DrDeClutterBlog.com

When you get onto an airplane, you’re told that “in case of cabin pressure changes” the oxygen masks will fall down from the compartments above — and — put YOURS ON FIRST, then help those next to you.

Hmmm, how good are you at this?

Women especially are socialized from day one to take care of other’s needs first, then themselves. Do you do that? How’s that workin’ for ya?

The first step to being true to yourself is taking care of yourself FIRST so that you have more to give to others, not less, by giving it all away and being depleted.

So, life’s short! Post a REMINDER or two around and on your schedule to

1.  be by yourself happily, enjoy your own company

2.  take care of your health so that you’re in good shape daily for anything that happens, and so that you can simple enjoy your “earth suit!”

3.  create an environment around you that you love and that loves you back

4.  have friends who support you and your endeavors

5.  spend time daily doing nothing to reclaim your energy

6.  have fun, lots of fun. Laugh more often, smile at everything!

Find more and more little things that help you feel relaxed, happy and loved, so that YOUR OXYGEN MASK is on safe and secure for the day - every day.  
 

Prices up, income down – or gone - an increasing number of people are taking their “customer” status into a new frontier (or back into the way people used to do things years ago!), they’re side-stepping the financial craziness for a more personal approach to buying and selling that does not involve money.

I didn’t have sisters to share and swap clothes and things with, so when I was a kid I got “hand-me-downs” from my older cousins, Jan and Pat. I often got two of the same shirt as even though they weren’t twins, they wore matching outfits once in a while! (I’ll never forget the black and white striped ones!) Now, we can be and have new great big sisters and generous cousins too — all at your Shwapping Party!

Look in your closet, how many of those clothes have you not worn in forever, and aren’t going to wear again – too small, too big, not the right length or color, just tired of looking at it!

Shwapping Parties are a new way of recreating your wardrobe closet without spending a dime!

Get together with friends and have one of your own!

1. Contact your friends and have them contact theirs for the most variety and choices — and fun!

2. Decide who has the most room for the clothes to hang and be displayed.

3. Gather up all your unused and still good enough for someone to wear clothing, shoes and accessories.

4. Decide on a date and time for your Shwapping Party.

5. Invite all the schwappers to meet, bring their items – and bring some friends too! 

At the end of the day, you’ll have gotten rid of your unappreciated clothes, and gotten some new ones to appreciate, all for free! And, you have told lots of stories about those clothes, laughted, had fun with your friends, maybe met a few more, and deepened your relationship with them too.

All good!

Have fun shwapping!

University of Wisconsin-Madison study shows that meditation might be your prescription for a happier mind and kinder heart. Who couldn’t use more of those?!

Scientists worked with 16 Tibetan monks and 16 meditation novices, giving the beginners lessons on compassion meditation two weeks prior to a series of brain-scan experiments. The brains scans – taken while the participants responded to different emotional cues – revealed that the monks – who had years of practice and rerouting of their brain’s neuronet system and mind/body focus – had more activity in certain brain regions involved in processing empathy.

The findings suggest that meditation may train the brain to increase feelings of compassion and happiness.

HOW TO RETRAIN YOUR BRAIN FOR MORE COMPASSION AND HAPPINESS

Here is how you can start your prescribed-open-heart-and-mind wellness meditation program, too.

1. Sit with your spine erect. Relax. Breathe deeply.

2. As you inhale, picture a person to whom you want to extend compassion. As you exhale, silently say, “May compassion awaken.” Inhale and exhale for several breaths, focusing on the center of your chest.

3. Recalling the person, silently say, “May whatever clouds compassion be healed.”

4. Repeat this cycle with the phrase, “May this moment be experienced, exactly as it is.”

5. And finally, “May compassion be extended to all.”

We all know and hear that we’re supposed to take care of ourselves, of course, but if you’re a caregiver for others — parents, grandparents, ill spouse, child or other — and aren’t getting enough breaks, you will burnout.

If you feel run down, ill, tired, depressed, angry, burned-out or any other negative and depleting feelings or health concern, you are less help to your loved one, and none to yourself.

Take care of yourself now FIRST so that you can do a better job for a longer time.

1. Create balance between caring for others and caring for yourself.

2. Protecting your health (physical, mental, emotional and spiritual) is absolutely critical.

3. Get regular check-ups; for basic vitamin deficiencies (take a multi-vitamin for sure) and for possible illnesses, colds, etc.

4. Get exercise. Get out and walk. Get outdoors and enjoy the weather and seasons. Exercise with friends. Movement keeps you flexible, strong and well plus floods your body with endorphins for more good feelings and health.

5. Eat well. Get your basics plus and eat well daily.

6. Stay involved in hobbies.

7. Stay involved with your friends and social time. You need your friends now more than ever. Don’t do this alone.

8. Watch for signs of depression. See your physician if it gets out of your control.

9. Ditch the guilt. Your loved one is on “their journey.” You can’t change how they got there and where they’re going. You can do as much as you can do. Then, you have to let others help and take breaks.

10. Ask for help. Whether it’s from a professional service, family or friend, ask for help sooner than later.

11. Laugh. Laugh a lot! Laugh with friends, with your pet, at movies or other entertainment. Laughter is good medicine – literally!

Caregiving can be a very hard job. Make sure you take care of yourself FIRST, then take care of others. If you are “empty”, you have little to give. Say FULL!

Whether you’re married and dating, or single and dating, you still need to be having fun, no matter what’s happening “out there!”

A night out doesn’t have to break your budget nor be boring.

DINNER AND MOVIE: Have dinner at home then go out to the movies. Or, out do dinner and then home for a rental movie.

KIDS: Swap with other parents throughout the month for free child-sitting and overnights to give you a break.

Or, only have a sitter for 2 or 3 hours, not 5 or 6.

SMALL SPLURGES: The supermarkets have awesome great food now, pre-stuffed chicken, pork-chops and fish; ready to go stuffed baked potatoes; ready to bake pizzas, etc. Buy a bottle of your favorite wine or other beverage and plan a fun night in.

COUPONS: Most restaurants are giving coupons weekly now. Take advantage of them, giving yourself a night our and your local businesses some business!

PLAN AHEAD: Check your local paper or online for your community, there are festivals, special events, etc. going on all over now that it’s spring. Plan ahead and go to free events, take a picnic in the park for hear the bands, walk by the lake, ocean or take a hike into the mountains and enjoy life on planet earth!

BE CREATIVE! It’s easy to lose our creativity when we go out to the same places and do the same things. Transitional times can ask us to change in the best of ways! Be creative! Ask one another what you’d like to do on the budget you have.

CREATE A SANCTUARY: Your home “should be” your organized (!), uncluttered (!) happy castle and sanctuary. Okay, even if it’s not organized and uncluttered, make sure there are parts of it that feel great, where you can relax and wine and dine and dance with your honey.

Whatever you do, don’t over spend when not necessary and don’t sit at home sulking either.

THE MOST IMPORTANT THING: The bottom-line is that you spend “quality” time with your honey and communicate. Talk about your dreams, aspirations, yearnings and joys. If you have kids or other issues and/or troubles, give it a time-out — don’t talk about them. This is your time together. Have fun!

“Love does not consist in gazing at each other,
but in looking outward together in the same direction.”
~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

This Friday is Memorial Day Weekend Friday.

There have been emails floating around re: wearing blue or red shirts/clothes to show attention to and honoring our soldiers this and every Friday.

You can check out this site re: Red Shirt Fridays: http://www.redshirtfridays.org/

Whatever we can do anytime to remember our soldiers is a good thing.

Do what works for you. Keep them all in your best thoughts and prayers.

Thank you all soldiers and troops who keep our land and lives safe and free.

Tightening our belts. Spending less. Skirting some purchases and waiting until later. These “wait and see” decisions are hard on small stores and independent brick and mortars for sure. Many have a already closed and others are sweating it out week to week without the customers support.

We all know that this recession, depression, or whatever it is and for however longs affects everyone negatively if we don’t consciously make some changes over which we DO have control.

SOLUTION? Meet The 3/50 Project!  Flyer and more.

This flyer empowers and challenges your customers to take action by giving them a feasible way they can contribute in their own community. It’s a brilliant marketing piece that I think you’ll agree you can use in your store right away.

And, this small change is no $mall change we’re talking about!

This project is built on the premise, that if only 50% of the employed U.S. population spent at total of $50 a month in independent shops . . . together we would be generating a revenue for our country of nearly $43 billion in revenue annually.

And, we all benefit when we support the small businesses that are an intrinsic part of our communities. Join the movement and find more information on how you can be a part of helping us help ourselves at The 3/50 Project website.

FOUNDER AND FLYER: The 3/50 Project Founder, Cinda Baxter has a wonderful flyer that you can distribute to your customers promoting how and why they should (continue to) shop locally. They are also in the process of partnering with the Chicago Market to create window clings about the project. To request one for your store, visit their website and register as a supporter.

I’m getting my $50 out right now! See you downtown!

Thank you Cinda for your brilliant idea! Follow Cinda on twitter too, of course!

http://twitter.com/cindabaxter

“Hundreds of dewdrops to greet the dawn,
Hundreds of bees in the purple clover,
Hundreds of butterflies on the lawn,
But only one mother the wide world over.”
~ George Cooper    

Mother’s Day is this Sunday.

We may not each be one, but we each have one. They may be near, far, never known or passed on, but we each have a mother.

Moms, thank you for all you do and the hard work you put in every day to raise children, take care of others, work and laced inbetween making sure that you are taking care of yourself.

Mother Teresa (Nobel Peace Prize Winner) shared her love on a massive scale as she took care of legends of the most diseased and disheartened on our planet. In her speech at the Fouth UN Women’s Conference, she said:

“That special power of loving that belongs to a woman is seen most clearly when she becomes a mother. Motherhood is the gift of God to women. How grateful we must be to God for this wonderful gift that brings such joy to the whole world, women and men alike!  No job, no plans, no possessions, no idea of “freedom” can take the place of love.”

She also noted, “God told us, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” So first I am to love myself rightly, and then to love my neighbor like that. But how can I love myself unless I accept myself as God has made me?”

On this Mother’s Day and everyday, love yourself first . . . then all others. Make sure that your well is full, then drench everyone else with your juicy, happy, joyfilled love!

PHOTO: Mother Teresa’s feet. 

I truly enjoyed the Tulip Festival and Fairy Parade in Boulder yesterday.

Fun and being out and about is great stress management too! It’s great for your health and mental wellbeing, and you might just meet some new people, creating new friends and life-support-systems!

Get out this spring and enjoy more and more of your community events, music, parades, festivals, craft fairs and more.