Organize Your Closet And Your Life Will Follow – Details, episodes & analysis

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You can find all of VC's info and links to her website, her book launch event and other fun stuff about VC here:
linktr.ee/vctang

We all know the kitchen is definitely the heart of the home. Having a beautifully organized kitchen with only the tools you need and not too many extras makes for ease of use and also encourages more cooking at home! There is nothing better than sharing a meal, cooked with love, with those that you love around you.

VC Tang, author of "Come eat, Grandma!" is here with us today to give us some deeper insights into how Stir Fry Stories and her first book came to be. I am thrilled beyond words to have VC here with us today! VC Tang is an author, home chef and martial artist with an MBA and entrepreneurial spirit. She loves to find inspiration in the "everyday" and will definitely inspire you to enjoy the process of cooking at home more often. Her lovely stories of home and hearth are sure to please.

I would also like to honor Emily Ramai Kim, incredible graphic illustrator that created all the delicious artwork for VC's book. You can find out more about Emily here:
https://emilyfuckingkim.com/

As we move into fall here in Northern California, feel free to join us as we each make our own pot of comfort food for ourselves and our family!!! 

Joy and big love to all, ruma xoxox

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LAVENDER LIGHT OF SELF-LOVE MEDITATION:

Let's always lead with LOVE, LOVE, LOVE!!!

This meditation will help you embrace yourself in comforting warmth and the infinite love of Mother Earth. It will teach you to love yourself fully and reap the incredible rewards that truly loving yourself can bring into your life. Imagine a world where each and every one of us loved ourselves fully. Imagine that we each had empathy, compassion, and understanding for all human beings and animals simply because we loved ourselves and each other so respectfully. What would this world look like? Most likely, it would be free of hunger, pain, sorrow, and inequity. It would be a world filled with love, peace, harmony, and equality. All of this can start with you. When you are at your highest vibrational countenance of love or above you have the ability to change lives and affect lives around the world without even knowing it. You, just being who you are at your highest vibrational countenance, can change the world. Imagine that and keep your heart open to this powerful meditation that follows.

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Wow! We made it to January 1st, 2021!!! Congrats y'all this is truly amazing! What a fitting time to start this challenge! I spoke of the 30-day minimalism challenge in my last podcast and wanted to elaborate on it in this episode. My heroes, Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, started the 30 day minimalism challenge as a way to motivate themselves to get rid of all their excess stuff. Try this out for yourself and see how you react to this exercise.  I was extremely challenged the first time I did this in May of this year, but then I got kind of addicted to letting go and believe it or not, I did it two more times in July and again in November.  As hard as the last one was I'm considering doing this a 4th time!!! That's how addictive and freeing this has become for me.

I will be sharing on my IG page the items that were decluttered. So feel free to check that out for ideas to help you during your challenge. Follow me on IG @rumaten8r1nk and on Twitter @mylifeinflow.

Here’s how it works.

On the first day of the month you eliminate one items Two things on the second day. Three things on the third day. Four things on the fourth day and so on and so on and so on. Find a friend, family member, or coworker who’s willing to minimize their stuff with you. If you can't find anyone, just do this on your own and really challenge yourself. Be your own accountability partner! There's nothing more empowering than keeping a promise to yourself. I know you can do this and you will feel so much better when you are done. I promise you that and as far as the items you are decluttering, 

Anything goes!
Collectables.
Decorations.
Kitchenware. 
Electronics.
Small appliances.
Furniture.
Bedding.
Clothes.
Towels.
Tools.
Knickknacks.

Whether you donate, sell, or trash your excess, every material possession must be out of your house—and out of your life—by midnight each day. In the vein of efficiency and small carbon footprint, I collected all of my items in a corner of the garage so I could disburse all at the end of the month. I pinned up signs above the piles that let me know if the pile was trash, donate or sell.

I jumped on some neighborhood apps here known as LetGo, Close5 and Nextdoor for the items I wanted to sell. I also sold clothing through ThredUp.com which is an awesome service. I also gave away a lot of items through my local "Buy Nothing" chapter which you can find on Facebook and then lastly I take the rest of the donations to GoodWill or Salvation Army. These two places have become last on my list because it's just better to try to recirculate your excess by resale or direct donations. 

It’s an easy game at first and I try hard to get ahead of each day by finding many items at the beginning of the challenge. Soon enough, it grows considerably more challenging day to day as you get to week 3 and week 4. By day 20 I was struggling  a little and realized that I have to start really getting rid of the "excess".  Excess is all the extras you have of one type of item. Who really needs 20 pairs of jeans or 40 t-shirts or 28 pairs of sweatpants and leggings. Why would anyone have 8 frypans when you can only really use 4 at one time on a regular stove top ? It's things like this that add to the chaos in your kitchen for example. When you have less stuff to manage, it honestly saves you a lot of headache. It's time to downsize all of that.

You can check out my inspiration and my heroes here: https://www.theminimalists.com/game/

Consume less, live more! 

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What does the world need from you right now? 
What are you good at?
What do you love?
What can you get paid to do?
What is your bliss?
What is your Ikigai? 
What is your reason for being? 

These are great questions that we all should ask ourselves periodically. It's just to do a personal check in with yourself to make sure that you are on the right path to your own Bliss. Think back to the ages between 7 and 11 and try to recall vividly what you did during those years. What did you love to do? What brought you joy? What were you naturally good at? 

During an organizing session, a dear client of mine just blurted out "what is my purpose - why am I here?" Hearing her say these words in quiet desperation just broke my heart. It forced me to go into a heartfelt speech about why she was so important in this world and to list all the amazing things I know to be true about her. To remind her what she is good at and what she loves. In my experience as a professional organizer, it seems that 80% of my clients had no idea why they existed, thoughts of suicide and living in perpetual depression and drowning in "stuff" was their existence. It had been their existence for anywhere from 10 - 30 years. 

Covid has taught me that what I do to help people climb out of, literally their own man-made gravestone of stuff, is much bigger and has more impact than I ever imagined. I am their cheerleader. I am their motivator. I am their confidant. I help them get out of their own way. I am sometimes there only way out (words from that same client). I help them release the death-grip they have on "things" and open their hands up to growth, contribution, opportunity, life experiences and love. I explain very gently that the chaos and busy-work they have created is a barrier to do what they were born to do. It's a barrier that keeps them from bringing their personal best to the world. I say that removing all the "things" forces you to confront your shadows and everything that is holding you back, so that you can finally move past them, move forward and live the life you were meant to live. A life that you have a hand in creating. An exciting life where you are the star of your show! 

I now know that my main purpose is not really the physicality of organizing and moving stuff around from left to right or into a box, my main purpose is truly to help people love themselves so fully that they always bring the best version of themselves to their own table. To help those who don't understand their own worth. This means they are capable enough and can take control of their own surroundings in such a way that they regain control of their lives. 

I am here to also spread the word on minimalism and assist people in moving towards that so you can live life to the max. To share in a genuine way, that moving towards minimalism will touch upon and change every aspect of your life for the better. That is my purpose and my promise!!! It is so much bigger than the money I can make. In fact, it's so important to me that I slashed my pricing in half rather than charging extra like some organizers have been doing. When it's this big you can't put a price on it. I am providing a life-changing service that I want to make accessible to all people. Part of the reason I stay on the job until I can leave with good conscience is because I see what my clients cannot see. I don't see the 3ft high pile of mess. I see the space that is organized and pleasing with an incredible flow to it. That's all I see, which is why I work anywhere from 10-14 hours straight until my clients can see it too!!!! My purpose occ

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This is such a great time of year to declutter so that you can be ready for anything coming in from the upcoming holidays. Minimalism honestly helps you live your best life. Mostly in the areas of time, money and your physical spaces. Minimalism is being surrounded by things you love. Life should be about adventure, about love, about family and about food. Life is about experiences not things. What are the experiences that you absolutely love doing? With whom, when and where. Think about this and start your own “Fun things” to-do list. What brings you the most joy? Think about this and start capturing it on a piece of paper. The power of putting pen or pencil to paper and the neurons that fire in your brain while doing this is ten-fold. The manifesting magic is working on the inside – I promise!

Think about 3 things that you would like to spend more time doing. Do you want to cook more? Maybe go on nature walks or hikes? Learn a new skill, something you’ve been wanting to do forever like photography, watercolor art or wood working. Maybe you want to learn a new language so next time you want to travel, you won’t seem so much like a tourist or have that language barrier that can cause a damper on things. Doing things that bring joy can reshape the neurons in your brain and train them to seek more joy as time goes on. Imagine that. Let joy begin.

What are you holding onto? Do they hold value for you? What is most important to you? What value have you given all of your stuff and how much do you actually use them or how much energy do you spend on not using them? I know odd question right, but really think about that for a minute. These items can actually be a subconscious burden on your life. It could be these things that are holding you back.

Here are some easy ways to move towards minimalism. Let’s use a mindful approach as well so we are part of the solution (of climate change and pollution) and not part of the problem. Becoming a conscious consumer and changing your shopping habits and going through some no-buy months will really help reduce your carbon footprint. Start shopping second hand if you can or look for companies that focus on quality and not quantity. These companies might cost more, but they can help you live more sustainably and live lighter, no fast fashion here please. These companies use fair-trade practices and recyclable packaging to help you eliminate your use of plastic as well.

I’m going to list off about 30 ways you can start living lighter today! These are all really easy to do and I guarantee when you are done you will become addicted to letting go and your muscle for releasing items will grow stronger and stronger! You can make a game out of this and start on any day that is convenient for you, or on the first of any month that you can dedicate to eliminating and releasing items in your home:

1. Wardrobe check.
2. Purse or wallet.
3. Junk drawer.
4. Socks and underwear. 
5. Phone and stored media items. 
6. Clear surfaces. 
7. Remove paper and work on digitizing them.
8. Office supplies and stationery. 
9. Extra furniture, side tables or chairs in your space. 
10. Go through your refrigerator and freezer.
11. Go through your pantry.
12. Unsubscribe from unwanted emails.
13. Shoes.
14. Beauty routine.
15. Jewelry. 
16. Unwanted gifts or hand-me-downs.
17. Electronics. 
18. Magazine subscriptions or the newspaper.
19. Linens.
20. Cleaning products. 
21. Physical photos with duplicates.
22. Art Supplies. 
23. Sports equipment. 
24. Holiday décor.
25. Tupperware

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Ask an organizing question - reference this podcast in the subject line - email: ruma@mylifeinflow.com

What does it mean to be more with less?

I’m Ruma Tenbrink and welcome to the “Organize your closet and your life will follow” podcast.

If you feel like you are drowning in things and need to take back your life, you are in the right place. I am excited for you to “move towards minimalism” right along with me! Let’s do this together!

First, let’s talk a little bit about the Pareto Principle. It’s otherwise known as the 80/20 Rule and the law of the Vital Few, The Pareto principle states that for many outcomes roughly 80% of consequences come from 20% of the causes - the “vital few”. So, if we translate this idea to our closets, really think about your wardrobe. You probably reach for 20% of your clothing 80% of the time. I know for a fact this was so true for me and that realization really hit me! It was the first time I went through all the fancy-wear and business clothing I was holding onto in deeper storage. Meaning, I never, ever, ever used them. I love being comfortable and wearing comfy clothes that feel good on my skin and make me feel good. So, I decided to be bold and just dropped them all off at a consignment shop in a funky little community here known as The Piedmont District in Oakland CA. I made it easy on myself and asked her to do her best and whatever didn’t sell well or fast enough for her, she could add to her donates pile which she took to a local women's shelter. The magic of doing this was I went home to a lighter space that felt a lot less overwhelming and easier to organize. I also did good by providing clothes for someone else to love and use. It’s a win-win-win-win. The consumer creates a small carbon footprint by reusing something and getting a good deal on the item, the shop makes their money for holding and displaying the item, the local charity gets really nice clothes donated to them and I go home to the start of serenity and freedom in my closet.

Are you ready to change your life simply by organizing your closet? Could it really be that simple? Actually, yes it can. As a professional organizer, I have seen the phenomenon take place with all of my clients. Every. Single. One. As you start to change your environment for the better, you inherently change along with it. You simply cannot help yourself. This opens a doorway into the world of positive change and along with that, infinite possibilities to uncover who you really are without all the physical stuff bogging down your home and your mind. Ultimately, your creativity hides deep within you because it is so muffled by the things you choose to hide behind. Let’s make this shift right now. By the way, did I mention this will be life-changing? Stay tuned and be ready for it!!!

Follow me on IG @dmbanddancingtees

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Check out mylifeinflow.com if you are interested in connecting further and would like to get in touch with me on a project you are working on! Please make sure to reference my podcast in your correspondence. email: ruma@mylifeinflow.com

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Whenever I am working with one of my organizing clients, I always start with some type of visualization. I want them to wire their brain right from the beginning of our session to see what is to come. With hard work and lots of fantastic decision-making, we always make it to the finish line together!!!

With this visualization, you will immediately start feeling the effects of how it feels to live simply, live clutter-free and stress-free because you are surrounded by what you need and what you love. Get into a really comfortable and relaxed position. You can sit with your feet flat on the floor as mentioned in my recording, OR curled up on your cozy couch with a blankie, OR laying down on your yoga mat. Let your body sink into wherever you are and just breathe in a relaxed fashion.

Enjoy and much peace, joy and love in 2022!
ruma

p.s. I know this isn't a perfect recording at all, but I'm so proud of this first visualization that I ever recorded. I recorded it on my phone many years ago, lol lol. Also, I realize daffodils don't come in blue, but this was "off the cuff" lol lol and I meant to say iris or periwinkle lol lol!!!

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What are your daily simple pleasures? If you can start writing down your daily simple pleasures, you may actually find so much more to be grateful for in your life. More gratitude brings more feelings of joy, more feelings of joy bring more happiness into your day every day, more happiness can bring more feelings of fulfillment and the cycle continues. You can now share your joy with others and allow it to become a gift that you find yourself sharing daily with yourself and those around you! Enjoying and really noticing these simple daily pleasures can train your brain to find the joy and the positive and the beautiful things that surround us all the time:
1) Lazy afternoons with nothing to do
2) Sitting down in my favorite cozy spot
3) The sound of water
4) New growth on plants
5) Sunrise (blue hour/golden hour)
6) Sunset (golden hour/blue hour)
7) Fresh Air
8) Waking up to a clean kitchen
9) Putting away clean dishes
10) The song my dryer makes as it finishes the cycle
11) The smell of garlic, onions, and ginger sizzling in EVOO
12) Clothes that fit beautifully
13) 3rd-day hair
14) Checking off my to-do list
15) The smell of fresh coffee brewing
16) Watching my puppies at play outside
17) Chamomile tea in bed
18) Alone time woot woot
19) Clean linens and a cozy bed
20) Bowl of fruit salad
A few extras I forgot to talk about:
21) The smell of book pages and listening to the sound when the page turns
22) A clean home that smells fresh and feels welcoming
23) Piles of clean folded laundry ready to be put away
24) Watching the birdies outside frolic, play and chirp all day
p.s. sorry I messed up the numbering lol lol

Consume less, live more! 

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Please leave a 5-star review and email me at ruma@mylifeinflow.com if you would like to be entered into the "Giveaway Drawing" which will happen monthly as I choose a random 5-star reviewer.  Type the words "Organize Your Closet" in the subject line! If you win, I will reach out to you for your best mailing address and send you a copy of "The Home Edit" by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin!!!

Moving towards a minimal life can actually be daunting for many people. I can definitely attest to the fact that it is challenging. Try incorporating "Tid Bits", much like Tiny Habits so that you can move towards minimalism at your own pace, but make sure you also challenge yourself when needed! Here are Five Tid Bits that you can practice right away:

1. One Need a Day - Let's get back to single-tasking and really focus on that one thing that really needs to happen today. Do away with the multi-tasking, multi-level, cross-pollinated to-do lists that just make us feel like failures. You only need to do ONE thing today, or maybe even NO-thing! Do what makes you feel good. Do what speaks to your body and spirit. Ask yourself, "What is the one thing I want to get done today that would really make me feel good about myself?" Maybe it's practicing yoga for 10 more minutes than you already do, maybe it's cooking a meal from scratch, maybe it's taking a walk around your block and saying hello to another human being, maybe it's stretching outside your comfort zone and having a deeper meaningful conversation with your neighbor, maybe it's just sitting in the sun feeling the warmth on your skin while cuddling with your fur-baby or loved ones. There are so many things you can do to feed your soul. Whatever those things are for you, please do them regularly!
2. Rituals - As humans, we actually do crave some form of routine as part of our natural circadian rhythm. Routines can keep us healthy and keep our minds engaged when we form self-care rituals that put us and our needs at the forefront. Rituals can be those moments in life at the beginning and end of our day that gives us the time and grace to get into our body/heart-mind/spirit connection which can really feed our souls and make us feel the feelings of accomplishment and success that has nothing to do with your to-do list or your job.
3. Shoulds, Coulds, Woulds! - Are you living your life for yourself or someone else? When you don't live your life for yourself and your truth, your mind/body/spirit actually becomes disconnected and you go into depression because that vital internal alignment is not there. In the words of Martha Beck, "Integrity is the cure for unhappiness. Period."
4. Live Now - Letting go of the past is crucial to living your best life right now. Enough said - you know this in your heart of hearts, no need to elaborate. If you need more tips on how to live now, have a listen to my Episode 4 - What is Hygge, Slow Living and Unloading Baggage? 
5. Simple Pleasures under $5 - I really love all the cute suggestions, but I have found that just saving $5 a week has shifted my money mindset into that of saving and not spending and getting caught up in all the consumerism. As soon as I saw how much I could amass with such a small amount, I kept adding to it and went from 5 to 10 to 15 to $20 a week. Try using Stash, Acorns or Fidelity and watch your small potatoes grow into a life-changing full-on spud farm!!!

Adapted from "52 Ways to Simplify Your Life", by Lynn Gordon

Consume less, live more! 

Support the show

Consume less, live more!
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Please leave a 5-star review and email me at ruma@mylifeinflow.com if you would like to be entered into the "Giveaway Drawing" which will happen monthly as I choose a random 5-star reviewer.  Type the words "Organize Your Closet" in the subject line! If you win, I will reach out to you for your best mailing address and send you a copy of "The Home Edit" by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin!!!

Moving towards a minimal life can actually be daunting for many people. Try incorporating "Tid Bits", much like Tiny Habits so that you can move towards minimalism at your own pace, but make sure you also challenge yourself when needed! Here are Five Tid Bits that you can practice right away:

1. Step Back - Use the "Wheel of Life" as a tool to gauge where you are in your life and how you rate yourself in each of the following categories: Career, Money, Health, Friends and Family, Significant Other/Romance, Personal Growth and Learning, Fun, leisure and recreation and Physical Environment (your home/office). I love this example of the "Wheel" which asks great questions to help you rate yourself effectively. You may need to highlight the entire link and then click on "go to https:......." : https://static1.squarespace.com/static/54bda4bee4b0a3e130efc4ca/t/5d16e12c3f4bcb0001647b55/1561780526296/Personal-Assessment-Wheel.pdf
2. Show Emotions - Allow your feelings to come to the surface. Be self-aware and with great self-love allow the emotions to surface. If you feel sad, cry, it's actually good for you!
3. Simple Systems - As a homeowner, you really shouldn't need more than 15 - 25 file folders with the most important categories. Please note that on my visit to clients' homes, we usually get rid of 80-85% of all the paper clutter they have been holding on to! Here are some of my favorites that most everyone might need. Set up straight line filing in alphabetical order for simplicity and ease: 
   • Bank statements
   • Cable bill
   • Car insurance
   • Car payments
   • Cell phone bill
   • Credit card statements
   • Dental records
   • Electric bill
   • Employment records
   • Health insurance
   • Heating (gas/oil) bill
   • Home insurance
   • Internet bill
   • Life insurance
   • Loans (student loans, personal loans, etc.)
   • Medical records
   • Mortgage payments
   • Rental payments
   • Retirement accounts (401Ks, IRAs, Roth IRAs, SIMPLE, etc.)
   • Separation records from past employers
   • Specialized medical records
   • Telephone (landline) bill
   • Vision records
   • Water bill
   • Yearly taxes (one folder for each tax year – you may want to create separate folders for federal and state taxes)
4. Proving What? - All I can say for this is "Be true to YOU," you are the superstar in your own life - only you can live your life. Who honestly cares what other people think or what other peoples expectations are of you? When you are living your life for someone else you cannot be living your best life for YOU!
5. Media Down and Out - This is something that we should all do regularly. Find a day to do a digital detox. Start with 1/2 day without your phone and then graduate to a full day then the whole weekend, or whichever days work for you! Not having the "crutch" of your phone and constantly crooking your neck to look at it will make you feel better overall in body, mind and spirit! It allows you freedom to think for yourself and be creative again. Scrolling incessantly can be truly numbing, if you know what I mean. After hours of scrolling one may feel a sense of loss since many hours becom

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