As wives and mothers, we often think about others well before we think about ourselves.  What we don’t realize is that if we don’t take care of ourselves, we can’t adequately take care of the ones we love.  Moms, it’s time to learn to pamper your inner soul!

Do you even know how to pamper your inner soul?  Here are some ideas of things you may want to try:

* Take a bubble bath.  Set aside an hour one evening or during the weekend.  Fill up your bathtub with your favorite bubble bath and soak.  Every woman knows that a long, hot bubble bath can soak away the cares of the day.  Why not set aside the time and take one soon?

* Go for a walk.  Exercise can clear your mind and nourish your inner soul.  It also does great things for your body.  Whether the air is crisp and cool or warm and breezy, going for a leisurely walk can make the difference in how you feel.

* Share the love.  Nothing pampers your soul like getting the love and attention of your children or spouse.  Bear hugs and sticky kisses can make even the worst day seem better.

* Splurge and head to a day spa.  Talk about being pampered.  Go for the full treatment – facial and massage.  Why not get the works?  Remember that you’re worth the time and money you’ll be spending.

* Listen to your favorite music.  It has been said that “music sooths the savaged soul.”  Pull out your favorite tunes and relax.  You may even want to sing or dance along.

* Hydrate yourself.  Be sure to drink plenty of water.  Dehydration can make you feel run down and inhibit clear thinking.  Take a few minutes to drink a cold glass of water and you’ll pamper your mind as well as your soul.

* Buy yourself a journal.  Let out some of the feelings you may have been keeping bottled up inside.  Don’t suppress tears if you feel them coming.  It’s been said that crying is good for the soul; it may be time to let the tears fall.

* While you have your journal out, list three things that you like about yourself.  Quite often we’re guilty of not thinking well of ourselves.  Take a few minutes and seriously think about things you admire about yourself and write them down.

* Reach out and touch someone.  Is there a friend you’ve lost touch with?  Now would be a great time to reconnect.  Talking with an old friend can be good for your soul.  Who have you been missing?

* Meditate or pray.  Meditation and prayer can both be rejuvenating.  It can also reach a part of your soul that nothing else will.

You want to be a better wife and mother so you may want to take the time to pamper your inner soul.  If you’re relaxed and at ease it will show through in the love you give, the time you spend, and how you make others feel.

[ad#top]

If you work at home, you may find that your desk is a catch-all for everything.  You may work outside of the home and still have problems keeping your desk clean.  How do you go from cluttered desk to organized files and keep your sanity at the same time?  These ideas may be what you need to get your desktop cleaned off once and for all.

Start de-cluttering your desk by getting a box and putting everything from the top of it into the box.  Go through each and every item in the box and decide what to do with it.  Do you need to file it, throw it away, transfer information to a calendar, move it to another room, or does it requires immediate action?  Your goal is to initially put things in one of those categories.

For non-paper items, you want to decide if the items are important to keep on your desk or if they should be stored elsewhere.  Remember, keep only those things on your desktop that are necessary. 

Get file folders and labels, and set aside some time.  Setting up an organized filing system isn’t as hard as it may seem.  Simple words you’ll remember are better than words you don’t use when trying to remember where you’ve put things.  The goal is to file things as they arrive in a manner that will make them easy to access when you need them next.

Here are a few things to consider when setting up a filing system: 

* Are you losing monthly bills and having to pay late fees?
* Do you have all of your receipts ready for tax time?
* What medical information do you need in case of an emergency?
* Do we have a home inventory of our assets?
* Can you locate warranty information when needed?

If at all possible, reduce the amount of paper you have to file before you start organizing it into files.  Get rid of as much as you can into the shredder or garbage can.  If you can’t toss it, try giving it to someone else to handle if it pertains to them.  The idea is to get it off your desk so it won’t clutter it up.  Then file what’s left.

Sort your papers into broad categories to begin with – for instance, auto, finances, health, house, insurance, money, and personal.  Next break the broad categories into more precise categories:  Finances could break down into banking, investments, and retirement; auto could include repairs and warranties; insurance could be broken down into car, health, homeowner’s, and life.  You get the idea, but you may have to subdivide each smaller category even further.  Banking could include checking and savings; investments would include 401K and stocks.  Follow this line of thought until everything is filed.

Remember to use words that you would actually say.  Ask yourself where you would look for something if you needed it six months down the road and use those terms for your categories.

Once you have your filing system in place you want to use it – every day.  Don’t let papers start piling up on your desk again.  If you get something in the mail that lists an important date, add it to your calendar and toss the paper.  If the information needs to be kept, file it right away.  Finally your cluttered desk will be replaced by organized files and you’ll be able to find what you need when you need it.

[ad#top]