Okay, I'm sure the panic is just starting to creep up! It is inevitable; the holidays
are here! Holiday parties have already begun to show up on your calendar. Cards are starting to show up in the mail. You're feeling pressured to shop, clean, organize, cook, and get all the holiday gear out and up. I know because I am feeling it, too. I started preparing and getting things done earlier this year than ever before because I am 60-plus years old now, and I can't afford to stroke out over Santa and burnt-out bulbs. I also decided to downsize some of the hoopla. Instead of unpacking all the holiday stuff, I kept it simple and put out about half the trinkets and decor. I strung only half the lights around the house and garden than I usually would hang. I used the tiniest fake Christmas tree for our official tree this year. Usually, I make a huge plate of Latkes (painstaking potato pancakes), and this year, I bought them from a woman who makes them way better than I do. Also, Trader Joe's Latkes are spectacular. We celebrate Hanukah and Christmas in our home, which can get complicated. This year, I did not let that happen. A Menorah here and a Santa there, not the gazillion items I usually put out, and the house still looks, smells, and feels like the holidays. And I feel more rested and at ease during this hectic season. When I discuss easing up around the holidays with friends, family, and clients, I usually hear the heavy-hearted whine about "doing it for the kids." Well, let me tell you, having your kids watch you spaz out about what tree to buy, where to put it, what to put on it, and hunting down the dreidel from Aunt Ida while drowning in butter cookie dough does not make them feel warm and cuddly. Do you really think they are enjoying watching you have a merry meltdown? No, the kids would rather see you relaxed, communicative, and well MERRY. Take a sip of that good ol' fashion...ol' fashion. In the old days, we just did not have that much stuff. We had one lovely dress or suit to wear. One dressy shoe choice to put on our feet. We had one tree, one Menorah, a few candles, one wreath, one Dreidel, and very few presents around that tree, mainly consisting of what we could use, like clothing, shoes, books, and specific items that we would buy regardless. Today's holiday celebration has become so large, fast, and furious that it is like a heart-thumping marathon, ending with a meal that would cause most people heart pain and indigestion. It starts to feel so overwhelming and stressful that it takes the "holi" out of holiday, leaving "day." Just another day of stress, strategies, and desire for sleep, nutrition, and to be in better shape! This year, take it easy and don't use the kids, Martha Stewart's latest Christmas articles, or the neighbor’s neon holiday front yard displays as an inspiration to push you over. I always say, "If you push, you fall." And remember, we are going into another seasonal change...Winter. Read this article on how seasonal shifts affect our mood and demeanor. https://www.i-deal-lifestyle.com/blog/transitioning-with-the-seasons-by-marla-stone Winter will be on December 21st, 2024 this year, so enjoy the fall's end without falling on your face. Clown around more, talk to more friends on the phone instead of texting, have a holiday potluck dinner instead of putting it all on your shoulders, and just sit with your kids and talk about the loftier aspects of the holidays and why and how they started in the first place! Put things into perspective when it comes to spending and giving. Donate items you no longer want to a charity, especially those that support the homeless, around the holidays. Know how fortunate you are, and be grateful for a new year to come! Marla Stone, Ideal Lifestyle Expert
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Organization skills are not learned, usually. You probably remember your mom yelling "clean up your room", but there wasn't an actual educational plan in HOW to "clean" or "organize" your room. Cleaning and organizing are two separate skill sets all together. Cleaning involves rags, solutions and those new floor cleaners that vacuum and steam all in one. Organizing is all about...well...organizing. According to the free Merriam Webster online, the word organize is synonymous with arrange, array, classify, codify, dispose, draw up, lay out, marshal, order, range and systematize, and the word organize antonyms are derange, disarrange, disarray, disorder, mess (up), muss (up), rumple and upset. No wonder people feel deranged when they are all mussed up. Organizing one's self would be the place to start if you want your space to look ordered, and for all the trash to be disposed of. The key word in the previous sentence is "if". People usually only want to get organized, when they want to get organized. Getting organized is not a mandatory law or one of the 10 commandments, so it only happens if you want it to, and most likely "if" the IRS is knocking on your door or your mother is coming to visit. No wonder people don't dream about their Ideal Lifestyle all that much...too busy being disarranged, disordered, rumpled and upset. The state of disarray can start to be the norm and the standard "lifestyle" nightmare. So the question is how does one get from disorganized chaos to organized order? Is it simple? Yes, organizing your self and space can be achieved. The first step is to want to get organized inside yourself. Self Organization starts with defining what your ideal lifestyle would look like. Jot down at least 30 concepts, ideas, or dreams you have about your "ideal" life. You might have to watch a few light comedies, or some action hero cartoons to start to get motivated, or remember what you did dream about when you dreamed, but you can do it. Think about what you value in life and actually write it down. Is it money? Is it a fancy car? Is it a lover? Is it better relationships or a better career? And whatever you do don't lie to yourself. It is damaging when people say "it doesn't have to be" that great of a job, partner, car or career. Saying "it doesn't have to be" is the way it will be. So if you say "she doesn't have to be that great looking", or "he doesn't have to be that smart", guess what? You manifested a not so hot or smart partner. How about, instead, saying "I want it to be....this way", and putting that into the universe. After you draw up and lay out what it is you want for your self, space organization is the next step. Since the outer is a reflection of the inner, your outer space will want to catch up to the new inner you. Space organization has been written about in 1000's of books, magazines, and now is taught on national television. Organizing a room or an entire home or business is just plain old planning, executing and physical labor, which you yourself can do, or you can hire someone else to do it for you. You will only want that outer organization, in your space, when you feel organized, and self realized on the inside. So go ahead and get started on living your Ideal Lifestyle Now! Write your list! Marla Stone, Ideal Lifestyle Expert http://www.I-Deal-Lifestyle.com Well it is 2016 and are you organized or do you feel like your head is spinning from the entourage of holiday spirit. It is a tough haul from October - January. First there is Halloween, then Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukah etc.., and finally tada New Years! You probably have had a lot of sugar, lack of sleep, running around and of course, now, a lower then usual bank account. It may have been fun, but now it is a New Year, and... let's see the next holiday is Valentine's Day. No biggie, unless your single. I-Deal-Lifestylesm offers solutions for you to start living your Ideal Lifestyle now, whether you are single and want a partner, over-loaded with family responsibility or desperately seeking a new you. Green living practices, healthier water solutions, healthier food options, staying organized, maintaining healthy social relationships and improving existing relationships would be a nice ways to start a New Years resolutions list. It is not too late to start an Ideal Lifestyle Dream list. Write 30 things you would like in an Ideal Lifestyle. Go ahead start to jot some ideas down for what you perceive as your "ideal" lifestyle. You would be surprised at how cathartic it is just to write down ideas and thoughts about how you would like your life to be. It is especially therapeutic to journal ideas, thought, goals, dreams, visions since otherwise the fleeting thought or moments you have about your life will just keep coming and going. You do not have to prioritize the list since I would expect that you would want all 30 things on that list to happen. Next look at your list carefully for the next week and see if you want to delete something or add something. Really contemplate your list to see if all the things you wrote actually have some value for your life. After you peruse your list carefully, circle the items that you DO NOT have in your current life, and write 3 ways to achieve each one of those items. Yes just a little more pen or pencil work, but your ideal lifestyle is worth it. Now start to work on those items. Will this be a simple task? No not when you really put the pencil to the paper. Will this exercise be time consuming? Yes...but you and your dreams are important. Remember nothing happens unless something happens. Getting with your own program is the program. Anyone who says they are an expert may or may not be so it is up to you to take the information you get from others, about how to live an ideal lifestyle, but then mix it in to your own well being and make it work for you. The New Year does feel ominous, exciting and holds so much good future, forever, fancifully and freakishly all about being organized by knowing who, what, why you are here in the first place. Marla Stone is a Professional Organizer and Owner of I-Deal-Lifestyle Orange Counties Home Organizer. We serve Orange County including Laguna, Newport Beach, San Clemente, Laguna Niguel, Coto De Caza, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, Dana Point, Irvine, Newport Coast and all of Southern California. We serve Palos Verdes, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach. We also serve West Los Angeles, Santa Monica areas too. Call 949-709-7000 for more information on how to live an ideal lifestyle today! Marla Stone, Ideal Lifestyle Expert
Organizing one's self if a big task that takes time and effort. Organizing one's space is a big task that takes time and effort. I don't know which one is easier or less frustrating or more valuable. I am pretty sure they go hand in hand. I do know there is a saying that says "the outer is a reflection of the inner". It is no mystery to me when I walk into a home or work environment or a friend's car that is piled up with papers, trash and STUFF that there is probably something going on inside that person either mentally, physically and or emotionally. It does not take a "rocket scientist" to know there is something going on creating the"cyclone" effect. I know all to well from my own environmental "hurricane effects", that my own "Disorganized Self" (D.S.) can create chaos and get in the way of my "Organized Self" (O.S.). I will start having an accumulation of piles of papers, collections of unnecessary items, wild and crazy clothing options, or duplicates of the same clothing item, and a sense of hopelessness and wonderment when looking at it all. My hopelessness comes from thinking about when I will have time to sort through everything, and organize it, and my wonderment comes from the wondering "how did it happen"? As I recall, I organized it the week before, so it should still be clean, correct?? I know that something is going on with me for the passionate chaos to perpetuate week after week, losing my abilities and techniques for on-going organization and order. I realize that "Outer Disorganization" (O.D.) is due to something with the inner self being off kilter. I know that I create O.D. when my lifestyle choices grow old and mundane, and I get stuck, frustrated and impatient creating and implementing new goals and dreams. I create the O.D. so I can focus on the STUFF, papers, confusion and my tropical storm path, instead of on the "major issues" of my life, like making real life changes, and resolving challenges. I realize that change and facing life challenges can be difficult, and then going forward with the changes, and working through the life challenges, can be like hitting a blizzard with a bikini on....cold and practically life-threatening. Knowing who I am, what I want and where I want to go can be daunting with thoughts twirling around and around like the Merry-Go-Round of my past. Knowing how to slow it all down, so there is calm and focus, and sorting through ideas, challenges, wants, desires and dreams can be confusing and scary. At the same time the change and challenge "tunnel" I must go through to get to the "new me" and "the new lifestyle" is an opportunity for growth and fulfillment. The first stage of reckoning with one's D.S. is to formulate an idea of your "ideal lifestyle". Whatever that means to you. Whatever you would love your life to look like, smell like, taste like and be like. This idea will begin to create your individual life picture. Creating a dream board, by cutting out all the pictures and words and symbols from magazines that represent your inner self, and gluing them onto a big cardboard can start you off. Making a list of your dreams and goals may help you become clear on your lifestyle image. Writing out a journal of ideas, thoughts, dreams and wishes will help you formulate your "ideal lifestyle". That is the first step to Self & Space Organization. My background as a Social Worker for 17 years, counseling 1000's of people, has led me to understand human nature. I love working closely with people and helping them learn to understand and love themselves better so they could be freed up in every way possible. After 17 years of sitting in the "therapist chair" I was glad to get my ARS up and running again. Being a Psychotherapist has its advantages, don't get me wrong. I was able to achieve so much in my 17 year career. I worked with the most extraordinary people, families, groups and colleagues imaginable. I worked with people that had debilitating challenges, Seniors, Children, Families and Individuals. I had a contract to see the Military Personnel from Camp Pendleton, and create interventions for PTSD and serious mental health challenges. I developed a Medication/ Treatment Alliance Program and still write articles pertaining to Serious Mental Health Challenges. All in all assisting people to become the best they can is my focus. I-Deal-Lifestyle is a Self & Space Organizationsm service where I can assist people in getting it all "straight"nd out! Orange County Professional Organizer helps you get your home, office, and business organized! We serve all of Orange County, Los Angeles, and San Diego. We also serve your area by special request. Please call 949-709-7000 for a free 30 min. phone consultation. Marla Stone Lifestyle Expert is featured in the Orange County Register as the clutter buster. http://www.ocregister.com/articles/stone-370146-says-carbone.html Marla Stone, Lifestyle Expert
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Here, you will find an array of blog articles about living an ideal lifestyle and how to improve corporate business strategies.Marla is known as the Declutter Your Strategy™ expert. Marla earned her BA in Psychology and a Master's in Social Work. Stone is the founder of |