Your love of life transforms your home

November 10, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Think of the inside of your house as your soul, and the outside architecture as something like your bone structure, your genetic inheritance. Our true home is inside each of us, and it is your love of life that transforms your house into your home.

~ Alexandra Stoddard

Posted by karen | Filed Under Happening Space, November 08 

Monthly Prize Draw - November 2008

November 3, 2008 | 1 Comment

We all love a chance to win something special!

Here at The Calm Space, we’re dedicated to bringing a sense of calm and tranquillity to your life and one of the ways we hope to do that is by offering you the chance to go into our regular monthly prize draw.

Register once to automatically go into the draw each month to win fantastic prizes chosen to enhance the calm space in your life. All prizes are donated by our wonderful contributors and sponsors.

The earlier you register, the greater chance you have to win!

Our prizes will grow as The Calm Space readership grows – and we’d love to have you along for the journey.

OUR PRIZES THIS MONTH

Two wonderful book prizes this month!

First, we have a signed copy of the newly released book The Accidental Organiser by Wendy Davie - kindly donated by Angela Esnouf of Creating Order from Chaos and The Organising Space. Angela tells us “It is written with humour and compassion and makes getting organised easy.”

Second, win one of two copies of  Save Our Sanity: The Christmas Calm Manual by Chris Owen and Karen Wallace - donated by the authors from Save Our Christmas Sanity.

The prizes will be drawn on November 27th 2008 and the winners will be notified by email.

The winners will be announced in the December issue of The Calm Space.

To enter to win one of these fabulous prizes (and be automatically entered in prize drawings each month from now on) please provide your details below. [If you entered previously, there is no need to enter again - you're already on our list!]

You will be sent an email asking you to confirm your entry. Please look out for the email and make sure you click the link to finish confirming your details. We’d hate you to miss out!

Email:
Name:
Country:
Where Did You Hear About Us:

As a thank you, we will send you a quick email each month to let you know when each new issue of The Calm Space has been published.

We will never sell, rent, trade or share your email with anyone!

ANNOUNCING ALL OUR WINNERS FOR OCTOBER!

We are thrilled to announce the winners of our Monster Prize Draw as part of our First Birthday Celebrations:

Won by Jackie C from Victoria - a bottle of Bollinger champagne kindly donated by Leah Maclean from Working Solo

Won by Deirdre Le Blang from Epping NSW - a free one-year subscription to Saasu.com easy online accounting. AUD$236 of value.  Donated by Marc Lehmann from Saasu.com

Won by Danieka from Perth WA - a one-hour organising phone consultation valued at $70 donated by Angela Ensouf from Creating Order from Chaos

Won by Tara from Arlington USA and Kara from Miami USA -  Save Our Sanity: The Christmas Calm Manual by Chris Owen and Karen Wallace, valued at $35 each; proudly donated by Chris and Karen www.SaveOurXmasSanity.com

Won by Briony from Brisbane, Qld - a gift voucher to the value of $30 to spend at E-bar, your online organic skincare shop. Donated by Joanne Costello from E-bar

Won by Anjali from Canoga Park USA, Alison from Kenilworth UK and Diane from Perth WA - three Chase the Sun CDs, proudly donated by Chase the Sun band, our featured artists in October’s Sound Space

Won by Anji from Melbourne, Vic - a gift membership to Slim Ink Passion Plan 1 worth $60, kindly donated by Marj Lim of Slim Ink - your premium library on the internet

Won by Jo from Canberra ACT and Jenny from Auckland NZ - a copy each of the book Money and the Law of Attraction by Esther & Jerry Hicks valued at $27 each, donated by Karen and Grant Wallace from The Calm Space

Congratulations all!

We have sent an email to each of you advising of your win. Please contact me if you haven’t received it so you don’t miss out on your prize.

Posted by karen | Filed Under Monthly Prize Draw, November 08 

This month we’re going Home…

November 3, 2008 | 1 Comment

Welcome to our beautiful November issue of The Calm Space! We’re so glad you’ve joined us.

Grant and I are in the process of designing a new home, one that we hope our family will be happy in long beyond the time they ‘leave home’ (even though we hear horror stories of adult children never leaving the nest) and so our needs and the way we live are under the microscope at the moment. It’s a joyful (and time consuming!) process that makes us realise all over again how important the environment of our home is to our own sense of well-being.

And so it is very timely that this month we are writing on the theme of Home here at The Calm Space. When I looked up the word Home in a couple of online dictionaries, the definitions included:

An environment offering security and happiness
A valued place regarded as a refuge or place of origin
A place where one likes to be, restful and congenial

A home is a special place. Much, much more than bricks and mortar.

This month, each of our contributors shares their own special brand of ‘home’ with us. Chris shares a most powerful story at the Relationship Space about her role in making home a haven of peace. Joanna shares a beautiful look at why writing and the Writing Space are so very special. In the Wisdom Space this month, Angela Esnouf shares her wisdom and her heart with us in a special peak inside her life.

Joanne’s recipe for a skin treat that will leave us feeling Goddess Venus-like makes my skin tingle with anticipation. Leah’s look at feeling at home with technology challenges us to overcome our phobias and learn something new.

Grant looks at the more practical financial matters associated with owning your own home; and Angela encourages us to live in an organised home as the benefits are huge.

Marjorie, as always, shares with us a list of books guaranteed to whet your appetite and have you carving out time in your busy day to read just a few pages more… and what would our magazine be without the beautiful photography of Amy to stir our hearts and allow us to take a breath? Don’t forget to download the stunning desktop wallpaper that Leah has designed based on Amy’s photography. It will be your reminder all month of the value of home and family, and to take a deep breath and find your inner calm.

Wishing you a home filled with love and laughter, all month through.

Namaste

Káren

PS It is my mother’s birthday this month - Happy 70th Mum!!! I love you.

Posted by karen | Filed Under November 08, The Space 

The Joy of Home

November 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment

The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.

~Maya Angelou

When you come in off the street, place your key in the lock, and open that door wide in the place that you live, how do you feel?

The feel of a home is more than the furniture, fittings and decorations. It’s more than a clean floor or crisp linen flapping on the washing line. It’s more than a fridge stocked with fresh food, or a comfortable place to sit. It’s more than the electronic wizardry that cleans our dishes and washes our clothes while we sleep.

A home is more than a place for everything, and everything in it’s place. It is more than clean clothes to wear and a tub to soak away our aches and pains.

A home is more than your favourite pillow, and it’s more than a well stocked bookshelf or that easel that sits in the puddle of sunlight at the window. It is more than the rose cut from your garden that sits beautifully in your grandmother’s vase.

A home is even more than the dog that sits on the front step, or the cat that curls in your lap. It’s more than freshly baked muffins cooling on the kitchen bench, scenting the air with their rich chocolateyness.

A home is all this.

And much much more.

A home is where you snuggle under the feather doona with your beloved.

A home is the place your friends love to gather, to laugh, chat and enjoy each other’s company.

A home is the place your children grow - learning to become wonderful, giving people.

A home is the place that your family congregate when they need to escape from the demands of their daily life.

A home is a place you give thanks for every single day.

A home is joy. A home is sanctuary.

A home is love.

How does your home feel?

Posted by karen | Filed Under November 08, Serenity Space 

The Organised Home

November 3, 2008 | 3 Comments

As a housewife in the 1950s, my mother-in-law would polish her home’s brass house number and letterbox every week. Hands up who has time for that these days? Hmm, me neither.

Times have changed. There are now very few of us who would consider a shiny letterbox a top priority. But then, what is a top priority? What do we expect from our homes? The answer to that is different for everyone. What do you want your home to be?

  • A place for friends to gather
  • A showpiece
  • A sanctuary
  • Warmth
  • Comfort
  • Efficiency
  • A bed for the night
  • Privacy
  • Party central
  • A play space
  • The neighbourhood drop-in centre
  • A base for your business
  • Somewhere to store your precious things
  • A status symbol

Whatever you expect from your home, it can also be organised.

What does organised mean?  When people know I’m a Professional Organiser they often ask, “So is your house always tidy?” Well, no, it’s not. But it is always organised. There’s a big difference between tidy and organised. Take these examples –

  • a 6-year-old’s bedroom may have all clothes and toys neatly put away in cupboards and drawers. But the school clothes are in the top of the wardrobe and the toys are stacked in boxes so high it requires an adult to take them out and put them away. Tidy but not organised.
  • A family with 5 children at 3 different schools keep track of school and sports activities and equipment by keeping it close to where the action is, in the front entry hall. Each backpack, sports kit, team list and school notice is located there. There’s a huge pinboard covered in papers and 5 tubs to hold each child’s stuff. Not tidy but organised.

The good news is it doesn’t have to be either one or the other. There are ways to have both.

The great news is that being organised in the home can save time, money and effort. No more hunting for keys when you should be already out the door. No more repurchasing an item because the first was misplaced. No more redoing tasks because they weren’t done right the first time.

Being organised in the home boils down to a few basic principles. The first is – A place for everything, and everything in its place. Figure out what belongs in your home and assign it a place. Once an item that belongs in your home has a place assigned for it, you should always be able to find that item.

Which brings us to the second basic principle – Share. Share information. Share tasks. Share responsibility. Sharing information means teaching others how to do tasks, comparing diaries and communicating expectations. Sharing tasks means delegating, either to other family members or outside the home. Sharing responsibility means anyone who’s old enough gets to share in the rights and responsibilities of being part of the family home.

The third basic principle states – Do what works. From choosing low maintenance materials to setting up low maintenance routines, do what works to achieve maximum effect with minimum effort.

And the final basic principle is – Maintenance. It’s easier to keep organised than to get organised. Once you have a system established, keep it up with a regular quick tidy and toss. Review and tweak where necessary.

I know, it sometimes sounds easier said than done, so here’s a little something to get you started. I call it the Launch Pad. The Launch Pad is simply a place to keep all you need to head out the door with you, on your way to work, play, school, shopping or to see friends. It’s a place to keep anything from your wallet, keys and phone to your library books and magazines to pass to friends. It can be a small shelf or a whole cupboard. It should be on your way out the door and it should be a visual reminder so you never leave home without all you need. And it should be the place where you stop and go through your checklist, either mental or actual. Shopping bags? Check. Prescription to fill? Check. Phone? Check. Letters to post? Check. Peace of mind? Check.

Posted by angela | Filed Under November 08, Organising Space 

Be It Ever So Humble…must include bookshelves!

November 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment

There’s no place like… Books to click your red heels by : )

Young Widows Book of Home Improvement - Virginia Lloyd

A young professional woman finally meets the man she wants to spend the rest of her life with, only to discover that he is terminally ill. After her beloved John’s death from cancer, Virginia was faced with addressing the chronic rising damp problem in the house they had shared and, over her first year as a young widow, her house had to dry from the inside out - and so did Virginia.

The Young Widow’s Book of Home Improvement is a wry and touching love story that plays with the parallels between our homes and ourselves.

The Journey Home : The Story of Michael Thomas and the Seven Angels - Lee Carroll, Theresa Corley

In this book adapted for children ages 9 to 13, Michael Thomas is a schoolboy who’s stuck in what seems to be a pretty sorry life. His big brother’s busy soccer schedule rules the house, and his best buddy has moved to another town.

Mike feels that he has no life. No one would notice if he just disappeared! Then his real journey begins. Based on the parable inspired by Kryon and written by Lee Carroll, this is a book your entire family will enjoy.

Homecooked - Radio ABC

Favourite recipes and stories from the kitchens of ABC Radio listeners, selected by Ian (Macca) McNamara of ABC Local Radio, renowned chef and foodie, Maggie Beer, and Valli Little of delicious magazine. This compendium of the best of Australian home cooking, contributed by ABC Radio listeners all around Australia, offers 150 breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes that feature some of the most-loved classics from Australian kitchens and offers a few surprises as well.

Grandma’s baked apple dumplings, Uncle Emilio’s fettuccine, Mum’s beef stew and best friend Janie’s to-die-for chocolate cake - those recipes that you’ve asked your family and friends for again and again; they’re all in here. Our contributors have also provided a story about each recipe, explaining why the dish is so loved.

These stories are always interesting, sometimes funny and occasionally moving, such as that of the brother, killed in battle, whose mother would always cook his favourite pudding when he came home on leave, so that whenever the dish is cooked now, his brother remembers him …

Home to Big Stone Gap - Adriana Trigiani

Seismic changes are about to take place in Ave Maria’s life. Her daughter, Etta, barely eighteen, is married and living in Italy; the health of her husband, the gorgeous and ever-dependable Jack Mac, is failing and she has scarcely noticed; friendships she has enjoyed forever are under threat.

And then to town comes a mysterious stranger, revealing a long-buried secret. Her world shaken, Ave Maria must face up to the past in order to build a new life for herself and for Jack. Written with humor, emotion and power in Trigiani’s trademark style, Home To Big Stone Gap is a true homecoming event.

Homestyle Stir-Fry - Murdoch Test Kitchen

Homestyle Stir-Fry and Homestyle Vegetarian are the first two titles in this practical and appealing brand new series from Murdoch Books. Each title in the Homestyle series is an indispensable reference for anyone with an interest in cooking.

Designed for easy use, each recipe is beautifully styled and accompanied by detailed step-by-step photographs showing the techniques involved. The Murdoch Books Test Kitchen has triple-tested all the recipes to ensure you get the best results at home.

St Lucy’s Home For Girls Raised By Wolves - Karen Russell

A blazingly original voice, a dazzling debut, a breathtaking discovery. Charting loss, love, and the difficult art of growing up, these stories unfurl with wicked humour and insight.

Two young boys make midnight trips to a boat graveyard in search of their dead sister, who set sail in the exoskeleton of a giant crab; a boy whose dreams foretell implacable tragedies is sent to ‘Sleepaway Camp for Disordered Dreamers’ (Cabin 1, Narcoleptics; Cabin 2, Insomniacs; Cabin 3, Somnambulists. . . ); a Minotaur leads his family on the trail out West, and finally, in the collection’s poignant and hilarious title story, fifteen girls raised by wolves are painstakingly re-civilised by nuns.

These ten extraordinary stories introduce an audacious new talent, and a world in which weird and wonderful predicaments magically reveal the truth of our own lives. A blazingly original voice, a dazzling debut, a breathtaking discovery. (Dylan Thomas Prize 2007/Longlist)

The Road Home - Rose Tremain

Rose Tremain’s hugely enjoyable new novel is the up-to-the-minute story of Lev, newly arrived in London from Eastern Europe. A wise and witty look at the contemporary migrant experience.

‘On the coach, Lev chose a seat near the back and he sat huddled against the window, staring out at the land he was leaving…’ Lev is on his way to Britain to seek work, so that he can send money back to Eastern Europe to support his mother and little daughter.

Readers will become totally involved with his story, as he struggles with the mysterious rituals of ‘Englishness’, and the fashions and fads of the London scene. We see the road Lev travels through Lev’s eyes, and we share his dilemmas: the intimacy of his friendships, old and new; his joys and sufferings; his aspirations and his hopes of finding his way home, wherever home may be. (Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction 2008/WINNER!)

Home: A Memoir - Julie Andrews

In HOME, Julie vividly recreates the years before she burst on to the movie screen in her iconic roles as Mary Poppins and Maria Von Trapp.

An idyllic early childhood in Surrey was cut short when her parents divorced and her mother remarried. The family moved to London, where Julie grew up during the Blitz. Her mother went into musical theatre with her stepfather, who encouraged Julie to have singing lessons - which led to the discovery that her voice had phenomenal range and strength for someone her age.

Before long, Julie was appearing on stage with her parents, revelling in life in the footlights and, by the time she was a teenager, she was supporting her whole family with her stage performances. A London Palladium pantomime led to a starring role in The Boyfriend on Broadway at the age of only 19. Parts in My Fair Lady opposite Rex Harrison and Camelot with Richard Burton soon followed before she got the call from Disney which led to her starring role in Mary Poppins and to worldwide fame.

All titles available at your homely premium library on the internet!

Posted by marjorie | Filed Under November 08, Reading Space 

Confessions of a Home Wrecker

November 3, 2008 | 3 Comments

Way back in a past life, I was a nurse working shift work.  When a husband and then children joined my world, weekend shift work was just part of our weekly life.  That’s how we made ends meet, while still giving our children a parent with them each day.  Monday to Friday was Mum, and weekends were Dad.

Have you spotted the glaring obvious there?

Yes!  There was no real time when we were family all together. No time when we all switched off and shared affection, or created family memories.

School nights were filled with homework, eating, bathing, reading stories and bed.  On weekends, me and my crisp white uniform and frilly cap were gone before breakfast and home late afternoon, or gone before lunch and home well after the children went to sleep.  Either way the impact of shift work was still the same, especially after a week of mothering and housewifing!  Endlessly tired and cranky.  Dissatisfied and seeking someone to pay out on.

When I look back, it was a weird life.  Robotic and uninspiring in many ways.  Housework.  Shopping. Transporting children to school and sport.  Supervising homework.  Then at work I was nurturer, soother, and advisor.  Only to come home masquerading as a shrew!

I never realised there was more to life than this endless routine of work.  I didn’t know parents should play with their kids, so I didn’t.  I thought that play time was for school, weekends, and holidays and Dad got to do that.  What was normal to me was that Mums were just the disciplinarians, Dads played and helped when they could.

I can’t tell you how fervently I wish I could go back and make different choices about this phase of my life.  If I’d known, or knew to ask for advice, I’d have parented so differently and perhaps even found the confidence to change my career much earlier.  Maybe then I wouldn’t be moved to tears as I look back on my failings in the role of mother.    And in fact in my role as home-maker.

You see these days, the only word I ever associate with the word “home” is the word “haven”.  It is security.  It is peace.  It is where I can be the authentic me.  It is where I can love and be loved in return.

But back in those days of drudgery and little or no relaxation, I was a haven wrecker.  A home wrecker.

No I don’t mean physically, though I was guilty of the occasionally satisfying door slam!  And I don’t mean I stepped into anyone else’s family life and snatched away a husband.  I just mean I made all of my family suffer.

What could be worse than that?  There was very little sense of a peaceful haven where life felt secure, and love and authenticity were normal.

Instead I screamed and yelled.  I ordered others about.  I criticised what I didn’t like, and failed to notice when my family made efforts that should have been to my liking.

My poor old hubby SweetP copped much of this.  I realise now how much I resented him getting to enjoy family life and sharing laughs and pleasure with our sons.  It was really him who was the home shaper.  Weekends were fun and jobs still got done, discipline and boundaries were maintained and love was relaxed.

For me weekends meant.  Respite from Repetition? Yep!  Guilt? Yep! Resentment? Yep!  Tiredness? Yep!  Snotty behaviour?  Absolutely!

So why am I telling you this not-very-becoming tale?

Because I now know what a home and a haven really is and I’m ashamed that I didn’t back then.

If there’s one thing I would wish for you, it is the eyes and the heart to judge truthfully how you contribute to making your home a haven or a wreck!

Because life in a haven is so much more satisfying than life in a wreck.

And the simple fact is …

It’s a matter of choice.

I’m challenging you with this reminder.

Just like I wish someone back then had challenged me!

Posted by chris | Filed Under November 08, Relationship Space 

Feeling at Home With Technology

November 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Feeling at home  … some of the synonyms for this wonderful phrase include at ease, familiar, in one’s element.

These thoughts raised a question for me - how “at home” do you feel with technology?

For me and for some people the answer is very.  I feel comfortable, familiar and at ease with technology - even technology that I haven’t come across before.  For other people technology elicits a feeling far from being “at home” (unless of course that home is one filled with the unknown and fear).

But why is it that some people feel comfortable with technology and others don’t?  You will see many under 25s displaying a high level of comfort with technology.  Technology has been a large part of life and the business community since they were born.  They even speak technology as a native language.  But even when most of them are comfortable some are not - they shun it and say they are not comfortable with it.

You don’t have to be under 30 to be comfortable with technology.  There are many people I know who are 40 and 50 plus who are at home in front of a computer screen.  For the 40 and 50-somethings comfort with technology has been more of a choice.  Many of us picked it up in our professional lives and learnt how to relate to it.  We learnt the language, the idiosyncracies, and over time technology became familiar.

Whether you are 20, 40 or 70 the key to feeling at home with technology is to learn the language and come to understand its nuances.

It doesn’t, like some people think, come fully formed into your head.  You aren’t a dummy and someone else is clever at technology. If you haven’t taken the time to learn the skills you will always be less comfortable than someone who is a regular user of the tech language.

Actually language is a great metaphor for understanding technology.

With the few words of French that I have did I feel comfortable at the Louvre when the security guard asked me, in French, did I have any metal objects in my bag?  I stammered, came close to breaking out in a sweat and quickly looked around for my Swiss-born husband so that he could translate for me.  I felt far from “at home”.  He on the other hand was able to brush up on his French by watching TV for a few hours after we landed in France.  Even after many years of being in Australia and only speaking English, it didn’t take him long to pick things up again.  But even then he wasn’t as at ease and fluent as a Parisian who spoke the language every hour of the day.

If I had wanted to become more comfortable with French then I could have taken courses, had conversations with native speakers and used French at every opportunity.  The same goes with technology.

No matter your age, gender or previous experience if you want to learn more about technology and find yourself at home with it the all you have to do is learn.

My challenge to you, expert or novice, is to become more comfortable with just one more aspect of technology during the course of November.  Let me know how you go, I’m curious.

amusez-vous

Posted by leah | Filed Under Digital Space, November 08 

Your Breathing Space for November

November 3, 2008 | 2 Comments

Every house where love abides

And friendship is a guest,

Is surely home, and home sweet home,

For there the heart can rest.

~ Henry Van Dyke

image by Amy Palko and graphics by Leah Maclean

Download this image as desktop calendar wallpaper for your PC
(right click on the preferred size below)
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Posted by leah | Filed Under Breathing Space, November 08 

Owning your own home

November 3, 2008 | Leave a Comment

This month’s theme is “home”, a term that is dear to everyone’s heart.

From a financial perspective it is seen by many of us as an important part of our financial and emotional security. It is said that most Australian’s have a love of all things property. In the main that is true, so it is important to review some concepts about home related issues.

Firstly, in most cases (here in Australia) your home (principal place of residence) is not subject to capital gains tax if you sell it at a profit. Unfortunately, interest on home loans is generally not a tax deduction and nor is the normal expenses like rates, repairs etc associated with ownership.

If we accept that the family home is a reservoir of future tax sheltered wealth, then it makes sense to develop it to a point where it can be sold to invest in a potentially more valuable home (and the process starts again) or used as security for borrowing to diversify into other investment assets.

Some things to remember though, be careful not to over-capitalise on the cost of the home, and understand how much interest and other costs are associated with home ownership, purchase and sale. Remember the profit when you sell your home needs to take into account all it has cost you not just the difference between purchase and sale.

In Planning for Financial Freedom back in June, I mentioned the concept of correct structuring. Structuring also applies to how you own your home. Should the family home be owned in an individuals name, held jointly or registered as tenants in common? The discussion about this question could be an article in itself! Suffice to say before your buy a family home, do seek some advice about how the ownership should be structured. It is as important as obtaining the correct finance package. It also has implications for estate planning. The old saying, “expect the best but plan for the worst” is an appropriate approach when it comes to financial arrangements.

Lastly, I should mention the old dreaded word, saving. A concept we all struggle with at times. In the case of home loans, the more you reduce your interest cost, the more you improve your financial position. Some of you will say that is obvious. However, it can be confusing when confronted with a decision about whether to reduce your home loan or invest in some other opportunity. We sometimes struggle to know which is best. I look at it this way. If you reduce your home loan by making additional payments you will receive a predictable return for your money of the before-tax cost of the interest, which when you do the maths could be as much as 14% depending upon interest rate and your marginal tax rate on income.

So when it comes to the family home make sure you get some good advice that relates to your own particular circumstances from someone that knows all of your arrangements and is appropriately qualified. It can save you more than you think.

Posted by grant | Filed Under Money Space, November 08 

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