Let's celebrate the Valentine’s Day love! The "Be Mine" Organizing Giveaway is here! I've put together some of my favorite goodies that are fun and fabulous. We're talking The Container Store $25 gift card, Tate's mouth watering Chocolate Chip Cookies, Anne Taintor's sticky notes and so much more!

During the three plus years I’ve been writing The Other Side of Organized blog, an amazing community of people including you, have come together to share ideas about change, clutter, organizing, letting go, life balance, and more. My deepest gratitude goes to you for your wonderful feedback, tweets, posts, reviews, and support. If you haven't already done so, I personally invite you to join in the conversation and of course, enter the contest.

The “Be Mine” Organizing Giveaway of goodies was selected to organize, inspire, relax, and delight you. It's worth over $100. The winner will receive everything described below:

• The Container Store $25 gift card
• “Had she really hit Reply to All?!?!?” Sticky Notes from Anne Taintor
• Oh, So Organized! coffee mug
• “get relaxed” Tea from The Republic of Tea
• Starbucks $25 gift card
• Tate’s Chocolate Chip cookies
• Hershey’s Kisses
• Tribeca bin from The Container Store
• “To Do” clothespin
• Autographed copy of The Other Side of Organized by Linda Samuels

I know you can't wait to win this handpicked selection of my favorites! The “Be Mine” Organizing Giveaway starts on February 5th. One winner will be picked on February 11th. There's no time like the present to enter. Keep reading and act now!

Contest Rules:

• Comment on this blog post below about what you love to organize, what you're passionate about, or your most treasured Valentine's Day tradition or memory.
• Comment about the giveaway on the Oh, So Organized! Facebook page.
• Re-tweet about this giveaway on Twitter and include @LindaSamuels when you do.
• Subscribe to The Other Side of Organized free monthly e-newsletter for continued inspiration and motivation.
• Follow Oh, So Organized! on Pinterest and let me know which of my boards you like best by commenting on this blog post.
• Comment on Pinterest about Oh, So Organized!’s “Organize for Winter” video.
• Do one or all of the above to enter. The more you do, the more times your name will be entered to win (up to 6 total entries!)

Come join the conversation about love, chocolate, organizing and more. What are your thoughts? I’m looking forward to hearing your “voice.” Happy Valentine’s Day! Wishing you love and luck!

@2012 Photo by Linda SamuelsValentine’s Day includes some of my favorite things including hearts, cards, sparkles, chocolate, flowers, and most importantly, love. It’s a day for gratitude and reminding the special people in your life how much they mean to you.

I’ve been writing The Other Side of Organized blog for over two years. The blog has gathered a community of people that enjoy conversing and sharing ideas about organizing and life balance. It’s a gift to all of us when you stop by to join the conversation, leave comments, reflect or ask questions. I am thankful for you and all that you continue to share.

To celebrate my favorite holiday and appreciation of you, I’m having a V-Day Organizing Giveaway beginning today, February 14^th. One winner will be selected on February 20^th.  For the giveaway description and contest rules, continue reading.

The V-Day Organizing Giveaway includes goodies that will organize, inspire, relax and delight you. The winner will receive everything described below:

• The Container Store $25 gift card
• Semicolon Document Box from See Jane Work
• Task Clips by Knock Knock
• One Word A Day Journal by Knock Knock
• Dove Chocolate Hearts
• Autographed copy of The Other Side of Organized by Linda Samuels

Contest Rules:

• Comment on this blog post below with your favorite Valentine’s Day thought, memory, tradition, organizing tip or challenge
• Comment about the giveaway on the Oh, So Organized! Facebook page
• Re-tweet this giveaway on Twitter and include @LindaSamuels when you do
• Subscribe to The Other Side of Organized free monthly e-newsletter for continued inspiration and motivation
• Follow Oh, So Organized! on Pinterest and let me know which of my boards is your favorite
• Do one or all of the above to enter. The more you do, the more times your name will be entered to win (up to 5 total entries!)

What are your thoughts on this love-filled day? I look forward to our conversation about love, chocolate, organizing and more. Happy Valentine’s Day! Wishing you all good luck!

Jackson Pollock, painter

Do you ever have so many thoughts twirling around your brain that it feels as cluttered as a room full of stuff? It seems like our thoughts have nowhere to go and that our heads could burst. We jump from one idea to the next. We lose focus. We feel frazzled. We have no clarity. Details and minutia cloud the big picture. This is mind clutter.

I’ve experienced it and I know many of you have too. Unlike physical clutter, we can’t donate our mind clutter. We can’t toss it in the trash. However, we can do some things. Recently when my mind felt too full, I tried a few techniques that worked.  Perhaps a combination of these ideas mixed with some of your own solutions will help you the next time your mind is feeling cluttered.

8 Ways to Release Mind Clutter

• Grab a Pen – Whether you prefer traditional writing or typing on a keyboard, recording your thoughts to another medium helps to release and make sense of them. Whether you make a list, short bullet points or long paragraphs, the act of transferring the thoughts will reduce your mind clutter.

• Invite a Distraction – Let your mind wander by shifting the focus away from within to an external distraction like watching a movie or reading a book. The focus on a different “story” can help suspend the frazzled feelings.

• Unleash Creativity – Pull out the colored pencils, paints or instruments. Bake a cake or knit a sweater. Find a creative outlet to help loosen your thoughts and unclutter your brain.

• Be Kind to Self – It’s stressful when our thoughts are cluttered. Feeling this way is temporary. Go easy on yourself during these times. Take good care by getting enough sleep, hydration and nutrition.

• Initiate a Conversation – Another great way to release mind clutter is to share your thoughts with a friend or family member. Talking and being listened to, even if there is no resolution, can be a great way to gain perspective and organize your thoughts.

• Change the Scenery – Getting away from your customary environment to another location, can help to reduce mind clutter. It could be something simple like going for a walk or more elaborate like exploring a new town or destination.

• Play Some Tunes – Listening to music can greatly improve your mood and help release extraneous thoughts. Singing or dancing along is an added benefit. I’ve recently started hula hooping to loud, upbeat music. Aside from being fun, it’s great exercise and helps me refocus.

• Eat Some Chocolate – I admit that eating chocolate goes against my healthy eating and exercising suggestions. It’s just that as a chocolate lover, I have to fess up that indulging in a bit of it helps me when my mind gets too cluttered. There are some other benefits to eating chocolate. The operative word here is moderation. I’m not suggesting a chocolate-fest, but a piece or two.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about releasing internal clutter. What works for you when your mind is cluttered?

My “Things That Make Me Happy” list includes celebrating Valentine’s Day. This holiday combines some of my favorite things such as love, chocolate, sparkly hearts and romance. As a kid, I remember waking up on Valentine’s Day to a breakfast table decorated with construction paper hearts made by my mom. She stapled them together into pockets and slipped Nestlé’s Crunch bars inside them. My dad signed the valentines too with his unique “cartoon” signature. Not only did we enjoy getting chocolate for breakfast, but also we felt especially loved.

As our girls grew up, my husband and I created our own Valentine’s Day traditions. Making valentine cards was an elaborate and joyful event. We’d bring out the craft supplies and the girls and I would sit around for hours making cards and writing notes to all the special people in our life. Valentine’s Day breakfast was and still is part of the celebration. I love to decorate the table, make strawberry muffins or chocolate waffles with fresh berries, and share Valentine’s Day cards and small gifts with my family. Chocolate is always involved.

Mainly, though, it’s a day to stop and remind those that you love how much they mean to you. It’s a day about love, gratitude, passion and let’s not forget chocolate.

So, what does any of this have to do with organizing? There are organizing systems that surround traditions, including Valentine’s Day. Here are some ideas:

• V-day Card-Making: Do you have a place where you can easily store all your card-making needs? Use a box or drawer to house your paper, glitter, glue, tape, scissors, stickers and envelopes. When you’re done creating the cards, all supplies can return to their designated spot.

• V-day Card Memorabilia: What do you do with the cards and love letters you’ve received? I keep cards that have special heart-felt messages written on them, in a decorative box stored in a closet. The ones that are signed “love, _____,” I usually enjoy for about a week and then let them go.

• V-day Decorations: Whether you enjoy decorating the entire house or prefer to set the table in a Valentine’s Day theme, establish a place to store your V-day decorations. Depending upon the quantity, you might need one large plastic storage bin or only a portion of a shelf or drawer. A convenient storage location will make it easy to access, put away decorations and contain potential clutter.

• V-day Chocolate: As far as I can tell, there’s no need to organize or store it. Chocolate gets consumed so quickly (at least in our household) that it’s not an organizing challenge. For those that are adept at savoring their chocolate, consider storing it in some out of the way location like on a shelf that’s difficult to reach or in a box that’s impossible to open.

• V-day Lingerie: When you’re not wearing it, take care to store pieces carefully in drawers or on padded satin hangers. Place scented soap in your lingerie drawer to keep things smelling lovely. 

As promised, to celebrate one of my favorite holidays, the LOVE-ly Organizing Giveaway starts on February 7th.  One winner will be selected on February 14th.  For the giveaway description and contest rules, continue reading.

The LOVE-ly Organizing Giveaway includes goodies that will organize, inspire, relax and delight you. The winner will receive everything described below:

• ADD & Romance by Jonathan Halverstadt

• Starbucks $25 gift card

• Emily’s Dark Chocolate covered Fortune Cookies

• Barnes & Noble Red Mesh Zippered Pouches (set of 4)

• Red metal tin to organize cards and love letters

Contest Rules:

• Comment on this blog post below with your favorite Valentine’s Day thought, memory, tradition, organizing tip or challenge

• Comment about the giveaway on the Oh, So Organized! Facebook page

• Re-tweet this giveaway on Twitter and include  @LindaSamuels when you do

• Subscribe to The Other Side of Organized monthly e-newsletter for continued inspiration and motivation

• Do one or all of the above to enter. The more you do, the more times your name will be entered to win (up to 4 total entries!)

I look forward to our conversation about love, chocolate, organizing and more. Wishing you all good luck!