Please, hold onto plastic bags. Pick them up when you see them. Recycle appropriately. Stop using asap. Thank you!
Now for our main attraction… The Majestic Plastic Bag – A Mockumentary (thank you YouTube!)
Autumn is almost upon us! Don’t let it fly by into winter and still not have your clutter decluttered and chosen joys organized!
Look around your house or office right now. Do you have clutter? Is any of it “in your way” in a “if I don’t walk carefully around it I’ll trip over it” kind of way? Or, how about all that paper stacked in your garage-is it safe to leave there for another year or ten?
It’s the human condition really, we’re genetically programmed to collect, accumulate and to save a variety of things. Generations of people before us had to seek out and collect anything that was materially useful. They had to be not only resourceful, but, because they didn’t have a store or all-you-can-buy-for-pennies-24/7-MART down the street, they had to make everything (EVERY THING) themselves, so that collecting, consuming and storing food and “stuff” was critical to survival in long winters and in times of famine. So, it’s really in our DNA.
But, we do now have 24/7 MARTS and shops and stores. We don’t need to collect and store and consume as much as we do. And, we’re really not that many generations away from “those” people in past generations. My parents grew up on farms in the Midwest where they didn’t have electricity when they were children, if they didn’t have “it,” they created it or did without. My grandparents didn’t have an inside toilet until I was about eight. They just didn’t see the need. A woman in my home town passed away last year, she was 87. She still didn’t have an indoor bathroom. She chose to use the outhouse as she was used to it, she didn’t need “bigger, better and more” to enjoy her life.
I’m not suggesting that you give it all up to live that simply, but to become more mindful and conscious of your choices on a daily basis. Technology, most markedly electricity, (what a blessing) makes us masters of the universe! Or at least the master of our own personal universe. But there are two sides to every coin. Technology and “more” can also be a curse. We can stay up all night long with the lights on, we can travel farther, plug in more stuff and buy the next gadget. As we “trance” out (unconscious consuming) and keep buying and collecting more of what we already have or don’t need and don’t use, we become overwhelmed with what we now call “clutter.”
CLUTTER AND STRESS
There is a direct correlation between clutter and stress. Clutter can lead to health problems including stress, weight gain and physical hazards from an unhealthy environment piled with “too much, too long.” It also affects our behaviors; clutter is a contributing factor to noncompliance to taking medications, keeping appointments, being able to exercise and eat well.
And to add to this growing list is the inability to be genuinely happy, at peace with oneself and limited social enjoyment due to not inviting people into ones home for embarrassment of the clutter. And, the big hazard, your house burning down due to mounds of paper too close to a flame, oil or gas soaked rags left in the garage or any number of ways that clutter can start or impede the rescue efforts when there is a disaster. (I have several real news reports pertaining to this in my ebook, Burn Your House Down.)
CLUTTER MESSES UP YOUR BRAIN
Messes on the outside create messes on the inside. Over time, subtle, constant, low-grade stress develop from living in a cluttered environment. Even though you may think it doesn’t bother you, your brain remembers and sees and catalogues it all. Anxiety over clutter literally messes with your brain’s alpha waves and interferes with your sleep, making you more fatigued, impacting your hormone levels (women and men) and increasing production of cortisol, leading to weight gain and other more serious medical issues. The more clutter you have the more you need to deal with it. The more you don’t deal with it the more you generate stress, overwhelm and depression.
Over 97% of doctors office visits are stress related. How many of these are related to clutter?
A little or a lot, clutter steals your time, energy, peace of mind, and productivity. Are you ready to change?
CLEAR THE CLUTTER, STAY WELL
Keep doing this same pattern of activity over and over around your home and office until it’s done. If you feel overwhelmed, hire a professional organizer or ask for help from a friend.
It’s “just start it” time!
You should own your possessions, they should not own you. Take time and take charge of your environment. Open it back up for joy and fun and friends. That’s what life’s about, not stuff.
It’s always something!
I use resusable totes all the time. I LOVE TOTE BAGS! My mom says, “You have too many tote bags!” I say, “Can you ever have too many tote bags?!” 
Now, the problem with tote bags is that they get dirty. Reusable grocery bags are great for the environment, but reusing them over and over, throwing them in a lump in the hot car and using them for many purposes is going to gather e coli and all kinds of bacteria. That’s not including just what you and others add to the bags when you touch them and put them on counters at the store, at home, on the floor, in the car, on a bus, at the bus stop . . . you get the picture.
Bags used for food can also gather Salmonella and Listeria creating the potential to make you sick. Or, if they don’t make you sick immediately, these little creatures can cause disease in people with weakened immune systems and weaken your immune system.
However… food-safety expert Michael Hansen, senior staff scientist at Consumers Union says, “A person eating an average bag of salad greens gets more exposure to these bacteria than if they had licked the insides of the dirtiest bag. These bacteria can be found lots of places, so no need to go overboard.”
But Hansen notes that there are some reminders to good health. “It’s easy to spread bacteria from meat, fish, or poultry to other foods – in your kitchen or in your grocery bags. So we do think it’s wise to carry those items in disposable bags. Reusable bags are fine for most everything else, but it’s a good idea to wash them occasionally.”
So, do this:
1. Wash bags regularly in the wash machine or with soap by hand (no bleach necessary) reducing bacteria by 99.9 percent.
2. When bagging your goodies, make sure to separate raw foods from other food products.
3. Make sure to use plastic of some sort to bag raw meat to guard against leaking. Have a few plastic bags that are washed well after each use and reuse them in your bag collection.
4. If your bags are accumulating, go through them and decide which ones you really use, keep them in good repair and clean, store or let go of the others.
Happy reusable grocery bag bagging!
Check out my post from last fall on cleaning your purse for your health too!
Do you love mice? Maybe you have a pet mouse? Cool!
Do you love wild mice building nests in your house, eating stuff, chewing through walls and your belongings, leaving droppings and odors and running around spreading germs? EW! Probably not.
Okay, I know you won’t like this post, but you also don’t like mice in your house, right?
I haven’t had a mouse in my apartment for the 9 years I’ve lived here. It’s never been a concern. So, having them this week has not been enjoyable. I thought it was just me, but with 290 units here I just found out from management that my building, of 14 buildings, is mouse-targeted this week for some reason.
How to get rid of them?
1. Rent a Cat. Free lunch, exercise for the cat and it’s part of the cycle of nature.
2. Live Traps. Get the traps that capture but don’t kill, and let out to run free again!
3. Old faithful wood and wire Snap Mouse Traps. If you’re going to kill them, this is the best of course. “Should be” instant and over with. At least their spirit will run free. However, if you live in an apartment complex, this is not a good idea. They will run right back into the buildings.
4. Mouse Glue Traps and Pads. The big bad one.
A conversation here about glue traps: Many people are against these, including me, before I had mice this week! Glue traps are considered, and rightly so, inhumane. There is supposed to be a chemical on them to anesthetize the mouse so that they don’t suffer, but that rarely happens.
So, is there a humane use of mouse glue traps? I know, it sounds like an oxymoron.
Here are two answers after 5 captures in 3 days (before maintanence comes over to seal up any drywall – behind stove and dryer where electrical wires are where they must be coming in.)
First, check your traps often enough that if the mouse is still alive you can do one of the following quickly.
1. If the mouse is caught just slightly in the glue trap and he would be alright if he was not in it, take it outdoors, pour vegetable oil on the trap by his body until it loosens the glue and he can run free.
2. If he’s hurt enough that he wouldn’t live, take the trap to the toilet and yes, dunk the little creature in and drown the little guy for his own good. Then, off to the trash (where, if you don’t finish him off, he’ll be suffering for a long time).
Finally, as soon as I see one in a trap, dead or alive, I add a blessing on them and to them and an apology. I don’t like killing anything, but sometimes . . . .
P.S. My mom (farm girl that she is) says that, “mice coming in now is a sign that colder weather will be sooner this fall/winter, they’re already are coming in to nest inside.” That actually might be valid too as it’s been sporatic weather this week, cooler here already the past few days. I don’t know if that’s true, but it is true that animals and mother nature communicate in awesome ways that we humans have long forgotten.
So, bless you mice, and please stay out of my apartment. Amen.
Men, this one’s for you!
Dr. Oz has a few things, well, 25 things! to say to you about taking care of yourself.
Women, tell your husbands and boyfriends, everyone forward to your friends, brothers, father and sons. It may just save their lives.
Dr. Oz’s 25 Greatest Men’s Health Tips
As you well know by now, Dr. Mehmet Oz is a professor of cardiac surgery at Columbia University and a founder of the Complementary Medicine Program at New York-Presbyterian Hospital. He is co-author of the award-winning Healing from the Heart: A Leading Surgeon Combines Eastern and Western Traditions to Create the Medicine of the Future and YOU: The Owner’s Manual: An Insider’s Guide to the Body that Will Make You Healthier and Younger. He has frequently appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show and currently hosts The Dr. Oz Show.
Oz says, “On The Dr. Oz Show, I’ve learned that once people are emotionally involved, change happens quickly, especially if they feel that their behavior is letting loved ones down.”
He goes on to say, “Even though large-scale change seems daunting, we still want and need simple routines that we can automatically follow on a daily basis for our best health. Adopt some of the steps described here, which work for me and that anyone can do, and you will like your life more in just a couple of weeks. Plus, you’ll live longer.”
My note: I’ve left most of Oz’s tips as simple self-explanatory titles, to others I’ve added more information to round out the point. Enjoy!
1. Roll on the Floor Laughing
2. Don’t Skip Breakfast
3. Hit the Sack (7+ hours of sleep!)
4. Admire Your Work — check out your poop!
Don’t be so trigger-happy with the flusher. Turn around and take a look at your poop, which speaks volumes about your gut and overall health. Poop should be smooth and S-shaped, like your colon. If it comes out too lumpy, or drops into the bowl like marbles, you’re constipated; increase your fiber and water intake.
5. Don’t Pamper Your Bad Back
6. Taste the Colors — Vegetables and Fruit
7. Brushing is Not Enough — Floss!
8. Take a Deep Belly Breath
9. Join a Yoga Class
10. Don’t Be an Island
11. Avoid Fad Diets
12. Be a Smart Patient
13. Lose the Beer Belly
14. Go Green — Green Tea
15. Sweat Until You’re Wet
16. Save Some Money
17. Have as Much Sex as Possible (Get ready ladies!)
18. Know Your Numbers, then Aim Lower
These include blood pressure (which ideally should be below 115 over 75), LDL cholesterol (under 100), resting heart rate (under 70), and fasting blood sugar (under 100). If your numbers aren’t ideal, change your diet until they improve.
19. Add Some Weights
20: Grab Your Nuts (I’ll fill this one in!)
Nuts are among the best sources of healthful fats and protein around. I keep a bag of walnuts in my fridge and use their massive dose of omega-3 fatty acids to boost my brainpower while I see patients. Half of a handful eaten about 30 minutes before a meal will temper your appetite and help you avoid the drive-thru.
21. No, Seriously, Grab Your Nuts (I’ll fill this one in too!)
Testicular cancer is the most common cancer in men ages 15 to 35, but it’s usually curable if caught early enough. I strongly urge you to grab your testicles and check them for bumps at least once a month. Each testicle should feel smooth and slightly soft, and one should hang slightly lower than the other, like two avocados (which, in Aztec, actually means “testicles”) growing on a tree.
22. Hit the Dance Floor
23. Do Your Penis a Favor (I’ll fill this one in also!)
Step on a treadmill. Men who exercise enough to burn 200 calories a day significantly lower their chances of impotence. That’s because impotence often has the same cause as heart attacks: blocked arteries. Your penis is like a dipstick for your arteries, so check it. If you’re interested in keeping it up later in life, lace up the sneakers now.
24. Learn to Cook
25. Some Pills Should Be Popped — Vitamin D
26. I’ll have to add a 26th Tip here men! — Get organized!
The more organized you are the less stress you’ll have all ’round!
Do you want more information on each of these? Click here for the full article on each healthy idea from Oz.
My friends Nancy and Sherry and I walked the WWs 5K today!
Get support for your weight loss and healthy lifestyle.
Walk, run, swim, laugh, love… with your friends and your healthy body this year!
Sweden spends more annually than our war budget on studies to find out the damage caused by cell phones on our brains and all the flying electricity and microwaves in the air at, through and around us all. A new syndrome has developed since the advent of wi-fi, cell phones and more and more cell phone towers and electric lines, it’s called “electro-sensitivity,” in which people complain that simply being near electricity causes discomfort and pain. Sweden is taking this seriously to the level that they will pay to have aprson’s house shield from the electromagnetic field if they are diagnosed as electro-sensitive.
There is no conclusive evidence that cell phones cause brain tumors, dementia, sterility (laptops and phones being held on lap or in pockets) and other life-long damage, but authorities say to use them wisely and sparingly. Shut them off a few hours a day so that the “pulses” of microwaves stop coming to your phone and to you. Especially around and by children.
I saw a very new at toddling toddler in a store last week listening to “grandpa” say hi on mom and dad’s cell phone. I kept my mouth shut, but my brain was saying, “You are potentially frying your kid’s brains.”
Children’s skulls are thinner and more sensitive to the microwaves pounding through the atmosphere into the phone and the ear, and the brain. At least defend your children and grandchildren from possible adverse outcomes until more studies prove otherwise.
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Oh, those fun people over the pond! We need more of this, pronto!What cool and creative thing can you create in your home, community or area?
Are you too old to be messing around, playing and having too much fun?
NEVER!!
Make sure to have fun on vacation, on holiday, down the street and in your back yard! People who play and laugh more are healthier, friendlier and live longer!
Here’s my friend Jan up in Rochester, MN. She’s sitting pretty in a really big chair on display in front of a store. Jan is going to be a grandma again pretty soon! Go grandma!
“We are driven by five genetic needs:
survival, love and belonging, power, freedom, and fun.”
~ William Glasser, M.D., American psychiatrist
The developer of reality therapy and choice theory
Life’s short! Organize around fun!
No matter your age, play today! Take a photo and share your fun in the sun!
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