DrDeClutterBlog.com

I know, it’s still AUGUST! But . . . the stores have been advertising Christmas stuff since last month to get ahead on holiday sales.  

Do you ever notice the music from “JAWS” in the background as the holidays draw closer?

It’ll be a while, but not that very long from now all joy is going to break loose! Are you ready?

I have created a Pre-Holiday Planning Tool Kit for you. It’s a must if you want to make this holiday season better, saner and filled with more of what you really want. Yes, starting now is the best time, especially if there is travel or family gatherings involved.

“For some, holiday time can bring visions of sugarplums,

parties, and visits with family and friends –

for others it can also bring a rash of stressful energy

and emotions, hours spent shopping for the “perfect gift”,

demands of travel, disappointment, loneliness,

unresolved grief and depression.”

From Holiday Stress Be Gone! ebook

If you’d like to have a better holiday experience this year, start now to create it!

Use simple and proven steps to find, keep and enjoy your “peaceful center,” feel calm again — or for the first time in a long time — and enjoy the upcoming months and slide into Christmas.

“Dear Kim, WOW! I love this book. The lists and assignments were a life saver
for me the past year. I now use your guidelines to plan ahead for everything.
I’m less stressed, happier and much calmer about everything.
Thank you so much!” ~ Anna, Dallas, TX

HERE’S THE PERFECT STOCKING STUFFER!!
Tired of hearing your family and friends gripe about the holidays? Here’s a great gift for them! Order it for “them!” They’ll thank you! (No shipping and handling either!)

Good all year long. No matter what time of year it is, pre-planning is a must in order to change your next holiday experience to a better one for yourself and your loved ones.

Buy and read it now and forever know your peace!

Like my presentations, this book is packed with immediate guides to help you redecide, let go and move on to where you really want to be.

You’ll get
· assignments and hands-on exercises,
· practical tips and methods for change,
· eye-opening factoids,
· true stories,
· inspirational quotes and stories,
· humor,
and for lots of fun pictures that are entertaining and poignant.

Ebook PDF file format. Only $12.00 — delivered to your computer screen upon order verification!  Click here to find out more and order!

Don’t create one more holiday season of struggle when the solutions are right here, right now. Don’t lose another holiday season to past memories and anxiety. You and your family deserve better!

Happy Pre-Holiday Planning Season!

Kim

Have fun this holiday weekend.

Here’s a fun site with lots of cool ideas for the 4th if you’re at a loss for something new.

http://www.celebrations.com/4th-of-july

Give your mom a unique gift with a very personal touch showing your appreciation.
 
Maybe your mother has about everything she needs, or is at that age where she tells you not to buy her anything, or is tired of flowers and candy. How many bouquets of flowers have you sent to your mother on Mother’s Day?
 
If you’d like to be a lot more personal and loving (we can never share enough appreciation) then this is a great idea that you alone, with siblings or with your family can do for mom this week!
 
This very inexpensive, cool idea can be whipped together in a few hours and even sent in the mail to get to her on time this Saturday if necessary! And, it’s something she can dip into anytime to remind her of all good things and you.
 
Mom’s Mason Jar of Love
 
What you’ll need:
1) a nice clean clear Mason canning jar, ideally one with the metal clip ring around it with glass lid, not just the screw on lid, but either will do
 
2) cut 2″ x 3″or 4″ pieces of bright colored paper
 
3) 4-6″ pieces of twine or ribbon
 
4) thin marker pen
 
On the small rectangles of paper, jot down recollections of your mother: her favorite perfume, an unforgettable vacation you took together, a saying she repeated again and again when you were a kid, the favorite foods she cooked/s, the way she sings, dances, cares for others, cared/s for you, etc. Just think of things you’d tell others about her that has supported you in life, that make you happy and glad she’s your mom.
 
Roll up each one and tie it with a piece of twine or ribbon.
 
Fill the Mason jar with your handwritten scrolls.
 
You can wrap the jar in tissue paper or cellophane gathered at the top with ribbon and a tag, or put in a box, or just hand to her. It’s pretty without wrapping too.
 
Little Notes of Love
Whether you’re there to watch your mom read each little note or not, your mom will love unraveling the messages one by one to see what you wrote!
 
You might send a box of tissues with it!
 
Are you the mom?
Print this out and leave in an obvious place where your partner and kids are sure to find it!!
 
Use this idea over and over again for any person or occasion!
 
PS Happy Mother’s Day to you (where applicable!)

.

TIP 1: ARE THE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS STILL UP?
Don’t make undecorating a drag! Have a post-holiday-undecorating-party with your friends! Have a pot-luck, or whip up some easy munchies and invite your best friends over to undo the holiday decoration doing and have fun, take pictures!, enjoy your friends, share stories and create new memories.
 
TIP 2: RETURN THE RETURNS
If you have Gift Reciepts and things to return, do so by this Saturday so that they aren’t still sitting in a pile in the back of the closet when I come over to declutter in 9 months!! or 9 years! No joking!! Complete it now and enjoy your space and a check off your to do list.
 
TIP 3: LEFT OVER HOLIDAY FOOD
Go through your frig by tonight and make sure to freeze or plan to eat the leftovers so that you don’t throw them out. Wash up your frig shelves and start a cool new year in there too!

Losses throughout the year of any kind, human, animal, health, wealth or of spirit can take an extra toll during the holiday weeks. Here are a few steps to take care of yourself during this time.

1. Make time to grieve.

Set aside time to really feel your feelings, cry your tears and let it all go where it needs to. Your body needs to mourn your loss or change all the way through.

2. Get support from others.

It’s not always easy to ask for help. Being “strong” isn’t smart. Being “human” is. Whether you talk to family or friends or see a counselor or minister, you will find layers of grief just waiting to spring forth when you talk to someone else and tell your story once more.

3. Develop skills that help you remember you are a worthwhile person.

You can let grief control you and fall into a deep depression or illness, chipping away at your self worth; you can ignore and deny it and stay busy, keeping your “mind off of it”; or, you can gain knowledge of how to embrace your pain and grow positively from it.

4. Create a physical environment that supports rather than stresses you.

During the mourning process stress levels increase. You need to create a space where you feel safe, comfortable, quiet when you need it and nurtured, even if only by yourself.

5. Take care of yourself.

There are physical as well as emotional aspects of grief. Exercise increases your strength and stamina and reduces your stress. Healthy eating gives your body the good nourishment it needs. Find quiet time. Schedule a massage to stay connected with your body.

Bottom line, grief is hard. Make sure to take the time to face it and deal with it, otherwise it will affect you for years to come.

“I have always thought of Christmas time, when it has come round, as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely, and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.” 
~ Charles Dickens, author of “A Christmas Carol”

Merry Christmas to you and yours,

Kim

Are you going to have a wonderful Thanksgiving today?

Yes. The answer is “yes!”

No matter what you have planned, what actually happens, what doesn’t happen and what you wish had happened… you can be happy anyway! How? CHOOSE.

“Happiness is not a state to arrive at

but rather a manner of traveling.”

~ Samuel Johnson

No matter what’s happening at any moment, no matter what plans you have or had and what ends up happening, each one of us can CHOOSE our thoughts and ultimately the path of our emotions. You can CHOOSE to be at peace, happy, grateful, joyful even excited and ecstatic… if you want to!

In choosing happiness, gratitude, hope and love in the face of chaos, frustrations, uncertainty, loss, sadness, grief and even tragedy, we discover that as holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl says, “…the last of all human freedoms is the freedom to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances — to choose one’s own way”.

Many blissings for a wonderful holiday week. CHOOSE to be grateful, thankful and happy this Thanksgiving.

Exercise for Gratitude
Before your big Thanksgiving meal, take a moment and write a list of all of the good you experience in your life. From your freedom, to being able to drive, to the ability to buy pretty much what you want and need 24/7, to your health, family and friends, job and interests, being able to follow your interests and creativity, to sunshine and Autumn weather…. don’t stop, keep writing. Write for 10 minutes non-stop. The time will go by in a blink and hopefully you’ll find many more items to add to your list and sit even longer.

Now — take this list to your Thanksgiving table and share a few items. Ask others to do it too and see how much you all have to be thankful for. These lists can spark great conversations and sharing too.

Don’t let another opportunity go by with an unmindful “Grace. Let’s eat and football’s on…” kind of Thanksgiving. STOP, BE QUIET and CHOOSE to be grateful. Really “feel” grateful.

I’m grateful that I can type, that there is Internet and Blogs, that I have a peaceful home, that I have work I enjoy, that I have a gzillion wonderful friends, that my family loves me, that I’ve lost 20 lbs.! and so much more! Make this list ongoing and remember to stop, be quiet and choose to be and grateful everyday.

Happy Grateful Thanksgiving of Choice,

Kim

Are you ready yet?

Probably, if you’re not quite ready yet, you can wing it and have a great time anyway!

Loosen up this Thanksgiving. Enjoy your friends and family and the quiet that engulfs a holiday.

Do all that you can do to prepare and get ready and feel good about your holiday table and home, and at the same time, lighten up and know that something will be forgotten, missed, broken, spilled, smashed, crashed, dropped or eaten (by your dog). It’s okay.

THE NIGHT BEFORE THANKSGIVING… AND ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE…
There are things you can do this night before Thanksgiving to set yourself up for a less-stressed event. Set the table. Get the good silverware out of storage. Lay out your wardrobe–and your kids’ wardrobes. Check your list. You’re going to love yourself for this! See more here.

READY FOR NEXT YEAR!
Too early? What this means is to take the time after Thanksgiving to go back over your prepared lists and plans and see what you can alter for next year that will make it even easier, better and more stress-free for YOU! The sooner you do this the better off you’ll be year after year.

Happy Thanksgiving!!Kim

The City of Longmont, CO fire stations are accepting used bicycles for donation to Bicycle Longmont’s Christmas Bike Program. Drop off unwanted, used bikes at the nearest fire station. Santa’s elves will repair the donated bikes! Go Santa!!

Kids receive repaired and happy bikes through charity organizations: The Safe Shelter of St. Vrain Valley, the OUR Center, the Inn Between and the school district’s Safe Routes to School Program.

This is the 21st year the Christmas Bike Program has been helping local children get a “pre-owned” bike to change their lives in an important way. A bike might enable a child to earn money with a paper route, see relatives who live far enough away that walking would take too long, get groceries and . . . just have some fun with friends or alone!

Scooters and tricycles are also welcome.

Make a difference this year. Declutter and old bike for a new life for a child.

For more information, call 303.709.6991.

Start a Christmas Bicycle Program in your community this year!

Get ahead of Halloween “stuff” storage before it’s here and gone!

What happens to your Halloween costumes and decorations after Halloween is over? Too many times they end up in a lump in the corner of some closet. Plan now to be ready for next year.

1. Get large rubber tubs and label them for costumes and decorations.

2. Place your items gently in, keeping only what you know you’ll most likely use next year.

3. Sort out what you won’t use again.

4. Recycle: Ask friends if they’d like any of your items for their kids for next year, or donate to thrift. (Keep out of the landfill as long as possible!)

5. Put your well organized, tidy and well labeled tubs in storage for next year!