eating steel cut oatmeal for breakfast every morning since then. Says my co-worker of her husband, “He was waving his lab report around like it was a medal.” The eighteen point drop in his cholesterol was quite significant. His current cholesterol levels have gone back down to his 2006 levels!

#3 – A Produce Tip from Bob
When buying bananas, look for medium-sized ones without any bruises. Avoid those that have a greenish-purple tinge as those will never ripen to a golden yellow. The greenish-purple tinge indicates that they have been refrigerated at some point in time. They are okay to eat, but will not taste as good.

#4 – Recycling: By the Numbers
I read an article on the Planet Green site called Recycling: By the Numbers and was impressed with the information. Here are the numbers as stated in the article:

* 544,000: Trees saved if every household in the United States replaced just one roll of virgin fiber paper towels (70 sheets) with 100 percent recycled ones.

* 20 million: Tons of electronic waste thrown away each year. One ton of scrap from discarded computers contains more gold than can be produced from 17 tons of gold ore.

* 9 cubic yards: Amount of landfill space saved by recycling one ton of cardboard.

* $160 billion: Value of the global recycling industry that employs over 1.5 million people.

* 79 million tons: Amount of waste material diverted away from disposal in 2005 through recycling and composting.

* 5 percent: Fraction of the energy it takes to recycle aluminum versus mining and refining new aluminum.

* 315 kg: Amount of carbon dioxide not released into the atmosphere each time a metric ton of glass is used to create new glass products.

* 98 percent: Percentage of glass bottles in Denmark that are refillable. 98 percent of those are returned by consumers for reuse.

* 51.5 percent: Percentage of the paper consumed in the U.S. that was recovered for recycling in 2005.

#5 – A Quote on Hope
Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence.
Lin Yutang

Bring cheer to someone’s life this weekend!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! ( 1/29/10)

Posted in Community, Helping Others, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Recycling, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on January 29, 2010| 1 Comment »


The sun has been struggling to break through the clouds for days now. Is this the day that it will actually happen? Metaphorically speaking, is today the day that each of us breaks through our own set of clouds? Will each of us choose to make selfless or selfish decisions today?

#1 – Blog4Change
In my quest for providing my readers with helpful information, I came across Blog4Change.org. Here’s its theory:
It has been said that people start their lives with equal parts of both selfishness and selflessness. Everyday, with every decision we make, there is an internal struggle between these two polar opposite sides of ourselves. The one that grows is the one that we choose to feed.

Do we let the car in with his blinker on beside us, or do we move up quickly because we do not want to lose the space? Do we lend an ear to the unhappy man behind the counter, or do we overlook his sadness because we are in a rush and must move on with our day?

Over the last thirty or so years we believe many people have been taken over by their selfish side. Look around, our world is full with people who drive nice cars but seek something faster, who live in nice homes but want something bigger, who have the latest TV, computer, phone, boat, or other toy, but are still not satisfied.

We believe it is vitally important to now, today, begin to retrain our bodies and rewire our brains to help make our selfless side stronger. We must feed our selfless desires, nurture them, help them to grow, and eventually, hopefully, our selfless side will once again dominate our selfish selves.

If a new visitor signs up to be a blogger at Blog4Change.org, writes three posts per week, and leaves three comments on other articles per week, it is our hypothesis that these visitors will be transformed from feeling generally empty, to feeling definitively fulfilled, from feeling generally down, to assuredly happy.

The idea is this: if the more you feed something the stronger it gets, which side of yourself do you want to be feeding?

With every blog post we will learn together how to live simple, expect little, and give much. The end result might just be something significant.

#2 – Recycling Towels
If you have bath or beach towels that you are no longer using, call your local veterinarian or SPCA to see if they can use them. Why donate to the SPCA versus the ASPCA? The ASPCA is a national organization headquartered in New York City. Its commercials feature photos of sad looking animals with Sarah McLachlan singing in the background. According to a customer of mine who is on the board of a local SPCA, if you donate to the ASPCA you may be helping animals, but your local SPCA will not receive any funding to continue its services.

#3 – A Kitchen Tip
Try using your kitchen scissors to snip your fresh herbs into little bits. It’s easier and faster this way. Hold herbs by their stems and start snipping at the other end. The herbs will look fresher and won’t have the bruising and dark coloration that chopped herbs can have.

#4 – Tips for Driving in the Fog
Courtesy of my local newspaper, here are tips for driving in the fog that I thought everyone should be reminded of:

A. Watch your speed. Fog creates the illusion that you’re going slower than you really are. Turn off the stereo and roll a window down a little to listen to trouble. If you hear voices or slamming doors, that’s reason for caution.

B. Use low-beam headlights, not high beams. If you can’t see the road ahead, concentrate on lane lines. If you have fog lights, use those, too – they help light up lane markers.

C. Avoid changing lanes.

D. Slow down. But if possible don’t stop, because you could be rear-ended.

E. If you must stop, the best option is to leave the highway using a designated exit. If you must pull onto the shoulder, get as far off the roadway as possible.

#5 – A Quote
“What you leave behind is not what is engraved on stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.”
Pericles

Have a good weekend! Has the sun come out, yet?

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (1/22/10)

Posted in Gardening, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Recycling, Travel, tagged , , , , , , , , , on January 22, 2010| Leave a Comment »

It’s bleak and wet outside, but I’m thinking of the beautiful sunny days ahead. My garden will be lovely in the spring, but only if I put in the work now!

#1 – A Garden Tip
In his book A Year In The Life Of A Rose, Rayford Clayton Reddell suggests stripping (cutting not ripping off) the foliage of your rose bushes two weeks before pruning. He states, “When leaves are removed from rosebushes, the plant is given a signal to rejuvenate the foliar process immediately.” The best time to prune your roses? Reddell says, “Prune as soon as possible once dormancy is safely broken, that is, when you’re sure there won’t be another hard freeze.”

#2 – Recycle With Freecycle
Got a new Blu-Ray DVD player for Christmas, but don’t know what to do with the old one? Check to see if there’s a Freecycle group in your area. Freecycle’s internet site claims: “The Freecycle Network™ is made up of 4,878 groups with 6,913,000 members across the globe. It’s a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by a local volunteer (them’s good people). Membership is free.” Make sure to be smart and protect your safety and privacy when posting to any list or participating in any exchange.

#3 – A Kitchen Tip
When using honey in recipes try spraying your measuring spoon or measuring cup with non-stick vegetable spray first. The honey will pour out more easily.

#4 – Say Hello
Here’s how to say hello or good day in these different languages:
Greek – yassou
French – bonjour
Spanish – hola
Italian – buongiorno
Portuguese – olá
Chinese – nǐ hǎo

#5 – A Quote
I would disagree with those who say we cannot change the past. We can heal it, transform it, utilize it, build on it – any number of creative things.
Julia Cameron, author of The Artist’s Way

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (1/15/10)

Posted in Community, Handcrafted Cards, Health, Helping Others, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Style and fashion, tagged , , , , on January 15, 2010| 1 Comment »

Try something new. Change your routine. Challenge yourself to find different ways to help others.

#1 – Helping Others
Looking for a way to make a difference? Here’s a link to VolunteerMatch. The description on the site reads, “VolunteerMatch strengthens communities by making it easier for good people and good causes to connect. The organization offers a variety of online services to support a community of nonprofit, volunteer and business leaders committed to civic engagement. Our popular service welcomes millions of visitors a year and has become the preferred internet recruiting tool for more than 74,000 nonprofit organizations.” The site was easy to use. I typed in my city and a list of organizations in my area looking for volunteers came up.

#2 – A Beauty Tip
Instead of buying expensive facial scrubs, try reaching into your pantry instead. Here are a couple of ideas: Baking soda mixed in with your favorite facial cleanser acts as a physical exfoliant by removing dead skin cells. Whirl oatmeal flakes in your blender with a little baking soda and water and you got a great soothing scrub. Or mix together 1 cup of granulated sugar with a 1/2 cup of oil (preferably almond oil) for a gentle moisturizing exfoliant. Try one tonight!

#3 – A Nutrition Tip
Which do you enjoy more – a wedge of iceberg lettuce with blue cheese on it or a Caesar salad? Did you know that romaine lettuce is far more nutritious than iceberg? According to e-Cookbooks, romaine “has three times as much Vitamin C and six times as much Vitamin A.”

#4 – Style Tips
Fashion designer Bradley Bayou’s top 5 reasons to pay more attention to accessories:
1. They change an outfit from formal to casual (and vice versa) in just a few seconds.
2. They’re more affordable than clothes.
3. They play up your sexiest assets.
4. They’re a great diversion from your flaws.
5. They can add a trendy touch to your neutral basics.

#5 – A Quote to Think About
If you judge people, you have no time to love them.
Mother Teresa

Enjoy your weekend!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (1/08/10)

Posted in Helping Others, inspiration, Organization, Recycling, Style and fashion, tagged , , , , , on January 8, 2010| 2 Comments »

Holiday decorations are once again stored away and the New Year brings a fresh start in many ways. Lately, I’ve heard numerous conversations that contain three little words that manage to bring out the best and the worst in all of us, “Clean my closet.”

#1 – Organizing Your Closet
Have you ever gone clothes shopping and purchased an item very similar to one you already have or have you even purchased the exact same item again? I hear this all the time at work when clothes are being returned. One way to prevent this is to organize your closet by type and by color. For example, hang all blouses together. Then sort by sleeve length – group all long-sleeved ones together, short-sleeved ones together, and sleeveless ones together. Then within each sleeve length group, sort by color. Blacks with blacks, blues with blues, etc. By organizing this way you will always be able to take a quick visual inventory of what you have before you shop. After doing this myself I found out that I have seven white blouses!

#2 – Donate Clothes to a Cause
After cleaning out your closet consider donating the discards. Your donated clothes can make a difference in someone’s life. Here are a few organizations that will make good use of your clothes:

Dress for Success – Suits to Self-Sufficiency
“The mission of Dress for Success is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.” www.dressforsuccess.org

The Women’s Alliance – Someone’s Future Is In Your Closet
“The Women’s Alliance is a national organization of independent, community based members who provide professional attire and career skills training to low income women and their families seeking self sufficiency.”
www.thewomensalliance.org

The Princess Project
“The Princess Project promotes self-confidence and individual beauty by providing free prom dresses and accessories to high school girls who cannot otherwise afford them. Our effort is made possible through invaluable volunteer, donor and community support.”
http://www.princessproject.org

Brides Against Breast Cancer
“To provide an opportunity for metastatic breast cancer patients’ dream or wish to be fulfilled by providing a special time of ‘Making Memories’ together with their families, a chance that might not have become a reality without the assistance of the Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation.”
http://makingmemories.org

#3 – Organizing Necklaces
If your necklaces are in a tangled heap in a box or in a drawer, here’s a suggestion for you. In my closet I’ve hung one of those accordion-style wooden mug racks that has 13 pegs. Not only can I sort my necklaces by lengths, I can keep them tangle-free. Another advantage to this system is that I can see all of my necklaces at a glance – which makes it easier to select the right one.

#4 – A Restyling Tip
According to Deborah Mitchell, Senior Editor of Environmental Protections, “Collectively, Americans discard two quadrillion pounds (that’s a two with fifteen zeroes) of used clothing and textiles into the landfills each year.” Clothing made of quality fabrics can be restyled or recycled for you with the help of a seamstress. Often times a few changes can give an article of clothing a new look. Take it in, shorten it, take off the sleeves, make a top out of a dress. Be creative!

#5 – Einstein on Clothes
If most of us are ashamed of shabby clothes and shoddy furniture, let us be more ashamed of shabby ideas and shoddy philosophies. It would be a sad situation if the wrapper were better than the meat wrapped inside it.
Albert Einstein

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