I spend a whole lot of time in my kitchen. Making breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a family of three takes a good portion of the day. Whether I’m whipping up kale and eggs for breakfast, chopping sweet potatoes for dinner, or just heating up leftovers from the night before, the vibe in my favorite space matters. If you’re like me and you spend much of your day chopping, whipping, or sautéing, why not make the most utilized room in your home a sanctuary?

Why a Peaceful Kitchen Matters

According to author of “Organically Raised,” Anni Daulter, “When you start cooking with a sense of the sacred in mind, you begin to see how your love for everything wells up in your heart. When you cook like this, every stew is special and every grain of rice is a miracle.”

Additionally, in yogic philosophy, it’s clear that prana or life force is present in all living things, including food. This means that you energetically impact the foods you prepare. Therefore, a cooking space should be similar to where you meditate, a peaceful place where you feel calm and focused. Not to mention that if you don’t cook often enough, an inviting kitchen may remind you why cooking is so fulfilling.

Remain Mindful While You Cook

Take some time before entering your kitchen to center. Breathe deeply for a few minutes or close your eyes for a short meditation. Visualize producing tasty, healthy, fresh fare for you or your family. While you’re cooking, try and remain mindful of the meal you’re preparing. Make meal preparation a meditation and every time your mind wanders, allow it to return back to the activity you’re doing. Don’t do anything else besides meal preparation. For example, jumping to other tasks like laundry, cleaning dishes, or straightening up the house.

How to Make Your Kitchen a Sanctuary

Transforming your kitchen into a place of refuge is easier than you think. These steps can help you make your kitchen a place where you’re excited to create tasty, fresh meals.

1. Cut the clutter

First of all, get all the junk out of your kitchen so you have room to maneuver. Less clutter is calming and peaceful. You don’t have to declutter all at once. Take your time and move drawer to drawer, pulling out what you no longer need. Got two versions of the same tool? Time to say goodbye to one of them (preferably the cheaper one). Never used that garlic crusher? Why not give it to someone who might? Every item in your kitchen should have meaning. Don’t let a stack of papers build up on the kitchen counter, either. Every so often go through and trash what you no longer need.

2. Give it a scrub down

Now that you’ve cleared the clutter, it’s time to give it a scrub down. Throw together a simple, chemical-free cleaner made with half water and half white vinegar with about ten drops of lemon essential oil. Take everything off the counters and wipe them down. Wipe down all of the appliances, inside and out. Wipe up any food remnants from the floor.

3. Make it foot-friendly

If you’re standing on your feet chopping, slicing, baking, or just reading recipes, it can get tiring. Treat yourself to some foot support. Consider the casa pura Anti Fatigue Mat ($33) or the NewLife by GelPro Professional Grade Anti-Fatigue Mat ($72). Both mats provide the support you need so that your back and your feet don’t take a beating in the kitchen.

4. Add in some tunes

Nothing feels quite as nice as cooking to some good tunes. Of course, it depends on what you’re in the mood for, but keep the tunes as calming as possible. Instead of watching television or listening to the news, choose some music that keeps you mindful.

5. Make a kitchen shrine

Make a kitchen shrine filled with sacred items. Add some shelving to the wall in your kitchen to present your favorite items. Choose soothing candles, images of special people, vases of flowers, incense, or whatever moves you.

6. Add an herb garden

You can’t get much fresher than growing food right in your kitchen. And what better way to amp up your cuisine than with the help of fresh herbs? A small kitchen garden also adds life to your kitchen (literally!) and prana to the food you’re preparing. It doesn’t have to be difficult. Just choose a sunny spot and plant a few herbs that you use often.

7. Organize your pantry

Take some time to organize your pantry so you can get to everything you use regularly. Go to a craft store and purchase some mason jars to store your essentials like flour, sugar, nuts, seeds, etc. Make sure all your favorite staples are properly marked and sealed so they last a long time.

8. Clean out your fridge

Cleaning out your fridge isn’t the most fun, but it’s essential to a peaceful space. Remove all the items from your fridge and wipe down everything with warm soap and water. Check all the expiration dates on condiments before placing them back on the shelf.

9. Dump super old leftovers

In yogic philosophy, foods that aren’t fresh and alive don’t contain prana, or life force. After a day or two, leftovers also lose their life force. The bottom line is to make sure that all the foods you serve are as fresh as possible. Processed, junk foods are also worth avoiding for the same reasons.

Any tips for how to make your kitchen a sanctuary? Do you spend a lot of time in the kitchen? How do you make it your own? Are you a mindful chef? We want to know! Drop us a line via Twitter @EcoSalon.

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Maximize your space and declutter your home.

For those of us living not living in Martha Stewart or Bill Gates-sized mansions space is always issue, and maximizing that space is the key to declutter your home and to creating a more zen-like space.

Even though we all try to avoid conspicuous consumption and hoarding, the accumulation of stuff happens. Whether you live alone in an urban apartment or you live with your partner, 3 children, 2 dogs and a cat in suburban ranch house, there never seems to be enough space to keep everything organized, in its place and have a clutter-free home. Having enough space to keep organized is directly relative to the amount of stuff and people you are trying to cram into your home.

The bills are always spread out across the table, your child’s homework projects are on the coffee table and/or the laundry is piled high waiting to be put away. Life happens and when it does, it’s messy. But, you can get on on top and exert some control over your space and stuff. There are solutions to declutter your home, maximize your space and maximizing your life as well.

Declutter your home, get more organized and maximize your space with these 5 space-saving tips and project ideas.

1. Add a Murphy bed. To add more space to your bedroom, consider investing in a Murphy bed. Murphy beds can range from the very pricey to more affordable options like those offered by Lori Wall Beds.
2. Create a room divider to separate a room into functions. For example, add a bookcase divider to separate your living space from a much needed home office that can be tucked away behind that bookcase. Here are some room divider project ideas.
3. Maximize the space under the stairs. For two-story homes, the under stairs space is often underutilized or just a catch all for junk. Get inspired by these solutions to reclaim the space under your stairs.
4. Go vertical. If you are like most people, the floor space in your home is packed. That’s when you go vertical. Adding shelves, tall cabinets, stacking and hanging storage can all increase your storage space. In the kitchen, consider adding hanging pot storage to maximize your space.
5. Hide it. When all else fails, hide your stuff away with hidden storage in your furniture. Coffee tables, ottomans, beds and sofas all have the potential to be used as storage. Try making this under the bed storage platform to store out of season clothing and shoes.

Related on EcoSalon

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How to Declutter Your Desk and Increase Productivity

Top Image:Jeremy Levine Design

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Your desk says a lot about you. Whether it’s your work desk or home workspace. Whether you work in the corporate world, in the non-profit sector or are self-employed, your desk and organization can speak volumes about your productivity and efficiency.

Organization and tidiness is key, no matter how many people say that they think better with clutter. Clutter and disorganization are both time wasters and in this busy hyper-connected world, you need to be organized to keep everything on track and maximize your effectiveness. Whether you use your new found extra time to work more or to play more–it’s up to you–but learn how to make more time by banishing clutter and creating organization.

 Tips to de-stress your desk…and your life.

1. Digital Desk

These days your desk is not just about paper; much of our work and our organization (or lack thereof) is done in the digital sphere. A messy digital desktop is just as bad as a messy physical desktop. Keep your desktop and hard drive organized and tidy by using folders and coming up with a filing system that works for you. Organize by project type, date, work in progress or completed, name of clients, etc.

In addition, tools like Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote can be useful in expanding your storage capacity and helping you create some organizational structure.

2. Calendar

Consider keeping a digital calendar, if you are not already doing so. By keeping a digital calendar, you can have access at home, work and even across devices. Google Calendar is what I use, and I like that I can easily link to other calendars (like my husband’s calendar) and that I can color code items. I even sync mine to my Facebook account, so my Facebook events show up on my calendar.

The days of having separate work and home calendar are past–our lives are too integrated and fast-paced. Save time and become better organized by using a digital calendar.

3. Physical Desk

Even though so much of what we do is online, we still end up being paper pushers. That means you must develop a system for managing those piles of papers on your desk. Do not let your desk become just a collecting place for receipts, bills waiting to be paid and everything else that needs attending to.

Create a clear system for how to handle incoming paper and outgoing paper. I have a system in place on my desk: unpaid bills go in one place, items waiting to be filed go in another place, items that need some attention (like calling to clarify a bill or with following up with some action) go in another place, etc. Whenever I sit down at my desk, my work is already organized and laid out in front of me.

In addition, discipline yourself to do your filing regularly. I file items weekly in my home office. Finally, decide what supplies you need on hand, i.e. stapler, scissors, stamps, pens, etc and keep those in handy organizers–keep everything else stored away.

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Image: West Elm

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It’s easy. Learn how to de-clutter your home with these ingenious storage solutions and tips.

One thing I cannot tolerate in my home is clutter. My home can be spic and span clean, but if there are piles of clutter needing my attention, it drives me crazy. You know what I’m talking about–piles of magazines, new and old mail mixed together, that abandoned crafting project, recyclables, your children’s homework, etc.  I’d rather skip the house cleaning and attack those piles of clutter any day. Clutter keeps me from relaxing in my own home–and I know I’m not the only who feels this way. While I do have some friends who seem to not mind the everyday clutter, I think most of are bothered by clutter and want to eradicate if from the world.

I’ve found clutter’s kryptonite is to not let it develop in the first place. In my house, everything has a home–even if that home is the junk drawer. I try to deal with clutter as it happens, so I’m not left facing a bunch of stuff to clean up and put away before I can even start on cleaning the house.

Part of learning how to declutter as it happens is having storage solutions in place beforehand. When the mail comes in, it should have a home that’s not the kitchen counter. Planning ahead of time and having storage solutions in place can save you and your home from the dreaded clutter monster.

How to declutter:

1. Don’t forget about closet and cabinet doors. Installing hanging storage here, can double your storage space.

Image: jfiess

2. Pegboard can be your friend. While you might not want to hang peg board in your living room, pegboard isn’t just for the garage. Painted pegboard can be a lifesaver in the laundry room, craft room and office.

3. Think outside the box with your storage solutions, like this clever idea for storing spools of ribbon on a skirt hanger. Ingenius.

Image: ReillyButler

4. Large mason jars make great catchalls for those little items we all seem to collect–leftover buttons, old keys, stray matchbox cars and what have you. If you need to declutter quickly, just toss those stray little bits into a mason jar. Cleaning them out can be a rainy day project.

5. It’s a must that you have labeled storage by the door you use to come in and out of the house. Whether it’s a bookshelf with baskets or a table with bins, find a storage solution that works for you. This is where you will sort your mail and other items that need your attention when you are coming and going.

Image: supershoppertoo

6. You need copious amounts of baskets and boxes. I use these everywhere in my home. There’s a basket in every room to collect magazines. I also use stackable decorative boxes to store craft projects I am working on…that way there are hidden away, but I can also easily carry them around the house.

7. Have labeled storage for toys and games in your kids’ room and playroom. Wooden crates turned on their side and hung on the wall are a great solution. Label each with the child’s name or  the type of toy that is stored there. Use pictographs for young children.

Top image: Xoyos.com

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Clutter is a constant threat to sanity and comfort, creeping into our homes, offices, and vehicles with alarming certainty. Apps may not be able to clean the kitchen for you, but the right online assistance can get you back on track to a clutter-free life.

I love my dining room table, but I rarely get to see it. Pick a random day of the week and you’re likely to find it covered in things that definitely belong somewhere else. Unopened mail, phone chargers, books I swear I’m going to read, and my favorite, coats and scarves slung over the chair backs.

Although we most often complain about physical clutter in our homes and vehicles, mental and electronic clutter can be just as frustrating. A million unorganized bookmarks, hundreds of notes to yourself about articles you want to read or errands that need to be run. These are all what a good friend of mine calls “mental parachutes”–digital clutter that’s only slowing you down.

Even though it’s only February, it’s never too soon to think about spring cleaning, and the first step is releasing yourself from the clutter tentacles spread all throughout your life. Here are five tech tools, including mobile apps and online services, that can help you get organized and energized in time for Spring.

Image via yerdle

1. Swap ‘Till You Drop

My partner and I have this rule when we do really serious cleaning: if we haven’t used or appreciated something in the last 12 months, it’s out. The question is, where’s out? Donating is OK but impersonal, and the landfill is just downright wasteful for things that aren’t at the end of their life cycle. Enter the swapping service. Companies like yerdle exist to turn your “trash” into treasure. Their mobile app makes it possible to snap a picture and list items in a matter of seconds. Other local users can then “want” your item and a pickup arranged. Still seem like too much effort? Try Swap.com’s Valet Service. Simply box up all your unwanted goods, and ship them to the company. They’ll take care of photographing, storing, and listing the items on their vast website. You set the price and then decide whether to trade or sell.

Image via iGo

2. Universal Chargers

There is nothing more frustrating than fighting with a tangle of charger wires when trying to stave off a low battery alert. The more gadgets we acquire, the more cords we add to the cluster. iGo’s Everywhere Universal Wall and Auto Charger offers a path out of the madness. This gadget features a five-foot retractable cord and can be fitting with a variety of interchangeable power tips that make it possible to juice up a  laptop, smartphone, and e-reader all from the same charger.

Image via Instapaper

3. Instapaper

I’m a reckless bookmarker. Spending at least six hours a day working on the internet, I come across (or am sent) links to dozens of articles I’d like to read. Or companies I’d like to check out. Or recipes I’d like to make. All of these are dumped unceremoniously in my “other bookmarks” folder, which is now so out of control, I’m afraid to open it. Developed by Marco Arment, who also helped create Tumblr, Instapaper is a clean, simple and straightforward way to save online articles to read later. Simply install the Instapaper app and download (and organize) your unread articles when you have Wi-Fi or 3G coverage, then you can read them anytime: on the train, on the bus, in an airplane, at the bank, or in your favorite chair.

Image via Captio

4. Captio for Business Receipts

If you’re an entrepreneur or freelancer, you know that retaining proof of your business expenses is extremely important, still it can be hard to keep all those nondescript receipts and other bit of paper straight, especially when you’re working on the go. Available for Apple products, Androids and Blackberry, Captio lets you capture an image of your receipts wherever you are, using your smartphone. Pertinent information is then automatically stored for later analysis and can be used to generate expense claims.

Image via Stylebook

5. Control Your Closet

Disorganized closets mean most of us only wear 20 percent of our wardrobe, sometimes re-buying things we already have! The Stylebook iPhone app offers more than 90 features to help you get the most out of your closet. Import images of your actual clothes, create magazine-style outfits, plan what to wear and track your style inspirations with this totally customizable app. Can be of immense help if you’re a fashionista who’s having a hard time deciding what should stay and what should go. If you uncover designer clothes, bags or accessories that haven’t been in the regular rotation for awhile, consider selling them to Rent the Runway, or Bag, Borrow or Steal.

Top Image: smashmedia

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Step 1: Declutter. Step 2: Picture yourself [here].

Minimalism. It’s about more than throwing $hit out. It’s a state of mind. It’s an extremely conscious way of being, a hyper-awareness about consumerism and its impact on the most macro and micro of living spaces, the macro being this fine green planet we all call home and the micro being our living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms.

Are you a minimalist? Do you aim to be? If so, this is a reprieve you’re certain to find transcendental, insomuch as an internet browse can be. While these rooms are material, clean lines and an abundance of space (not stuff) make them breathable, livable and thus minimal.

Exhibit A, part of the Minimalist Project by Js Interiors Group.

A blessedly devoid “black fumed-oak staircase with a custom-made aluminium handrail” via Elle Décor.

Kitchen in a minimalist London home featuring Hans Wegner Wishbone chairs, also via Elle Décor.

Space to breathe, room to ride. Little yellow tricycle space via UserDeck.

Parisian minimalism, from DustJacket.

Plus claw tub, also via Dusk Jacket.

Outdoor Tuscan Luxe, care of The Cool Hunter.

An inspired bedroom from Apartment Therapy.

Dorm chic via The New Black.

Reformed minimalist from Planete Deco, a Danish architect transformed a former fisherman’s house into a minimalist cabin.

From Desire to Inspire, interiors photographer Justin Alexander‘s photography that reflects to the subject.

The space is defined by clean lines, not moody lighting and fuss.

Color-blocked minimalism via Rafi Rafi.

A Shell in a Forest, ultra-modern sculptural minimalism by Japanese firm Artechnic.

Minimalist dining, also from A Shell in a Forest.

From Remodelista, Camper Van Minimalism at the Hotel Daniel in Vienna.

Comfort driven minimalism by Katie Lockhart.

Minimalism you could dive into, via Apartment Therapy.

Abundant minimalism, via The Selby.

Questionable minimalism from Unhappy Hipsters.

The post Inspiration: A Peek Inside 25 Minimalist Rooms appeared first on EcoSalon.

The Japanese consider it inauspicious to drag old business – including clutter and dust – into a new year. You should, too.

“Just one last cigarette,” you inhaled on New Year’s Eve. “And I’m through,” you exhaled, blowing your promise in the wee hours of New Year’s Day. Sorry, 3 a.m. is technically tomorrow.

With the New Year comes the same old promises either made in the throws of drunkenness or the penance of a hangover. You promise to save money, get fit, lose weight, gain weight, get laid, go celibate, sober up, de-clutter. As far as the cigarettes are concerned, seriously, it’s 2012, quit already!

The rest of it – the money, love, body, and (especially) clutter woes – just might resolve themselves on their own if you start the year off by observing Oosouji.

“Big Cleaning”

Oosouji literally translates as, “ooo” (big) + “souji” (cleaning). It’s how the Japanese ring in the New Year. It’s a tradition that’s on par with the spring cleaning westerners reserve for cherry-blossom season – long past the expiration date of one of the top fifteen resolutions Americans make (and break) year after year: getting organized. Also at the top of that should’a, could’a, ah f*ck it list: finishing home improvement projects.

Japanese homes get a top-to-bottom scrub at this time of year as well as business offices and lots of school desks. The concept is that by eliminating the dirt from the old year, it creates a clean emotional slate with which to plan ahead for the next year.

The Japanese also plunge into the Big O as a way of showing the gods that they care, that they wouldn’t be embarrassed to have Toshigami over for a cup of tea come January. Gods don’t like clutter. They find it sloppy and lowly; humans tend to view it as a distracting and pretty major productivity killer.

Cultivate Minimalism

There’s a reason the Japanese are revered for their minimalism. It’s reflected in their architecture and design. Considering it in the cultural context of Oosouji, though, minimalism is something that is culled and cultivated, an art borne out of self-discipline.

Get 1, Toss 2

Follow the Zen Habits method of managing your stuff.

“The rule: whenever you bring in an item, you have to throw away two other items. First you cheat, by throwing out two pieces of paper, but soon you will have to move to big stuff.”

Welcome to self-discipline 101.

Take the Holiday Box Challenge

Care of the clutter experts at Organized Home, challenge yourself to: “Fill every seasonal mailing box [you received] with items suitable for donation to Goodwill…and deliver them to charity before year’s end.”

Except don’t wait until then. Do it now.

Turn Trash into Cash

Hold a stoop sale or, if your front door greets grass instead of concrete, a yard sale following the same tenets of New York’s finest.

Coming Out of the Closet

We store our past, present and future selves in our closets. Unless you’re in possession of a Bravo-scale closet, you only have enough room in there for the here and now. Even if you do have more shelf space than Oprah, a dress that you barely fit into then, kind of aren’t sure about now, and might possibly wear at some point down the line does not belong in there. It’s just not healthy to cling to that size zero past. You’ve got hips now. Move on.

Another juicy tidbit from Home Organizing:

“Behind the hangers and shelves and boxes lies a second reality. To declutter a clothing closet, you can’t stop with the clothes. You have to move on to the clutter of the psyche that lies behind the possessions.”

Therein lies the lesson, grasshopper.

The fastest way to sabotage a weight-loss, money-saving, or otherwise-self-improving plan is dragging all that dust and dirt and grime and mess with you from the year before. Start by chasing the dust bunnies out from underneath the bed and then deal with the personality crisis in your closet. After that, you can resolve to do just about anything.

Images: And Done; Tonomagokoro; Kibogaoka; K. Barker; Noukka Signe

The post Before You Commit to Anything in 2012, Do Oosouji appeared first on EcoSalon.