More quick, easy, and eco-friendly holiday decorating and gift ideas

Here's a link to another recent article I wrote for Examiner.com

More quick, easy, and eco-friendly holiday decorating and gift ideas

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Quick, easy, inexpensive and eco-friendly holiday decorating ideas

Here's a link to a recent article I wrote on Examiner.com.

I'm the new Burlington Interior Decorating Examiner!

Happy Holidays to all!

Quick, easy, inexpensive and eco-friendly holiday decorating ideas

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Holiday Newsletter

Here's a link to my Holiday Newsletter. A Special Free Gift is included! Enjoy! Wishing everyone a very happy holiday season and a joyous, healthy, and prosperous New Year!

How to brighten up a room without natural light

Here's a link to a recent article I wrote for Examiner.com. I'm the new Burlington Interior Decorating Examiner. I'm in great company! Enjoy!

How to brighten up a room without natural light

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20 Favorites for Home Organizing & Small Space Design

I'm always on the lookout for books that inspire, inform, and provide me with great ideas for home & office organizing as well as small space decorating and design. Here are some of my favorites:

1.SHED Your Stuff, Change Your Life: A Four-Step Guide to Getting Unstuck
2.Organizing from the Inside Out, second edition: The Foolproof System For Organizing Your Home, Your Office and Your Life
3. Organizing Plain and Simple: A Ready Reference Guide with Hundreds of Solutions to Your Everyday Clutter Challenges
4. The One-Minute Organizer Plain & Simple
5. Real Simple: The Organized Home
6. The Organized Home: Design Solutions for Clutter-Free Living
7. House Beautiful The Organized Home: Stylish Storage Solutions for Every Room (House Beautiful Series)
8. Libby Langdon's Small Space Solutions: Secrets for Making Any Room Look Elegant and Feel Spacious on Any Budget
9. Living Large in Small Spaces: Expressing Personal Style in 100 to 1,000 Square Feet
10. 500 Ideas for Small Spaces: Easy Solutions for Living in 1000 Square Feet or Less
11. Big Ideas For Small Spaces: Featuring JoJo's Notebook from JoAnn Liebeler
12. Small Space Survival Guide: Storage & Decorating Tips & Tricks ( Leisure Arts #3511)
13. Decorating Small Spaces: Live Large in Any Space (Better Homes & Gardens)
14. Small Space Decorating Workshop (House Beautiful)
15. Christopher Lowell's You Can Do It! Small Spaces: Decorating to Make Every Inch Count
16. House Beautiful Decorating Solutions for Small Spaces
17. Small Spaces, Beautiful Kitchens
18. One Year to an Organized Life: From Your Closets to Your Finances, the Week-by-Week Guide to Getting Completely Organized for Good
19. It's All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff
20.Organize Now!: A Week By Week Guide To Simplify Your Space And Your Life

You can find many of these books at your local bookstore or you can order them here.

If you need assistance on any home organizing or small space design or decorating projects, I'm available for consultations. Please visit my website for more information or contact me to schedule an appointment. Thanks!

Late Summer Newsletter

Here's a link to my Late Summer Newsletter which was published on September 3, 2009.

Have a very safe and happy Labor Day Weekend everyone!

To view archived editions of my previous newsletters, click here.

Learning to Let Go

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about "letting go." Seems to be a loaded topic - and can encompass many different areas of our lives - letting go of old ideas, letting go of former lifestyles, former jobs, former investments, ways of thinking, etc. However, I won't get into that aspect in this particular blog post. My focus today will be more specific - letting go of "stuff" that no longer serves a useful or valuable purpose in our lives.

As many of you know, I'm working on a long term organizing & decluttering project for an elderly aunt in her 80's who lives in CT. The project started several months ago when she needed some help getting through some of her accumulated "stuff" in preparation for a move into a senior living complex.

Let's say that the process has been extremely challenging and has lasted longer than originally planned - primarily because she has accumulated a lifetime's worth of possessions in a large older home that she's lived in for almost 50 years. As a child of the Great Depression, she has a certain mindset -- and has a difficult time letting go of anything. She seems to be coming from a place of fear & want - if she gets rid of something, she may never be able to get it back again. She has many lovely "things" -- but much of it is buried under layers and layers of clutter.

It's taking time to go through 14 rooms and 50+ years of accumulated stuff because she has so much of it and every single item has a story to tell. What is very sad to me is that she continues to identify herself with all of her "stuff" - she seems to define herself as a person by all the things that she has accumulated over the years - whether it be furniture, clothes, shoes, jewelry, books, china, art, antiques, etc. So, each time she agrees to let go of something, she feels like she is losing a part of herself.

Which is often what happens to all of us if we equate who we are with what things we have instead of focusing on our unique talents and gifts that we bring to the world as human beings.

I've been taking part in a "Take 10 Away" Challenge for the past couple of months. Each day, I spend maybe 10-15 minutes getting rid of at least 10 things that are either cluttering up my life, my home, my work, or even my computer! I'm pretty consistent with it -- each morning, I look around for 10 things I no longer need to have. Sometimes the items get donated; sometimes thrown out; sometimes recycled; sometimes repurposed; sometimes deleted, sometimes sold.

• I keep a couple of bags or boxes in my closet for clothing or shoes I no longer wear. Once the box or bag gets filled, the items usually get donated or given away. A few months ago, one of my sisters was the beneficiary of 2 almost brand new pairs of Dansko clogs. A few years back, I "just had to have them;" I wore them maybe once or twice, then they sat in my closet just gathering dust and looking nice. My sister loves Dansko shoes; I asked her if she wanted them - she tried them on, they fit, and she was thrilled. It makes me happy to see her happy.
• Books are another passion of mine. I'm a voracious reader and also have a huge reference library for my business. I read for pleasure, to relax, to learn, to develop new skills, and because I'm a naturally curious person and kind of an "information junkie," too. Needless to say, over the years, I accumulated tons of books (literally). I've gotten into the habit of purging my tomes several times a year. I either donate them to the local library, trade them with friends and family; give them away; and have sold them to a used book dealer or recently, on Amazon.com. Now I keep a box specifically for books to be sold or donated, and I recently listed about 50 books on Amazon.com to sell. And I've actually sold some of them!
• As an interior designer & decorator, I often have an inventory of various home decor items that I've accumulated over a period of time. I don't have a retail shop, so many items were put into storage just in case I'd need them for a client or a project some day. A couple of years ago, I sold several items on ebay. Recently, I've found an area shop that takes things on consignment and doesn't charge an outrageous percentage. I've been making it a habit to bring things to the consignment shop at least 3X per month. Oh, I'm also selling some of my aunt's stuff at some of the same places.
• I also purge files on a regular basis - whether paper files or computer files. I spend a few minutes each morning going through emails and deleting anything that I no longer need or have already responded to.
• Magazines get purged regularly, as well. I subscribe to lots of home decorating magazines. If I don't have time to read them when I get them, they all go into a basket for reading later. Then I keep a highlighter with post-its to tag any articles of interest when I do read the articles. Sometimes, the articles will be torn out and kept in specific folders for reference later. Or, if there are lots of artcles in any given magazine, I'll keep the entire issue and have boxes or binders to keep them organized for future reference.
• General interest magazines will get recycled or donated after a specific period of time - like 4 months. If I haven't had time to read something in 4 months, then I make a decision - do I continue with the subscription? do I save the magazine for future reference? Do I toss/recycle/donate it? Many of my favorite decorating magazines are no longer being published or can be found on line -- so that's another way I've been able to cut back on both clutter and costs.
• Old, unwanted, extra, or dated furniture can be recycled, repurposed, repainted, repaired, sold, or donated, depending on the piece and your individual circumstances. That can be the topic of a whole other blog posting.
• Old bedding or towels can be donated to the local animal shelter. They will often take other pet items as well, as long as clean, sanitary, and in usable condition.

So, think about it. Letting go of "stuff" we no longer need or that no longer serves a valid purpose in our lives can be a very freeing and uplifting experience. Especially if some of the stuff we're getting rid of can be used by someone else or if we can actually sell some of our unwanted items and get some needed cash.

When we clear clutter from our lives and our homes, we're making room for new opportunities to come in. And do like I do - I have an iron clad "1-IN & 2-OUT" rule at my house - for every new "something" I bring in, I have to get rid of at least two "somethings" to keep things from getting too cluttered. It works most of the time!

Hope Is In The Cards

I just heard about a wonderful grassroots effort to spread some good cheer and hope around the country from Peter Shankman of HARO.

Hope Is In The Cards was started by Russ Haan in response to all the gloom & doom about the economy, the war, and other bad news that seems to permeate the airwaves.

Hope is in the Cards is a grassroots effort to generate 300 million upbeat messages throughout our country. The idea is simple. Get everyone in America to mail one positive card or letter to someone else, right now. Fabulous idea, right? (My sister works for the USPS in Norwich, CT - she'll just love this! It may actually help the USPS, too)

Send a positive card or letter to someone today, or write or stamp the word HOPE on the back of anything you mail. This is a great idea! You can Tweet it out, too. On Twitter they're at http://twitter.com/hopeinthecards

You can follow me on Twitter, too. I'm at http://twitter.com/ceilpet
And you can find me on Facebook, too. Links to follow shortly.
Cheers!
Ceil

Staying Focused

It's been awhile since I've had a chance to update this blog. Although I often have good intentions, I sometimes just run out of time, get immersed with other projects, and am so busy with other things in my life and business, that keeping up with blog posts takes a back seat. I've been thinking a lot lately about staying focused, achieving my goals, maintaining balance, and a host of other related topics. There is just so much information available about so many interesting topics that I sometimes get sidetracked. You know how that goes. And it's so easy to lose track of time, too. Especially if I'm immersed in doing research for a client project, or an article, or for my newsletter, or just for self improvement and to stay enlightened.


Then there is multi-tasking. When did multi-tasking get elevated to an art form or some type of competition? Seriously. We are all so busy with everything that we have to get done that we all try to do as much as possible and all at one time. How often do you see a woman with a car full of kids, SUV or van loaded with groceries or sports equipment, talking on her cell phone, while driving or trying to negotiate a parking space? How often do you talk on the phone while trying to prepare dinner, get a load of laundry done, and get the family rounded up for dinner? How often do you try to do 3 or 4 things at once (or maybe 5 or 6?) then make a mistake, lose concentration, are not paying attention, and maybe make a major goof at work? At some point, the ability to multi-task became an expected part of daily life. And it does have its benefits - to a point. We all need to work more efficiently, but try to do too much at one time, and you become less efficient and a lot less effective.

Multi-tasking has a few benefits, but lately, I'm finding that it has more drawbacks. Why? Because multi-tasking makes me lose focus on the "job at hand." And when I lose focus, I get scattered, I lose concentration, I forget to do things, mistakes happen, things fall through the cracks. Perhaps it's because I'm getting a little older and my brain doesn't work as fast as it used to; or I don't retain as much information as I used to. Whatever the cause, I know that I have cut back on multi-tasking a lot in the past several months. And it has helped me to get more things accomplished in the long run.

So here are a few tips that help me stay focused, keep myself organized, and feel less frenzied and more in control of things:

• Daily To Do List - I keep a list of things that I want/need to accomplish each day. I cross things off as they get done. I also prioritize the list - if something more important comes up, then non-essential items get moved to the next day (or whenever). I also have a "weekly to do list" which helps me to keep track of some longer term projects.
• Calendar - Whether you use a wall calendar, a PDA, an organizer, a computer software program, it's important to keep important dates, appointments, meetings, etc. posted in your calendar so you know at a glance what you have going on in your life. Because of my business, and because I also work part time at a local store, I plot out my schedule at the beginning of each month so I know in advance what my schedule will be like.
• Mail - I sort through my mail when it comes in and put bills to be paid in one basket; junk mail goes into the trash or recycling bin; invitations and other things that need a response go into my in box on my desk. Because of my business I get a lot of catalogs and also subscribe to several magazines. As I get them, I put them into a basket I keep just for new catalogs and magazines and look through them when I have time.
• Set Goals - I've been a list maker and goal-setter for most of my life. I've found that if I write it down, it makes it real, and I can visualize it better and get it done. This works for little things and bigger things. Once I have a goal in mind, I can then figure out what I need to do to achieve it. I usually break it down into smaller steps first, to make a "really big goal" seem more realistic.
• Avoid Interruptions - Maybe it's not possible to totally eliminate interruptions, but sometimes, you may have to make yourself "unavailable" in order to get a specific task or project completed. Or at least, to a point where you can put it aside, do something else, then get back to it. If you work from a home office (as I do), try to screen phone calls; only check emails at specific times; don't get sidetracked by household chores that need to get done; let friends and family know that when you are working, you can't be disturbed (unless an emergency); try to keep to a schedule or a routine when working from home.
• Have a Plan - This may sound a little off beat, but in addition to setting goals for myself, I also have a business plan for my business, and I recently started to work on a "personal life plan" for myself. I review the business plan periodically and make changes as necessary. Having a plan in place helps me to put my vision to paper, keep track of where I'm going, and what I need to do to get there.

For more tips on staying focused, getting organized, and planning, check this link for a few articles. You can also visit my newly created website just for The House Therapist - still tweaking it, but my goal was to have it up and running in March. I expect to have it pretty well set by late April. You can also sign up for my newsletter and mailing list here. You'll be eligible for special offers and notified about upcoming events, specials, and get lots of tips on decorating, home improvements, home organizing, and related topics. New issue coming out next week and the focus will be on Earth Day, Arbor Day, Making a Difference, and a few more eco-friendly topics.

If you get a chance, visit Green Your Decor for tips and information on green and eco-friendly decorating and more!

Until next time! Have fun! It's Spring!

Time for a Change!

My New Logo!

It's been awhile since I've had a chance to add any new blog posts. The past couple of months have been crammed with new projects, new ideas, and potentially new opportunities. My blogs have taken a back seat to other, more pressing issues.

I recently had a new logo designed for The House Therapist to give it a somewhat separate identity from my interior design & decorating business, Ceil Petrucelli Interiors. I'm launching a new website for The House Therapist in early March! That's one of the reasons for the new logo. The logo was designed by my good friend, Sandy Burr, who lives and works in Nashville, TN. In addition to graphic design, Sandy is also a great photogrpaher, and does custom framing and photo restorations through her business, Sandy Burr Photographic Arts.

Until the new website is launched, you can still find all the information on my main website. I'm also offering several Special Offers for home organizing, home staging, and interior decorating services which run through the end of February. However, I may extend the offers through March 20th, the first day of spring. Click here for more information.

I've been working on a long term project in CT for the past couple of months. It's one day a week, every week, and involves clearing & organizing the home of an 83-year old aunt who is planning to move into senior housing by this summer if all goes as planned. I wrote about this in a previous post several months back and had no idea at that point how challenging this project would be. And how long it would actually take to feel like I was making some headway! I've been fortunate that I have other family members assisting when they can (3 sisters, 1 brother, 1 nephew) -- but it's been a real test for all of us! The house was built in 1895 and is one of those Victorian Georgian Revival style homes - 14 rooms on three floors. The house used to belong to my grandparents and my aunt has been living there for more than 45 years. Anyway - the house also has a lot of memories which sometimes makes it a little emotional for some of us as we're going through things. If anything, I'm learning many valuable lessons - the main one is patience at this point. Patience and staying focused on getting the project completed. The house is literally crammed to the rafters with an accumulation of stuff that my aunt has collected for most of her life. Lots of good stuff buried under piles and piles of other stuff.

Two books that have been a huge help to me are When Organizing Isn't Enough, SHED Your Suff, Change Your Life, by Julie Morgenstern and One Small Step Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way by Robert Maurer, Ph.D. Both have some invaluable tips, information, and insights and I've had a few "aha!" moments as I read through both books. Links to both books can be found elsewhere on this blog.

I'll be posting more information and tips to help people who are going through similar situations - helping parents and/or elderly relatives who are downsizing and/or moving into assisted living. In the meantime, there are lots of good articles posted on my website which cover organizing, clearing clutter, the emotional attachments we have to our "stuff," and ways to help loved ones let go of stuff that is no longer relevant.

I'm also planning to add some new on-line services to my business this summer. It's a new concept, but some designers and home organizers are doing it and I'm looking into it. Stay tuned!

Until next time!