6 Spring Cleaning Tips for Self-Care

It’s time to get organized, clean up the junk, and create some zen. Spring is finally upon us, and today I am sharing with you my top 6 spring cleaning musts for self-care!

1. Spring clean your inbox!

We are kicking it off with the #1 game changer my inbox has seen all year. If you’re like me, you follow a LOT of brands and stores to keep track of fun promos and offers. And if you’re also like me, it drives you nuts to have to delete them all from your inbox daily. My spring-cleaning hack is to send these emails to a folder automatically in your inbox where you can periodically check in on your favorite brands when you feel like it! Say goodbye to the days where you spend a solid 5-10 minutes deleting promos and special offers. Here’s how to do it:

• Create a new folder in your email inbox and call it “shopping” or “promos.”

• Then, go into your settings in your gmail, click on “filters and blocked addresses.”
   

• Finally, add the store in there you’d like to still get email from, but you’d like to not have pop up in your inbox daily. (Total transparency moment: I do this for my favorite brands like Anthropologie, West Elm, and Madewell. I pop in there only when I am buying something and want a discount code. The key here is that I am not tempted to buy something just because of a promotion, and instead, only seek it out when I want to shop!)

2. Become BFFs with Salvation Army.

Go through clothes, knick knacks, kitchen items, home goods, you name it! If you feel any lack-luster vibes from anything in your home, maybe it’s time to make it someone else’s treasure. My favorite spot to bring gently used items to is Salvation Army. I make a trip every season and will for sure be making one this spring. You can find a local drop off here.

3. Get on that shared google calendar life.

Let me just tell you how much this has benefited my relationship! My husband and I can each add events in our shared calendar and it just makes life a whole lot easier! Less back and forth with friends when we want to plan things. Whether you are in a relationship or single, or have key people in your life you find you are constantly asking whether or not they are free at specific time, then this spring cleaning self-care hack is for you. Simply look in the calendar to see when everyone is free and boom! Event planned.

4. Detox your home!

A few years back I learned just how toxic some home-cleaning chemicals can be.** From floor cleaners to multisurface cleaners, those plastic spray bottles contain some not-so-friendly ingredients. Below are two of my favorite home cleaner recipes:

ALL-PURPOSE CLEANING RECIPE  In a glass spray bottle, fill it with equal parts water and hydrogen peroxide. Add around 20 drops of your favorite essential oil (for home cleaners I love orange and lemongrass scents!). Shake it up before use and you are good to go!

FLOOR CLEANER RECIPE  In a big old bucket, I mix hot water with about 2-3 cups of vinegar. Yep, vinegar! Sure it is a bit pungent, but again you can add an essential oil if you like. The smell goes away as soon as it dries, and you can be rest assured knowing the air around you isn’t filled with harmful toxic chemicals.

*Not convinced yet? Spend a few minutes on Environmental Working Group to inform yourself on just how harmful our home products can be and what to replace them with instead!

5. Detox your makeup bag!

Honey love child if you have not cleaned out your makeup bag yet, please let this be one of the top self-care cleaning things you do to take care of yourself this spring. It pains my heart to tell you just how gnarly our makeup products can be. From parabens to allergens to endocrine disruptors, our makeup is T-O-X-I-C. And while we are on the topic, please give your entire beauty regime a little clean up. From your deodorant to your body wash to your concealer, educate yourself on the products to avoid.  Also, just because you buy it from an organic store, or it says “all-natural” doesn’t mean it is clean or safe for you and your body. There is a ton of information out there on this, and you can kind of go nuts reading about it, but I’ll leave you with this: start small. Choose one area to start cleaning out first. I started with revamping my makeup products years ago and then gradually went on to switching over my home cleaning items to eventually eating as organic and clean as possible (especially with meat and dairy products as they are loaded with hormones!). My favorite place to check out ingredients is through the Think Dirty App! You can quickly scan in the barcode as you are out shopping to see how clean or dirty the product is! It makes the hunt for a trade-off product so much easier!

6. Clean out your underwear drawer. Yea I said it..(Cue that Rihanna!).

When was the last time you went through your bras and undies? Or revisited your nightgowns and pajamas? After realizing I had been sleeping in an array of old t-shirts and sweats, literally back from my college days, I decided to treat myself to some new PJs and oh did it feel fantastic. A woman at one of my workshops shared that she had not worn her fancy bras or underwear in years because she had this mindset of saving them for a special occasion. She realized that it was time to bust them out now. Go through your nightly things and see what needs to go, what can come out and play, and what you want to add to the mix. I promise this one will be fun!

There you have it! My top 6 spring cleaning musts for self-care! Hop on over to Instagram and tell me what spring cleaning hack you’ll be taking on this year.

**I want to give a big shout out to Oregon Soap Shoppe for their powerful home cleaning demonstration where I learned about the recipes shared in today’s post!

4 Thoughts That Can Derail Your Success as a Business Owner

One of the greatest things we can do for ourselves is take inventory of our thoughts.  Typically in the work that I do with my coaching clients, thought work is right up there with some of the most important work. It is essential and critical that as a small business owner, or as someone thinking about starting up your own business, to get into the habit now of noticing the sneaky thoughts that, if left undetected, could derail your success and overall growth in your passion work. Here are the top 4 thoughts I encourage you to start looking out for, and the thoughts to swap in their place instead! 

1.  [BLANK] is so hard.

Things that are so hard: Instagram. Blogging. Eating healthy. Marketing. Working out. Starting a podcast. Getting clients. Having time for fun. Taking time out for me.

You get the picture. What I want you to start noticing and paying attention to is what are you telling yourself is so hard in your own thought funnel? When we have a thought that something is so hard, the first thing we go to in our minds is that it is impossible and that we cannot do it. It takes too much energy so therefore we end up fulfilling the idea by not getting to work.

There was a time my thought reel contained many of these “so hard” statements and the moment I would have these thoughts, the first thing my defeated-feeling self would think is to go on and NOT post on Instagram, or add another day of not starting the podcast, or skip the workout. When we tell ourselves something is so hard and it is goes undetected, we believe it as our truth… and when we believe it as our truth we act accordingly by staying away from the hard thing.

THOUGHT SWAP: One foot in front of the other. I am someone who figures things out.

2.  I am worried I won’t get enough clients. 

Just starting out in any new endeavor can stir up a ton of pain points and fear. It is challenging initially to put yourself out there and trust the slow build of “building” a business. But this sneaky little thought is a FANTASTIC opportunity to practice some big self-love.

Somewhere underneath “I am worried I won’t get enough clients” is “I am worried I won’t be enough” and underneath that is “I am not enough.” This is an example of living in a scarcity mindset which translates to fear. The thought represents the fear of not enough-ness, and what a beautiful opportunity, the moment you notice the thought is present, to talk back to yourself with some major self-love. You are enough. There are enough people out there for me, and you, and her, and him.

THOUGHT SWAP: There are so many people out there who need what I am offering (really!).

3. There’s someone out there doing it already.

This one is very similar to #3. If we are thinking this thought, we can gently remind ourselves that it is rooted in the notion of scarcity- that everyone in the world’s needs are already being met by someone else and there is no need for me to jump in the mix and start to meddle. How ridiculous does that sound by the way??

I want to remind you that you have a unique voice worth sharing, so don’t let fear get in the way and tell you that you cannot do it because someone else is already doing it.

The same way there is a Starbucks on just about every corner with a variety of homegrown, boutique style coffee shops mixed in shows us that there is a unique flavor for us all. Each one of the coffee shops has their own mix of customers who are devout and love what they are selling. The same will be true for you when you decide enough is enough already and that you too, are going to get out there and share your own service AKA your passion work.

THOUGHT SWAP: There is only one me and that means I am the only person who can sell, serve and provide precisely what I offer.

4. I am so overwhelmed.

On First + Foremost | The Podcast I recently talked about why saying we need to be on the lookout for when we notice ourselves saying we feel overwhelmed (care to give the episode a listen? Check it out here). It is essentially a masking word for another deeper feeling. Overwhelmed is so general and big that it does not truly capture what is going on. However, I now love noticing when I catch myself feeling “overwhelmed” because it is a great opportunity to check in and see what is actually happening by asking what is coming up for me? What is really going on? How is my body feeling - are there signals that maybe I am mad, or angry, or frustrated? It is great practice to start noticing how often the word pops up for you to get in the habit of really checking in to see what underlying emotion is there. The game I play now is when I notice I am feeling overwhelmed, I stop and try to name another more specific emotion in place of it.

THOUGHT SWAP: I am feeling _____ right now.

A final word: As someone running a full coaching practice, it is vital that I take the very best care of myself daily so that I can show up fully for my clients. Back when I was teaching, I too needed self-care in place because in order to be my most effective self as an educator, I needed to tend to my mind, thoughts, energy, and daily routines. I feel this times a million now as an entrepreneur. It is very easy on a day where I may be listening to these thoughts to get carried away and believe them to be true… and when I do, I stall. I don’t get work done. I freeze so to speak. If I made a habit of that, I would not have gotten where I am today in my work, no way. I have to show up daily for me first (and that is not selfish) in order to show up fully for my clients. I am able to pour myself into my passion work, and also still have energy reserves for my husband, friends, family and hobbies.

It all starts here. It all starts with noticing how we are talking to ourselves quietly in our minds, and really exploring how we can take even more intentional care of ourselves, so that we can ultimately take care of our businesses too.

How to push past your self-doubt (finally!)

Self-doubt.

We all know it.

Sometimes it shows up when we are about to post a photo to our Instagram.
I have nothing good to say about this picture.

Sometimes it shows up when we are about to write a newsletter or blog post.
I can’t think of anything to write.

And sometimes it shows up when something good happens to us (we get a new inquiry or lead, somebody says yes, or wants to work with us).
They probably aren’t going to stick around long or want to work with me.

Sound familiar? (Ohhh yes.)

These are the sneaky little statements that oftentimes interject themselves right into our thought stream. If they go undetected they have the potential to derail us from moving forward and going on towards the thing that we are really wanting.

Like the Instagram tribe. Or showing up frequently and regularly for our people via our blog or newsletter. And clients! Yes the clients!

But I want to tell you a little something, something my friend.

You are a savvy business owner. Yes, you. Whether you are just getting started or are a few years in, that savvy business owner is already present within you. Can we agree right here and now to make this the year where you decide to stop letting self-doubt get in your way?

Really. I want you to make a pact with yourself right now in this moment that you are not going to let your inner fear girl run the show.

Your fear girl is that voice inside that is scared. She is afraid of you failing. She is afraid of you embarrassing yourself. She is afraid of getting hurt.

And instead of getting angry that she has been running the show in the first place… let’s love on her. Let’s talk back to her kindly and with compassion and tell her this:

"Thank you very much for trying to protect me. I know that you are just looking out for me. But I got it from here. I trust that whatever is on the other side of fear is worth finding out. I got it from here."

This voice right here is love. SELF-LOVE. It is that part of you deep down that believes in you more than anyone. It is that part that totally has your back and, like your fear girl, is working to protect you. The major difference is that she believes and trusts that YOU GOT THIS. That you are somebody who figures things out.

And you are somebody who figures things out my friend.

I’m sending you waves of love as you make 2018 your best year yet- as you make this the year where you start noticing your self-doubt arise, and tell her that it is okay.

You got it from here.

An invitation to reflect + make 2018 your best year yet!

Every year, around this time, I love to reflect on the previous year: the highs, the lows, the wins, the lessons..all of it, to make space for what lays ahead and think about what I want to welcome in and attract in the upcoming year.

I invite you to join me in that process and make 2018 one of your best years yet! To help you get to it, I made two things just for you:

1. A Yearly Reflection Guide for you to print and write out your answers to some super powerful coaching questions that will help you reflect on 2017 like never before and really look ahead to 2018 as you explore what you really, really want!

2. The latest episode of First + Foremost | The Podcast brings you a behind the scenes look at how I myself am doing it. I share with you:

• My biggest failure in 2017

• What I'm letting go of (the thing that I have personally struggled with this past year)

• My #1 focus for 2018

• And more!

Be sure take some time out for you to reflect and really get intentional about what you want to bring forth into your life.  

Let's start reflecting, love!

My Top 10 Takeaways from 2017!

There is something about this particular year and season that has me feeling more reflective than ever before (you too!?). I am finding myself feeling waves of gratitude for the life I have with my husband Adam and our puppy Migo. Maybe it is all stemming from recently completing my Yearly Reflection (a peek inside is coming your way next week- complete yours here if you are feeling like doing some reflecting of your own in the meantime!) 

In this season of reflection, I want to share with you my top 10 takeaways from 2017.

1. Trust the timing of your life.
This one I have learned on a personal level, and also vicariously through the people around me. Think of any one thing you are wanting that feels out of your control. Then say to yourself, “I choose to trust the timing of my life.” Now doesn’t that feel like a warm hug? 

2. Don’t skimp on your self-care!
Skimping on my self-care leads to a tired, drained, and depleted me. It effects my mood, self-esteem, and my entire being. I have learned that it is a nonnegotiable. I must do it.
Every.
Single.
Day. (Get acquainted with your own self-care things here!)

3. Talk to the people you love about the things on your heart.
Talks with your person. Opening up in ways you don't always plan to. Sharing and baring your wishes, wants, hopes, desires. It's such an important part of feeling loved and feeling heard and understood.

4. Be your own advocate.
I received some advice from a medical professional early this year that just did not feel right. So I got a second opinion. I used my voice. I advocated for me. I took care of myself. Be your own advocate and take care of you, too.

5. Get a pet!
Having Migo our Portuguese Water Dog has completely changed my life. I now understand the love one can have for a furry friend. He has taught me lots about self-care and love, too!

6. Remember that everyone is going through something.
We only see what others choose to show us. Remember that every single person is going through something. The people who are jerks are going through something. The people who appear to have everything perfect are going through something.

7. Don’t get sucked into other people’s stories.
When someone is freaking out, when someone is highly reactive, when someone is highly emotional, don’t get sucked into their drama. Instead, remember that this is their story. It is how they are choosing to react. It does not have to be your story too.

8. Respect your own time.
This past year I blocked out 3 weeks of rest for myself over the upcoming holidays. And then, as December has been nearing, I noticed that I had filled up almost every single day with activities, meetings, and events. Before the holidays got a chance to tire me out, I felt drained just looking at my calendar. Then the lovely Mara Glatzel popped into my email right when I needed her most. She reminded me that I need to honor my time. I need to honor my own periods of much-needed rest. And so I went back and cleared my schedule. I moved things around. I reclaimed my space. And now I deeply look forward to rest this holiday season. Moral of the story.. respect your time. Honor what you need and say you will do. Give yourself periods of rest.

9. Listen to your body.
A few months back, I fell down our stairs. I was holding Migo in my arms (thankfully we both were okay!) but I ended up with a back injury. Fortunately, it is almost 100 percent healed, but wow has the experience taught me a lot about tending to my body. I have had to pause on working out and strenuous movement in general. I have used this time to really listen to what my body is needing and to be kind to it in the process. It has proven to be a gift, really. 

10. Be the fire!!!
My mantra from 2017! This summer, after going on a camping trip, I realized while talking with a fellow coach friend, that I was the cozy blanket at a campfire and that it was time to be the FIRE. Since adopting this mantra, it has moved me to action like never before (really!). So many things I have wanted to get off the ground are in full swing now (like my podcast + program!) and it feels amazing friends. I share this final piece with you because I have realized having a compelling mantra is everything. What words really resonate to be true for you? Make that your mantra!

There you have it! When you have a chance, take a moment to reflect on your own top 10 takeaways from this past year. What key lessons have you gained from this past year that you will carry with you into 2018?