Three three three! Links for people on-the-go! Like gogurt.

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+ From Jell-O to Ballet, 7 Ordinary Things is Extraordinary Slow-Motion. You get what you expect: pure awe (-someness).

+ How to ruthlessly de-clutter your life - without being a total jerk about it. I all over this! Non-jerky de-cluttering is completely brill.

+ Clea.nr, a browser extension that turns youtube into a minimalist’s heaven. It also makes it much more pretty. I totally approve, unsurprisingly!

What I got over-the-top excited about this week:

+ The Avengers! I haven’t seen it yet, but I will tomorrow, and I’m already obsessed! The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heros animated show (on Netflix) is holding me over. It makes me want to start reading comics. Wasn’t I nerdy enough? NOPE!

+ A CAMP! This past weekend I went to Camp Autostraddle in Angelus Oaks, and had an incredible time! I met amazing people, saw great panels (of the awesomely queer variety), took a photography class with Robin Roemer (!!!), and had high tea, among other things. It was like I was in another world, really. A little insane. Generally pretty awesome.

+ Quick-fire ♥: new music (Rufus Wainwright, Santigold, Anya Marina...) // new opportunities (how vague can I be, right?) // planning photo shoots // a new lens and remote for my camera (!) // discussing photography endlessly and learning mass amounts // both living out of a suitcase and then not // new green/gray leaf patterned pillowcases (Target!) // winged eyeliner experimentation // new books // not being sick // Spring flowers! // Childish Gambino Concert in Sacramento // Japanese Tea Gardens in San Francisco

5 things that will make you feel more Virgo right now (third)

1. Wash your sheets.

There’s nothing like that clean and fresh feeling of newly washed sheets. If you wash your sheets every week like most people recommend, then this won’t really be a thing. However, if it’s been a while (or you can’t really remember the last time this happened), doing this pronto will set your mind at ease and make your dreams tonight that much sweeter. And less gross.

2. Throw out a few things that are obviously junk.

Sometimes it’s hard to know where to start with organizing, especially with purging stuff. The solution? Start with the easiest things to get rid of. This might include: empty shampoo bottles, makeup past its expiration date, food past its expiration date, junky mail (and junk email), old magazines and catalogs you’re not going to read, broken things, clothing with stains or rips, old toothbrushes, and generally any duplicates in a situation where you only need one. I know these are sort of no-brainers, but it’s surprising how many of these things we have when we look around our house. Into the bin they go!

3. Take a nature walk.

There’s not a lot to this one: put on shoes you can walk in. Go outside (preferably to a beautiful and possibly wooded area). WALK. Okay, there’s also breathing and the release of thoughts going on, but you don’t have to think about doing that. It just happens. Walking is magical like that.

4. Host a clothing swap.

Fun, a way to get new clothing that isn’t bad for the environment, and an excellent way to get rid of clothing that doesn’t work for you, but could be perfect for someone else! Just make sure all of the leftover stuff gets donated immediately to your local takes-your-old-stuff place (Goodwill is a favorite of mine in addition to other thrift stores), so you won’t get stuck with it. Also, a great excuse to deep-clean your closet.

5. Make your own salt scrub.

Soothing, exfoliating, skin softener, spa staple, and easy DIY project. What’s not to like?   As far a recipes go, I like these lavender and citrus sea salt scrubs. Basically, you want to mix sea salt and an oil (like olive or coconut) with a few dashes of an essential oil. Very simple, totally worth it.


If you missed it, here's Part 1 and Part 2 of 5 Virgo Things to Do!

[Sources: 1 2 3 4 5]

Decluttering small spaces, 10 minute room cleanup, Quantum Mechanics, and a trio of geektastic videos.

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+ Top Five Strategies for Decluttering a Small Space.

“...In other words, embrace the fact that you have stuff and like to have certain things around — that's what makes you interesting. Just find a way to manage it all so you don't feel overwhelmed by it.”

+ Small Cool 2012 Entries. Tiny houses/apartments/studios with a ton of style. Very inspiring!

+ Blik shop. The most awesome wall decals ever.

+ How to clean your room in 10 minutes. An unconventional, but wholly useful guide! Sometimes it just has to be fast and impressive.

+ How Long is a Piece of String? BBC and Comedian Alan Davies Explore Quantum Mechanics. Fascinating! I’ve loved Alan Davies ever since I started watching QI.

+ 7 Essential Skills You Didn’t Learn in College. This is an older article collection/class from Wired, but it’s still awesome.

+ A while ago, I took a survey on Alexandra Franzen’s website which entered me into a raffle - with a prize:

“...And! ONE LUCKY TYCOON will be selected (by randomizing robots) for a 60-minute one-woman think tank throwdown, with me. Topic: anything you want — from packaging your skills to pricing your shizz to pitching your wares to poetry, life purpose & beyond.”

I bet you know what’s coming next: I won! Miracle of miracles! Joy of joys! Alexandra Franzen is one of my all-time favorite bloggers, so this is completely amazing.

♡: new ombre hair courtesy of Megan Regan! // photoshoots in an enchanted forest (Montgomery Woods) // lots of shopping // crossing things off my to do list! // watching The Legend of Korra! So incredibly good. It has everything I loved about The Last Airbender: hilarity, heart, and amazing fight scenes. But so many new things, too! // Rewatching The Middleman // Mini spa day: manicure, clay face mask, foot scrub, argon oil hair treatment! // Watching The Goonies for the first time // Hunger Games for the third time! I’m a little obsessed. // Vegan Mint Chip Milkshakes.

Feng Shui: 3 tips you could implement right now.

Organizing and clearing clutter is all about making a space feel good, releasing negative energy and adding positive energy, and creating a personal paradise. Not boring, and very powerful! Here are just three tips I learned from a session on Feng Shui taught by Debbie Bowie (of the Rock Scissors Paper Institute) at the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) conference.

1. The power position.

This is something new to me, but makes a lot of sense. In an office, the power position is sitting with a wall behind you and a full view of the door. It’s as simple as that! Change to this, and watch yourself become more productive, calm, and - you guessed it - powerful.

2. Fix or get rid of anything that is broken.

Broken energy = negative energy. In fact, broken things attract negative energy in the form of money and health problems. Good news! You can totally avoid this! All you have to do is identify what’s broken in your house (old coffee maker? ancient printer? stained dress?) and either fix it or toss it out. Broken stuff completely relates to Debbie’s idea that clutter is postponed decisions. Postpone no more! I swear you’ll feel 100% better and way more in control of your space.

3. Limit your static stuff.

Static stuff is stuff that is not moving or being used, and basically has no life: in other words, it is dead. I know that sounds kind of harsh! However, static stuff can accumulate in a lot of places, and it has a clogged, negative energy. Trust me, you don’t want it! It’s difficult to get to the point where you have no static stuff at all, but you can certainly limit it.

So, where does static stuff usually hang out? Storage! You know, garages, attics, off-site storage areas, and closets. The fix? Go though that stuff! Do you need it? Do you use it? Do you love it? If you answer no, then it goes (“Love it, use it, or lose it!”). Sometimes things that have been stuck in a closet and are dead can come alive again if you move them to a place where you can see them and access them. If you come across an object that you really love, make sure you let it live! It’s really doing nobody any good in the back of the closet.

[Sources: 1 2 3 4]

Youtube and blogging workshop sessions at the National Association of Professional Organizers conference and what I took away from them.

At the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) Conference in Baltimore, there are these workshops every day. Some are sessions everyone goes to (like the keynotes), but a lot of times you get to choose which subjects you really want to learn about. Does it surprise you that I usually chose anything related to technology, the internet, or social media? Did you know I like rhetorical questions?

Moving right along.

Two of my favorite presentations of the entire conference were both by Rich Brooks of Flyte New Media. Both were about the internet, so of course I loved it, but I also thought that the information was interesting and enlightening. And I took notes! Want to take a peek and see some of my thoughts on what was essentially classes about the internet? Sure you do!

YouTube.

Okay, so a class about YouTube sounds a little strange, like the presentation would be called “Charlie the Unicorn, Rickrolling, and Honey Badgers*: A Study in Memes”. By strange I mean awesome! However, it was not like that, but it was actually really great. Even with a lack of Maru.

Basically, what I learned was I have got to start making videos. There’s no two ways about it. I’m not pressuring myself or anything, but video can sometimes just be better, easier, and more effective than other alternatives. I knew video was a great way to do things, I just didn’t know that it was something I could be doing right now. After his talk I have a bunch of ideas on things I should do. Now I just have to get to them. Even if I start with just my iphone camera!

This is also an idea that I’d love to see other people use! There are skills that my friends have (in cooking, makeup, etc.) that I think would make great how-to/tip videos. It does take effort, but I think it’s a really fun way to spread knowledge and make things.

What would you make videos about?

seo and keywords.

I knew what seo was (search engine optimization, of course!) but putting it into practice? I had no clue. We ran through the basic plugins, but there’s potential for content and trend related knowledge with seo and keywords. When you use a site like a keyword analyzer (the google adwords keyword tool, for example), you can discover what people are searching for and tailor your content to be more findable, or more needed. Let me explain the needed part. Stats on google keywords include not only how many people search, but also how competitive the keyword subject is. If you choose to write on a topic that is popular, but not competitive, you’re filling a needed gap in the internet (who knew there even were gaps?).

It’s kind of a marketing/popularity tactic, which in execution can be sleazy and inauthentic if the intent is bad. It doesn’t have to be that way at all, though! Finding out what your audience might want to know about is a good thing - helps you, helps them!

blogging.

Since the presentation about blogging was at a conference for mainly small business owners, the focus was somewhat on marketing. All of that was really useful, however, the part I liked most was viewing blogging as a way to answer questions. Here’s how I think about it: find a gap, and fill it with what you know, what you like, and what people want to know about. This isn’t exactly what Rich said, but it’s what I discovered from from his talk that interests me about having a blog!

There was also a huge amount of stuff that I learned about blogging and marketing, plus a bunch of other new (to me) ideas. But that’s for me to know and for you to learn - he says it best!

*He did mention honey badgers in his presentation, though. Dun dun dun dun: HONEY BADGER!

(Source: 1)

Spring cleaning, ways to tie a scarf, and Hunger Games cookies.

+ This past week I was at (or preparing for) the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO) Annual Conference and Organizing Exposition in Baltimore! So much fun, but at times a lot to handle! Jet lag, layovers, 800+ women (and a few men) all in the same place, excitement, sleep deprivation, sessions, keynotes, workshops, and expos! There will be posts about the conference next week, but for now I leave you with links that probably could have been posted last week if I had any spare time or internet. Which I didn’t. Sorry.

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+ 40 Secret iPhone Features and Shortcuts. 

+ Colorful Bamboo Tray Organizer Craft.

+ Hunger Games cookies! I just saw The Hunger Games, and it was amazing. I’m a big fan of the books, so even with my high expectations, it was really good. Now, I want to make these cookies really badly, but I think my cookie making skillz are not quite that mad. Anyway, how did you feel about the movie adaption? Disappointing, or totally awesome? Spill. Minus spoilers, if possible!

+ Mercury Retrograde Weekend Tips: Organize Your Life.

+ Daily Truthbomb 15:

“Editing assignment: get rid of the clothes you don’t LOVE this week. And while you’re clearing them out, with each item, name and release a negative opinion about yourself.”

Don’t just sit there! Do this! I am all over this idea.

+ Happy Spring Equinox, and a call to action for spring cleaning!

+ Speaking of spring cleaning, here’s a one-a-day challenge.

+ Recipe organization. Cool ideas in the comments!

+ Hipster Branding, a tumblr. Should be funny, actually kind of great. I’m a sucker for hipster-type graphic design!

+ Photos of sorting through junk from The Dainty Squid.

+ 50+ Ways to Tie a Scarf, the scarf tying index! Pretty much the best thing.

+ Rainbow French Tipped Manicure. I totally love this! I want to try it soon, I just need a nude polish, then I’m set!

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Three links, three pictures, three videos.

+ Nerdy Day Trips. From the about page: 

“I am a very big fan of nerdy day trips, from Sea Forts to abandoned nuclear bunkers, dead victorian racecourses, roads that are falling into the ground, narrow gauge railways that take you to a power station, wherever. I like decaying infrastructure, terrifying modernity, and enthusiast-run museums with 6 pages of small-font text explaining every exhibit (looking at you, Bletchley Park).”

Sold! Sign me up now!

+ The Quirky Girl Timeline. I think they forgot about Katharine Hepburn in Bringing Up Baby, but other than that I found it very entertaining.

+ Into the Wild: “These games will take you places. What happens there is up to you.” Girls talking about video games, of course! It makes me want to buy a Wii just to play Super Mario Bros. Wii. Well, that and marathoning Hank & Katherine Play Super Mario Bros. Wii.

+ I love the jumping photos on The Dainty Squid, so I wanted to give them a shot (ha!) with my friend Megan! This was taken in San Francisco on the roof of the California Academy of Sciences (I had an amazing time there, by the way).

+ I also thrifted in San Francisco and these boots and cat eye glasses were my favorite finds (taken with Instagram).