What would you grab in a fire?

I found one of my favorite romcoms on TV this week: Leap Year. I used to have a thing for actor Matthew Goode… especially with that beard and Irish accent… Swwwooooon!

Anyway… in the movie, Matthew Goode, plays a grumpy Irishman in need of money to save his pub. So, for €500, he drives stuck-up control-freak American Amy Adams to Dublin. They hate each other (as do all good romcom couples at first). She thinks he’s a brute, and he thinks she’s shallow when he asks her…

“If your house was on fire, and you had 60 seconds, what would you take?”

She didn’t know. (Remember, she’s stuck-up and shallow at this point.)

Later, his answer to the same question:

“My mother’s Claddagh ring. You know, the ones with the two hands holding the crowned heart.”


Aww, isn’t that sweet?

***SPOILER ALERT***   In the end, after she gets the rich doctor (not Matthew Goode) and the fancy apartment in Boston, she realizes she doesn’t want any of it. She loves my boy Matthew! So she travels 3,000 miles back to Ireland (very romantic-like) and tells him…

“When my 60 seconds came around, I realized I had everything I ever wanted but nothing I really needed.”

Yeaaaah… what she really needed was a little Matthew Goode… BAM!


Here it is… the obvious question—

What do you really need? What is one thing you would grab in a fire?

Another important (and telling) question… What would you not grab? What would you be okay with seeing go?

Noticing these things can help you in your decluttering process now — If you’d be okay seeing it go in a fire… Why wait?


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3 days ago
We have to choose joy and keep choosing it. —Henri J.M. NouwenIt’s nice to know we can choose the kind of day we’re going to have!Tell me in the comments below… What kind of day did you choose for yourself today? Did you choose to honk at the slow driver (something I might do), or did you choose to relax and let the day unfold? —Beautiful hand-lettering by Kelly Cummings. High-res

We have to choose joy and keep choosing it. —Henri J.M. Nouwen

It’s nice to know we can choose the kind of day we’re going to have!

Tell me in the comments below… What kind of day did you choose for yourself today? Did you choose to honk at the slow driver (something I might do), or did you choose to relax and let the day unfold?

—
Beautiful hand-lettering by Kelly Cummings.

(via breadandolives)

1 week ago
One Easy Step to Increase Your Health & Wealth! I’m excited to announce that after studying feng shui for many years and helping my friends improve their lives through small feng shui adjustments, I am now earning my feng shui certification…. Don’t worry, I promise not to show up at your door with a bundle of sage. Well…most likely not. ;)Anyway…Did you know that… Your stove represents the health and wealth of those in your household!So what do you think a stinky, gloppy, greasy stove does for your health and wealth? Think you’re gonna feel energetic and successful? Inspired and rich? Nope, probably not.Here it comes….Experiment Time!Clean your stove!I mean it. Right now. Go clean your stove! Or… if you have a job (sheesh!)… wait until you get home, I guess. :]Make sure you clean it really well—that means putting some elbow grease* into it. Now, follow these steps: Remove the grates,  remove the drip pans, soak them all in super-hot sudsy water using a great grease-cutting dish detergent like Dawn Power Clean. While those are soaking, scrub the crap out of the now naked stove top surface. Then, back at the sink, wash those soaking grates and drip pans clean. IMPORTANT NOTE: Ladies, you should probably be wearing dishwashing gloves on your hands to save those manicures! ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE: Remember not to mix ammonia and bleach products. Once all the parts are clean, dry them,  Then, put that stove back together! This whole process (though it sounds daunting) should only take about 20 minutes — and while it will probably not be the most fun you’ve ever had… the results are… bling!Then, when you’re all finished, come back and report your results in the comments below. Don’t forget to take before & after pics so we can all share in your victory! Send them to “ckell [at] gainingspace.com” — I’ll post them at a later date! And, please… if in the next few weeks you notice an increase in your health or wealth, come back here and share that with us too!—*Elbow grease is an idiom for working hard at manual labour, as in “You need to use some elbow grease.” It is a humorous reflection of the fact that some tasks can only be achieved by hard effort and human energy, contrasting with the idea that there should be some special oil, tool or chemical product to make the job easier. Source: wikipedia  High-res

One Easy Step to Increase Your Health & Wealth!


I’m excited to announce that after studying feng shui for many years and helping my friends improve their lives through small feng shui adjustments, I am now earning my feng shui certification…. Don’t worry, I promise not to show up at your door with a bundle of sage. Well…most likely not. ;)

Anyway…

Did you know that…
Your stove represents the health and wealth of those in your household!

So what do you think a stinky, gloppy, greasy stove does for your health and wealth? Think you’re gonna feel energetic and successful? Inspired and rich? Nope, probably not.

Here it comes….
Experiment Time!

Clean your stove!

I mean it. Right now. Go clean your stove!
Or… if you have a job (sheesh!)… wait until you get home, I guess. :]

Make sure you clean it really well—that means putting some elbow grease* into it. Now, follow these steps:

  • Remove the grates, 
  • remove the drip pans,
  • soak them all in super-hot sudsy water using a great grease-cutting dish detergent like Dawn Power Clean.
  • While those are soaking, scrub the crap out of the now naked stove top surface.
  • Then, back at the sink, wash those soaking grates and drip pans clean.
  • IMPORTANT NOTE: Ladies, you should probably be wearing dishwashing gloves on your hands to save those manicures!
  • ANOTHER IMPORTANT NOTE: Remember not to mix ammonia and bleach products.
  • Once all the parts are clean, dry them, 
  • Then, put that stove back together!


This whole process (though it sounds daunting) should only take about 20 minutes — and while it will probably not be the most fun you’ve ever had… the results are… bling!

Then, when you’re all finished, come back and report your results in the comments below.

Don’t forget to take before & after pics so we can all share in your victory! Send them to “ckell [at] gainingspace.com” — I’ll post them at a later date!

And, please… if in the next few weeks you notice an increase in your health or wealth, come back here and share that with us too!


—
*Elbow grease is an idiom for working hard at manual labour, as in “You need to use some elbow grease.” It is a humorous reflection of the fact that some tasks can only be achieved by hard effort and human energy, contrasting with the idea that there should be some special oil, tool or chemical product to make the job easier. Source: wikipedia 

2 weeks ago
What to do with all those coupons! I recently made an expensive clothing purchase, a sweater from Eileen Fischer. Then last week, I received a lovely handwritten note in the mail thanking me for my purchase and passing along this coupon (above).It was very thoughtful, a really nice touch. But I don’t need anything from that store any time soon. And certainly not before what…? 5/15/13!So what do we do with all these unexpected coupons we get in the mail?You know it’s coming… the tough love….Throw ‘em out!Recycle ‘em!Get… rid of ‘em! Just because you get a coupon in the mail, doesn’t mean you have to use it. It adds to your clutter in two (2) ways: The coupon itself is clutter. If you use the coupon, the item you bought will likely become clutter.   So… If you don’t actively need something from that specific store, get rid of that silly, tempting coupon.As for this one (pictured above), it’s been recycled. Goodbye Coupon, Goodbye!Tell us, in the comments below… What’s the last coupon you used? What did you buy? And did you really need it? High-res

What to do with all those coupons!

I recently made an expensive clothing purchase, a sweater from Eileen Fischer. Then last week, I received a lovely handwritten note in the mail thanking me for my purchase and passing along this coupon (above).

It was very thoughtful, a really nice touch. But I don’t need anything from that store any time soon. And certainly not before what…? 5/15/13!

So what do we do with all these unexpected coupons we get in the mail?

You know it’s coming…
the tough love….

Throw ‘em out!
Recycle ‘em!
Get… rid of ‘em!


Just because you get a coupon in the mail, doesn’t mean you have to use it. It adds to your clutter in two (2) ways:

  1. The coupon itself is clutter.
  2. If you use the coupon, the item you bought will likely become clutter.  


So… If you don’t actively need something from that specific store, get rid of that silly, tempting coupon.

As for this one (pictured above), it’s been recycled.
Goodbye Coupon, Goodbye!

Tell us, in the comments below… What’s the last coupon you used? What did you buy? And did you really need it?

1 month ago
My All-Time-Favorite, #1 Easiest Way to Declutter— Stop shopping! I know it’s difficult… it is for me too.But slow and steady wins the race. And the first slow step you can take is to stop shopping! Stop buying and adding more stuff to that clutter.Simply put, don’t bring more crap into the house. Easy-peasy, yeah? (Ha, I know it’s not so easy.)And I know these pink packages on top of this cute European car are adorrrrable, but think about where you would put these adorrrrable pink boxes in your home. And what exactly is inside these adorrrrable pink boxes?Another red dress? ”You’ve got a red dress you never wear…. What do you need another one for… huh?”** EXPERIMENT TIME…!Stop yourself… just for one week. Stop buying shoes, clothes, collectibles, electronics, kitchen gadgets, or whatever your poison is. And tell us, in the comments below… What’s a memorable impulse buy you made that you later regretted?—*Red dress example taken from my own life — I’m not perfect either…who knew?!

My All-Time-Favorite, #1 Easiest Way to Declutter—


Stop shopping!

I know it’s difficult… it is for me too.

But slow and steady wins the race. And the first slow step you can take is to stop shopping! Stop buying and adding more stuff to that clutter.

Simply put, don’t bring more crap into the house. Easy-peasy, yeah? (Ha, I know it’s not so easy.)

And I know these pink packages on top of this cute European car are adorrrrable, but think about where you would put these adorrrrable pink boxes in your home. And what exactly is inside these adorrrrable pink boxes?

Another red dress? ”You’ve got a red dress you never wear…. What do you need another one for… huh?”**


EXPERIMENT TIME…!
Stop yourself… just for one week. Stop buying shoes, clothes, collectibles, electronics, kitchen gadgets, or whatever your poison is.

And tell us, in the comments below…
What’s a memorable impulse buy you made that you later regretted?


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*Red dress example taken from my own life — I’m not perfect either…who knew?!

(Source: moreissuesthanvoguee)

1 month ago
This bookshelf design makes me verrrry uncomfortable.  < :-o—In the coming weeks…. Look for my How-to ”Undercrowd” Your Overcrowded Bookshelves — I’ll teach you to know what to keep and what to let go.

This bookshelf design makes me verrrry uncomfortable. 

< :-o

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In the coming weeks….

Look for my How-to ”Undercrowd” Your Overcrowded Bookshelves — I’ll teach you to know what to keep and what to let go.

(via onceuponahome)

1 month ago