You can change a life by supporting Azadi Fine Rugs “Angel” program. Read all the details!

AZADI Angels 2017

Thank you, Connections In Home Care for sharing this timely reminder with us! “You don’t stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing.”

― Michael Pritchard

In today’s fast-paced business environment, efficiency is a prized attribute. With these three keys to office organization, your files, workspace, and a computer can all be maximized to their full potential. 

We love experiencing the transformation from beginning to end, no matter how big or small the project is. When you decide it’s time to declutter, enlist the help of our organizing gurus at Get Organized with Bridges + Co.

Do You Treat Yourself Well at Home?

How do you prefer to live? Do you take the time to treat yourself well at home? Do you do things in your home that make you happy and feel good?

Last week I had a conversation with a client about bringing rituals and ceremony into her home. She had read one of my articles and wanted to bring her “signature” into her environment. To do this she knew she had to better understand herself so that she could customize her personal space.

As we talked about doing this she realized that it was about her preferences. It was about her habits and things she likes that gave her comfort and bonded her with her surroundings. Of course, her favorite things are very different from yours and mine.

If you want to do this, you first have to get in touch with your inner self to see what you need and want to express in your most personal spaces. This type of bonding is done when you repeat something every day and look forward to the special things you do for yourself.

The habits and preferences you practice in your spaces is what personalizes them. What you do can be peaceful and serene and other times can be fun and exciting. Here are a few examples of what I’m referring to:

• Your kitchen can be a quiet place in the early hours before anyone else is awake. It’s where you have a cup of coffee in your special cup looking out into your garden or read your emails. Perhaps it’s taking your vitamins with a crystal or “funky” wine glass. This all depends on how you design your preference for starting the day.
• Your bathroom can have candles around the tub for relaxation and meditation. You can have a special color toothbrush in a special glass. Your night clothing can be hanging waiting for you on a pretty hook. I have a glass that only matches my bedroom color (and doesn’t match anything else in the house) which I take to bed. This is where I take my evening vitamins which I keep on my bedside table in unique containers.
• Any area of your home can contain your favorite things. Like pictures in beautiful frames, your private collections, flowers, personal mementos and sayings.
• For fun or whimsy, games you enjoy can have an area with a table designed in playful colors.
• A ceremony is something you might do when you bring a new piece of furniture into your home—you can bless it and state the intention for it.

When creating personal spaces all your senses come into play. You can surround yourself with your favorite fragrances, colors, textures, sounds and flavors. When you make yourself important enough to nurture yourself, you are creating healing. When this healing is experienced and is repeated it becomes a habit.

As you make changes in your environment remember this is your sacred space and refuge from the world. Be open to the possibilities. Look inside you, the true “interior” design, to see what you would like in your surroundings and then make it happen once your vision is clear. Trust yourself and your choices. It takes a great deal of honesty to get what you need and want. Interior design is a creative process where there is no right or wrong. If it feels right, it is right!

Design from the heart and enjoy the outcome. Remember, rooms have no feelings, you do!”

When you have an interesting front door and entry, people want to come in and discover what’s beyond it.

-Barbara

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to never miss another birthday or anniversary? Barbara’s Picks member, God’s Garden Treasures, can make that your reality with their Concierge service. Give them the dates and your preferences. They will contact you before the date to discuss your options. They will design a piece of memorable floral art and deliver it on time! How sweet is that?!? MORE!

There could be some legitimate reasons for not buying a home but indecision is not one of them. Indecision is rooted in not having enough information to move forward to own a home or continue renting.

When you consider principal reduction, appreciation and tax savings, your monthly cost of housing could be much less than the rent you’re paying. The principal reduction included in each payment is like a forced savings account that increases as your mortgage balance decreases. Your equity in the property will also grow due to appreciation as the home goes up in value. The equity is part of your net worth and an investment in your family’s future.If you keep renting, at the end of the year, you have had a place to live and a pile of receipts that helped the landlord pay for his house. Deciding to buy a home will give you a place to live that is yours and all the things that come with that.

The income tax savings can be an additional financial consideration if the combined interest and property taxes are greater than the allowable standard deduction.

Trends are showing that both tenants and homeowners are staying in their homes longer. It’s been said that whether you rent or own, you’re paying for the home. Do you really want to buy the home for your landlord? Check out your numbers on a Rent vs. Own and then, call us to help make it happen.

Would you like a trusted advisor to discuss your options with?  Contact Eva Marin, Homes By Eva 

Do you need a website to kick off the new year? Now is the time to begin the process. Barbara’s Picks Member Your Computer Lady even has a special package that includes everything you need for your first year! Get the details!