by Carla Whyte | Jun 2, 2023 | decluttering, Home Organizing, preparing to move
Summer is here! It’s a time for kids to be out of school and for family vacations. It’s also a time when a lot of people sell their homes and plan a move, and I am no exception. 🙁 It’s big and exciting news for me, but also bittersweet. My husband and I have decided to move to North Carolina around July 13th to be near my dad and be closer to the rest of my family. Between living in San Diego and San Jose, I have lived over half of my life in California! It’s going to be such a big change, and I will miss you terribly! <3
I have been thinking about how I can restart Embracing Your Space in NC while still being available to you here in the Bay Area. If you need organizing help after June (July will be pretty busy for me!), please contact me, and I will either work with you virtually, coach you through your project with a list of To Do’s, or refer you to a trusted Professional Organizer in my South Bay NAPO group. Don’t worry! You WILL be taken care of! 🙂
I created Embracing Your Space over 13 years ago, and I feel so fortunate to have had your friendship and support through this amazing journey! Thank you for Everything! Please keep in touch, and I will try to post my moving experience on social media. 🙂 Take good care!
With gratitude,
Carla Whyte
Embracing Your Space
The Moving Checklist: A Timeline for Your Upcoming Move
This checklist is a comprehensive guide for anyone planning a move, covering everything from pre-move planning to settling in. By using a checklist like this, you can stay organized and on top of all the tasks involved in a move, reducing stress and avoiding last-minute surprises. The detailed tasks and reminders in each section ensure that nothing is overlooked and everything is accounted for, making the move more efficient and successful.
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How to Declutter Before Moving: A Professional Organizer Weighs In
Save time, money, and energy by decluttering before your next move. Check out this list of helpful tips to get you on track!
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Partner Recommendation: All Reasons Moving and Storage
All Reasons Moving & Storage is proud to be the Bay Area’s one-stop shop for moving help in San Jose. Their experienced and highly accredited team understands that every move is different, which is why they customize every service to your specific needs. So, whether you are moving down the street or across the country, All Reasons moving company in San Jose has you covered.
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Feeling overwhelmed?
I can help!
Just call (408) 858-8552
by laura.rinaldi@gmail.com | Mar 12, 2023 | Home Organizing
It’s Spring Cleaning Time!
Happy Spring!!! It’s time for Spring cleaning, and that means creating a lot of trash and recycling. It can be very confusing to know what is considered trash, and what can be recycled. And what makes it even more confusing, is that each city has its own rules! So if you’re in San Jose, this first article is for you. 🙂 If not, just Google “what can be recycled in Sunnyvale” etc. Please keep scrolling down the article to familiarize yourself with what can be recycled. I even learned something! Not too long ago, I was told that gift bags, greeting cards, and shiny magazines couldn’t be recycled. But now I see that they can! Styrofoam used to be able to be recycled, and now it can’t. I know. Super confusing!! But I want to thank you in advance for doing the best you can! <3
I LOVE the second article!! Please check it out!! It lists 21 ways to reduce the amount of waste you unknowingly create. And some of them are SUPER easy!! Like: using loose tea instead of tea bags (which can contain microplastics), trying to eat one meal a week from unpackaged foods (such as vegetables, and meat from the butcher put into your own glass container!), using bar soap instead of bottled, and make your own cleaning products from baking soda, lemon juice, and vinegar! Any little bit helps, and some of these even sound fun. Thanks again!
Carla Whyte
Embracing Your Space
San Jose Recycling Bins: What Goes In & What Stays Out
Learn how to recycle just about anything in San Jose. Get tips on reducing, reusing, and keeping our city green.
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How to Reduce Waste: 21 Ideas for Zero Waste Living
21 ideas to reduce waste at home for a more sustainable lifestyle. From composting and recycling, to avoiding single use plastic, here are some easy zero waste living ideas on how you can create less waste and become more sustainable.
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Partner Recommendation: Junk Luggers
Alicia LaMarche graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, where she got her degree in Baking and Pastry Arts. After a variety of experiences working in restaurants, from Florida to San Francisco, as well as being a pastry cook at Google, she created Baked By Alicia, a home-based baking business. Today you can find her busy with custom-decorated cookies for holidays, birthdays, baby and bridal showers, and many other special occasions. She also teaches cookie decorating classes for all ages and ability levels and does love getting orders for french macarons and gourmet stuffed cookies as well!
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Feeling overwhelmed?
I can help!
Just call (408) 858-8552
by laura.rinaldi@gmail.com | Feb 12, 2023 | Home Organizing
Are you a baker?
February is Bake For Family Fun month, and even though February is almost over, you can have family fun with baking anytime!! Baking from scratch is really an art. My experience is baking from a box, which is pretty foolproof. But in the first article, complete with videos, I learned so much about using the proper equipment, how ingredients work together, and that temperature is super important. My son and I used to only bake for our immediate family, which wasn’t very often because I would end up eating most of what we baked! 🙂 This article reminds me that baking for others—neighbors, teachers, coaches, etc. is not only fun, but rewarding for everyone involved. The second article is all about organizing your baking supplies, which of course I love! 🙂 I’m here if you need any help with that. And third, I wanted to highlight Alicia Lamarche because her baking journey is awesome, and her cookies are not only beautiful, but they are also DELICIOUS!! I’ve ordered several boxes for birthday and Christmas presents.
Happy Baking!
Carla Whyte
Embracing Your Space
Bake for Family Fun Month!
Undoubtedly, one (or many) of your friends has started baking bread in the last several years. Have you been thinking about it but were concerned it might be too complicated? February is a great opportunity to jump on the baking craze since it’s Bake for Family Fun Month!
This article will walk you through different activities that all members of your household can enjoy together!
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How To Organize Baking Supplies In Your Kitchen
Organize your baking supplies so your tools and ingredients are all within arm’s reach. Baking and clean-up are so much easier when everything is close!
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Partner Recommendation: Baked by Alicia
Alicia LaMarche graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, New York, where she got her degree in Baking and Pastry Arts. After a variety of experiences working in restaurants, from Florida to San Francisco, as well as being a pastry cook at Google, she created Baked By Alicia, a home-based baking business. Today you can find her busy with custom-decorated cookies for holidays, birthdays, baby and bridal showers, and many other special occasions. She also teaches cookie decorating classes for all ages and ability levels and does love getting orders for french macarons and gourmet stuffed cookies as well!
Learn More
Feeling overwhelmed?
I can help!
Just call (408) 858-8552
by Carla Whyte | Jan 8, 2023 | Home Organizing
What’s your vision for 2023?
Happy Happy New Year!!! 2023 is a brand new year, and for some reason, this January, more than any other January, I’ve been really reflecting on all of my ups and downs during 2022 and trying to make sense of them. And also thinking about how I can make 2023 AWESOME! 🙂 It got me wondering— how many of you are doing the same thing? What form of reflection do you use? Meditation? Gratitude journal? Goal setting chart? Vision board?
Last month, I attended a vision board/house workshop, and it was interesting what I came up with. I just chose pictures that made me smile! I didn’t worry if they were in the “Love” category, or “Work,” or “Health.” It was very liberating, I have to say! I then found myself writing everything down in a journal this past week. I just started writing, and it was amazing how much I had to say to myself! 🙂 It was very cathartic, and I highly recommend it. What you write doesn’t have to make sense. Just get it out, and it will clear your mind for new, even clearer thoughts. Give it a try!! Cheers to 2023!!
Carla Whyte
Embracing Your Space
Learn how to start journaling. It’s a ritual worth the time
Learning how to start journaling is a powerful self-improvement tool. Let’s explore the benefits of journaling and how to make it a ritual in your life.
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How Vision Boards Work & How To Make A Powerful One For Yourself
January 14 is National Vision Board Day. Visualization is a powerful tool to bring what you desire into reality, and a Vision Board is a way to capture your vision!
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Feeling overwhelmed?
I can help!
Just call (408) 858-8552
by Carla Whyte | Oct 27, 2022 | Home Organizing
Is clutter stressing you out??
It’s mental health month, and even though this is coming to you late in the month (so sorry!), the article below has some really important tools you can use every single day to help calm your mind. If you haven’t already noticed, clutter causes anxiety, guilt, and a mind that seems scattered, which is frustrating. Anxiety comes from looking around and seeing too many things to be done or to be put away. Guilt comes because you aren’t doing any of those things. And feeling scattered comes because the brain can only hold onto so much information at a time. I know you have at least cleared out a drawer, or maybe even a whole room, before. Yes? Remember your feelings of happiness or the sense of accomplishment or weight lifted? The correlation between clearing the clutter and peace of mind is real, so let’s get going! Let me know how I can help! 🙂
Carla Whyte
Embracing Your Space
EmbracingYourSpace.com Got a Makeover!
I am so excited to share my newly redesigned website with you! It was time to refresh and modernize my website and I am really pleased with how it turned out. Go check it out and let me know what you think!
Check out my new site
Why Getting Organized Helps Our Mental Health
Research shows that physical clutter creates multiple stimuli for your brain, making it hard to focus on the task at hand. Because of this, organizing has been linked to decreased feelings of anxiety. Seeing clutter around you can be mentally draining.
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Partner Recommendation: Kristina Rust Photography
A big thank you to Kristina Rust for my fabulous new headshots! Kristina is a Bay Area branding photographer and social media marketing strategist. Photos that show who you are and what you do will help you build relationships, gain trust and grow your business. Investing in brand photography is only part of a successful marketing strategy.
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Feeling overwhelmed? I can help!
Just call (408) 858-8552
by Carla Whyte | Sep 20, 2022 | Home Organizing
It’s National Preparedness Month, and I think you’ll all agree that it’s important to be as prepared as you can be in the event of a natural disaster or emergency. During the heat wave a couple of weeks ago, my power went out for 6 hours (as I hear many of yours’ did too), and it made me realize how UNprepared I am!!! At one time, I had an emergency kit stored in a big plastic bin on the side of my house. Recently, after several years (yes, years!), I decided to update it. Shockingly, the sun-baked bin had cracked and was falling apart, and most everything inside had gotten wet and was ruined. I hadn’t gotten around to creating a new kit yet, and I vowed to start again during the power outage! A couple of other revelations I had during the outage were that I don’t know how to start our generator (that’s always been my husband’s job), and I’ve never really thought about what my cat’s needs might be in a disaster situation. Lots more to think about than just the emergency kit, right? Let’s get prepared! 🙂
Carla Whyte
Embracing Your Space
National Preparedness Month
National Preparedness Month is an observance each September to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for disasters and emergencies that could happen at any time. The life you’ve built is worth protecting. Prepare for disasters to create a lasting legacy for you and your family.
Take these simple steps now that have little to no cost to be better prepared for any disaster or emergency.
Get the tips
Emergency Kit
Build an emergency supply kit this National Preparedness Month! Consider the unique needs of your family. Include supplies that pets might need, older adults, and those with disabilities in the event of an emergency.
Create your kit
Make A Plan
Disasters can happen anywhere, any time. That’s why it’s important you’re prepared. Do you have a plan for yourself, your pets, and your family? Consider the specific needs you might have in an emergency
Make a Plan
Rubbermaid Action Packer
This twenty-four-gallon Rubbermaid® storage container is perfect for keeping lots of gear organized around the house and in the car. Detached lid stays on tight with two side handles; latches can lock for extra security.
Buy yours
Feeling overwhelmed? I can help!
Just call (408) 858-8552
