Category Archives: Organization

Check out my March Podcast Guest Line Up!

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March 1st, 2023

Ayesha Maxwell, ACCESS

Ayesha shares today the programs available to all entrepreneurs, not just Arab Americans in Southeast Michigan along with resources for other areas.

If you are looking to start a business and just don’t know where to start, this may be just what you’ve been looking for.

Click here to register at my Facebook Event Page so you don’t miss a beat!

March 8th, 2023

Jean Roman, For Dragonflies And Me

Join Jean today as she discuss the here Top 5 Perennial Vegetables & Fruits & How-to Care for them. She will provide guidance to her listeners as she shares her personal experience with each one.

March 15th, 2023

Farah Bazzi, Maraseel Cards

Join me today as I chat it up with Farah Bazzi, Founder & Creative Director from Maraseel Cards in Dearborn, Michigan.

Farah discusses what it’s like to leave her professional career as a high school Biology teacher to have her twin daughters right at the world shut down with COVID.

She discusses how she listened to her intuition and decided rather than to go back teaching, she dove into creating her own line of luxury stationaries!

Click here to register at my Facebook Event Page so you don’t miss a beat!

March 22nd, 2023

Karen Sammer,
Your Power, Your Health

My mission is the make this planet a healthier one, one person at a time!”
~Karen Sammer

I’m super excited to introduce you to this remarkable warrior woman! She has quite a story to share with all of you including her battle with cancer & how she conquered it. She is here today to let you all know you can take a stumbling block & turn it into a stepping stone… and boy did she ever.

Click here to register at my Facebook Event Page so you don’t miss a beat!

March 29th, 2023

Karleigh Thompson, MoonMoon Ceramics

Listen in as todays guest shares her journey into business ownership. From traveling to Ireland to a remote private art school to working at a senior center, and finally following her dream… this may be just the inspiration you’ve been looking for!

Click here to register at my Facebook Event Page so you don’t miss a beat!

Join me each week as I share home & garden inspiration & information.

I certainly hope you are encouraged to grow your own food. Be sure to SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss an episode!

Don’t be dismayed if you don’t have a yard to garden in, container gardening is a great alternative.

If you enjoyed this blog , please LIKE, Follow, Share & leave me a comment! I love your feedback!

If you aren’t following me on Facebook or Instagram, go on over & give a LIKE & Follow me for daily tips & tricks for your home & garden!

Happy Day,
Jean

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All text and images on this site are copyright of For Dragonflies And Me. Unless otherwise noted, you may not use this content.

What would you like to see?

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I would love for you to share with me what you’d like me to post on? What gardening, cooking, organization, decorating, or business related questions do you have?

Post them in the comments below, & I’ll do my best to answer them!


Would you like a plethora of ideas & inspirations at your finger tips?

If you said yes, then head on over to my Pinterest page and follow me there!

Do you enjoy admiring beautiful things?

Organization 101 Day 11: Room by Room Organization~ The Bedroom, Closet & Bath

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“One of the core organizing principles of my life is that success comes through a delicate balance between making things happen and letting things happen.”— Robin Sharma

Here we are at day 11 of my Organization 101 Series! What a fun time it’s been filled with new ideas & old ones revamped.  I am going to touch on how to organize your bedroom & bathrooms today. 

If you missed last week’s post on Room by Room Organization: The Living or Family Room, you can read that HERE.

Many of the topics I discuss in this series I learned from an incredible lady named Marla Cilley, A.K.A. The Flylady. Her book, “Sink Relections” taught me how to incorporate all these lessons, and to develop many of my own!0

To listen to today’s Podcast, click this LINK.

Below are photo’s of my bedroom & closet.

My chest of drawers.

As you can see, I carry my garden theme, along with my collection of Apothecary bottles throughout the room. I also make sure my color scheme flows.

Organization tools.

Drawers & closet organization wouldn’t be complete without proper storage containers. I just ordered these and I can’t wait to put them to use. Keep posted for photo’s on that coming to my INSTAGRAM PAGE. Be sure to follow me there for daily inspirations!

Bath towels!

I love the look of rolled towels in my fabric baskets. I can easily see what I have & my tote sits perfectly on the shelf in my bedroom closet!

My closet!

I have always dreamed of having a walk-in closet I could cartwheels in, LOL… well now I have one & it is as great as I thought it would be. Join me for a short walk-through!

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Here’s the tutorial on how to fold sheets to keep them organized & neat!

If you enjoyed this episode , please LIKE, Follow, Share & leave me a comment! I love your feedback!

If you aren’t following me on Facebook, go on over & give a LIKE & Follow me for daily tips & tricks for your home & garden! 

Happy Day,
Jean

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All text and images on this site are copyright of For Dragonflies And Me. Unless otherwise noted, you may not use this content without written permission.

Organization 101 Day 10: Room by Room Organization~ Let’s talk about your Family or Living Room!

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“There is nothing more calming than an organized home.”— Unknown

In my previous post on Room by Room Organization~ The Kitchen and Pantry, I mentioned the kitchen is the heart of the home. I genuinely believe that, however the living room or family room is where snuggles and relaxation happen. 

After a long day at work or school, then home to prepare or help with dinner it feels mighty good to just flop down on a comfy couch or oversized chair and just take a deep breath… relaxation.

Some of you may have young kids, some of you may be single, some of you may be in the golden years of your life… either way, that flop just feels pretty dang good some days!

My Living Room

The living or family room, whichever you call it says a lot about the character and style of the homeowner(s). Is your decorating style shabby chic, modern, eclectic, industrial, farmhouse, or something else? The style will inevitably dictate the type of accents you use.

My family this holiday season! Where is Frankie!!!!

My style is a mix between Industrial & Farm House. I love the metal & wood features the Industrial style offers. I also adore enamelware and cozy fabrics. I also love botanicals & birds… so,  I think I pull it together fairly well. Wallpaper coming back into style didn’t hurt my feelings either lol! Don’t hate me, but my house has a couple and I actually loved them, so I kept them. 

1. Extra blankets are always a nice touch! I mean can you really have too many blankets LOL!!! I keep about six in a cute tote rolled up tucked away in a corner.

No matter what your style is and how you incorporate it into your home, it is a reflection of what is appealing to your eye and soul. They say the eyes are a mirror into a person’s soul, well I think the home can be this as well.

2. Bookshelves hold decorative elements and books too 😀 I like to showcase special items in mine. Balance is the key.

The family room is the cozy spot in the home where each member can curl up with a good book, or share & talk about stuff.

3. Fireplace mantel in my living room holds several Apothecary bottles that match my decor. I collect these wonderful treasures and have them scattered in just about every room in my home.

“Being organized is really important in a fast-paced life while we have no time to deal with clutter. Be it physical or emotional clutter, it tends to make us sad and depressed or frustrated.” Julie Hage / Life, Organizing

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I like my living room to be tidy. Here are some Walk Through tips for the Living Room:

  1. At the end of the day make sure all the throw pillows on the couch are neat and where they should be.
  2. Put any blankets away folded neatly and put back in the basket.
  3. Make sure there are no dirty glasses or plates left from snacks.
  4. If you have kids, then be sure to have them help you with this. Remember the Walk Through? Bag & basket in hand!  The concept is very simple to apply and it is one that my children completely understand. The walk through is simply going through a room and picking up AND putting away everything that is out of its place. If you need a reminder or missed that post, click HERE to read!
  5. Tidy any items that may have been knocked out of place in the room. 

Many of the topics I discuss in this series I learned from an incredible lady named Marla Cilley, A.K.A. The Flylady. Her book, “Sink Relections” taught me how to incorporate all these lessons.

Keep posted for the next in the series as we look at Room by Room Organization Bedroom & Closets!

If you missed my last post on Room by Room Organization~ The Kitchen & Pantry, click HERE to read Part 1 and HERE to listen to Part 2 at my Podcast.
Jump on over to my Podcast & SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss an episode!

If you enjoyed this blog , please LIKE, Follow, Share & leave me a comment! I love your feedback!

If you aren’t following me on Facebook, go on over & give a LIKE & Follow me for daily tips & tricks for your home & garden!

Happy Day,

Jean

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All text and images on this site are copyright of For Dragonflies And Me. Unless otherwise noted, you may not use this content.

Organization 101: Day 9 Room by Room Organization- Kitchen & Pantry

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“One of the core organizing principles of my life is that success comes through a delicate balance between making things happen and letting things happen.”— Robin Sharma

I decided to extend my Organization 101 Series a bit for all of you. Lets now focus on room by room and discuss some techniques I know you’ll be able to utilize in getting your life & home where you want it to be!

Many of the topics I discuss in this series I learned from an incredible lady named Marla Cilley, A.K.A. The Flylady. Her book, “Sink Relections” taught me how to incorporate all these lessons.

It was from the inspirations from her book how I developed my P.M.S. concept! So now lets get into today’s topic!

During the month of February, I’ll touch on the most common rooms in our homes and give you tips & tricks on how-to organize and clean with purpose. I thought we’d start with the kitchen & pantry… So lets go to my mudroom/ pantry.

PHOTO 1 Above: Layering items and keeping labels facing forward helps when you are trying to find something, and even more so when you ask someone else to go look 🙂

PHOTO 3 Below: Placing a small bench with totes under the coat rack allows us to sit to put our boots or shoes on. The totes hold gloves, hats, scarves in the winter.

PHOTO 2 Above:
My boys like oatmeal lol!!! I’ve found removing the individual packages from the large variety box makes FAR LESS MESS in the long run. I organize them by flavor and then they don’t have ‘dig’ through and make an unnecessary mess.

I try to keep all the kids stuff in one area as much as possible. This helps again with less disruption to the items they aren’t interested in.

In Photo 4, there are two large baskets I keep the snacks in. The one to the left holds open items, and the one to the right holds new, unopened items. My boys know they need to finish the open packages first before they can dig into the new stuff.

We also placed all of our alcohol and a few of the extra cleaning supplies on the top most shelf.

On the floor and shelf just above I placed items not as frequently used. These include garbage bags, extra bags of dog food, skillets, and some plastic storage containers.

PHOTO 4 Above: Ta-da! All cleaned up and nicely organized. See the video above to see what a disaster this room was!

Please note, we moved into this house on December 15th, 2022 and this room and closet as shown in the video were terrible catch-all’s. It was on my list of areas to organize, and what an incredible feeling it was to see the before & after!

WATCH THIS VIDEO!
Check out my disastrous pantry!

PHOTO 5 Above: By adding a couple over the door hangers, I increased my storage area for a few bulkier items.

In Photo 5 you can see I added some useful storage space by simply adding a couple over-the-door hooks. I was able to store my broom, Swiffer, and a large step stool.

Also adding a coat rack relatively higher up on the wall allows the lower area to house a can where recyclables, a mat for shoes, and dustpan can easily be stored.

Of course to make it feel homey I added some of my botanical prints and a cozy seat cushion.

My kitchen, like in most homes, is the gathering place when family & friends stop by. It’s just so natural to lean on the counter while your friend grabs a seat at the bar top and chat it up. A lot of problems get solved in the kitchen, as well as happy memories made.

It’s where little boys get to lick the icing off the mixer beaters… where soap-bubble beards are made and wet towel ‘thwacks’ happen… yes the kitchen is the heart of the home… after all it’s where we nourish those we love.

The Family that cooks together, stays together!

I have to have my morning coffee friends!

See below for pics of my kitchen!

Would you like to hear the rest of this post and find out how I keep my kitchen organized? Well, click this LINK to go on over to my Podcast to listen! Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to me HERE & THERE so you don’t miss a beat!

Click this LINK for the downloadable PDF for my list of Tips & Tricks to get & keep your kitchen organized!

Keep posted for the next in the series as we look at Living Room & Hallway organization.

If you enjoyed this blog , please LIKE, Follow, Share & leave me a comment! I love your feedback!

If you enjoyed this blog , please LIKE, Follow, Share & leave me a comment! I love your feedback!

If you aren’t following me on Facebook, go on over & give a LIKE & Follow me for daily tips & tricks for your home & garden!

Happy Day,

Jean

Copyright Policy

All text and images on this site are copyright of For Dragonflies And Me. Unless otherwise noted, you may not use this content. 

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Do you love beautiful things?

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Something to make you smile everyday…

If you enjoy daily information on gardening, cooking, organization, & fun photo’s, then come on over to my Facebook page!

Be sure to Like & Follow me so you don’t miss something special!

Happy Day Dragonfly Friends,
Jean!

Collect moments, not things.

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Organization 101 Day 8~ My fave organizer, The Flylady’s 27 Fling Boogie!

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“One of the core organizing principles of my life is that success comes through a delicate balance between making things happen and letting things happen.”

— Robin Sharma

Today we will discuss clutter! I love the quote I used today as I feel it fits into today’s theme perfectly. What is clutter? Is one person’s clutter another person’s happiness? Well, I think there is a reasonable balance we can have in our homes.

Are you a minimalist, a collector, or somewhere in between? I admit, I am a collector.

In today’s post I’ll be discussing the 27 Fling Boogie, a term and system created by author Marla Cilley in her book Sink Reflections. 

I have utilized this tool for years!!! I found this book over ten years ago, and still live by so many of its principles. I developed my P.M.S. program from it. You are wondering what it is??? Well it is a book called “Sink Reflections, by Marla Cilley”, A.K.A. The Flylady! 

My entire organizational series is based on what I learned from this great book.

Marla talks a lot about clutter and how to avoid it. I have jokingly said in the past that I don’t really dislike what I categorize as ‘organized clutter’! The Flylady says there is no such thing but I disagree! 

It’s all in the details…

I like dust collectors! Apothecary bottles, decorative bowls & pitchers, bowls with crystals & rocks I’ve collected all adorn my home. I like a homey look…

I believe there is exceptional beauty in the details. My friends often tell me they saw something at a shop and thought of me. They say, “It looked just like you Jean!”  

My friends & family know what I like because my home & gardens are a reflection of me.

Now onto today’s topic Clutter- how to conquer it and organize it!

Clutter can become overwhelming and seem almost out of control. When did it happen? How did it happen? Well, as we live our lives and purchase this and that… well, it all adds up eventually.  Then throw in the rest of the crew living under the same roof, and WHAM! You have clutter.

So the question is, how do you get rid of it, or at least organize it. Let’s figure this out together utilizing a few tips & tricks from The Flylady!

The Following excerpts were taken & adapted from notes given at a class on organization I attended focusing on this book:

De-clutter 15 Minutes a Day for just one month…
Here are 4 great tools that make it super easy for anyone- they have been adapted from “Sink Reflections’ ‘, by Marla Cilley.

 The 27 Fling Boogie~

*We do this assignment as fast as we can. Take a garbage bag and walk through your home and throw away 27 items.  Do not stop until you have collected 27 items.  Then close the bag and pitch it! DO NOT LOOK IN IT! Just do it!

*Next, take an empty box and go through your home collecting 27 items to give away. As soon as you finish filling the box, take it to the car. You are less tempted to rescue the items. You will donate these items to a local thrift store.

*Rule of thumb: if you have two of any item and you only need one, get rid of the least desirable item.

The Hot Spot Fire Drill~

*A Hot Spot is an area, when left unattended, will gradually take over.  Like a hot spot in a forest fire, if left alone, will eventually get out of hand and burn up the whole forest.  This is what happens in our homes.  If left unattended, the hot spot will grow and take over the whole room as well as making the house look awful.  When you walk into a room, this is the first thing you see.

CLUTTER ATTRACTS CLUTTER!  Do you have areas like this that continue to grow if left alone? Does the rest of the family see this as a place to put things when they do not want to put them where they belong? It is our job to nip this in the bud.  Get rid of the pile, find the surface underneath and stop this hot spot from becoming a raging clutter inferno.

*Do a few of these a day. Take five minutes per ‘drill’ and see if it doesn’t help immensely.

 The 5 Minute Room Rescue~

This is a reminder to spend just 5 minutes clearing a path in your worst room.  You know this area of your home; the place you would never allow anyone to see. Just 5 minutes a day for the next 27 days and you will have a place that you can be proud to take anyone!

Work In Your Zones~

Each week we will be in a different Zone.  After a full month, you will have worked your way around the majority of living areas of your home.  Do not worry if you don’t get to every room in your house the first month.  As one area gets cleaned, it will become easier to do and you will have more time to face those areas that don’t seem to fit in any zone.

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This may seem like a lot of information, but once you get into the habit of doing it, you will be amazed at how quickly your home becomes organized. The first month you do this will be the yield the biggest haul. In the long run, you won’t need to do all of these as regularly. You will end up doing it during your spring & fall cleanings. Be sure to add these to your schedules!

In my next post I’ll be discussing room by room organization. If you missed the last post, click this LINK to read it!

Jump on over to my Podcast & SUBSCRIBE so you don’t miss an episode!

If you enjoyed this blog , please LIKE, Follow, Share & leave me a comment! I love your feedback!

If you aren’t following me on Facebook, go on over & give a LIKE & Follow me for daily tips & tricks for your home & garden!

Happy Day,

Jean

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All text and images on this site are copyright of For Dragonflies And Me. Unless otherwise noted, you may not use this content 

PODCAST~ Organization 101 Day 6: Zone Cleaning~ Let’s do this!

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“It takes as much energy to wish as it does to plan.”

— Eleanor Roosevelt

Today’s podcast will be the 6th of 10 in my Organization 101 Series. The topic will focus on Zonal Cleaning.

Many of the topics I discuss in this series I learned from an incredible lady named Marla Cilley, A.K.A. The Flylady. Her book, “Sink Relection’s” taught me how to incorporate all this lessons. It was from the inspirations from her book how I developed my P.M.S. concept! So now lets get into today’s topic!

Organization has always been a major part of my personality. I remember growing up always wanting my things orderly. I would purchase little containers to put my make-up and hair accessories in. Even my photo albums were thoughtfully organized by date and events. Later in life I started scrapbooking which allowed me to organize my photos even more! There is a genuine sense of peace and satisfaction when everything has its place and everything is in its place. 

Which leads me into the next post in my Organization 101 Series. In my last article I explained The Walk Through and how you’ll incorporate it into Zonal Cleaning. I thought this one would come across more effectively in a Podcast, so here we go.

Click this LINK to go over and listen! Be sure to follow me here & there so you don’t miss a beat.

Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to me here & there so you don’t miss a beat!

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If you enjoyed this episode , please LIKE, Follow, Share & leave me a comment! I love your feedback!

If you aren’t following me on Facebook, go on over & give a LIKE & Follow me for daily tips & tricks for your home & garden! 

Happy Day,
Jean

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All text and images on this site are copyright of For Dragonflies And Me. Unless otherwise noted, you may not use this content without written permission.

Organization 101 Day 5: Doing the ‘Walk-Through’~ Check this out!

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“Clutter is nothing more than postponed decisions.” — Barbara Hemphill

I’m sure each of us has certain areas in the home that are a catch all. You grab the mail and toss it in a regular spot. There is probably a certain location where shoes get kicked off at… and left. Maybe you even have a location where coats or hoodies land… and seem to find a home there! It can be very frustrating when you walk into a relatively organized room and then these eye sores flash before your eyes… and you just feel your shoulders droop and have a sense of frustration.

Well Dragonfly friends you are not alone in this battle of the Hot Spots! Today I would like to focus on a common statement that occurs in my home on a regular basis…. The Walk Through. “What is a walk through?” you ask. Well, it is the next step in my organization series. I’ll touch on Hot Spots in a future blog post, so keep posted for that!

Many of the topics I discuss in this series I learned from an incredible lady named Marla Cilley, A.K.A. The Flylady. Her book, “Sink Relections” taught me how to incorporate all this lessons. It was from the inspirations from her book how I developed my P.M.S. concept! So now lets get into today’s topic!

If you missed my last post in this series, click on this LINK to go on over to my Podcast & listen to me explaining how to get your life to a state of inner calm, and outer tidiness.

Doing the walk-through…

The walk through is a very basic concept I believe most of us do everyday, but never really had a name for it.  It’s easy to apply to our daily schedules and routines and it’s one that children can completely understand. The walk through is simply going through a room and picking up everything that is out-of-place AND putting it away where it belongs.  Simply eh?

In the next post we’ll learn what Zonal Cleaning is and how to apply the walk through in it.

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“You can hack your brain to form good habits — like going to the gym and eating healthily — simply by repeating actions until they stick, according to new psychological research involving the University of Warwick.” University of Warwick

Various studies have shown that if you repeat the same action for 21 to 28 days, a habit will be formed. I’ve incorporated this aspect into our daily lives over the last fifteen years and it has paid off.

I can see it in my daughter who has her own space now. She likes to organize her son’s toys in the same fashion I use to do her and her brothers. One of my sons has found the organization I instilled in him with his tools, the other with his hobby cars! I also see it in my two youngest sons with their sports & Pokémon cards! So friends, the payoff is there.

With a plastic  bag & basket in hand, toss garbage in the bag and items to be put back in the basket.

Start from the top & work your way down. For example table tops, bookshelves, couches and chairs and then onto the floor. Be sure to look under the furniture. Gather up what needs to be put away in the basket, put trash in the bag.

Once you’ve completed the walk through, I suggest you vacuum or sweep the floor. That gives the finished look!

The walk through is not ‘cleaning’ day, it’s something that should be done repeatedly through the day and especially right before bed. Vacuuming only once unless needed more.

Generally there are three times of day I like to do a ‘walk-through’-

  • Just before lunch- this is when we typically vacuum if needed.
  • Just before supper- this makes for a more relaxing meal.
  • Finally, right before bed! This is the most important one in my opinion. The worst feeling is waking up to a mess!

Now that you have this new tool in your cleaning bucket, you can start utilizing it to keep your home even tidier! 

Keep posted for my next topic in my organization series: Zonal Cleaning.

If you enjoyed this blog, please LIKE, Follow & of course Share! Let me know what you think,  I love your feedback! 

If you aren’t following me on Facebook go on over & give it a like & follow me for daily tips & tricks for the home and garden!

Happy Day,

Jean

Podcast- Organization 101 Day 4: Weekly Schedules & How they benefit you!

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“Organization begins with awareness of what doesn’t work for us.”

— Unknown

Organization 101 Day 4: Weekly Schedules & How they benefit you!

Many of the topics I discuss in this series I learned from an incredible lady named Marla Cilley, A.K.A. The Flylady. Her book, “Sink Relections” taught me how to incorporate all this lessons. It was from the inspirations from her book how I developed my P.M.S. concept! So now lets get into today’s topic!

Do you feel there is no time to start the organization process? Do you ask yourself, “Why bother? I’ll never get this mess under control?” Do you have a houseful of ‘people’ that just seem to trail behind you wreaking havoc with what you just tidied up?

Well if you said yes to any or all of those questions, this informative blog will help you realize it’s not too late. It’s not impossible. It’s easy to get them to change bad habits too! Despite the challenges you are facing, YOU CAN do little things each day to bring peace to order in your daily life but following these simple steps I’m about to give you!

On this weeks Podcast, I discuss exactly how YOU can create a vibrant, happy, tidy home simply by utilizing schedules!

Click on this LINK to go on over to my Podcast & listen to me explaining how to get your life to a state of inner calm, and outer tidiness.

Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to me here & there so you don’t miss a beat!

For Dragonflies And Me

Weekly tips & tricks for your garden and home!

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If you enjoyed this episode , please LIKE, Follow, Share & leave me a comment! I love your feedback!

If you aren’t following me on Facebook, go on over & give a LIKE & Follow me for daily tips & tricks for your home & garden! 

Happy Day,
Jean

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All text and images on this site are copyright of For Dragonflies And Me. Unless otherwise noted, you may not use this content without written permission.