21 Quick Clutter Fixes For Your Home

By Jessica Hoelzel

REDUCE the amount of STUFF you have and LIVE GREEN

Keep your eye on Day to Day Feng Shui for each post in my blog series: 21 Quick Clutter Fixes, ways to lighten your load by cutting out clutter bit-by-bit throughout your home. Plus, solutions that keep the environment top-of-mind, so you keep your waste-impact down.

Less Clutter = Healthy Home

Less Waste = Healthy World


In the Laundry Room/Mudroom

17. Streamline your cleaning products. Similar to the post I wrote about streamlining your personal care products, choosing cleaning products that can do double, triple, quadruple+ duty is smart. Less bottles hanging around, less time spent digging in your cupboards for what you need.

Many eco-friendly products can do just this. There’s lots and lots of info out there on the web related to natural cleaning products, which I don’t have the space to expand upon here, but be sure to check out these two resources:

Earth Justice
Earth Easy

In my house, I like to use Thieves Household Cleaner, a Young Living product. One tiny ounce mixed with water makes 30 ounces of cleaning solution. I make up spray bottles with bottles I would normally recycle. Reusing them this way keeps bottles out of the landfill. If you buy a bottle of cleaner and dispose of it when it’s gone, then buy another, that’s more of an impact on the environment. Reuse as much as you can. Thieves can be used to clean bathrooms, countertops, appliances, floors, windows, glass and more.
The real upside of Thieves, though, is its scent. It’s awesome – a blend of lemon, cinnamon, cloves, eucalyptus and rosemary, real essential oils. It’s a new way to smell clean.

If you’d like to order some for your home, email me

Traveling Clutter – Time to Clean out the Car

By Jessica Hoelzel

We are on the go – dashing to and from work, the store, the game, the dentist, the dry cleaners, wherever. And hauling a lot of stuff along with us: food, drinks, books, CDs, electronic devices, papers and gear. Our lifestyles breed traveling clutter.

We not only have to keep clutter in our homes in check, we have to keep up with the junk we’re carrying around well. Think of it this way – our cars, like our homes, are an extension of us. If they’re dirty and junky, what does that say about us?

What’s the state of your vehicle? When the weather is nice, like it is (finally) here in MN, it is the time to clean out that junk collector. Park it in the driveway. Pull anything important out first, such as electronics/paperwork/calendars. Put them in a safe place. Next take out the car essentials: umbrella, snow scraper, tissues, and car seats. Set these aside. Now, clean out all the garbage and “other” things that have accumulated. Dig under those seats for buried treasure. Give the ride a good vacuum and wipe down. I love using Thieves Household Cleaner. You can make a spray bottle with an itty bitty cap-full and it smells fresh and spicy, like cinnamon and cloves. It gives my interior a good shine too.

After it’s been cleared out, only put back what you need to keep handy. Finally, kiss the dash, apologize for the state you let it succumb to, and vow to take care. Our cars will last long and run well if we love and care for them. Plus, won’t all the time you spend in your car be more enjoyable?


Storage Solutions
If you have kids, or need to keep a lot of useful things in your car, purchase some traveling storage units. These are available at some car washes, department and organizing stores. There are units available that hang over the back of a seat, or fit over the center console. Ones I like:

Trunk and Auto Document Organizers to keep stuff in it's place

Put trash in it's place with the Trash Stash Car Litter Bag
 
Over-the-Seat, In-the-Middle and other solutions from Organize Your Ride

Spring Giveaway Ends Tomorrow

Last chance to share your “clutter hot spot”. Tell me…what area in your home is so cluttered you can’t stand it! Or what area gets cluttered even though you try to manage it? Where does it seem to pile up – too quickly and too easily?



Top 3 so far:

Laundry/Mudrooms

Home Office

Kitchen Counter



Let me know what’s a challenge for you, here, in the comments section of the blog. I’ll enter you in a drawing for Thieves Waterless Hand Purifier. Hurry, the giveaway ends Saturday 4/30!



Why am I giving away Thieves Waterless Hand Purifier?

This is a product I dig – for many reasons. With summer coming, and more time outdoors, it’s a must-have to stash in your purse or diaper bag. It’s also a convenient size to keep in your desk drawer or car. It smells so good – it’s got essential oils like peppermint and cinnamon – very fresh and uplifting. It’s gentle, and won’t dry out your hands like most hand sanitizers, which makes it great for kids. It’s part of Young Living’s Thieves line of products, which naturally protect the body against bacteria.

The hand soap is also a favorite too. I think my husband might love it more than me sometimes! He can't stop talking about how much he loves it...for months now. You can buy refills too, so that cuts down on plastic consumption; it's an environmentally conscious product.



For those who don’t know, I sell Young Living Products. I became an independent distributor a few months ago, but I’ve been experimenting with their essential oils for years. I've found several oils that can be used for enhancing feng shui and space clearing. Plus, the Thieves line has cleaning products that smell and work great too. Having a clean and nice-smelling house is GOOD feng shui!

If you’re curious about their products, check out the website. Email or facebook me with questions or products you’re interested in.



I’ll be drawing and announcing the winner soon – stay tuned.

SPRING FLING: Time to clear clutter and get organized. Share and be entered to win a Thieves hand purifier

By Jessica Hoelzel

Ready, Set, FLING! Although a couple inches of snow are predicted overnight tonight in Minneapolis, spring is, actually, here. We’ve had several warm days, 70’s even, to prove it. So let’s get rockin’. What projects do you have in mind? Where are those trouble spots that you JUST CAN’T STAND anymore? Let’s get to those. Time to fling out the old and refresh.

Share Your Ideas and Be Entered to WIN

Tell me what areas you’d like to tackle here, on the comments section of the blog. I’ll put you in a drawing to win a Thieves® Waterless Hand Purifier from Young Living® Essential Oils. So, you can clean your hands after digging yourself out of the clutter! This stuff smells divine, and won’t dry out your hands like most hand sanitizers.

Here are some questions to give you clarity on WHAT CAN GO:

Is it ugly? Fling it

Is it falling apart? Fling it

Does it bug you? Fling it

Does it make you sad? Fling it

(Obviously, even if important things like tax doc’s bug you or make you sad, you have to keep those…sorry to say. But, hey – find a storage box to keep them in that does make you happy.)