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What is it about visiting a resort or spa that is so relaxing? Why is it that our moods change dramatically? Soon after arriving we begin to unwind. Our minds no longer jump frenetically from one task to the next. For some, the perfect retreat is hiking in the mountains; others enjoy a week-long yoga experience. For me, the beach is nirvana. Each can be a place that we feel a little more in touch with ourselves. Somehow our minds drift back to center. We begin to refocus on who we are, those dear to us, reestablish our goals, and step back from the pace of the world.

Resorts do their part in creating a beautiful atmosphere which facilitates this metamorphosis in us. If we pay attention, there are things we can do to borrow ideas and create our own, personalized havens.

If adopting some simple principles enables you to incorporate tranquility into your life, wouldn’t it be worth it?

When you return home, does the relief you experienced while away dissipate quickly? Here are some ways to work minimalism and simplicity into your own lifestyle.

1. Surroundings ~ Close your eyes and visualize the last resort you visited. Chances are your surrounding were beautiful, simple and elegantly decorated. Everything you needed was within reach — no more, no less. There was no clutter to be found. The ten hangers in the closet seemed sufficient. Would you feel more peaceful at home if it were less cluttered? Would it reduce your stress level? If there were a beautifully made bed and fresh towels waiting for you at the end of the day, would your home become more welcoming? Due to flight restrictions, we’ve reduce our cosmetics and toiletries significantly. Therefore, bathroom counter clutter is cut in half as is our morning preparation time while away. What if we applied this change at home?

2. Company ~ Who were you with on vacation? Whether you’re surrounded by your family, favorite friends or fly solo, you’ve made a specific choice about the company you kept. Why do we sometimes feel more in control of our time and choices while away than when living our everyday lives? Being with people that lift us may actually make us healthier. It certainly makes us happier. Do you include these people into your daily life as much as possible? Why not?

3. Packing ~ What did you pack? Does the thought of losing your luggage make you flinch? It does for most people because we bring the best of the best. So, as a Professional Organizer I ask, what’s left over? Consider reevaluating the items clogging your closet that aren’t being used. Getting ready for the day while on vacation is easy. There aren’t many choices, and, usually, they are all good. What if you boiled your wardrobe down to the cream of the crop at home? What if you removed items that don’t fit, feel good or flatter you? What would you be left with? It’s probably the things in your suitcase. Weeding through the duds doesn’t start our day with the same sense of freedom. It weighs us down.

4. Location ~ As discussed earlier, we all have different ideas of the perfect location for our retreat. What’s yours? Are there places like it near home? Can you plan day trips there? Better yet, can part or all of your home reflect your favorite oasis?

5. Activities ~ What did you do while away? Chances are you never used the TV or iron. We’re often focused on making the most of our time while away. Was screen time on devices reduced significantly? What would it take to make similar changes at home? What were the benefits of these changes? Did you feel calmer, enjoy better connections and communication, or simply have more fun?

There’s no rule stating that retreats are limited to once a year. Take them home with you. Turn your home into your haven. Fill your life just a little bit more – with experiences, not stuff.

It’s not about a full transformation in one day. By making small comforts ordinary, our homes can become our havens and places we crave returning to each evening.

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My aunt’s friend Lee was driving home after having dinner with The Girls. All of a sudden she realized she didn’t have her handbag! She frantically tried to remember what was in it, especially in her wallet, but her mind went blank. Panicked, Lee called the restaurant. It wasn’t there. Although it seemed futile, she drove back to the restaurant. Between when she called and arrived, it had been found! Lee was lucky.

If your wallet were lost or stolen, could you remember all the credit and membership cards, ATM and debit cards, medical insurance, driver’s license and registration cards, and the rest? Of course not. But even if you could, would you know the account numbers and contact info to report them missing? Not unless you have hyperthymesia or are a savant like Raymond Babbitt in Rain Man. And consider the many hours it would take to figure all this out.

To protect yourself, here are 9 tips.

1. Use smartphone apps such as a mobile wallet to pay electronically or Keyring to store your reward cards.
2. Create a list of the documents in your wallet and organize by category, such as credit cards. Using a word processing program makes it easy to update the list as items change. Include the name of the issuer, account number, customer service phone number and expiration date, if applicable. Keep a copy in a secure location at home, another in your safe deposit box and give one to someone you completely trust.
3. Photocopy or scan the documents, front and back, and refer to #2 about safekeeping.
4. Remember to add new items and remove unwanted ones in whatever system you use and distribute as necessary as stated in #2.
5. Ladies often leave handbags unattended in shopping carts or hung out of sight on the backs of chairs in restaurants. Either keep your bag with you or keep an eye on it at all times.
6. During the summer months we spend more time outdoors. We’re more relaxed and perhaps less guarded when down the shore or picnicking in the park. Pay attention to your personal belongings at all times.
7. Be sure there is adequate security protection for whatever method you choose.
8. Security experts recommend keeping your social security card in a safe deposit box with other important documents, not in your wallet. (Has anyone ever asked to see it?)
9. This is a perfect time to remove rarely used cards and accumulated clutter.

If you think any of these options is too much trouble, ask yourself how much trouble it would be if your wallet were lost or stolen and you didn’t know its contents or the contact info. The payoff is having readily accessible information so you can take immediate action. We don’t intend to create opportunities for theft. But, if it happens, your record will be a vital resource. How thrilled would you be that you took time to protect yourself?

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STEP ONE: DOWNSIZE

Now is the time to be selective. Plan to bring only the items you really want in your new space.

• Do I love it or need it? Consider your space and purge enough so that all your items have a place in your new home.
• Determining what to do with all of your purged items in advance and save time.  Donate, give to family and friends, trash or sell.
• Check your local donation outlets to see what they take and if they pick up.
• Be sure to ask family and friends before giving them any of your items. You don’t want to fill their house with your unwanted stuff.
• Check with your county waste to see if there are items that cannot go into the regular garbage.
• Research the value of an item. Send a photo to an auction house for a quick response. Other avenues for selling items: yard sales, ebay, letgo, Craig’s List and consignment shops.
• Give yourself permission to let go of sentimental items. It’s okay to let go of items you don’t want or love.

STEP TWO: PACK

Packing Paper vs. Bubble Wrap

• Paper for dishes, mirrors and small fragile items. It takes up less space than bubble and allows for stacking items, like dishes.
• Bubble wrap for larger items like appliances and lamps.
  It adds a layer of air cushion.

Packing Boxes vs. Plastic Tubs:

Packing boxes:

• Easy to stack and store flush in a moving truck
• Recyclable & easy store when they are broken down
• Come in standard sizes for easy moving
• Made to protect household goods

Plastic tubs:

• Great for storing items in your new home
• Inefficient and cost more to move because they cannot be stacked edge to edge
• Vulnerable to cracking and collapsing during a move
• Keep items dry

Best Labeling Practices:

• Label on the top and side of the box
• Use permanent marker
• Put your name on the box – first
• Put the name of the room on the box – second
• List the items in the box – third
• Share your floor plan
• Label the rooms in your new home

STEP THREE: UNPACK

• Put on some great dance music
• Set up bedroom and bathroom first
• Reclaim packing materials. Many moving companies will pick up moving materials and recycle them after the move.
• Avoid clutter as you unpack by giving all items in your new home a place to live. An item that does not have a home will be put down in any available space.

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At the end of the school year, there are three things that are a given.

1. It only takes a day or two to hear, “Mom, I’m bored.”
2. Water play of any sort makes the long days more fun.
3. There will be papers, papers, and more papers sent home from school.

Here’s help for all of those papers:

Just because your kid’s papers come home in one bag doesn’t mean there is just one single type of paper. There are a few different types of papers, and each one needs you to do something different to them. Let’s break it down.

• Proof Your Kid Did Something, aka Homework. Chances are, this is just not that amazing. Most of it is probably worksheets. Review and recycle ASAP.

• Official Looking Stuff Parents Need to Know. These flyers are usually printed on colored paper. They are not usually remotely important. Do a quick sort and purge to get down to just a handful of items that may truly need your attention. These might include school-issued passwords to online programs, which sometimes apply throughout the summer and into the next year. A three-ring binder for you, the parent, is a great place to keep the true, official notices and numbers handy.

• Report Cards and Other Official Stuff. The truly official papers should be filed in a safe place, with your child’s permanent records. Most families put these in the same room or filing cabinet with the household files. If your child has an Educational Assistance Plan (EAP), you’ll keep assessment findings and other support documentation. When your child is young, if they are on track at school, their records probably aren’t critical, to be honest. But once they reach high school, every report card, activity they participate in, award they earn and reference letter they save could be part of their college application process. Help your kids learn to keep important papers safe in file folders or a file box.

• Original creations. Your pint-sized Picasso will come home with finger paintings. Your budding engineer may create entire villages from Popsicle sticks. Your author-in-residence may have written a prize-winning poem. Your kid creates work that is uniquely theirs, that showcases their own talents, that they show pride in. Take the time to praise, display and digitize it. You can create a coffee table book or other tangible work of art that will last a whole lot longer than it will if it’s stuffed under a bed or crammed into a plastic box. Digitize their creations using a scanner or take pictures with your phone right away. Or find a personal photo organizer at the Association of Personal Photo Organizers (www.APPO.org) to digitize for you.

Can you think of any other types of paper that you need to keep?

Don’t bother keeping school papers to pass down to the next kid. When their time comes, their teachers will have their own way of presenting a learning concept.

I recommend keeping recent school directories with #2 above and older school directories in #3 as keepsake items or not at all.

The half-pile I mentioned? I also end up with summer workbooks or skills packets. These might be things you buy or things that the teachers send home. They might include summer reading lists and reading tracking charts. Do yourself the favor of telling your kiddos about them, setting goals, and letting them work through them at a regular pace during the summer. We’ve had a routine of doing a couple of workbook pages each day. This year, we’re giving our kids a weekly packet to complete at their own pace. Either way, I’m grateful for the unused learning resources that the teachers sent home.

How long does it take to get through all the school paperwork? Realistically, it can take less than an hour per kid to sort into these categories and purge. It might take up to another hour to select and digitize the artwork that you’ve saved all year. If it takes much more time, you might be overthinking it. Your child — even elementary school children — can help you with this task. They’ll love telling you about all the amazing stuff they do at school.

If you haven’t unpacked that backpack yet, now is the time to dive in, sort the papers into the categories above, and reclaim your kitchen counter from school papers that have built up all year long.

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When was the last time you took everything out of the trunk and off of the floor of your car and really explored what is hanging out in there? Maybe you have some store returns to make that happen to be intermixed with fallen French fries, sticky soda bottles and stinky gym shoes…ick. It sounds like a scenario for those Febreze Car Fresheners!

On the next nice day when you can dedicate a few hours, head out to your car and follow these simple steps.

1)  Remove EVERYTHING – Yes, I said everything! First, take out the bigger items from the floor and then the stuff from your glove compartment, center console, door pockets and trunk. Don’t forget to look in all those other nifty hidden compartments, as well. For now, keep these items in neat (or as neat as possible) piles in your garage, on the patio or in shopping bags.

2)  Clean – Clean your interior windows including the front windshield, the rear window and the gauges. Next, dust and clean your dashboard. Finally, vacuum the floors and seats. If you haven’t done this process in a while, you may just prefer to head to the car wash and let them take care of it for you. A good car wash may be something worthwhile to get rid of that pesky pollen…achoo!

3)  Trash/Recycle – Get a trash bag as well as another bag for recycling. Toss any items that are trash, like those fries! Recycle any maps or papers that aren’t needed, like expired car registration or insurance documents, soda cans and water bottles.

4)  Sort – Go through the rest of the items and decide where they need to go, whether it is back in the car or into your house.

5)  Organize – Keep some fabric storage bins with handles in your trunk and on the backseat. They are inexpensive and can surprisingly hold a lot. Five bins should be enough; you don’t want to fill up your entire car with them.

• In the trunk
  — Use one to stash snacks, like granola bars and crackers, for that on-the-go hunger.
  — Use one to hold car-cleaning supplies and a first-aid kit.
  — Use one to hold miscellaneous items that accumulate daily.
      Bring in this bin once a week and put the items where they belong.

• In the backseat
  — Use one lined with a plastic grocery bag as a mini-trash bin.
  — Use one lined with a plastic grocery bag as a mini-recycling bin.
  — Also consider seat-back organizers if you have kids. This will allow them to keep their belongings together, like magazines, books and headphones. Going vertical is always a winner in any organizing scenario.

6)  Maintain – Whenever you stop for gas, pop out the trash bag and toss it. Save the recycling items to take home if you don’t see a recycling bin. Keep some additional plastic grocery bags folded flat on the bottom of each bin.

7)  Rejoice! – Look inside your newly cleaned car and get ready for those road trips. Then take a whiff. If it still stinks, quickly proceed to the nearest store and buy yourself an air freshener!

Happy travels wherever you are headed, near or far!

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I love to travel, but I don’t like lugging a heavy suitcase. As a result, I’ve learned to streamline my clothing selections. Here are some tips on how to do more with less so you don’t exceed the 50-pound limit or tire yourself out unnecessarily:

Pick a color scheme
To minimize the amount of clothing, shoes and accessories, pick a color scheme of one or two colors. One of my favorites is black & tan.

Select neutral clothes and interesting accessories
Many neutral clothing items can be dressed up or down — depending on what is partnered with them. For example, a simple black sun dress can be worn with flip-flops during the day, then dressed up with a summer scarf, kitten heels and sparkly earrings for a night on the town.

Do the math
Calculate how many outfits you’ll need for the number of days of travel. How many items can you wear more than once, such as jeans or dress clothes? For extended trips, are you willing to do hand washing or utilize the hotel’s laundry service?

What about shoes? Try to limit them to three pairs.

Make a list, or better yet, a checklist
Once you’ve done the math, make a list of what you are considering. Create a checklist in Word, Excel or on paper. List the basics, then add selections for summer, winter, business or an extended trip. It will save you time and reduce angst!

Confirm the weather
What will the range of temperatures be at your destination? Closer to the date of travel, check the ten-day forecast. What if it rains unexpectedly; is cold or hot? Add raincoats, umbrellas, sweaters, shorts, etc. and remember that LAYERING is in order for chillier weather.

Limit your selection to your calculations
Many people bring a number of options for each day so they can wear what they’re in the mood for. Not! If you want to streamline your packing, don’t let your mood come into play.

Select an outfit for each day, less what you’ll repeat, plus what’s needed for unexpected weather. Add an extra set of undies, socks and top in case of an unexpected delay.

When in doubt …. leave it out!

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