Sundays In My City - Prayer Altar

Thanks to Marianne Williamson's A Course In Weight Loss (fabulous book!) and Instagram ~ This has been another Sunday In My City.  Please stop by Unknown Mami's blog to see more fascinating posts from cities all over the globe! 

Read More...

Create A Moving Inventory With An App

Packing is still fresh on my mind after having moved my dad twice and myself once recently.  My vision became impeccably clear while sitting in the middle of enough kitchen supplies to fill five homes.  How did I collect all of this, and why do I still have it?  I know the answer is not simple - I have downsized from a very large home into 4 smaller homes over the past five years.  It is obvious to everyone but me that my love of entertaining will need to take a back-burner at this rate, and so goes my down-sizing  efforts... but that is a whole other article to consider.

In previous moves, my system of taking inventory proved to be an amazing tool that assisted me well into years after the relocation.  There, I listed my boxes numerically for personal packing and alphabetically for my business boxes.  I still refer to this list when I am in need of an item that had gone to storage or in archives.  But my most recent move had to be quick, and I have become reliant on my smart phone for everything important in my life.

I searched for packing apps for my iPhone and the one that really stood out to me was simply titled, "Moving Day".  This app has literally thought of everything - you plug in your moving details, add each box or large item, write descriptions of the contents and then you're ready to print your QR codes!  I love this because it comes with individualized codes that you can scan with your phone and it coincides with the inventory list.  I just used sticky paper printed from home.

When your delivery arrives, you click over and check off your boxes as they come in to make sure nothing is missing.  In my case, I did this for my storage unit since I have down-sized quite a bit, so I can later go back to my boxes when I need an item that I am looking for - There is no guessing!

There is no guarantee your delivery will arrive safely at the other end but with this app, you will have an 'at-a-glance' itemization at your fingertips, which can assist you today or years from now in storage.  And to me, that is peace of mind.

Read More...

Create the Perfect Space With a Decor Vision Board

Decoration with a pin-board is a necessary tool for good design.  Creating a palette of elements, color, and creative placement can be found by cutting up magazines the old fashioned way, or by using this exciting new tool online.

I have found the perfect way to throw around new ideas for clients, without all of the paste and papercuts...

Introducing the amazing Olio Board website ~ It's a bit of Pinterest mixed with Polyvore.  {LOVE}

I mean, really...  you can't get more detailed and descriptive than this when you are creating a vision for spectacular design and function.  I have a new-found love for black and white mixed with a splash of red both in my wardrobe and in the home.  Gathering various items of interest together really pulls a look together and creates a clear vision to a room's function and mood.

So what can you come up with?  You can be as simple or as extravagant and you'd like.  Share your links with me, and I will keep adding rooms to my profile.  This is just as addicting as the aformentioned sites, so be careful :)

A few designs I have my eye on...

Read More...

Finding an After School Routine

Leaving homework, dinner schedules, and bedtimes to chance has a tendency to create chaos and frustration during possibly the only family time of the day. Establishing a routine does not have to mean never allowing for flexibility, but it gives parents and children alike the feeling of comfort that comes from knowing what is expected.

Children may begin to receive homework assignments as early as Kindergarten. Oftentimes in these early educational years, it falls to the parents to motivate children to finish their homework. Even in the later part of a child’s education, he or she may need structure and guidance. Some families choose the time directly after school to get homework done for the day. Others feel it may be better to allow children to decompress after a long day of concentration and constant social interaction. Should a child complete homework before or after dinner? The answer to that question depends upon the dinner, extracurricular activities, and bed times for each family. Determine which times are best for your child to sit down to homework. Once a routine is established, there should be less fighting about getting it done, fewer homework assignments turned in late, and happier parents and children.

A dinner schedule that works for the whole family is beneficial to everyone. Predictable meal times will encourage children to refrain from ruining their appetite with snacking. Children and parents should work together to put dinner on the table for a family meal. For some families that might mean one person either cooks or picks up food on the way home. Someone else then sets the table, and another family member fills drink cups.

Bedtime is another aspect of the afterschool routine that should be consistent. Younger students require more supervision and earlier bedtimes. Whether you incorporate a time for reading together or alone, children will benefit from an opportunity to lie quietly and cultivate the habit and skill of reading for pleasure.

Afterschool routines may change from year to year and from family to family as there are many factors involved such as age, siblings, and parents’ work schedules. Maintaining a consistent and reliable routine will give your child a feeling of stability during the formative years of his or her youth.

——————

Jennifer Tankersley is the creator of ListPlanIt.com where you can find over 400 lists and planning pages including a Back to School Planner, Homework Schedules, Calendars and many more and also of List Mama Blog: Lists for List-Lovin’ Mamas.

Would you like to free up your time for more important things, like spending time with your family? Do you have trouble managing your paper clutter? How would you feel if somebody could take a weight off your shoulders with a little advice? I can help you get organized and bring balance back into your life? ~ Visit my website Renew Your Space for a full list of services and details

Read More...

Making The Most Of Our Valuable Time

Time is a commodity that we should be saving for the most important moments in our lives.  We eat, we sleep, we take care of family and we work, but how we make use of this time is the glue that holds our life balance together.

We live in an amazing era where useful resources are lapping at our feet, as abundant as the tide.  Think about the struggle our ancestors lived, with back-breaking work, laboring fields for food, wringing clothes out by hand, chopping wood, sewing fabric, wriding horseback or carriage days... weeks... months, to get where they needed to be.

This is where we should be so thankful for the ease of modern life.  No matter what social class you fit into, the conveniences of our day pales in comparison to the labor folks relied upon so many years ago.

Managing your time can be simple, once you find the key players which can do the work "for" you.  For example, we all know that multi-tasking has proved to be more of a time-waster for some who feel overwhelmed by trying to do it all.  But if you let your machinery do double-time, you can free up your mind to focus on other tasks.

With a quick plan of action, here are some ways to let your home work for you:

- Let your appliances do double-duty by knocking out several chores at once.  Run the dishwasher, charge your media, back-up your computer and self-clean the coffee pot with just a few clicks of a button.  How many chores can you knock out with one fell swoop?  (without knocking out the power)  :)  I always think about this when I know battery-life is running down on electric toothbrushes, etc.

- Keep your kitchen sink empty by re-loading the dishwasher first thing in the morning and last thing in the evening, and run it at a convenient time during your busy day.

- Dedicate one day a week to meal-planning.  In just a few minutes, you can create a week's worth of healthy meals and know the ingredients needed when you head out to the grocery store.

- Be prepared for laundry day.  Keep seperate laundry bins to pre-sort your family's clothing so that you don't have to waste time doing it all in one day.  This way, you are ready to re-boot your laundry at your convenience instead of having to search for it.

- Don't rely on one set of sheets per bed.  Change out your bedding every week without having to wait for them to be washed and made.

- Have your work go-bag and the kid's back-packs ready to go the night before, by creating a staging area of your home.

- Use the automatic feature on your coffee pot, and have it ready to go first thing in the morning.

Think of the unlimited ways you can sinc your resources and make them work for you.  Let me know what your most valuable multi-taskers have been...

You can also have your own entourage of experts right at your feet! 

101410

Read More...

Renew, Reflect and Restructure

What an amazing ride we have had in 2011 - I don't know about you, but I am ready to put that funky business behind me and keep reaching for the stars...

It was a whirl-wind year with many changes for me.  As you well know, I had to put my organizing and writing aside while tending to family.  This left me feeling lazy and unsettled as my ideas and creativity became stifled with passing time.  It also sparked new passions and thought into my true purpose.  My spirituality plays a huge part in everything I do, so as I sat back observing the world around me and my place in it, new life came to fusion.

{Renew}

Yes, I find it ironic to be an expert in time management, yet to be in perpetual search for my own life balance.  But this is what propels me...  in my own adversity and quest for truth, I find inspiration to create and teach.  It is in these reflections, these quiet moments, which I can find the clarity within. 

My creative outlets are very demanding, and when I lack discipline in dedication, my equilibrium flops in all directions making it impossible to focus on any.  I am a photographer, writer, organizer, speaker, and teacher.  I am spiritual and love to apply a little psychology and philosophy into everything that I present.  So with that, I claim 2012 to be the year of restructure for the nature of my business.  To gather my dreams, talents and passions together to honor my true purpose.

I just love new beginnings - a new year to make it all right again...  As you can tell, I am in the resolution zone.  Only, I stopped making resolutions a long time ago, and instead focus on my goal-setting throughout the year.  One major inspiration to me is my mentor and fitness instructor, Chalene Johnson, who has just published her book, "PUSH".   {-----  Really, if you haven't heard of this book and want to create a clear vision for your life, this is a must-read!  This is how I have been spending my holiday vacation - clearing my head and good old fashioned goal-setting :)

Then, there are these...

Photo Credit

Yes... I am yet another addict of the amazingly inspiring Pinterest {especially this little colorful brainstorm & quote at the bottom-left that reads "I love my life". - ooh, and they have some yummy stuff if you click on the photo credit above, too!}.  I feel magnetized, hypnotized, yet empowered by its presence.  But how truly life-changing a website like this one can be.  I have actually found intriguing things to do just by searching my city on Pinterest.  Talk about a creative way to reinvent date night! 



I am fairly new to Pinterest, but while poking around there today, I found a fun freebie by Design Finch that I thought I should share with you.  Just look at these fun print-outs...  {Click Here For Website}.

Yep - pretty awesome :) 

So with that, I bid you all a joyful, prosperous, glowing new year ahead.  Look for some nice changes coming to Renew Your Space - a little more polished, focusing on articles, speaking engagements and do-it-yourself organizing projects and consultations.

Love you!!! ~ Renee Weatherford

Read More...

Friday Favorites - Unique Storage

Today's Friday favorite is something I have had for a few years, and only recently stopped to appreciate how it's served me over time.  It is simply a heavy duty draw-string shipping bag from Sephora - I had dozens of these from back in the day & I use them for anything from storing makeup brushes to my old video casette tapes {I know, WHAT are casette tapes, right?} But it just goes to prove, storage can be as simple as a bag.

This one is holding 24 videos and easily stores in my entertainment armoir for easy access when we want to walk down memory lane.

   

Read More...