Do you want to get rid of the clutter in your kitchen, office, or home? Anxious to start the school year off with a clean and organized slate!?

Then Clean and Easy is here for you!

Whether you’re just looking to attack problem areas or preparing for a move, you don’t need to live in clutter for one more day.

Call 424-354-9735!

Email beley@cleanandeasy.biz! Learn more at http://www.cleanandeasy.biz

It Gets Better has helped kids realize that there is a future, no matter who they are.

The Trevor Project, a national and confidential suicide hotline for gay and questioning youth, started this movement. Robert Rea, a hair and makeup artist in West Hollywood, is a staunch advocate.

Robert has put together a charity fashion show, Style Your Life, Live Your Style to celebrate the lives that have been saved by the Trevor Project and It Gets Better. This will be a small event, with a huge impact on the youth of the Gay and Lesbian community.

Proceeds will benefit the Trevor Project to help them continue their work saving the lives of LGBTQ youth and helping kids realize that they can live their lives without fear along with supporting the efforts of the LA Gay & Lesbian Center and the YPC.

Please join us in celebrating our youth through beauty and fashion. Your involvement can help us make this a truly extraordinary show.

If you or someone you know can in any way make a contribution to this event, please call or email Robert immediately. Sponsors, Donors and your continued support are still needed. We cannot do this without your help.

General admission – $45
includes 2 raffle tickets, food, dessert, fashion show and party.
VIP admission – $125
includes valet parking, 10 raffle tickets, bottle service by Krol Vodka, food, dessert, front row seating for fashion show and private lounge during the party

Tickets are now online and for sale at www.styleurlife.eventbrite.com

And if you’re still searching for the perfect gift. Try one of Clean and Easy Organizing Packages! Use Code MOM2011 for 20% off!

#5 – Goodbye hallway clutter, Hello Cake Stands! When you’re entryway starts to look like a bus depot, throw in some pizazz with a cake stand. It’s a stylish yet useful landing spot for keys and mail!

#4 - A Double Utility Whammy: This Clear Lazy Susan is a perfect solution for your kitchen cabinets with hard to see products and under cabinet cleaning supplies that are hard to reach!

#3 – Dust bunnies beware!  This product was created with the input of more than 568 people through the crowdsourcing site Quirky.

#2. The best way to clear some space in your closet is to pack away any winter items that you aren’t wearing. Unless you’re planning a May skiing trip, do you really need that parka to be the first thing you see in your closet? I recommend storing winter items in luggage or at least shifting the closet around so that the clothes you intend to wear more frequently are close at hand!

#1 – And my number tool to help you spring clean without breaking your bank is You! You are the ultimate weapon in your spring cleaning efforts. Hop to it! Call me if you need some motivation! 424-354-9735!

to this:

She said the kindest thing, “I can finally breath in here!” Now that’s what I’m talking about! To see more of this organizing experience and pictures from the other side of the garage visit the Clean and Easy Website!

2. Stock your stain fighting kit
Martha suggests that as part of our spring cleaning ritual, we stock our stain fighting kit. Because Martha knows that even if you’re Martha Stewart, stains happen. And it’s how you respond that matters. Stains are also that much more devastating if not responded to immediately. This is why stocking your stain fighting kit in advance is important. So you’re prepared. Life doesn’t always go your way. So when a stain has got you down or curled up in the fetal position, what will you pull out of your stain fighting kit?

A walk in the park? Laughing with your baby? A phone call with a good friend who always puts you in a better mood? Baking chocolate chip cookies and then eating them with a loved one and a glass of milk or red wine? A run by the lake? A pedicure? Buying a new shade of lipstick? Rough-housing with your dog? Watching a cheesy movie?

Here’s my advice:
1. Know what lifts you out of the doldrums and put that in your “Stain Fighting Kit”
2. Share that with the person closest to you
3. Ask them to remind you of your stain fighting solutions when you’re in the midst of fighting a stain and unable to remember them yourself because all you want to do is curl up on the couch and feel sorry for yourself. (happens to the best of us)

3.Update your bed linens/ internal conversations
Martha also recommends that we update our bed linens. Instead of bed linens (or in addition if you’re so inclined) I recommend you update your internal conversations. Or… the negative things you regularly tell yourself. Just as sleeping on the same bed sheets for too long can bring down your entire bedroom, repeating the same tired conversations to yourself over and over and over can and will bring down your entire being. Especially when those things you regularly tell yourself are of the negative variety. Such as…

“I’ll never have a successful writing career.”
“I can’t do anything right.”
“I’m a disorganized mess.”
“I hate my stupid hair.”
“I wish I were younger.”

Blah! Just writing them makes me want to throw a bucket of cold water over my head with the hopes that it will seep in and wash these thoughts out of my nasty little brain for good.

It’s time for new “bed linens” for my soul. Time to re-write that internal script.

Here’s my new script:

“I have everything I could ever want or need.”
“How can I be of service to others?”
“Everything is perfect the way that it is and the way that it isn’t.”
“I love life!”

(Feel free to steal.)

4. Make doormats welcoming/ Make YOU welcoming
Reader’s Digest suggests that we make our doormats welcoming. So how does that translate to this business of Spring Cleaning Your Soul? Easily. In one word: Smile.

Make YOU Welcoming. Smile at others, smile at no one in particular. Just smile. As Buddy the Elf might say, make smiling your new favorite. And if you don’t want to smile because you’re afraid you’ll look like an idiot, then at the very least stop frowning.

Notice your face. What is it’s default position? A scowl? A frown? Is it pained? Tired? Longing? Confused? We all have a default expression. Don’t believe me? All you have to do is watch the sea of faces in a morning commute. Most of them do not look happy to be going to work.

And what’s the problem with that? What if you’re not happy to go to work? Well, then fake it till you make it.

And why do we always need a reason to be happy, anyway? Just be happy for happy sake. It’s amazing what it will do for your soul. And the well-being of those around you! So smile, for goodness sake. Show those pearly whites. Reveal those dimples. Smile from your soul. From deep inside. Smile through your eyes and welcome life with every interaction.

5. Declutter… your brain
We all know the benefits of decluttering our homes, don’t we? I’m a big believer in less is more when it comes to stuff in our homes. Especially with everything we’ve gone through in the last couple of years. It certainly makes moving easier. And breathing. I always sleep better at night after a solid act of decluttering.

Clutter, unfortunately, is a part of life. And it isn’t limited to the physical realm. I’m talking about mind clutter.

It’s the noise in our heads. Often it seems like there is so much going on in my mind that it’s impossible to find my way to a coherent thought. This has definitely been the case since I’ve been a mom. Mom brain. Things have gotten really loud up there and I for one could use some decluttering. Some quiet. And some room.

So, how?

Well, I’m thinking that going on an electronic fast would help. Even if only for a day. I’m going to try that one. I could definitely spend less time on Facebook and more time journaling.

Speaking of journaling… it’s a great way to declutter the mind because you’re essentially extracting those thoughts and putting them on paper where they won’t take up valuable storage space in your brain. Ever read Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way? Morning pages.

“Morning Pages are three pages of longhand, stream of consciousness writing, done first thing in the morning. There is no wrong way to do Morning Pages– they are not high art. They are about anything and everything that crosses your mind– and they are for your eyes only.”

1. Keep, print out, or download your bank statements with records of all payments you make throughout the year. Create a folder on your desktop and file statements as you received them. There’s nothing more frustrating than digging for evidence that you paid for something at 11 PM on April 14th.

2. Start your tax organization for 2012 NOW! Find a nice file folder like the Smead Expanding Pocket File Folder for your paystubs, 1099′s, and W-2′s, and any receipts for possible deductions including medical expenses and charitable donations.  This way you won’t be tearing through the house wondering where you put a small piece of paper eight months ago.  This can also come in handy in the event that you move and need to alert employers of your current address.

3. Use a scanning system like Neat Receipts to catalog receipts. Systems like these can help you summarize expenses and keep accurate records for easier income tax filing.

4. Employ the services of a professional income tax preparer.  They can maximize your deductions and help you avoid troubles with the IRS at the time of filing, but they can also work with you throughout the year to make smart choices.

5. Start saving for estimated taxes now. Putting away even 5-10% of your monthly income toward your taxes can save you a headache next year. Let’s admit it – we are a culture of spenders not savers and coming out of pocket for taxes can put a huge dent in your lifestyle.  By saving throughout the year, you can create your own IRS Rain Day Fund!

If you need additional help with organizing your files, give Clean and Easy a call at 424-354-9735. We can set you up now with a system that you can put into place and use throughout the year! Check the website at http://www.cleanandeasy.biz for more details!

The first is TRADE PAL Their goal is facilitate your year-long online garage sale with friends. You can buy, trade, and sell through your friends. It’s free when you barter. It’s free when you buy. It’s free to list. And when you sell, you pay a flat fee of 6%. Find them on twitter at @tradepalLA!

The second business I’ll highlight today is TAG SELL IT. Tag Sell It is a second-hand social marketplace that handles yard sales, flea markets, estate sales and consignment shops online. They also have resources online like checklists to help you get organized! Find them on twitter at @tagsellit!

And if you’re in a place where you just need to shred it, look out for your neighborhood’s free shredding day events. In West Hollywood, there will be free document shredding and electronic waste collection from 9am-3pm Saturday May 14 at 8300 Santa Monica Boulevard!

If the clutter in your life isn’t helping you create the life you want, get rid of it!

Here’s the full address in case the link isn’t working: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/susanjsohn/2011/04/13/real-life-with-susan-friends

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=194517237234868

Sending good energy your way Ashburn!