ARE YOU A NEW SIESTA MAGAZINE READER?
If so, then the message below if for you!
Since the STRESSED.PRESSED.MESSED newsmail began in January of 2006, it has grown in length and popularity, now reaching multiple states in the US as well as several European countries. As SPM strives to offer a fresh look with each issue, Siesta Magazine has moved all contents to this blogspot site, which was created back in the spring of 2009. For those subscribing to Siesta Magazine through standard e-mails, reminder e-mails for the Siesta Magazine link discontinued last month. All subscribers who wish to continue reading each issue may keep this website address in their favourites and refer to it on the first of each month.
www.siestamagazine.blogspot.com
Thank you for understanding about STRESSED.PRESSED.MESSED simplifying! It just proves that SPM practices what it preaches!
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"SOUTH OF BROAD WINDOW BOXES" - Charleston, SC ~ DeNitto ©2010
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
+ SPEAKING OF SIESTAS!
+ THE BOOK CORNER
+ PICK OF THE MONTH
+ RECIPE OR COOKBOOK OF THE MONTH **COOKBOOK PART IS NEW!
+ GREEN LIVING TIPS
+ TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS
+ MOM TIME
+ SPECIAL FEATURE OF THE MONTH
+ QUOTE OF THE MONTH
+ PHOTO OF THE MONTH
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+ SPEAKING OF SIESTAS!
{ Pictured: Ulysses resting from his little kitty journey. DeNitto © 2006 } A siesta /siːˈɛstə/, original Spanish pronunciation [ˈsjesta] is a short nap taken in the early afternoon, often after the midday meal. Such a period of sleep is a common tradition in some hot countries. The word siesta is Spanish, from the Latin hora sexta - "the sixth hour" (counting from dawn, therefore noon, hence "midday rest").At SPM the true definition is taken a bit further. If a nap is not possible, but there is enough time allowed for any other type of break, it is strongly encouraged to take advantage of that precious moment. As long as the mind and body can rest for a short period as often as possible during the work week, it can only enhance the quality of living.
Each month, learn more facts about SIESTAS and how you may benefit from taking them into your daily routine.
Below are May's SIESTA TIPS/FACTS:
CLEAR YOUR BRAIN
STUDY SHOWS NAPS IMPROVE LEARNING ABILITY
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+ THE BOOK CORNER
This section offers ideas for books related to various subjects including organizing, designing, lifestyle improvements, humour, business, psychology and green living. During the year, the occasional novel or biography may also slip into an issue.
: BOOK RECOMMENDATION FOR MAY :
TITLE: Spent
AUTHOR: Sally Palaian, Ph.D.
COPYRIGHT: 2009
ISBN-13: 9781592856992
Written by licensed clinical psychologist, Palaian specializes in treating those with addictive behaviors. She helps overspeanders take better control of spending habits, as well as hoarders who have the tendency to make more purchases than they can afford, much less store appropriately in their homes.
SPENT
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+ PICK OF THE MONTH
WATERTIGHT!!
Whether you are dealing with heat and humidity near the coast or a musty dusty basement in the city, having certain items sealed up better can save them from odors, water damage, dust or pests.
The Container Store is offering this great storage box for such items in need of super sealing!
WATERTIGHT STORAGE BOX
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+ RECIPE OR COOKBOOK OF THE MONTH
SUMMER SALAD WITH A TOUCH OF GREECE
There is something very satisfying about a pasta salad with Greek flair! To view the recipe online, click on the link below:
GREEK SUMMER PASTA SALAD RECIPE
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+ GREEN LIVING TIPS
It's time to Greeganize!!! (an official SPM term!)
May Tip:
ORGANIZING MAGAZINES AFTER BREAKFAST?
Earth Day doesn't have to stay in the past. Why not make it Earth Year? It's not a challenge to think of ways to recycle! Even something as simple as a cereal box can have a new purpose!
We all know that magazine files can be found in a cost range from about $5 to $40, depending on the material they are constructed from. Yet, each file still has the same purpose- to store magazines or booklets and newsletters. Standard cereal boxes happen to accommodate many magazine sizes and repurpose the box that supplied you with a number of breakfasts. By simply cutting the box in the shape of a magazine file, you can then spray paint or glue a collage over the cereal company design, making your file boxes completely customized to your office or home! This is a great project for anyone wanting to save money and organize at the same time and can be a big hit with kids, too!
MAGAZINE FILE EXAMPLES
Now is the time to embrace the green.......
>>In future issues, Siesta Magazine will offer more tips or product guidelines with the latest information on how to adopt routines of green living!
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+ TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS
YES TO THIS... NO TO THAT
When is it time to set boundaries and guard your time better for YOU?
When an opportunity falls into place, you don't want to say no. But, can you really say yes?
I often tell clients to take inventory of their possessions. I also often tell clients to take inventory of their TIME. I have special exercises in which I have asked clients to make a list of every possible thing that they find themselves involved in or at least somehow affiliated with. I ask them to write it all down and then add it all up. Sometimes to view on paper how much, as well as where, a person's time is related to can be very surprising. To see it all written down is a way of realizing where time disappears. To see if all written down is a way to consider the levels of importance for each moment spent in certain areas or with certain people.
This list is not to coincide with a calendar. It's simply a list of every possible involvement one finds occupying their time.
Below is an example:
This photo is of a fictitious list to be used as an example of a typical brainstorm of someone writing down all of the activities in which they spent time. As you can see, by the bottom of the paper, they were running out of room and added to the very top of the paper.
After reviewing the list, there was careful thought placed on the importance of each activity as well as how long the involvement had been with each organization or cause, etc. It was also realized that friends, much less family were even factored into the original list. Notations were made on the list, crossing out activities which were either lengthly or not working out as desired. Friends and family were added to the top of the list and circled as very important. Other notations were made as to which activities or memberships were to end or to be cut back.Again, this is a typical example of what time management clients exercise with when inquiring about how to justify their time and how to spread their commitments more evenly in a day, a week, a month or even in a year.
It's not as difficult to say NO as one would imagine.
No one's feelings need to be hurt. Your time is just that, YOUR time. We all want to help others in any way we can, but it is still vital for US to set up boundaries as to how much time we can offer while being able to reserve time for ourselves, as well as our families, friends, work and leisure periods.
There are 24 hours a day and those hours should be used wisely. If we spread our time too thinly, we are not only creating an unjust scene for ourselves, but for others, as well. It is not unfair to voice a "NO" answer from time to time when it is known that the time offered cannot be that of a productive amount, assuring quality. It's easy to feel like we are to disappoint if we voice a no answer. However, it's not nearly the disappointment as to have voiced a yes answer only to be unable to keep a commitment.
In the sense of managing time, it is important to keep certain key words in mind. A partial sampling of such key words are listed below.
> DESIRE
> RESPONSIBILITY
> QUALITY
> BENEFIT
> COMMITMENT
> OPPORTUNITY
> TEMPORARY
> INDEFINITE
> CONSTANT
> ONCE
> ALWAYS
No one can be expected to handle everything. It's best to choose wisely within personal, as well as professional boundaries and never be afraid to voice a "no" answer when it is necessary.
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+ MOM TIME
FORWARD: A note from SPM MOM...
During the early 1990's, as a mother raising two children through their first years, I now learn of many new products that are thrilling to me, even with my empty nest. I often find myself wishing that some of them were available 22 years ago. Below are neat links and ideas to products or educational items currently on today's market for parents to explore for their children-- babies through college students!
KIDS & GARAGE SALES!
When my own children were growing up at home, it was a regular routine for me to present them each with a laundry basket attached to the request to go through the entire contents of their rooms to collect items that they had either outgrown, not longer used, never really liked or never needed. As this is a splendid activity for children to become involved with for an annual spring cleaning, we found it necessary to be done about three to four times per year. Always to my pleasant surprise, they were both able to fill their baskets each time with items that they were willing to release either to hand down to younger children, donate or sell.
When it came to the items to sell, my kids didn't seem time mind too much at the notion of a garage sale. Once, we even had a fun garage sale shared with our fellow neighbor friends. Sharing a garage sale date with a neighbor or friend can make such an event more enjoyable and seem like less of a chore. With beverages and snacks or even a full lunch delivery and background music, a garage sale can be a social event in which money is also made.
Kids can become involved by learning social skills, appropriate handling of money and increasing their youthful growth in understanding commitment. They can be rewarded for their efforts with a deposit to their bank account or biggy banks, as well as the promise of a new book, toy, game or clothing item.
Below are links from our most common charitable organization which sell the donations we tend to make. These links can be used to refer to when trying to determine prices for having a garage sale.
VALUATION GUIDE - SALVATION ARMY
VALUATION GUIDE - GOODWILL
To this day, the regular habit of requesting that my children go through their belongings live on. Even though I find myself with an empty nest, I still have some items remaining in my home for my adult children to sort through and determine what they wish to keep and what they are willing to let go of. Our next --and possibly, our final-- event of "sorting" is just two weeks away. As a parent, I look forward to observing what their feelings are toward each of the boxes of items from their childhood. Originally, I had planned to have a garage sale in April. But, guess what? Recalling their visit home together reminded me that perhaps it would be in my best interest to postpone such a sale in case they had numerous contributions. Hint! Hint! Dear Children! This is Mommy's new plan...
I shall be pulling out those laundry baskets very soon!
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+ SPECIAL FEATURE OF THE MONTH
CAN'T FIND YOUR RICE?...
When you want to prepare a meal and can't find all of the ingredients, it only causes a delay in satisfying you hunger. Heaven forbid that there might be others in the house who rely on your kitchen skills to keep them well fed and healthy. How about creating a perfect meal idea, only to find that the main ingredient is either full of tiny bugs or out of date?
If you seem to have the constant battle of losing track of what's in your pantry by the points below, it may serve you well to clear out and start all over with fresh organization.
- can't find certain ingredients when ready to prepare a meal
- inconveniently find a spill that has caused damage to the shelving and other foods stored in same area
- find flour or cereal that was not properly sealed and attacted bugs, creating a mess and wasting the foods
- forget that certain foods were ever purchased and by the time they are found, they are long expired and not suitable for human consumption
- spot a product label near the back, but because it's not checked for quantity, it is believed that there is enough to cook with-- only to find that there is not enough
- have items in the pantry which are not foods and in some cases, may not have any connection to food, much less the kitchen, which take up valuable space for foods
- "big sales" sometimes mean "big quantities" with no adequate space for storing such deals, leaving the pantry to overflow and take up space for other items which may be more needed, as well as the fact that with such large quantities of certain foods, they may expire before being consumed, in which case, the sale price becomes useless
- pantry is deep or high, therefore making a complete chore out of finding a simple bag of rice or a box of brown sugar
HOW does one cope with so many pantry issues??
It may not be nearly as difficult as one would find. Simple steps to give a new life to the pantry are a great way to be able to enjoy preparing meals with ease and avoiding delays or unnecessary trips to the grocery stores.
You may begin with these simple steps below:
- Remove everything from the pantry-- everything!
- Clean out shelves, checking for spills, bug infestations, faulty shelving or pegs, etc.
- Adjust any shelves which may make parts of the pantry more accessible, if possible.
- If you feel that the pantry is too dingy to your liking, consider a fresh paint job of the entire area or just the shelving. (If it's too dark and there is no built-in lighting, invest in as many battery operated wall lights as necessary.)
- Once the pantry is completely cleared and cleaned, turn to the contents and begin weeding out items that you do not wish to return to the fresh pantry.
- Inspect all products thoroughly and weed out any expired or damaged products and move directly to an available trash bag for immediate disposal.
- Begin to sort "like" items. For example, keep all rices and noodles together, all canned goods together, all breads together, etc.
- For small items, such as jello boxes, food colouring bottles or snack bars, find containers for such items to be stored in. Baskets, clear plastic boxes and even metal tins make wonderful containers for small food products. This way, they don't fall and get lost on lower shelves or on the floor to be forgotten about and expired, as well as the fact that when you want something small, it will always be within better reach by simply pulling the entire container out to find what you need and returning it to the proper shelf with ease.
- Label containers when you have several out of eye view on higher shelves or that are not used too often, such as for baking items.
- For kids or adults who need such snacks as meal bars for exercising and/or special dieting, designate a container meant just for them so that they are able to help themselves without having to inquire where those smaller items may be.
- Stack cans and place boxes according to what foods they contain, making it easier to take an inventory when making lists for grocery trips. Have labels where they are clearly read.
- Keep track of foods with quick perishable dates, such as breads. Also, take note of crackers and cereals tasting stale or seeming less crunchy than they should be. These foods need to be stored in containers which seal well.
- Keep condiments, syrups, oils, etc. together. In case of a spill, at least the item will be in an area with other bottles and jars in which the spill cannot damage a box or bag of dry food. The best idea for storing such liquids is to stand them up in a deep plastic bin which can be pulled out and cleaned easily if such a spill did occur.
- For those small gravy, sauce, dip or dressing packets, file them in a container in alphabetical order, saving a lot of time searching for the specific packet you need. Obviously, a packet of au jus is going to be near the front, a pesta packet in the middle and a packet of turkey gravy mix will be near the end of the container.
- Keep heavier items in lower shelves and lightweights in higher shelves.
- Keep items that are used most frequently in the most accessible, eye-level shelves.
- Designate a shelf for kids including healthy snacks, juices and water bottles within their safe reach with the understanding that they are allowed to serve themselves or can request permission to reach for certain foods in this designated spot at certain times of day.
- Before each grocery trip, take inventory of what in low quantity, as well as what is in high quantity so as not to forget making a purchase as well as not doubling what is not necessary.
The key to a well stocked pantry is keeping it decluttered, clean and contained. This makes it much easier to keep up with and will help to avoid delays in food preparation or illness when a food is out of date. Having items contained for easier access, added freshness and/or to avoid spills is also a huge help.
Below are photos of pantry containers, as well as links to plastic food organizers which are great for certain types of foods or beverages.
COFFEE STATION
PACKET ORGANIZER
PACKET OR BOX ORGANIZER
NOODLE & RICE BAG ORGANIZER
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+ QUOTE OF THE MONTH
For everything you have missed, you have gained something else; and for everything you gain, you lose something else. --Ralph Waldo Emerson
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+ PHOTO OF THE MONTH
"SOUTH OF BROAD WINDOW BOXES No. 2" - Charleston, SC DeNitto ©2010
