Thanksgiving is just around the corner. My husband and I are excited to host our family and bring everyone together. I might even make my new peanut butter brownie recipe. A word of warning: it’s hard not to eat the entire tray because they’re so delicious. So, if you ask me for the recipe and make it, be sure to invite people to share it with.

Gratitude fills my thoughts. At the same time, I’m very aware of how challenging these times are. The constant stream of bad news, division, and suffering is impossible to ignore. Hope, love, and gentleness can feel elusive.

Perhaps it’s the eternal optimist in me, but I can’t help myself. Those small moments or glimmers of connection, comfort, generosity, kindness, and joy are also available. I hold them close. They are as essential to me as breathing oxygen.

Recently, I was reading through my journal from this past year. I found a passage I want to share with you. It reminded me how gratitude and being present have been, and continue to be, guiding forces in my life.

My journal entry:

For now, I am here. Rooted in the past, ready for the future, and grounded in the present.

Consider these questions:

• How has your past influenced you?

• Do you feel ready and excited for your future?

• Are you fully present right now?

• How does gratitude connect to your past, future, and present?

3 Ways to Nurture Gratitude To Help You FLourish

1. Rooted

As I reflect on the past, gratitude fills my being. I think about my family, loved ones cherished and now gone, the boundless love and connection, the feeling of home that traveled with me wherever I went, the deep conversations, traditions, music, laughter, and hugs.

I remember and feel grateful for the time spent visiting relatives, traveling, hosting and attending gatherings, renovating, learning, creating, snuggling, being raised, raising kids, and so much more.

Of course, no life or family is perfect. Still, I am grateful for everything and everyone—the beautiful moments and the challenges.

2. Ready

Are any of us ever truly prepared for the future? On one hand, unexpected surprises can arise that might throw us off course or discourage us. Many of these will be impossible to predict.

At the same time, there will be incredibly joyful experiences, opportunities for growth, and adventures.

To me, future readiness is mainly about having an open and flexible attitude toward what may happen. Being ready also involves a certain level of confidence, positivity, anticipation, and acceptance. While I can’t predict what will happen, I hold hope close.

I recognize that what I do today can positively or negatively affect my future. I’m grateful for the actions I’m willing and able to take to create a better tomorrow.

“I am grateful for this moment. I am here now.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVOP™

3. Grounded

The past has already happened, and the future is not yet here. All we truly have is the present. I am thankful every day for the moments I get to live, breathe, see nature’s wonders, create, work, contribute, inspire, love, and be loved.

I am grateful for my senses, which always delight me and bring me back to the present moment. The magic of this season offers a feast of colors, a variety of delightful scents and flavors, cozy fabrics like cashmere and velvet that bring warmth and comfort, and sounds of wind blowing, music playing, animals calling, and leaves dancing.

Being grounded in the present helps me show up each day for my loved ones, friends, clients, community, colleagues, and myself.

I am grateful for this moment. I am here now.

Are You Rooted, Ready, and Grounded?

We’re complex humans with different backgrounds, dreams, and circumstances. Gratitude can color where we’ve been, where we’re headed, and where we are.

During this season of gratitude, what are you focusing on? Which ideas resonate most with you? I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

How Can I Help?

This is a wonderful time to plan, get unstuck, and prepare for what’s to come. Are you feeling overwhelmed, stuck, disorganized, or unfocused? Would you like to make progress? I’m here to help! Virtual organizing is an extraordinary path forward – Local feel with a global reach.

Let’s talk. I’m easy to reach.

• Schedule a Discovery Call

• Fill out the Contact form

• Email me at linda@ohsorganized.com or

• Call 914-271-5673

Getting organized, focused, and progressing is possible, especially with support.

After waking from a long, deep, dream-packed sleep, I thought about balance and the extremes we experience in life. We can feel calm and centered at one point. Those times are often preceded by chaos and stress. Feeling balanced is fluid and a continually shifting dynamic. The pandemic affected many of our experiences around balance. Maybe you’ve also noticed a shift in how you balance extremes.

In pre-pandemic days, the holiday season was filled with parties, gatherings, and engaging in “too much” type behaviors. Overdoing it disrupts our habits and sense of balance. This year, however, there will be fewer parties, if any. It will be easier not to overschedule and overdo. So our typical holiday stress, chaos, and lack of balance could be less this year.

“Feeling balanced is fluid and a continually shifting dynamic.”

— Linda Samuels, CPO-CD®, CVPO

Of course, you might be experiencing anxiety or sadness from not having the usual festivities or gatherings with family and friends. I love the holiday season and extra time to socialize with our loved ones. I am going to miss the togetherness this year.

Finding Balance Through reimagined Traditions

One of the annual traditions I look forward to is the winter solstice party at our friends’ house. They have live music, dancing, great company, and food. But what I love most is the giant bonfire they build in their woods. In the dark of the night, we climb the hill, light the fire, and form a circle around it as we mark another year. Then each person tosses their candle into the fire, as they let go of the past and set an intention for the coming year. The ritual is grounding like a giant exhalation or balance reset.

Take a pause and enjoy the video below of the bonfire from several years ago.

I felt sad but resigned, knowing our friends wouldn’t have the party this year because of the pandemic. But just the other day, we received an email invitation for their virtual solstice party. So while we won’t physically stand around the fire with them, feeling the warmth and camaraderie, we will be together in a different way. And right then, I sensed it. That one email lifted my spirits with joyous anticipation. It tipped my holiday season balance in a promising direction.

Whether it is holiday time or not, our balance is continuously changing. It’s useful to be aware and notice where you are and what you need. Are you overdoing it? Do you crave quiet? Are you reimagining traditions? Or, are things like Goldilocks says, “Just right?” What do you need to infuse more balance in your life?

I’d love to hear your thoughts. I invite you to join the conversation.

Lately I’ve noticed an abundance of tweets and blogs about ways to reduce stress during the holiday season. What is it about this time of year that can make us feel frazzled and overwhelmed? Don’t we love this season? It’s punctuated with catchy holiday music playing everywhere, colorful decorations and lights, wonderful aromas like pine and clove, and the anticipation of going to fun parties, and enjoying special celebrations with our family and friends.

Yet even with all these positive things, this season can also bring on the stress… big time. Here are my best 5 tips for sprinkling your holidays with some happy.

1. Be a “Joy” Detective – We find what we seek. Shift your focus to the parts of this season that you enjoy like singing holiday songs at the top of your lungs, wrapping presents with glittery ribbons, having time with family, or dressing-up in your sparkliest of clothes. Be on the lookout for joy-inducing opportunities. Then stop long enough to appreciate your discoveries.

2. Simplify Gift Giving – Buying and receiving gifts can be stressful. Make this season happier and more meaningful by giving clutter-less gifts. Give experiences instead of things like tickets to a play, day trip at a nearby town, or dinner and a movie.  Not only will the recipient appreciate that they won’t have to make room in their home for your gift (hence clutter-less), but your shared time together will create stronger, happier relationships.

3. Practice Good Self-Care – If we ignore our basic needs like getting enough sleep, eating properly, drinking enough water, and exercising, it makes it more challenging to embrace all the happy opportunities. When we disregard our needs, we get cranky. During this season when excess can take over (less sleep, over-eating or too much alcohol), it’s easy to overlook the importance of self-care. To experience a happier season, don’t forget to be good to you.

4. Revisit Traditions  – Traditions can bring us great joy. There are many reasons why they get modified or disappear completely. Kids grow up, family members pass away, or friends move.  To harness the happy, acknowledge what was and consider refining or creating new traditions if needed. During the holidays, our family used to gather in the Catskills for a giant sleepover at my in-laws. They have both passed away and the rest of the family has moved. To keep the connection, we’re looking at ways to create new traditions. If your traditions are still in place, pay attention to the happiness that accompanies them.

5. Balance the Extremes – It’s hard to think about any kind of balance during this season of extremes with its late nights, excess eating, more visitors than usual, suspended routines, and crazy travel adventures. Many things seem to take a “vacation” or hiatus during this time. If the scale has tipped a bit too far and you’re feeling completely out of kilter, add a few things back in to restore the balance. It might be as simple as taking some deep breaths, locking yourself in a room for ten minutes, or going out for a quick walk. Recognize that the holidays aren’t like every day. Don’t be surprised. Instead, bring back the happy through shifting the balance back closer to center.

I’d love to hear from you. What is your favorite tip for bringing the happy to the holiday season? If you’ve written a post about it, please share it with us and include a link with your comments.

My “Things That Make Me Happy” list includes celebrating Valentine’s Day. This holiday combines some of my favorite things such as love, chocolate, sparkly hearts and romance. As a kid, I remember waking up on Valentine’s Day to a breakfast table decorated with construction paper hearts made by my mom. She stapled them together into pockets and slipped Nestlé’s Crunch bars inside them. My dad signed the valentines too with his unique “cartoon” signature. Not only did we enjoy getting chocolate for breakfast, but also we felt especially loved.

As our girls grew up, my husband and I created our own Valentine’s Day traditions. Making valentine cards was an elaborate and joyful event. We’d bring out the craft supplies and the girls and I would sit around for hours making cards and writing notes to all the special people in our life. Valentine’s Day breakfast was and still is part of the celebration. I love to decorate the table, make strawberry muffins or chocolate waffles with fresh berries, and share Valentine’s Day cards and small gifts with my family. Chocolate is always involved.

Mainly, though, it’s a day to stop and remind those that you love how much they mean to you. It’s a day about love, gratitude, passion and let’s not forget chocolate.

So, what does any of this have to do with organizing? There are organizing systems that surround traditions, including Valentine’s Day. Here are some ideas:

• V-day Card-Making: Do you have a place where you can easily store all your card-making needs? Use a box or drawer to house your paper, glitter, glue, tape, scissors, stickers and envelopes. When you’re done creating the cards, all supplies can return to their designated spot.

• V-day Card Memorabilia: What do you do with the cards and love letters you’ve received? I keep cards that have special heart-felt messages written on them, in a decorative box stored in a closet. The ones that are signed “love, _____,” I usually enjoy for about a week and then let them go.

• V-day Decorations: Whether you enjoy decorating the entire house or prefer to set the table in a Valentine’s Day theme, establish a place to store your V-day decorations. Depending upon the quantity, you might need one large plastic storage bin or only a portion of a shelf or drawer. A convenient storage location will make it easy to access, put away decorations and contain potential clutter.

• V-day Chocolate: As far as I can tell, there’s no need to organize or store it. Chocolate gets consumed so quickly (at least in our household) that it’s not an organizing challenge. For those that are adept at savoring their chocolate, consider storing it in some out of the way location like on a shelf that’s difficult to reach or in a box that’s impossible to open.

• V-day Lingerie: When you’re not wearing it, take care to store pieces carefully in drawers or on padded satin hangers. Place scented soap in your lingerie drawer to keep things smelling lovely. 

As promised, to celebrate one of my favorite holidays, the LOVE-ly Organizing Giveaway starts on February 7th.  One winner will be selected on February 14th.  For the giveaway description and contest rules, continue reading.

The LOVE-ly Organizing Giveaway includes goodies that will organize, inspire, relax and delight you. The winner will receive everything described below:

• ADD & Romance by Jonathan Halverstadt

• Starbucks $25 gift card

• Emily’s Dark Chocolate covered Fortune Cookies

• Barnes & Noble Red Mesh Zippered Pouches (set of 4)

• Red metal tin to organize cards and love letters

Contest Rules:

• Comment on this blog post below with your favorite Valentine’s Day thought, memory, tradition, organizing tip or challenge

• Comment about the giveaway on the Oh, So Organized! Facebook page

• Re-tweet this giveaway on Twitter and include  @LindaSamuels when you do

• Subscribe to The Other Side of Organized monthly e-newsletter for continued inspiration and motivation

• Do one or all of the above to enter. The more you do, the more times your name will be entered to win (up to 4 total entries!)

I look forward to our conversation about love, chocolate, organizing and more. Wishing you all good luck!