Do you ever have the sensation that what you are dreaming of or hoping for in your home and life is not happening as fast as you would like? We live in a culture that wants a quick fix. I do believe that things can happen at a more rapid rate when you align your goals and intentions with a space that supports and nurtures those dreams.

That being said, I also want to share another element that is important to incorporate when dreaming big… you are dreaming big, right?

Here is a behind the scenes look at how an Elite Athlete makes his vision a reality…

The world watched the Patriots win their 5th Super Bowl a few weeks ago. It was a game of records!

Literally, so many Super Bowl records were recorded that day. The celebration centered on quarterback, Tom Brady, who had a groundbreaking performance that night. What most people don’t know is that behind the scenes there is strategic planning that takes place for the athlete on a mental and physical level that allows them to create the results they are hoping to achieve in their life. The attention to detail and the amount of time goes far beyond the rigorous training sessions that the team endures in-season and off-season. Far beyond….

Brady’s life, health and home are set up to allow him to succeed. His home has organic gardens, a chicken coup, an AMAZING gym and an overall feeling of casual relaxation, along with inspirational art that inspire greatness. This home environment sets him up for success. He can eat foods that are healthful, work out in a stellar space, can relax from his demanding life and is continuously encouraged on an unconscious level by objects in his environment. This is all a great formula!

Additionally, Brady and his trainer plan out his workout routines 3 years in advance! 3-YEARS! Initially I questioned the reasoning behind this. Why would you plan a workout routine when you wouldn’t know what will happen with your body? But, then my trainer explained it to me, and it all made sense. And, I realized that it is congruent with the H.O.M.E. Method of the Home in Harmony Lifestyle. SO I had to share it with you. Let me explain…

Tom Brady has a goal… a BIG GOAL!

He wants to win the Super Bowl (again) and break lots of records. That goal doesn’t happen overnight. Instead, he needs to plan out what it will take to get him to that goal and break it down into manageable steps that will get him to his goal. This can sometimes take time. When he and his trainer set a goal, let’s say, throw at a certain distance at a certain speed. This takes a plan that is set up in steps.

His trainer will look at his currents habits (H) and ability. The trainer will look at what the goal or objective (O) is and what are the manageable steps (M) to get there. Then it takes innate energy (E) and encouragement to keep Tom moving down the path to realize his goal.

Tom Brady and his trainer have things mapped out in a 3-year plan. I get that now. If I want to run a marathon, it is going to take me a long duration to get to a fitness and endurance level to get there. I am going to break it down into manageable steps to get there.

If I want to set my home up for success, I can’t snap my fingers and have it happen. It takes steps to get it to the place that is aligned with my vision.

Brady knows what it takes to be a top performer. He uses his home environment to set him up for success and he puts a strategic plan in place to allow him to bring his dreams to fruition. When the press asked Tom if he was ready to retire, I knew that wasn’t part of his 3-year plan.

Let me ask you, what is your Big Goal?
What is your 3-year plan to achieve that goal?
Is your environment setting you up for success?

Happy Soaring!

XOXO

 

 

Photo Credit: Arch Digest

 

Did you feel it too?

No sooner were the plates cleared from Thanksgiving, attention shifted to focus on Black Friday, shopping and the holidays ahead.  It felt different this year with the momentum and interest of holiday shopping and to-do lists being more intense than years passed. In many ways it made me miss the cadence of ease and grace that permeated the holiday season when my children were young or before the days of “Black Friday”.

I heard stories of friends joining the throngs of shoppers late night on Thanksgiving. In some cases waiting in lines just to enter the store! In one case, the midnight shopping revelers stopped for sustenance at the mall Chinese restaurant, which as they recounted, added to their all-ready over-indulged, sluggish energy level and expanding waist.

Is this what the holidays are about? Does any of this make you happy, feel good physically, or increase your energy?

Before you get caught up in the marketing and social dynamics that are all around you, let’s give you a safe haven in your home that will create happiness and vibrant health so you can sail through the holiday season with ease and grace.  Today’s article will give you 8 Simple Solutions to move through the holiday season feeling, lighter, brighter and energized by this merry time of year.

Tis’ the season to be merry and bright. However this can be challenging if you are feeling overwhelmed, exhausted and stressed out. Let’s look at 8 Simple Solutions to help you navigate this time of year with ease and grace so that you feel energized, joyful and calm.

• Meaningful Connections: How many times have you been out to dinner and watched people consumed by their phones instead of the yummy meal and great company in front of them. Make meaningful connections at your dinner table by asking people to put the technology away. You may find that people actually have a difficult time relating to one another if it is not through a screen. Plan ahead and have questions ready to encourage conversations. Something like, “Name one quality you like, love or respect about each person at the table… maybe explain a story that illustrates that characteristic.”

• Serene Scents: Aromas of pine trees and cinnamon can waft through the air during this festive season. Just make sure that in your home you are using pure, natural scents and not chemical laden air fresheners and toxic candles that create dis-ease in the body. If you don’t have time to bake an apple pie, warm some mulled cider with a stick of cinnamon on your stove for a delicious aroma that will have everyone day dreaming about apple pie.

• Mood lighting: Candles are a beautiful way to set the mood for a space. Use natural candles from pure wax instead of candles made from paraffin wax which off-gasses highly toxic benzene and toluene when burned. These chemicals are known carcinogens and are the same toxins found in diesel fuel fumes… something you don’t want to inhale inside your healthy home!

• Flower Power: One of the plants that is often correlated with the holiday season is the Poinsettia plant. This beautifully colored plant acts as an air purifier absorbing formaldehyde and other noxious chemicals.

• Sunlight Savvy: If you are feeling more stress or sadness it could be triggered by not getting enough sunlight. Sunlight helps to stimulate your feel-good hormone serotonin, which relieves seasonal affective disorder (SAD). You can either spend time outside or sit near a window that gets plenty of sun. Make sure to open your shades and let the light into your home.

• Harmony Habits: Sticking to your daily habits that are life enhancing is critical this time of year. Don’t get thrown off course. Make it a priority to include your typical workouts, eating habits, sleep schedule and self-care regimen into your daily routine. If you get off course one day, get back on the next.

• Clear Clutter: Clutter impacts your ability to think and function. Clear the piles in the places and spaces that impact you every day. These areas drain your life energy and inhibit you from making clear decisions.

• Quite Moments: Schedule in some quite moments for you and perhaps those you love. Are you constantly on the go, feeling drained and overwhelmed. Schedule in time at home where you can rest, relax and rejuvenate. This will allow you to accomplish more! The restored you is able to be more efficient and effective when you are running on a recharged battery verses one that is depleted and drained.

Hopefully these 8 Simple Solutions will help you design a holiday season filled with joy, peace and harmony.

As always, if you have additional tips to maneuver gracefully through the holidays, the Home in Harmony community & I would love to hear from YOU! Leave your helpful comments below and Thank You for sharing your inspiration!

Happy Soaring!

XOXO

 

 

 

Image Credit: HGTV dot com

NBC called and wanted to know how to achieve Holiday Harmony in your home. You can watch my video here where I share my suggestions, but I also added some additional suggestions below …

Did you know that there are Simple Solutions you can implement when you are hosting overnight guests that will help your holiday’s flow with ease and grace?

Entertaining or welcoming overnight guests into your home can create stress, especially during the holidays. This stress is often exacerbated during this time of year because of overwhelm produced by a growing to-do list and friction from tense relationships. The trick is to plan ahead for the expected (or unexpected guest) to create holiday harmony in your home.

The overriding strategy is to anticipate the needs of your guests.  If your guest needs to inquire where certain items are or how to navigate your home, this can leave them feeling uncomfortable or burdensome. Conversely, if you are continuously being pulled away to retrieve items for a needy guest you might start to feel exhausted or frustrated. Planning ahead will help you navigate the holiday guest and create a harmonious flow to your holiday.

1- Sheets: Obviously clean sheets are a must. Did you know that you can also use sheets and bedding to set the tone of the room. What type of room will help your guest have the best experience while staying in your home? Do grandma & grandpa need a quiet haven to slip away to from the commotion of the little ones? Choose a serene palate that will soothe their senses. Or, does your brother-in-law tend to sleep in until late morning, which annoys everyone who wants to get the day started? In this case, choose vibrant colors that will help your sleepy head guest rise and shine!

2- Blankets: Everyone has their own internal thermometer or temperature that they are most comfortable sleeping in. I love big, puffy blankets while my husband loves to be cool. For this reason, have multiple blankets of varying weights to help your guests feel contented.  Place them in decorative storage baskets so that they are easily accessible and which will negate your need to run around in a panic finding blankets for your guests.

3- Towels: Designate towels that are for guests only. Place these towels in an easily accessible basket or bin so that they know these fresh, clean and crisp towels are meant for them. We have all had experiences where you go to someone’s house and you need to hunt through their linen closet trying to find a towel that isn’t dingy. (Not so fun.) When your designated guest towels begin to get a little tired, re-designate them and make them part of the “hockey locker room” pile.

4- Toiletries: Have you ever had that experience of needing to run out to the local convenient store to grab a toothbrush at 11:00 PM at night? Don’t put yourself and your guests through that irritating drama. Instead have toiletries at the ready.

5- Pitcher for Water: The last thing you want is your guest to get thirsty in the middle of the night and need to stumble down the stairs and maneuver a dark kitchen to find a cup so they can quench their thirst. Instead have a pitcher, cup or bottle of water at the ready.

6- WiFi Code: In today’s day and age it is important to make your WiFi code easily accessible for your guest. When they retire to their room they might want to check their emails or peruse travel itinerary. Allow them easy access by placing a card with instructions on how to connect in the guest room.

7- Extra Electronic Cords: Similar to the forgotten toothbrush, we have all experienced forgetting a much-needed cord or two. Have cords easily accessible to help your guest dissipate any anxiety that might be associated with loosing power. (Although, I could write an entire post on why unplugging is often a good thing!)

8- Notepaper: Although many people have smart phones, it is sometimes easier to jot something down on a piece of paper. Especially if you found something on your phone you need to write down. Take a cue from most hotel rooms and have a notepad and pen handy for your guest.

9- Note Cards: A thoughtful touch is to have note cards available for your guest to write to someone they love while traveling. I like to have postcards from our beach town so that when guests come they can send a little note home to those they love. I also love to surprise them with convenient stamps to help make the effort as effort-less as possible!

10- Flowers: Having fresh flowers adds a sense of peace & sparkle to the space. It also conveys to your guest that you welcome them into your home and want to make their stay special.

Entertaining the overnight guest can be stressful anytime of the year and this is especially true during the holidays. I hope these 10 tips will help to tame the tension and alleviate the anxiety associated with holiday guests. Taking some time to anticipate what your guest might need or want while in your home can help your time together flow more gracefully and create a sense of holiday home harmony.

I hope these simple solutions help you navigate your holiday season with ease and grace. Do you have a tip you could share with our readers? I would love to hear from you! Share below or come on over to the Home in Harmony FB page and share your insights and inspirations there!

Happy Soaring!

XOXO

 

 

PS…Is this next step, Your Best next step? Are you looking at life and wondering what is next? Do you want to feel excited to start each new day? Do you feel like you have a business or book in you? What if I told you I could help you? I have walked the path and laid the foundation! I know exactly what to do. I can show you exactly what I did to create the business, book and life that inspires and fulfills me every day!  Click here to see if this is the next step for you!

Are you having trouble with clutter in your home, mind or business? I am constantly asked how to remove the chaos of clutter.

It seems that you and I are inundated with a barrage of things coming at us. These can be items in a store or on TV that are enticing or information on the web that piles up and clutters the mind. This inundation creates a sense of overwhelm and confusion. Whether it is items that tax the brain or clog the closet, this clutter is a heavy burden to bear leaving you feeling encumbered and depleted.

Let’s look at a few simple solutions to move you out from under the overload of stuff!

 

• First realize that clutter taxes your mind, body & spirit. Initially the clutter that is clogging you closet or congesting your inbox is annoying and frustrating. This is when you are consciously aware of the clutter. It creates stress that impacts your mood, your ability to focus and sends stress hormones racing through your body. These are a few of the reasons why it is critical to tame the disarray. Unfortunately as the clutter lingers, our conscious angst begins to move to an unconscious annoyance that continues to fester and impact mind, body and spirit. You might be able to put the clutter on the backburner of your priority list and it might even begin to fade into the background of your consciousness. Unfortunately that just means it has shifted to your unconscious, which is still sabotaging your mood, ability to focus and triggering your stress hormones. This is the why behind the importance to tackle the disorder. Now let’s look at what you can do about it.

• Whether it is your closet or computer, it will help you to start with a Simple Strategy. Having a go forward game plan will help keep you on track. Start by breaking the task up into categories that you will tackle each day or week. If it is the closet name all of your categories, such as pants, skirts, long sleeve shirts, etc. If it is your computer do the same, perhaps it is work emails, personal emails, kids schedules, etc.

• Now that you have named your categories, place the items that are categorized together in the same area. Simple, right?

• For the next 14 days, focus on 1 category each day and remove 1 to 2 items and send them off to a good cause or the trash bin of cyberspace. Each day pick a new category to focus on rotating through all of the categories. This will help to make the process of clearing the clutter manageable in your mind and actionable each day.

I was recently working with a client who was told that she should take everything out of her closet and dump it on the floor. She should then go through the massive pile.  I don’t know about you, but she & I agreed that this seemed like an overwhelming task to wrap one’s mind around.  Breaking this process down into tiny actionable steps allows the process to flow with ease and grace rather than leaving you feeling even more overwhelmed.

What area in your life do you need to clear the clutter? Is it your closet, desk or mind?

Take a deep breath and break the process down into manageable and actionable steps.

I’d love to hear from you… what clutter do you need to clear? Or, what is your favorite Clearing the Chaos of Clutter Tips that you can share to help another member of the Home in Harmony community? Leave your inspiring comment/s below!

Thank you for being part of the Home in Harmony Community and for reading, watching and sharing!

Happy Soaring!

XOXO

 

 

Image Credit: sunset dot com

“Clear the Clutter” seems to be the slogan you see in stores or hear on the radio. I walked into one of the Big hardware stores looking for a durable outdoor coffee table. To my surprise, the outdoor section had been replaced by storage containers of every size!  Although this might feel like the newest trend, you and I know that it should be considered more than a marketing fad geared at selling plastic boxes. The challenge is this; although you might feel that containers hold the solution to accumulated belongings and it will help you create the perfect organizational look found in magazines, it often creates the reverse effect and only adds to the chaos of clutter. Without a clear plan of action the clutter only moves locations. Let’s look at how to tame the tower of belonging-buildup and create the look and feel of a harmonious space that is clutter free!

It has been an interesting 6-months in the O’Leary household. As I have alluded to in previous posts, our home sustained significant damage because of ice dams and snow load. The insurance company has been quick to demo 90% of the walls but less than enthusiastic to put a plan in place to re-build. Because of their “hesitation” to take decisive action to fortify the structure, the compromised roof could not sustain any rain. (Mind you, we realized that the roof had issues in February and we are now in the middle of July.) So, you can only imagine the amount of spring rain that has poured through the roof up until now. I tell you this for a specific reason. Although I would consider myself highly organized and void of ample clutter, this experience has given me new insight on what clutter is and how much we really have. It always amazes me how the Universe gives us exactly what we need to learn and grow. Every experience is truly a learning experience if we are open to the lesson.

In June, we packed our belongings for our move to temporary housing. We moved items in four different directions to accommodate for the demolition of our water drenched home. One group went into long-term storage, things like beds or dressers we wouldn’t use. The next group was “short-term” storage made up of items we would need access to in the next 3 or 4 months. Things like sweaters and school supplies. The 3^rd group went with us to our temporary home. And, the last group we put in our unfinished basement that was deemed dry and safe by the company doing the demolition and remediation work. Organizing these groups was a tall task! In some ways it was great to go through and realize that there were items in the back of closets that were never used and it was time to donate or toss. This mandatory exercise in clutter clearing rendered great results and also exposed where unneeded items were stored and how many of them actually existed in our home! This brings me to an important point that I will make by asking you 3 questions. If you had to go through this experience:

What would you find hiding in your closets?

What would you toss?

Do you have a buildup of belongings that you could get rid of before pushing them in a pretty plastic crate?

Well, unfortunately that was not the end of the learning curve. A week ago the skies opened up and rain poured from the heavens.  Everything, or most things, in the basement storage got wet. Yes, cardboard boxes of art collapsed with water soaked edges or crates filled with water covering Schonbek Chandeliers. The movers were called once again. This time things would either get tossed, go to dry storage or a wet storage unit to be catalogued for insurance on another day. Again, as we went through items, I was amazed at how many items we could part with. Items that had made the original cut were now ok to toss.  There were many items that held sentimental connections, like family portraits, that were sad to lose. My work computer and paper files were other items that would pose a logistical headache. But, once the initial shock had settled in and time for reflection was had, I realized how many “essential” items in our lives are superfluous or supplementary. It makes me pose two questions:

Can you look at each item in your home and take stock of what you truly need verses what is surplus?

Is it a good idea to buy extra containers for the excess?

In this weeks post my hope is to share insight into this turbulent experience that has unfolded in our life so that you can gain the golden nuggets of awareness into your own home without actually experiencing the tumultuous journey. Before purchasing the next box to calm the clutter chaos: First, ask yourself:

Do you really need to store items that can potentially create belonging-buildup? 

Will these items turn into an accumulation of clutter even if it is organized in pretty containers?

If you need your own individualized plan that supports you and your current situation schedule your Success Strategy Call here.

Happy Soaring!

XOXO

 

 

 

Image Credit: Home Depot