Spring Cleaning: What to do with your old stuff.
By Mildred Munjanganja | March 30, 2011
One man’s trash may indeed be another’s treasure.
Out with the old, and in with the new—a mantra that many relate to the spring season — is often easier said than done. This rings especially true for those who have trouble letting go of old clothes, shoes, books—you name it—during annual spring cleaning sweeps. However, having a plan in place for not only tackling your mess, but also for getting rid of unwanted items, makes this daunting task that much easier.
“Spring cleaning is important for your health, and to de-clutter the mind,” said Mildred Munjanganja, vice president of LifeOrganizers.com. “When your environment is clean and tidy, your mind is clean and tidy.”
Here are some of Munjanganja’s tips for getting rid of the items you no longer need.
Read the rest of this article from an interview LifeOrganizers.com did for Fox Business. Enjoy 
Topics: Clutter Control | No Comments »
Three steps to developing a habit.
By Mildred Munjanganja | March 14, 2011
William James had a famous formula for developing a habit – in his selected papers on philosophy, he suggests that it will take time for a habit to form, but the following steps are a recipe for success:
1. Make a strong resolution: You must begin with an initiative in mind. Determine what you are trying to achieve, make a public declaration of it by telling someone else.
2. Never allow an exception to occur until the new habit is securely rooted in your life: A habit is like a ball of wool, every time it falls, it unravels. So you cannot allow ‘just this once’ to occur, it will take you many steps back. The act of yielding weakens the will and strengthens the lack of self-control.
3. Seize every opportunity and inclination to practice your new habit: In the beginning, you may need a lot of reminders to stick to your resolve. So practice your habit whenever you can, it may involve using a checklist so you can see your progress.
They say it takes 21 days to develop a habit and 6 weeks to make it natural – so whatever your goal may be, getting a specific area in your life organized, working out, saving money etc; follow these 3 easy steps and watch yourself succeed.
Topics: Personal Organizing | No Comments »
How to select a personal fitness trainer.
By Mildred Munjanganja | March 1, 2011
Inspired by my amazing trainer Joseph Petrie at YouFit Gym in Pompano Beach here are some guidelines on how to select a personal trainer:
1. Determine what it is you are trying to achieve. This will help you to select a trainer that will have the related experience to suite your needs.
2. If you are a member of a gym, the gym may already have approved trainers for you to choose from, otherwise; find trainers that are in your area for convenience.
3. Look at your budget to ensure that the trainer charges within your price range. Sessions can range from $20 - $200 an hour, based on the trainers client base, experience, certifications and what they offer.
4. Be sure to get ask for referrals from people who work out with the trainer and those that no longer do. I asked trainers and clients about Joseph Petrie and everyone willingly spoke highly of him – it made me comfortable in my choice.
5. Ask to see your trainer’s certification and be sure to verify it.
6. If the trainer is part of a gym, they likely have personal liability insurance to protect you from personal injury or loss, but if they are independent, be sure to ask for proof of insurance.
7. Be sure that your trainer knows CPR – you want someone who can help you if the need ever arose.
8. Talk to the trainer and asks as many questions as you see fit. You have to be comfortable with the trainer and confident in the fact that they will cater to your needs.
You have to be happy with your trainer in order to remain committed and get the best value for your money. My trainer, Joseph Petrie’s is extremely patient – he will take time to show me how to do an exercise properly to ensure that I do not get injured. He alters the workouts based on my pre-existing injuries while ensuring that he is giving me a program that strengthens the muscles surrounding the area. He is always on time, has a great sense of humor that puts me at ease while making sure that I give my all to the work-outs. I find him to be very inspiring and appreciate his constant reminders that what I eat will ultimately determine my success. If you cannot say 5 good things about your trainer….then maybe you should find one like mine.
Topics: Fitness | No Comments »
Organizing your Health and Fitness
By Mildred Munjanganja | June 21, 2010
“If you don’t have your health, you have nothing!”
You have to make time to take care of your most valuable asset, because without it, you genuinely have nothing. There are some illnesses that you cannot control, but there are a lot of things that you can do to prevent the illnesses that are within your control.
1. Determine your current state of health. Check your weight, blood pressure, vision, dental health and full body. It’s important to know where you are and where you should be.
2. Set achievable goals based on where you should be. If your doctor tells you that you are 30lbs over weight, the goal is fairly clear, lose 30 lbs. Break it down into smaller goals that you can track and achieve. Write all your goals down and be as specific as possible.
3. Write down specific actions you need to do to achieve your goal e.g. If your goal is to exercise 3 times per week. Write down which 3 days you will dedicate to working out, what time you will work out on those days, how long the workouts will be and exactly what you plan on doing during that time. You can prepare this weekly or monthly but make sure you have it.
4. Now use your calendar to make appointments for your future check-ups, weigh-ins etc and stick to these appointments. For instance, every year the month of my birthday, I do a full body physical. My birthday serves as an excellent reminder.
You owe it to your future to get this part of your life on track. Enjoy it.
Topics: Fitness, Mind, Body & Spirit | No Comments »
Rules To Live By - Part 2
By Mildred Munjanganja | March 4, 2010
I was reflecting on the New Year’s resolutions I made in January, wondering if I had actually been living by them or if they had just been noble ideas to make myself feel like I had purpose. It made me pull out an e-mail I received at the beginning of the year, I shared half of it with you in an earlier post and here’s the other half, very thought provoking:
1. Call your family often
2. Each day give something good to others
3. Forgive everyone for everything
4. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6
5. Try to make at least 3 people smile each day
6. What other people think of you, is none of your business’
7. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick – your friends will, stay in touch.
8. Do the right thing, all the time
9. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful
10. However good or bad a situation is, it will change
11. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up
12. The best is yet to come
I absolutely love this list. Imagine living your life everyday believing that you have hardly tapped your potential and all the good things in your life can and will be surpassed. They say you should always dream when you are awake, I say our lives are what we make them and when we go about the business of creating who we want to be, we become the real masters of our own destiny.
Topics: Mind, Body & Spirit | 1 Comment »
How to get rid of unwanted clutter!
By Mildred Munjanganja | February 22, 2010
I like to throw stuff out. Yes I said it, and I meant it. Getting rid of things that are just hanging out and serving no greater purpose gives me relief. This applies to every category of my life. If I have a friendship that I think is not healthy for me after I have given everything in my power to make it work, I gracefully walk away from it. If I have stuff that are just building clutter in my life, I let them go.
I even get excited about it, you can’t just come to my place and leave things hanging around, you will find them trashed, and donated, recycled….something will happen to them [I will try to give them back first – promise]. Read full entry »
Topics: Clutter Control, Personal Organizing | 3 Comments »
Getting organized by getting things out of your head!
By Mildred Munjanganja | February 8, 2010
Have you ever wondered how cluttered your brain must be? How many ideas, thoughts, ‘things to do’ have you had floating in there for an indefinite period of time. Can you imagine how draining it must be to carry things in your head, things that really should have been handled at one point or the other – as long as you have incomplete and undecided things in your mind, your brain will have to continue working on them until they are completed. How many unfinished things do you honestly think your brain can handle before you start suffering from stress, fatigue, burn-out and other such symptoms?
Right this second, grab a piece of paper and right down everything….big or small, personal or work related, urgent or not, every single thing that you have ever thought you need to do. Do it in an excel spreadsheet or on a numbered piece of paper, your list will look something like this:
1. Take old clothes to Salvation Army
2. Clean out trunk
3. Take PowerPoint lessons
4. Lose 10lbs
5. Lower credit card interest
6. Look into marketing project
7. Get puppy
8. Submit living will
9. Call Aunt Eunice
10. Talk to Juan about that thing he does that annoys me
Can you imagine the amount of bandwidth you are able to clear from your head once everything is written down? Whenever you are trying to focus on a given task and your mind starts to wonder, have you ever evaluated where your mind wonders to? It likely focuses on things that are incomplete and need to be attended to. This then leads to worry and then stress. Once you have EVERYTHING written down, start tackling the list one at a time, and determine what action item needs to be done to get the task complete.
Topics: Business - Office, Clutter Control, Mind, Body & Spirit | 3 Comments »
Rules to Live By
By Mildred Munjanganja | January 11, 2010
2009 was awesome - I can safely attribute the success of last year to a commitment to discipline that was difficult to master at times and darn-right impossible at others. I am still marveled when I analyze the year trying to determine what small things I did that led to big successes and evaluating the habits that I developed to gain those successes. Only through understanding the formulae for your past successes can replicate and improve it! The conclusion is fairly simple to draw – do something every day that makes your life or someone else’s life better!
I received an e-mail from a friend that I thought was a good place to start, it had some ideas on the rules we can live by to improve our personalities in 2010, enjoy:
1. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
2. Don’t have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment. [People with road rage can understand how it feels to get completely worked up over something they have absolutely no control over…it is worth it?]
3. Don’t overdo. Keep your limits. [I am guilty as charged!!!!! I tend to overdo everything, food, workouts, sacrificing, emotion…everything. I will make this a personal goal for this year] Read full entry »
Topics: Mind, Body & Spirit | 2 Comments »
A great blog directory
By Mildred Munjanganja | January 6, 2010
I thought I would share thinks - there are some great blogs in this catalog.
http://www.blogcatalog.com/directory/lifestyle
Have fun.
Topics: Links | No Comments »
5 Issues Facing Working Women in 2010
By Mildred Munjanganja | January 4, 2010
The excitement of the holidays has died down and you are still fired up by the resolutions you made on January 1st - suddenly it hits you, you still have some of the same worries you had last year. Below are 5 issues facing working women in 2010 and some simple tips on how to tacke them.
1. Staying current: It has been reported that women earn the majority of college degrees and hold middle management positions but few are able to reach senior management level. One of the challenges women face is the time to stay current or find avenues for continued professional growth once they have children. It becomes more difficult to travel for work leaving behind your family and any professional development courses that can be taken at night pose the same problem. I often see very capable women who have the opportunity to be involved in a remote project that will have a huge impact on their career development, but are unable to make the commitment due to family commitments - very few men in the same situation would decline.
Solution: Do online courses that you can do at night and seek work-related projects that can be completed during business hours in your city that will have a huge impact on your career. Read full entry »
Topics: Business - Office | 2 Comments »