Working with Professional Organizers, without a background in mental health, can
be like stepping into quick sand.  Orange County's Marla Stone states "You really do not want people who
invade your space or with clever filing systems or people just good at closets or pantries, without a mental health background and experience working with people who have mental health challenges, to work with a person with Chronic Disorganization patterns.  It could be a bad and costly experience for both the Organizer and the Client. Understanding how to get to the root cause of the chronic disorganization will free a person up to be able to maintain the organizing system.  You will
end up with a temporary solution to a permanent problem if you go into an organizing project without understanding how you became disorganized in the first place, and why it is difficult to stay organized.

Do you wonder about organizing your home ideas?  Or how about pondering Organizing business ideas to increase revenue?  Have you thought of ways to organize your life by implementing organizers systems into your drawers, cabinets, garage or closets?  Why not get out of your wonder worries and call a Professional Organizer who really knows what to do with all your stuff.  These types of worries are not life threatening of course and our disorganized self may not be too disorganized, but then again what is too organized?

I-Deal-Lifestyle is the Premier Orange County Professional Organizing Service located in Irvine, CA, and serving all of Southern California.  If you want Home Organization ideas you want to talk to Marla Stone, Professional Organizer and start your way to Organized Living.  She works with people who have mild disorganization to chronic mental health challenges causing extreme disorganization.  She also works with Business Owners to get their clutter up off the floors, clutter out from under desks and in walk ways or paper piles on top of desks and cabinets.

Organizing your home or business without a Professional Organizer can become tedious and dull.  You could do it on your own but getting home organization ideas and home organization tips from Marla's home organization blog "Self and Space Organization" will be very helpful".  Read all the way back to the beginning of her blog to learn insightful tips and ideas for organizing your home.  Marla is a Home Organizer in Irvine and a business organizer too.  Marla travels as far north as Malibu and as far south as San Diego.  She will also travel nationwide and internationally to help people all over the world.  Or she can coach you to an organized self via telephone and or skype.  She will also give you a free 30 minute phone consultation.  Just call her anytime with questions at 949-709-7000.

Marla is an expert at what causes disorganization, clutter, and hoarding.  Her background as a Psychiatric Social Worker helps you not only organize your home but she will help you get to the root of what perpetuates the clutter chaos.  "It is one thing to get organized and another to stay organized.
Why would you want to put all the effort of going through your stuff, only to re-clutter within months of getting organized".  Marla calls this pattern of Organizing and then Cluttering, Organizing and Cluttering, "The Hamster Affect".  She has a special program to stop this horrible cycle.

Understanding patterns of chronic disorganization and being able to break the patterns permanently is what working with I-Deal-Lifestyle is all about.  We are not only here to go through your closets, kitchen drawers, garage or kid's rooms and treat your belongings with the utmost respect, we are there to HEAR you and why you have difficulty remaining organized once everything is organized. 

Marla Stone has created a revolutionary technique to clear out the emotional aspects of disorganization.  She states "it is all in the language we use".  "We use the word "need" far too much and in the wrong context.  Learning what you want or don't want puts things into perspective".

Marla has an intern program as well for budding organizers, without a mental health background, who want to learn the mental health aspects necessary for Professional Organizers.  Take her classes every Third Tuesday in her home in Irvine.  Everyone who wants to learn more about organizing can also take classes from Marla.  Find out more about getting organized by attending workshops with Marla.  Here is the link for workshops 
http://events.ocregister.com/irvine_ca/events/show/332140303-home-organizing-and-feng-shui-education

Get Organized before Summer so you can have Smooth Sailing for the Summer Months.

I love Orange County. I love being a Professional Organizer in Orange County, Los Angeles and San Diego. I live and work from San Diego to Santa Monica, but I live in Orange County. I live in Irvine which is a wonderful, multi-cultural alive and vibrant city.  In minutes I am to Newport Coast, Laguna Beach or Huntington Beach, California Coasts most popular and fun places to be.  I am a native Southern Californian born in Los Angeles, but summer's in San Clemente are my best memories by far.  What is not to love about Orange County?  It is clean, has great positive energy, sunny most of the time, has a wonderful Music Center, Theater, great Restaurants and lots and lots of activities.  My favorite places are the Mission in San Juan Capistrano, Crystal Cove in Newport Coast, Fashion Island in Newport Beach, The San Clemente Pier, Balboa Island and the Newport Bay.  One of the most fun things to do is rent a Duffy boat and cruise around the million dollar homes in the Newport Bay. 

Moving to Orange County was one of the best ideas I ever had.  It always feels like I am on vacation.  It is me living my ideal lifestyle.  The only draw back is that my entire family lives in Los Angeles County, Santa Monica, Manhattan Beach, Hancock Park, Studio City and Calabasas.   If only they would move to the Big OC, then life would be grand.

Organized Living takes time to develop. You are probably thinking how to Organize Your Life so you start to live your ideal lifestyle.  Well not always so simple.  Figuring out what you truly value in life, and finding out ways to un-clutter or de-clutter your world and organize your mind so you can reach for the stars takes a plan.  Using on-line organizer services can be extremely helpful if you are wanting to get organized on your own.  Going onto an Organize your life blog like this one and reading all the articles can be the best place to start learning about organizing tips and how to add-friendly ways to organize your life.  

If self organizing is not your thing and you would like an expert's help call Marla Stone, Professional Organizer and get a free 30 minute phone consultation.  Finding the time to Get Organized is important.  It is freeing.  It is a treat to Organize Your life. 

Here are just a few tips on how to plan to get organized:
1. Evaluate what you have around you and find out if you are using it.  If you have not used something in the past season or year, you may not ever use it again.  That goes for clothing as well.  If you did not wear it last season, you are most likely not going to wear it this one.
2. Things you use the most stay close by and things you use the least go the farthest away from you.  So Christmas stuff obviously goes in the garage or storage.
3. Really identify objects that you love versus so so objects.  You only have so much real estate to put things or store things so why not just have what you LOVE around you.
4. Think about items that are sentimental.  If they are so sentimental and it is stored in a box, just how sentimental is it.  If there are things you have in boxes that belonged to someone else or because they are "sentimental", find someone who will love it and put it out to breathe and be seen. 
5. Stop saving things for people who probably don't want it.  My mom saved my brother's crib for years and he never wanted it.  Finally she gave it to her housekeeper's daughter, who was so grateful she cried.
6. Nothing on floors or surfaces except furniture and décor or kitchen machines.  Really clutter is bad Feng Shui and the outer is a reflection of YOUR Inner Self.  Cluttered space, cluttered self.
7. Get Help for Hoarding Behaviors.  I-Deal-Lifestyle has a proprietary method for stopping the cycle of hoarding.  Hoarding Help is not difficult to get.  You just have to pick up the phone and call 949-709-7000 and talk to Marla  She gives a free 30 minute consult for free.  You can stop "The Hamster Affect" or if you prefer "Pack Rat" Syndrome.
8. Don't work on other people's mess whether physical messes or internal messiness, always address your stuff mess first.
9. If you are not good at cleaning or getting organized then ask for help.  If you cannot afford a professional trade services with someone.
10. If you suffer from ADD or ADHD or depression it can impact your ability to stay organized.  www.I-Deal-Lifestyle.com has a program for keeping you organized long term.
11. Like this on Facebook please!

Summer is coming and the kids will be out of school to have some fun, rest and family time.  You, on the other hand, will have some free time you don't usually have during the hectic school year.  So what do most moms and dads want to do with some of their spare time during summer vacation? Get Organized of course.

Most of the calls I get as a Professional Organizer in Los Angeles and a Professional Organizer in Orange County are from Moms and Dads who have been inundated with school papers, homework, toys, games, books, notebooks, calendars and so much stuff they can't settle down to enjoy the beauty of summer and the leisurely stride they want to achieve.  The kids are occupied with fun summer activities, camp, going to visit grandparents or just having a much less hectic schedule.  The home and it's contents and perhaps the piles start to become very clear, possibly overwhelming and annoying.  Something has to give.

Professional Organizers who specialize in children's rooms, editing clothing, books, games and toys the kids have outgrown,  and getting children's toys, and paperwork organized are a special breed.  They usually have raised children, and have mastered a system of getting their children's routine, papers, projects, artwork in an organized state, making it so much easier for the following school years.  Mom and Dad Professional Organizers helping Mom and Dads usually is the best fit.  These same organizers also help teacher's with their classrooms and getting their curriculum in order.  Having an Organizer who can relate to your situation and put themselves in your shoes is a bit like being perfectly paired.  You will feel understood and able to learn new behaviors, systems and strategies to make life easier, more simple and super functional.

Also what most parents most want to organize during the summer are the garage, closets and home office.  When children are flurrying to and from during the school year and parents are so busy with carpools, programs, work and raising children the garage, closets and home offices are usually places where items have ended up piling up.  Many single parents also have the challenge of being everything to their children, both Mom and Dad, leaving very little time for their own self care, much less cleaning out a closet.

So having an organized garage and a system to keep it organized, creating organized closets and creative storage solutions for Winter and Fall clothing and a home office which is Feng Shui'd and easily accessible, and organized is key to having solace and ease with your downtime during summer.

You also may want to finally create a new space in your home to accommodate crafts, workshop, sewing projects, reading rooms, contemplation areas, exercise room or just a space in the sun that is uplifting and enjoyable.  Professional Organizers can be found in Southern California and across the nation at http://www.organizersnow.com and in Orange County and Los Angeles at http://www.i-deal-lifestyle.com 

Read Marla Stone's Self and Space Organization blog and get Home Organization Tips, Home Organization Ideas, Learn how to become a Room Organizer, Create Organizer Systems and how to Organize Your Life. 

Professional Organizers help with Home Organization, Organizing Business and Organizing People.  They are great with closet organization, which means giving your closet more space and easier access to the stuff you use regularly. Organizers help with organization ideas, creative methods for pantry organization.  Organizers are great space planners, creating better storage solutions, and improved furniture placement.  Professional Organizers are super efficient at home office organization and most of all having the best kitchen of all with kitchen organization strategies.  Professional Organizers with the NAPO stamp of approval will be someone who is ethical, honest, confidential and non-judgmental.  Make sure your organizer is on the NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers)

Get in starting position.  On Your Mark, Get Set and Go Get Organized.

Marla Stone, MSW (Retired LCSW), Professional Organizer, Lifestyle Coach, Public Speaker, Décor and Feng Shui Specialist in Irvine, California.  She can help you get Organized Now!  Call 949-709-7000 for a Free 30 Minute Phone Consultation.  She can help via Skype, Phone or in Person.  www.i-deal-lifestyle.com

I know, I know....death, morbid subject! Yet death and dying, as we know, is something we think of throughout our lifetime.  We ponder what, where, how and why.  We also don't plan our death, normally, and sometimes it just comes out of the blue. 

A story I heard recently really shook me up and out of denial about getting organized and informing loved ones about usernames, passwords, log-in information, bank accounts, investments, trusts, deeds, policies in the event of sudden death.  
 
Mary was 65 years old.  Her husband Bob was in his 80's.  Of course, everyone assumed Bob would die first.  Well a few weeks ago Mary was in a fatal car accident.  After months of grieving Bob settled into a relatively unsettled routine.  He started to watch Television, and this was a great coping strategy to keep from crying most moments.  One day he was watching his television and it suddenly went out.  No TV.  He called the cable company and realized he did not have the email or password they asked for to get into Mary's account.  He surmised that the company had not been paid and therefore they shut off the cable.  Going through his mail confirmed his suspicion.  There were notices that the cable would be shut off due to non payment.  He became very agitated, and even after explaining the circumstances he could not get the cable company to cooperate with allowing him into the account. 

Mary had paid all the bills and she did so on-line.  Mary was
very organized and paid everything always on-time, but memorized her usernames and passwords.  Bob hired a Professional Organizer to help look through piles of Mary's stuff looking and seeking the magic words, numbers or codes which could help Bob get the bills paid.  NOTHING!  Bob could not access the bank accounts, the utilities, cable, trash collection, or any on-line accounts Mary had set up.  He couldn't even begin to guess what Mary had used for her secret username and passwords.  He couldn't get checks associated with her accounts since all accounts were in her name solely.  Bob had never been part of keeping up the household and Mary was the sole provider. 

Creditors started calling on all the credit card bills and utilities were starting to shut off.  It was devastating.  Even the mortgage payment could not be paid.  The organizer suggested getting an attorney, but even the attorney did not know what to do.  Finally the Organizer figured out that getting a death certificate would be the first place to start, in order to show all creditors and utilities and banks that Mary was indeed dead, and that Bob must have permission to close the accounts and set them up in his name.  But by the time they were able to accomplish all of that so much damage had been done to Bob's life.

So please keep your passwords to all of your accounts in a book or log and let your loved ones know where it is.  Ideally that information would be in a locked place where only you and your family have access.  Don't wait another day to share this information and allow everyone you love to know your business!  This sharing of personal information will be so helpful in the case of your death!

Call a Professional Organizer to help you set up your business, organize your emails and much, much more!

www.i-deal-lifestyle.com
http://www.organizersnow.com


Marla Stone, MSW (Retired LCSW), Professional Organizer,
Lifestyle Coach, Décor and Feng Shui Specialist
949-709-7000  CALL NOW FOR A FREE 30 MINUTE PHONE CONSULT!

Getting tired of the mess and clutter?
Go to http://www.OrganizersNow.com and get organized before summer starts.
If you are in Southern California you can find Professional Organizers at http://www.I-Deal-Lifestyle.com

Get some hoarding help now before you feel hopeless and helpless.  The term Hoarder is a negative term.  Stating you have a hoarding challenge is a better way to say you are having trouble with hoarding.  Get a room organizer to help you.  You can work on Closet organization ideas to help get stuff off the floor and surfaces.  This will help you have a better more organized way of living.  There are so many ways to organize your life.  Professional Organizers will help you. 

Collecting, Acquiring and Cluttering behaviors take a toll even on people who have very little insight that their stuff is a challenge.  For some the piles and piles of things mean comfort, safety or shelter (basic needs).  For most family members who have a clutter bug on their hands it can mean misery, worry and aggravation.  The various causes of Hoarding Behaviors can be attributed to Dementia, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, ADHD, ADD, Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder, Depression, Genetics, Learned Behavior, Anxiety, Neurological Challenges, Child Abuse etc....   It can be a combination of things that create what I call "The Hamster Affect"

Clients who are in what I call "The Hamster Affect" are constantly involved with their stuff. They find stuff, they look for stuff, they can't find their stuff, their stuff gets broken or stolen and they are usually concentrating and worrying about stuff.  They have a relationship with stuff like no other.  They look through their stuff, think about it, move it around, work on organizing it but usually can't.  The fascination and focus on the stuff is obsessive and they usually wind up in a heap of exhaustion.   They love and hate their stuff to death.  They go round and round and round about their stuff but usually end up going nowhere.  The stuff still stays in piles and makes a mess in their space.

What does the stuff really mean to a person with these Hamster like behaviors?  Well, everything would have to be symbolized and looked at carefully to really tell its story.
Some Popsicle stick might mean a wonderful day the person shared with an old friend.  Collectors tend to attach and personalize to their belongings....but when it all ends up in piles on the floors and surfaces, and the stuff gets broken or ruined, how valuable is it really to that person?  Why aren't they protecting their stuff?

So How Do We Protect Our Stuff?  Well for starters the person would first want to identify what they truly value in life.  Then they could write some goals to fulfill those values. So if you value free time think of 3 specific and behavioral ways you would create more free time.  The next step would be to identify what we truly value in our spaces by symbolizing our belongings.   Not just seeing objects for their literal purpose, but what it is really saying to us.  Does the cracked bowl in the dining room mean "family togetherness" since it was always part of family get-togethers?  Or was it literally your mothers and it is sentimental?  What does the stuff make you think of and feel?  Next would be to identify how objects in our space actually make us feel.  It is a process to go through items in a linear and organized fashion or it just becomes STUFF CHAOS!

We can create organizer systems and create closet organization to put away valuable or sentimental objects.  You can find hoarding help and you can learn how to organize your life from the Inside Out and the Outside In.

Marla Stone is an Expert at Hoarding, Collecting, Acquiring and Cluttering Challenges.  She is a specialist in Home Organization, Organizing Business, Organizing People, Room Organizer, and How to Organize Your Life.  She is a Professional Organizer in Orange County, Los Angeles and San Diego County and can be contacted via Skype for consultations internationally.

Marla Stone, MSW, Retired LCSW, Professional Organizer, Lifestyle Coach, Author, Public Speaker, Feng Shui and Décor Specialist at your Service www.I-Deal-Lifestyle.com 
949-709-7000  Call Now For a Free Consultation and
Get Organized Now!

We all know the saying "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" from the Wizard of Oz.  I can't help it..."Follow Follow Follow Follow Follow the Yellow Brick Road".
Well the idea of following a path without any idea of where you are going is nonsense.   Also "the blind leading the blind" comes to mind.  And we all know that when Dorothy and crew wound up at the Wizard's door he did not have all the answers.  The better answers, about each of their directions in life, came from the support and or confrontation between Dorothy, the Lion, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, the Good and Bad Witch, and let's not forget the Munchkins.  Ultimately each of them individually figured out their own weaknesses and strengths and their Golden Path, not the Yellow One.

The most profound and usually correct answers, for every life challenge we face, are all stored within each one of us.  Test it out.  When you are relaxed ask yourself a question to something you have been pondering.  Am I in the correct relationship?  The answer will be there inside you.  You will hear a yes or no answer coming from inside you.  Am I in the correct job? A yes or no will resound.  You can even go further and ask why.  Answers will come from your inner voice!  

People are out there in force telling themselves and everyone else what they need to do or what they should do or what they could do, but do you or anyone else really know what is best for you, without identifying what you truly want in life?  Have you thought about what you truly value in life?  Make a list of what you value most in life now.  I guarantee you it is not the values of your past.  Check in with your present self and figure it out.  Past values may have been socialization, lots of sex, parties, clear skin, being popular.  Now it may be time to read a good book, leisure time, tight skin, gardening, getting together with close friends and or family, your kids accomplishments.  Depending on what stage of life you are in the value system will change.  Being CLEAR on your values will help you set life goals.  Having life goals are important if you want to get on the Golden Path!

The beginning of change is to identify what is not working for you in the present.  Ask yourself what part of life are you not enjoying.  What makes you feel uugh?  What feels overwhelming, exhausting or depressing?  Decide how to decrease those aspects of your life immediately.  If carting the kids around makes you feel degraded as if you are a bus driver, look for a car pool, if it is cooking find a neighbor who loves to cook, and trade a task that you enjoy such as doing hair or makeup for her, or babysitting for her.  I would gladly cook for a neighbor if she would pet sit my Chihuahua child so I could spend more time working or traveling without the guilt of leaving the little guy alone.
Let's say you abhor gardening and your friend loves it, but she can't stand shopping by herself, or doesn't have the stylist talents that you have.  Exchange the gardening for personal shopper services. 

There was a VERY famous Therapist named Virginia Satir who was a Master at Group Therapy.   Virigina Satir's greatest talent was connecting people to people and creating support systems for her clients.  She would have a group and would find out one of them could sew, another stayed home with a child, another was a carpenter.  Connecting how each group member would help and support another towards their dream was an amazing talent Virginia Satir possessed.  Virginia found that the greatest social dilemma was not having enough support from family, friends or neighbors.  People became too proud to ask for help.  Let's face it many of us live across the country from our relatives, we don't live in ethnic, cultural neighborhoods any longer, we have lost our physical connections to friends and family.  Neighbors tend to drive into the garage and close the door behind. 

Reach out and touch your neighbor.  They really do most likely like the camaraderie and could use the company and some help from you.  Move closer to family if they are supportive, go to support groups and create links and  networks to help you on your path of life.  Okay here it comes...."People, People who need People are the Luckiest People in the World".  Hum along!

Organize Your Life and live an organized living situation, get organized by following what you dream about.  Add-friendly ways to organize your life by creating neighborhood barbecues, potlucks and get-togethers.  Organize your mind and figure out what you value. 

Marla Stone, MSW (Retired LCSW), Professional Organizer, Author, Speaker, Lifestyle Coach, Décor and Feng Shui Specialists helps people coordinate their Ideal Lifestyle.  Get a free 30 Minute Consultation with Marla at 949-709-7000 
www.i-deal-lifestyle.com

Having a messy and disorganized office definately impacts your  ability to do your best work.  Engaging a Business Organizer in Orange County, Los Angeles, or San Diego would be a good idea if you want to grow and flourish in your practice, business or organization.  Nationally we also specialize in Feng Shui, Decor Re-Design and Business Coaching, Hoarder Help, ADHD, ADD, Anxiety, Depression and anything that impacts getting and staying organized.

Having a well planned out corporate or small business space, so your best work can be accomplished, involves a Professional Organizer's expertise, organizing jobs for each and every employee so they can in turn learn how to stay organized.  It is one thing for planners and organizers to come in and get you organized to the bone, but how you and your employees keep up the space is another. 

The difference between a Good Organizer and a Great Organizer is helping you, and everyone you work with from the outside in and the inside out.

Having your office Feng Shui style also impacts the health of the business, prosperity, customer relations, employee relations, your fame and recognition, individual career opportunitites, and the creative flow and energy.  If your desk is facing a wall or window with your back to the door, it means you will always have things coming out of the blue.  You'll be thinking where did that come from?  Or what's going on around here?  I wasn't expecting that!!  It also means symbolically that your not facing the world or looking foward to new opportunities.  Living an organized life in an organized office means all the difference to your business practices.  Having your office in Feng Shui style means good energy and flow will abide and you will look forward to being at work.  Having your office and even your cubicle in Feng Shui style will also be a creative way to get organized and stay organized.  Everything has a home according to Feng Shui Principles.  Also it will be interesting to see if you are in the Prosperity area of your business (especially important for the boss, CEO or owner) or the Career area (better for receptionist). 

Remember the outer is a reflection of the inner you!
And your office space is the reflection of your business practices!!  Believe me your customers will notice when you have an ideal work place!!! 

Your fame and reputation will be enhanced with a nicely organized, well space planned office space, while flaring up the fame and reputation area of your space (far back wall in the center, from the front door).  The health (center of the floor plan) of the company depends on organization, well organized employees, well organized paper system, ideally becoming a "Green" business and going paperless.  A well planned cubicle system is also important.  Remember nobody's back should be to the opening and ideally every one in the space could easily see the main entrance to the whole office.

Call Marla Stone, MSW, Professional Organizer, Decor and Feng Shui Specialist and Business Coach for a free 30 minute phone consultation at 949-709-7000 or email to ideallifestyle1@gmail.com
check us out at www.i-deal-lifestyle.com

Working as a Professional Organizer in Southern California is really a particular delight.  As a native Californian I know Southern Cal like the back of my hand.  Having the priveledge to go into homes in Orange County, Los Angeles County and San Diego County is not only an honor but I have come to realize different Counties, Cities and
Neighborhoods all have their own style, feel and vibe. 
Also different places have different kinds of people with their own individual style, feel and vibe.   The most important aspect of being a Great versus Good Professional Organizer is in understanding the each person, situation and place is different. 

Understanding people’s  organizing challenges,
whether it is due to loss, mental health challenges such as OCD, ADD, ADHD, Depression, Anxiety or Physical
Health Challenges is key to helping them not only from the outside in, but the inside out.  Taking each person and
home or business organizing project and seeing it with fresh eyes is important.  Creating an individualized process is very important to creating a balanced and sensible
plan and outcome for home and business organizing. 
Getting to the “root” of organization challenges equals long-term organization versus temporary organization. The last thing I want to see a person go through, after a large organizing project, is that they don’t understand the
process of remaining organized, and then two months down the road they are completely disorganized again.  So
far all the client’s that have gone through the I-Deal-Lifestyle sm proprietary methods have remained organized.

The bulk of organizing projects that we work on at
I-Deal-Lifestyle sm are for regular folks who want their homes organized.  The organizing we do in homes is
organizing closets, organizing home offices, organizing kitchens, organizing garages, organizing children’s rooms, organizing laundry rooms, organizing bedrooms and helping people organize their lives in general with Lifestyle Coaching. 

What is Lifestyle Coaching you might ask?   Well, Lifestyle Coaching is a process of finding out what a person most values in life, identifying life goals and plans and learning new communication skills and behavioral patterns in order to lead the most fulfilling and satisfying life you possibly can.  A Lifestyle Coach, from I-Deal-Lifestyle, is someone with a Mental Health and or Counseling Background, who rather than taking you through the traditional "therapy" avenue, coaches you to a better you!   

The business organizing includes organizing paperwork, creating filing systems, desk organizer services, organizing solutions, going paperless, corporate moves, time management training, productivity and efficiency training, communication skills training, and
just about anything to create a more seamless business day, month and year.  I-Deal-Lifestyle sm also provides
Interior Design Services, Feng Shui, Advocacy, Caretaker Support, Mental Health Services Coordination, Health Services Coordination, Connection Coordination, Corporate Moves, Corporate Transitions, Personal Shopping, Concierge Services, Life Coaching and Business Coaching.  We organize your computer, organize your email, we organize everything that can possibly be more organized.

Call I-Deal-Lifestyle sm at 949-709-7000 for a 30 minute free
consultation to find out how to get more organized. Getting Organized is a really good idea.  Being more organized saves time, money and your peace of mind.

Find I-Deal-Lifestyle sm Services and Pricing at www.i-deal-lifestyle.com

"I don't have to believe in Feng Shui, but I use it because it  makes me money."  Donald Trump

The Feng Shui principles work to help space challenges or disturbances.  Challenges could be the home’s architecture, and or landscaping that can disturb the flow of the “chi” (good energy, thoughts, and ideas).  A Bagua (above) is the tool to identify specific areas of your space. 

The bagua tool, if used as a template for getting organized, and can help sort out your stuff in a most beneficial and functional way.  Check out the e-book "ORGANIZE YOUR HOME WITH A FENG SHUI TEMPLATE" at http://www.i-deal-lifestyle.com/e-book.html  to Feng Shui your own space.

Hold the bagua in your hands standing at the front entrance of your home to identify the 9 areas of your home.   Visualize the Bagua Template placed over your floor plan, from the front of your home, where you enter.  You will then be able to figure out if your front door is in the  KNOWLEDGE and WISDOM, CAREER OR HELPING PEOPLE AND TRAVEL AREA.  If you are standing at your front entrance and the door is to the far left you are entering through  KNOWLEDGE and WISDOM.  If your front door is in the middle of the home, you are entering through CAREER and if your front door is to the right of the home's front then you enter through HELPING PEOPLE AND TRAVEL.  So if you can identify the bottom part of the bagua the rest of the floor plan will be easily identified, IF, AND ONLY IF, you have a rectangular or square home.  But here's the thing, most of us do not have a perfectly rectangular or square home, and even if we do a second floor may have some part missing unless it duplicates the first floor exactly.  So what do you do if some part of your home is missing a Bagua area or over extends outside of the Bagua area?  Check out the e-book http://www.i-deal-lifestyle.com/e-book.html to find out how to solve the Feng Shui Faux Pas challenges of your space.

Placement of items such as furniture, trees, vases, equipment, family photos, books, chairs, desks, tables, lighting, artwork, electrical equipment, telephones, wires have to be thought out in order to protect the “chi” from affecting the inhabitants.  Open doors must be protected if they are facing stairwells so the “chi” does not leave the space.  Staircases that come down towards your front door let out all the good chi energy from your top floor.  Putting a red carpet at the bottom of the staircase can stop the good energy from escaping out the front door and or letting in negative energy from the street. Windows or mirrors facing each other in rooms, or no windows at all keep energy keyed up.  Landscaping faux pas, is a tree in front of your front door blocking any good energy from coming into the home.  Furniture placed in a blocking way instead of open to the entrance of a room can impact you in a fierce way.   A friend had his couch blocking part of the entrance to his front door (career area) and his business dropped in sales significantly.  When I  saw the placement of his couch I asked him if he was having business challenges and he asked "How did you know?"  Well that is what a Feng Shui Specialist knows!  For instance when you walk into a room and the back of a couch faces you or the back of a chair or your desk's chair backs to the entrance of a room, it is not only a block in that part of your Bagua, it symbolizes things that just keep coming up from behind, challenges that come "out of the blue", and it is just poor decor in most cases.  If there is absolutely no other way to place the couch, desk, bed, or any peices of furniture facing the back of the entrance then you must have a mirror placed so that, when siting or laying down, you can look into the mirror to see the entrance or door to the room.    Also your bed placement is so important.  No bed should be in the path of your bedroom doorway.  When your feet face an open door,  while lying down or while sitting in a chair this is the coffin position and can result in the "D" Word.  I don't want to say the D word, but that is what the Masters of Feng Shui propose. 

The colors of your walls interior and exterior, types of objects, odd shaped rooms, beams or sharp corners, where the bathrooms or kitchens are located, and what is painted in a painting, depending on where the painting is placed, can all affect the energy and prosperity, health, relationships, recognition, personally and  professionally, for all who work or live in the space.  
 
Going deeper into Feng Shui you would want to know the year your home  was built, the direction it faces, and determine the best position for your bed by calculating your birthdate information.   Which way your home or business faces, can determine fortune or misfortune, even if it looks aesthetically pleasing.  Feng Shui  can be utilized to correct most architectural, landscaping, decor challenges you have, while enhancing all areas of your self and space with the building or home. 

Getting help from a Feng Shui specialist can help you with what you choose to bring into your home or what to get rid of.  What kind of art you choose is your choice, but some pieces of art may not reflect the intentions of your space.  Each piece of decor has different colors and is made of different elements and can be matched to the best area of your home possible.   Plants and or trees in and outside of your home can be placed for better energy flow or symbolize positively or negatively based on where it is placed.  What kind of furniture you choose can mean good or bad health to those that utilize the furniture.  

Look for my next article on
Green Living Practices are essential to the health of the space and its inhabitants. 


Call Marla Stone, Professional Organizer, Decor and Feng Shui Specialist at 949-709-7000 
http://www.i-deal-lifestyle.com
Let’s get you some great chi and/or let’s just have some tea!