In nature, you will find all sorts of lovely colors, greens, blues, and yellows seem to be the most common. I guess that is why purple is so very special; you don’t see a lot of it on a regular basis. Maybe in the sky for an extra special sunset or wild flowers along the highway headed towards the hills, and maybe in the rare rainbow if the clouds and the sun align just right. So I think of purple as a present, a sort of gift dropped here or there for all to take pleasure in.

Nature has bestowed upon us one of the prettiest and magical purple plants called Lavender. The name Lavender comes from the Latin root lavare, which means, “to wash”. This is fitting for most people associate lavender with oil, perfume and bathing products. Essential oil of lavender has antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties. It was used in hospitals during WWI to disinfect floors and walls.

Maybe Lavender is exactly what the world needs more of!

While we are all going GREEN maybe we should add LAVENDER to the list! If something as pure and natural as lavender can do the trick Why Not Use It! Go ahead and disinfect your floors with it and save yourself from harmful chemicals. Forget about toxic mosquito repellents and spray on an H2o lavender combo. Hate the smell of cedar or mothballs…lavender. Does Fido have flea’s…lavender. Trader Joe’s sells lovely lavender sachet pouches for the dryer and I also put them in my closets, drawers and shoe bins.

Research has confirmed that lavender produces slight calming, soothing and sedative effects when its scent is inhaled. Why not leave the prescription for a sleep aid, a headache or the blues at the drug store and put lavender in the bath, at the temple, on a pillow, or in a teacup, it might just melt away your cares, be kind to your body and be a whole lot cheaper. Diluted it can also heal acne, skin burns and inflammatory conditions. I once got an orange size burn on my calf from scolding hot water and my acupuncturist suggested lavender oil to suck the heat out of the burn. It worked! Over night my burn changed color from hot red to mild pink and I was left with no scare what so ever. Just please don’t use it on an open wound.

Lavender may also be a culinary delight used in beverages, candied flowers, Herbs De Provence, honey, sauces and baking.

Here is where I give a shout out to my favorite cookie! In Griffith Park in Los Angeles, there is a small café called “Trails” that bakes the most delicious Lavender Shortbread Cookies I have ever had, they are so good that it is just plain wrong!

As I have grown into a woman my obsession with the color purple has settled. I now have learned to appreciate the beauty of all colors. But deep down inside still lives the little girl who finds purple to be a gift her eye adores.

*So please remember Nature’s Pretty Purple Little Magic when your house is going Green. Add Lavender to the list for whatever ails you, it’s pretty, purple and smells good too!

I was visiting my client S the other day and I found myself skimming his bookshelf when a title popped out at me.

It’s Hard to Make a Difference When You Can’t Find Your Keys: The Seven-Step Path to Becoming Truly Organized by Marilyn Paul, Ph.D.

This title got me thinking about keys.

Keys seemed to be high on the “what-people-constantly-lose” list. Those minutes one spends tearing the house apart looking for the car keys morning after morning adds up to hours, or even days, in the course of a year. You don’t want to arrive at work crabby and late for the conference call. A date with AAA is not the way you want to start off your workweek. Your kids should not have to serve detention for missing homeroom because you couldn’t find the keys. Do I dare mention how bitter you’re going be when you get home to the torn apart house you had forgotten you created.

Time is money people; don’t waste it looking for little metal things hanging on a ring! Buy a KEY HOOK!

I swear by the key hook! Hang it right by the door and train yourself and your mate to deposit the invaluable shiny ring of keys on the hook before you even close the door.

*It might sound silly but remember… It’s Hard to Make a Difference When You Can’t Find Your Keys.

My client D’s biggest bomb happens in her kitchen, especially on Mondays after the weekend and not having the help of a nanny for two days.

D asked me the other day “how does this bomb, this explosion of dishes, garbage, & papers happen? It looks like were having a dinner party for 10 people every 3 days!”

FOLLOW THROUGH, I answered, you & your husband need follow through. Whatever action or task you do must have a follow through, that extra or final step to finish it off.

Observation #1: Making The Morning Toast

“After buttering your delicious hot slice of bread you left the butter out on the counter, put the knife in the sink and walked out the door. The extra step would have been to put the butter back in the fridge, saving it from spoiling and the $3.99 its gonna cost you to replace it.” I said. This next observation cracks me up. “Why not put the knife in the dishwasher instead of the sink.”

Speaking of dishwashers…

Observation #2: When Empty, The Dishwasher Is Your Friend

The other day D & I enjoyed a little chat over lunch. After devouring our healthy salads, I walked over to the garbage scraped my plate and put it in the dishwasher. D followed suit and did the same. But I noted in my mind – did she do this because I did? Yes, normally, as D admits she would have put her dish on the counter and returned to her office.

There, my dear client is the answer to your own question about how the mysterious “dinner-party-for-10-bomb” exploded in your kitchen.

If the family does not put their dishes in the dishwasher for 2 days…
That’s 4 people X 3 meals a day X 2 days = a whole lotta mess.

This may all seems simple or mundane but not everyone’s mind works the same way, and thank goodness!

*So remember, if you apply at bit of Follow Through and complete that extra step you will keep the Bomb at Bay.