Happy New Year to you! I hope you continue to find value in these quarterly e-communications. They are focused on balanced living and are meant to be concise and more importantly, relevant. If you know of others who might be interested, feel free to forward this on.

Winter 2009 A Practical Tool for Balanced Living: Four Small Steps That Pay Off BIG: Preserve, Put Away, Give Away and Throw Away I think we all know that a freshly-painted room or moving to a new house is not the answer to chaotic living. I am convinced that organizing (or “streamlining,” as I call it) can get you there a lot quicker. For me, this means editing out the unnecessary while taking a fresh look at how you really want to live. The goal should be to make the day-to-day easier and more meaningful. Make Editing a Regular Habit... & Make it E-A-S-Y! I want to encourage you (and myself, for that matter!) to invest 15 minutes each week on some results-orienting editing. Here are two practical tools to help streamline for a more balanced lifestyle.

1. Take Stock of Your Surroundings: Start off by looking for opportunities to "preserve, put away, give away and throw away." Ideally once a week, ask yourself: What are my "treasures", the things that I can’t part with? Am I respecting them? What objects are getting in my way? Do I actually need them? More importantly, have I created a “home” for them? 2. At Home: Make a point of putting things where they really belong – in a cabinet, a drawer, on a hook or in the trash. If they don’t have a home, create one. (I go through this process when my house is relatively tidy, so that I can stay focused on the task of streamlining vs. cleaning.) Bringing order to your life is easier than you think. With small steps and quality time invested regularly, results really can happen. Not only will your spaces be more ordered, but you will lower your stress level. Life should offer the opportunity to relax and enjoy – and streamlining can make it easier to move forward positively. … Speaking of which, why not register now for my core workshop that starts later this month?

Upcoming Events: Practical Tools for Balanced Living: Moving Forward with Positive Change... In Three Weeks A Workshop Series on Three Wednesdays: January 28, February 4 and February 11, 9:30am - 1pm Space is limited. Your $300 check reserves your place. Now in its fifth year, join me in my home for my core Lifestyle Design workshop series. These productive, energizing and interactive sessions will motivate you to move forward. If you are in transition, due to relocation, downsizing, separation, loss – or just feeling “stuck,” this is for you. By allowing your priorities to take center stage as opposed to your TV, computer or “to do” list, you can live the lifestyle of your choosing. Participants will discover a whole new way of talking about physical space, with words like Treasures, Pathways, Echoes, and underlying all of them, Campfires. Learn how practical and easy-to-implement tools can empower quality of life. See for yourself that creating the lifestyle of your choosing does not have to be time-consuming, complicated or costly. Trade out appearance-focused thinking for a more meaningful and enjoyable way of life. Understand how The Four Basics for Balanced Living can bring about positive change. Get experience in shaping your surroundings and day-to-day routines with Lifestyle Design Campfires. With a focus on experiences, rather than appearances, a more balanced lifestyle is within easy reach. In fact, the journey itself feeds the soul. Click here to register, testimonials or email me at balancedlifestyle@comcast.net "We shape our dwellings, and afterwards, our dwellings shape us." - Sir Winston Churchill Scott’s Trips Available by Appointment: New Insights, New Acquisitions -- and Fun! My November trip to Scott’s was a winner, judging from the input of those who attended. As always, everyone, including Scott’s veterans gained new insights into what was there and how tangibles can add quality of life. Check out my blog and photographs from the recent field trip. While there is not another trip scheduled, I am available by appointment and offer two scenarios: One scenario is to go straight to Scott’s the other would be to first visit your home to get a sense of needs and wants. Then, with that in mind, we would begin our Scotts adventure!

What's News: Atlanta Home & Lifestyles "Ask Marcia” Marcia Sherrill's new column, debuts in Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles' January issue. In it, she asks me and a few others for thoughts on relaxation and bedroom retreats. Harry Norman Buckhead: A Lifestyle Design Presentation to Real Estate Agents Recently Christine was invited to give a talk to the agents at the Harry Norman Realtors office in Buckhead. Her topic centered on Lifestyle Design’s Campfire Creation Services which focus on staging for experiences (rather than appearances). The way she sees it, the power of campfires can be felt in the home and workplace -- as well as in customer interactions. That includes the experiences that potential buyers of homes have when they are house hunting. If you would like Christine to speak at your next meeting, contact us. Atlanta INtown "Campfires 101" Click here to read Christine's full-page fall column on building campfires for balanced living. In it are photos and descriptions of mealtime campfires, workplace campfires and campfires for reentry after a busy day. As she says in her column, “… Lifestyle Design Campfires exist when objects, routines, people and even animals come together to create a sense of well-being, comfort and community. By working them into the rhythms of day-to-day living, they have the power to encourage experiences that feed the soul – and you don’t even need a match!”

Out with the Old: A Magical Yard Sale In November, Lifestyle Design lent a behind-the-scenes hand to Laura Feuer who organized a very different kind of yard sale. Laura, a volunteer at The Women’s Resource Center, met Shonda, a survivor of domestic violence, at The WRC’s safehouse. With the help of her family, a few girlfriends and yard sale pros Dale Asher and Anne Keiffer, they raised $2,942. Laura said “As these women begin to heal, they get jobs and try to get started in a new life on their own with their children. When they move into an apartment, they don't have a bucket or a mop, let alone a bed. They sleep on the floor. They need dollars to meet even the most basic needs.” Keiffer and Dale donated their pricing expertise to the cause, and Laura was featured in a ½ page article in The Atlanta Journal Constitution. The proceeds were life-changing for Shonda, who was able to pre-pay five months' rent and utilities in the apartment she now shares with her son, in addition to being able to buy some basic needs for their new home. Who would have thought that "out with the old" could create so much magic?!? Cancel a Phone Book Without ever asking for them, millions of phone books are delivered to households every year -- at the expense of more than 19 million trees. If you don't want yours, say "no thanks" at Yellow Pages goes Green.