365 Inspirations—352: Organizing

My writing room is looking pretty organized here!

“A schedule defends from chaos and whim. It is a net for catching days. It is a scaffolding on which a worker can stand and labor with both hands at sections of time.”—Ann Dillard

Since I went on break from school, I've avoided organizing, cleaning or sticking to any kind of structure.

 It was as if papers were flying behind me in a whirlwind upon exiting the campus for winter break and all I could think about was heading to the Korean spa for some unstructured relaxation.

Now, little by little, I'm bringing structure back to my life on my break and I'm starting to do get back into my regular yoga practice, walking schedule, and I even find myself wanting to clean and organize!

But I won't have much time to do all the things I'd like to get done because I'm heading off to Fresno, CA on Dec. 25th for a silent meditation course.

That's right, I'll be completely unplugging from all electronic gadgets for 10 whole days! But, I'll have prescheduled posts until the end of the year, so check in here to see what my plans for next year will be.

I realize that I tend to avoid organization and cleaning and basically getting down to business. I get an idea about something or I find something I'd much rather do and the mundane gets pushed aside.

The problem with that is that if you keep pushing the mundane aside, an avalanche of clothes and papers and dust come tumbling down and then there really is no escape. It just has to be done.

I'd like to reach a place in my life where I manage the small things before they become avalanches waiting to happen.

So staying organized and on top of things will be one of my goals for 2014!

Do you like to organize and take care of things right away, or do you wait until it's almost an avalanche waiting to happen?

365 Inspirations—184: Allergy-Free Zone

It almost came to this!

"Well, you potentially could plant a lower allergy garden, but while you’re out there planting it, you will be bombarded by oak pollen, maples, grasses."— Keith Phillips

All this hot and humid weather in Seattle has caused indoor allergies to sky rocket. Humidity is breeding ground for dust mites and other critters. We don't usually have warm enough weather for it to be a problem, but we have had unusually warm weather this week.

I don't really have allergies. I know that's not the norm, but somehow I was spared the allergy gene. Before my husband came to the USA, he also believed he was a man of no allergies.

But that all changed.

Perhaps it's because his environment and country changed. I don't really know.

It all crept up on him the second year or so that we lived here. We were center managers for a meditation center in Washington State and one of  his jobs was to ride the John Deere lawn mower around the enormous property and cut the grass.

A year or so after that, he was plagued with one of the worst cases of allergies I've ever seen. He sneezed constantly for months. I thought it must be his karma coming around for all the bugs he must have squashed while mowing the grass on the John Deere.

Outdoor pollen is on the decline here, but indoor allergens are at an all time high thanks to the weather.

I will say that it gave me the opportunity to clean our bedroom and create an allergy-free zone for my husband. That was the bonus to all of this.

The room now has very little in it. We have hardwood floors, and those are ideal for people with allergies. I swept and mopped the floor, cleaned the blinds and windows, took all books and other random things out of the room, bought allergy-free mattress and pillow covers and new summer sheets.

The room now feels fresh and airy. I'm hoping Yoon will be able to sleep soundly tonight for the first time in a long time. Now I'm inspired to clean and allergy-proof the rest of the house.

Do you suffer from allergies? What do you do to overcome them?