A clean and organized closet provides many benefits: better space utilization, your items are organized and accessible, not to mention the biggest gains: an organized closet space adds to the harmony of your home, as well as your mental wellbeing. Our outer world is a reflection of our inner world, and because everything carries with it energy, the mess in our environment can affect how we feel subconsciously. We might suddenly feel very irritable without knowing why. Your closet and the surface spaces of your home are good places to start this cleaning process. This will result in a deeply therapeutic and fulfilling experience.

I did a deep closet cleaning a year ago, and let me tell you, such heavy ‘mental bags’ were lifted off my shoulders. I gave away 11 bags worth of clothing and shoes (see picture) and I felt like a new person: empowered, organized, light and a new beginning.

As Christmas approaches once again, increasingly more and more of us are realizing the situation we and our planet face due to the effects of climate change. Whilst Christmas is a time for giving, eco-friendly, green gifts are becoming more popular for many people. Indeed, it is becoming clear that we simply cannot continue buying disposable items that use up precious resources if we are to sustain our well-being as humans and the planet as a whole.

Save money and the planet with eco-friendly Christmas decorations. Rather than plastic tinsel and baubles, how about decorating your home for Christmas with biodegradable ivy, holly and berries? Simply drape over mirrors and picture frames for a natural alternative and a traditional Christmas atmosphere.

Rather than spending money and using resources for gift tags, a great use for old Christmas cards is to cut them up and re-use them as this years gift tags.

If you’re interested in making a small step toward a more eco-friendly Christmas, try making a cranberry garland. It’s a natural decoration that can be used to embellish the tree or mantle, and once the holidays are over it can hang outside for the birds to enjoy. An eco-friendly garland is easy to make. You can accomplish the task alone on a cozy winter evening, or center a party around a cranberry theme. Engaging friends and family in the process of creating something festive builds warm holiday memories. Think about hosting a simple holiday party by sitting out bowls of cranberries and popcorn and letting everyone join in the fun. Guests could make small napkin or candle rings to take home as favors, or everyone could join in making garlands to give to a nearby retirement center.

Your office is a home away from home for you and your employees, so the right office environment is very important. After all, most people spend between eight and ten hours a day at the office, usually five days a week. That’s a lot of time spent with colleagues and office furniture instead of relaxing on a sofa with their loved ones at home!

If you design your office properly and decorate it with some unique touches, however, you’ll soon discover that your co-workers are less stressed, more productive and generally in a better frame of mind. Why? Because the right office environment affects your mood. Here are some tips for creating a unique office environment that make coming to work a lot more enjoyable.

1. Create balance - To get a feeling of harmony in your home create balance in your decorating. Pay attention to the details! It could be a theme, a fabric or a color that you repeat. If your favorite color is red,(but the family think that is to much to paint the living room wall in that color), add some red details to the area instead, red pillows, red curtains, a painting with red in it, red area rug… Do not clutter, keep it simple.

2. Choose some encouraging words to put on your wall - Make your home personal. What inspires you and your family? Decorating should be personal and what is more personal than an inspiring message on the wall. It could be a classic message or words you put together yourselves. I personally have - Do the thing you think you can not do, by Eleanor Roosevelt inspiring me daily, on my wall. You can paint them your selves or use templates. You can also order online.

The Painter’s Pyramid

Do you love painting, but hate waiting for things to dry before you can paint the reverse side. Then You need the Painter’s Pyramid. This incredible little device makes painting faster and more efficient because you don’t have to wait before moving on to paint the back or sides of an object. With this great little device you can paint and stain almost anything in half the time. Doors, shelves, drawers, canvas and more can be supported by these little pyramids. They elevate the piece off the ground so it is easy to paint the sides and you don’t run the risk of contaminating the brush or having the painted piece stick to the floor when dry. Just paint the top surface and then flip it over. The rounded corners make minimal contact and won’t stick. You never have to touch up your work when you use these and they will stand up to any paint, stain, or solvent. Get the Painter’s Pyramid today and make the chore of painting easier. They even have holes in the side so you can attach them to a work table or saw horses for stability and versatility. Get 10 of these for one low price. So simple, yet so useful. The perfect tool for any painter, crafter or artist.

Contemporary home decor has been around for a while, but, as with anything, there are trends within this decor theme. Trends can go in and out of style but the main idea behind contemporary home decor still stands strong. The theme of contemporary home decor is clean strong lines on the furniture, minimal decorations, and neutral colors mixed with bold accents. The types of accents and furnishings used are what may change because these things are always expanding and improving. The question that stands before you now is “what are the latest trends in contemporary home decor?”Since the look of contemporary home decor offers fabulously textured fabrics, bold but elegant art work, and strong lines there is plenty of room to focus on one of the latest trends in contemporary home decor. This particular trend is in the lighting of a contemporary room. Lighting can be one of the most important elements in a contemporary home decor themed room. Lighting can add structure, highlight focal points, and bring balance or harmony to a room. Some of the must have lighting for a contemporary home decor themed room is track or recessed lighting and accent lamps made from woods and metals.

If you feel that your backyard is lacking a certain something, a water feature might be just the thing to bring new life to your outdoors. There are many different types of water features to consider, such as a pond or a waterfall. Flowing or still water has a peaceful relaxing quality to it, and water features allow you to bring this natural beauty right into your own yard. You may be thinking that the care and upkeep of a water feature may not be worth the hassle, but they are much less labor intensive as you may think. By following a few simple guidelines and understanding how your water feature lives and breathes, you can enjoy this natural work of art for as long as you own your home.

Basic Landscaping

Most homeowners want a nicely landscaped yard. Yet many of these people cannot afford to hire professional landscapers.

If you fall into this group it doesn’t mean that you have to forgo some nice landscaping around your home. It means you have to take some time learning how to do it yourself.

The Internet is a great place to find landscaping design ideas to help you get started. Searching for terms such as “landscape designs” and “landscaping ideas” and “landscaping diy” will bring up a lot of good Web sites to visit for ideas and to learn the basics.

To learn which plants do well in your area, what plants need shade and what plants want sunshine, you can visit a local nursery. Usually workers at a nursery that only sells plants and gardening supplies will give you a lot more information than a garden center at a large department store.

Deciding on the style of furniture that will ultimately furnish your room can be quite an undertaking. With so many styles, colors, and fabrics available, it makes your decision that much harder. Once you have an idea as to what style you are interested in, decide on how many pieces will work within the space.Sometimes, adding too much furniture will make the room look cluttered and uncomfortable. Less is more. Measure the space and draw out the room, along with the furniture that you are considering to give you a visual idea. Also, try to make allowances for other things, such as floor lamps, statues, a magazine rack, plants, a water feature, and an area rug.

Weddings are very special occasions and because of this you want to make every aspect of the wedding process as elegant as possible right down to the wedding invitation envelope. There are lots of ways you can get creative on your wedding invitations and make them extra special and beautiful for your special wedding day. The following wedding invitation ideas will help you get an idea of what might work for your own wedding invitations and envelopes.Beach Wedding
A fun way to carry your theme of a beach wedding onto your wedding invitations and even the wedding invitations envelope is to hire an artist to design the invitations and envelopes. Invitations alone typically cost from several hundred dollars to several thousand so hiring an artist to design them won’t cost much more. Have the invitations printed out on a card stock of your choosing that include all the typed names of the bride and groom, location of the wedding, and time and date. Then, let the artist paint a beach scene on each invitation. Each invitation will be slightly different and beautiful in its own way. Also, have each envelope painted with a setting sun or a palm tree or something else beachy that will represent your wedding day.

One of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to bring a bit of nature into your personal home or office environment is with an indoor fountain. Indoor fountains run the gamut from small desktop and tabletop indoor fountains to larger floor fountains, wall fountains, and waterfall fountains. Additionally, indoor fountains come in a variety of styles that fit most any decor and price range, and they also make for great gifts.

Probably the best place to start your search for an indoor fountain is on the Internet, because that is where you will be able to get information on all types and models of indoor tabletop fountains, floor fountains, wall fountains, and waterfall fountains. When looking for a quality indoor fountain there are four principal issues that you should consider: materials, size, price, and design.

Indoor fountains can be purchased that are made of a wide variety of materials that include:

1. Be sure to think SAFE! As cute as a shelf full of porcelain dolls might look above your little girl’s crib, there is a safety issue there. So, first and foremost on your mind when preparing for and decorating a nursery should be safety. Without safety it won’t matter how cute your nursery is. So, with this in mind, if you borrow or buy an old crib, playpen, or car seat, be sure that it complies with current safety standards. If you do not know, check online. Always think of your child’s safety before good looks, and your nursery will be sure to be a success!2. Use coordinating colors, pieces, and designs, but don’t buy in sets. When a decorator comes in a designs a house, it is not going to look like something you could purchase at a furniture store. Chances are they will find pieces that go well together, but that do not come in a set. You can achieve a decorator look by choosing coordinated wallpaper and fabrics for a wall hanging, quilt, and window coverings, and matching, but not just buying the entire bedroom collection. For best results, it is better to start with a color scheme, and find patterns, fabrics, and accessories that match your scheme. You will find that if the colors are right, even if the pieces do not match, they will go together nicely.

Here in the Northeast, summer is almost here. With hot humid weather approaching-it’s already here in the southern part of the country-we can learn a few tricks from our grandparents. Before air conditioning was common, most housewives prepared their homes for the heat of summer. They knew the windows would be open letting in dust as well as fresh air. Children would be home from school and running in and out, dragging sand and dirt with them and dripping water from wading pools on the floors. Afternoons were a time to sit on the porch and drink lemonade, read a book, and visit with neighbors. No one wanted to be cleaning and scrubbing in 90 degree weather.

Twelve years ago, I set up my first home office, and many of my friends and family members were a little puzzled. “What will you do in there?” they asked, seemingly confused as to why I’d need a whole room instead of just a corner table where I could pay bills and store mail. I explained to them that I would be telecommuting, and they didn’t quite get it. It was 1995, the term was little known in the business world, and people’s reactions to it ranged from confused to suspect over the whole notion of combining home and work space.Within a few years, all this changed. Most people learned more and more about telecommuting and home-based businesses, until it was accepted as a legitimate (and for many people, a preferable) way to work. Now, more than a decade after I set up my first home office, most people I know also have a fully equipped workspace in their homes, whether they work at home or not.

Sustainable homes utilize responsible, eco friendly practices to produce less waste and conserve more energy, a goal that everyone should aspire to. Even if you live in one of the many sustainable housing communities that are being built across the country, there are still areas of your home that can undoubtedly use a green makeover. If you don’t live in sustainable housing, you should be aware of the many chemicals and potentially toxic fumes that you and your family may be exposed to on a daily basis, and hopefully, take steps to correct them. We spend approximately eight hours a night sleeping in our bedrooms, and studies have proven that factors like air quality and atmosphere can largely impact the quality of sleep. With that in mind, here are some tips to help you build a greener bedroom, and improve your sleep, and health, at the same time.

A living room should encourage your guests and your family to spend a little while dallying. This can be done by arranging the furniture in ways that encourage conversation or sitting by a fire. Lighting should be sufficient for reading books or magazines or watching television. There should be good conversation starters like a book or interesting artwork or statues to help provide a cultural backdrop. Adding live elements like plants or an aquarium can raise the energy level of the room. Color within your living room is better in warmer tones to evoke a comforting response. If the room is small, the space arrangement is even more important and one should strive for the illusion of space through mirrors or by sizing the furniture in such a way that it doesn’t overpower the room.

We are fortunate that there are so many different varieties of flowers available today that we can use in our floral designs.

There are tips and specialized treatment you can use for certain flowers so they will last longer and to show them to their best advantage in your flower arrangements.

Gerberas

Gerberas are large flat daisy like flowers that include shades of orange, pink, red, yellow and white.

There is also a mini gerbera which is not so common that is a much smaller variety.

Gerberas are very versatile and they can be used in many different styles of arrangements. Because of their large flower heads and bright colours they are perfect for modern floral designs.

Give gerberas a long drink before arranging them.

If the stems are soft, snip off the ends of the stems and place them in a bucket half filled with water.