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Your tiny challenge for August

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Your tiny challenge for August is here…

I’m back today to give you your next tiny challenge for August! Watch the video above or read on to find out what it is…

Think & Act Generously to Yourself & Others

If you’re playing along at home, your tiny challenge for August is to Think & Act Generously to Yourself and Others.

I’m always looking for clues in life and it’s no different when I’m thinking about what a good tiny challenge could be to help people just like you live more mindfully, be more present and enjoy life more.

So recently I had the opportunity to be generous myself and I’ve witnessed other people’s incredible generosity and it just felt like a bit of a theme. So I’ve decided to run with that for this month and to make our tiny challenge about generosity.

Generosity doesn’t need to mean giving money to people, although it can, if that works for you. But it doesn’t have to be that.

And it doesn’t even have to be about things.

I think of being generous as being kind, without expectation. Being helpful when there’s a need. Or being willing to step up and do something when people need help.

And I’ve seen that so much in the last few weeks. Like, more than normal. It’s been so heartwarming and inspiring to me and so I just felt like this would be a really easy, fun challenge for us to do.

And so, the idea of Thinking & Acting more generously has two parts.

Let’s break it down…

1. Think more generously

Thinking more generously is really about putting this on your radar and making it top of mind. Because I think people are actually very willing to help and be generous to other people if there’s an opportunity to do so.

But sometimes we just get so busy in our lives that we miss those little signals and the opportunities to act and respond in that way. So by thinking about being generous, I’m hoping that it encourages you to put it top of mind and to start to see the opportunities around you, where you can act generously.

I also think it’s great for us to be thinking about being generous, because it helps us to recognise and be grateful for what we’ve got.

Thinking this way shifts us into an abundance mindset. And when the universe can see that you can be trusted with what you’ve got, you open yourself up to receiving more.

So I think having a generous spirit and that generous intention is the first step.

It also helps us to recognise the opportunities around us and to step in and be that person for somebody else when the opportunity arises.

2. Act more generously

Acting more generously is seeing the need, in the first instance. But then following through and doing something about it.

Now sometimes we might not have the resources. But we might know someone who does. And so it’s putting the call out and rallying the troops, so to speak. Or helping out ourselves, if we can. And I’ll talk more about that, below.

So I just want to encourage you this month to think and act more generously. To look for those opportunities and see how you can make a difference to other people’s lives.

Now, for the “to yourself and others” part of the challenge, which also has two aspects to it…

3. To yourself

Firstly, I want you to be more generous to yourself. So that means, giving yourself generous amounts of grace.

If things are tough or not going to plan, it means giving yourself generous amounts of self-love and credit anyway. Look after yourself! And acknowledge the things you do well and be generous to give yourself what you need.

Because so often we know what we need in life, but we don’t allow ourselves to have it. For example, sometimes we know we need rest, but we push on through it. And sometimes we know we need to ask for help or we need to connect, or we need to have time out, but we don’t do it.

So I want you to really listen to yourself and tune in to what you need, and be generous to give yourself whatever that thing is.

And the final little part of that is our self-talk.

Now this has been life-changing for me, particularly in the last couple of years. When I finally dealt with my inner mean girl, it was life-changing for me.

So I want to encourage you to talk to yourself as you would someone you love. Give yourself the benefit of the doubt. Allow yourself the ability to make a mistake and learn and grow through it. And don’t judge yourself to a standard that you don’t even hold anyone else to.

Now, the second part is to be generous to others.

4. To others

Now yes, that might be financially, if you’ve got the capacity to do that. Donating to a cause that you’re passionate about or chipping in some money when you see someone asking on behalf of a cause that’s close to their heart.

But it doesn’t have to be money and it doesn’t have to cost you anything.

You could be generous with your things. For example, recently I put out a shout out for some formal dresses for a disability group based in Cranbourne. They’re organising a formal dance for their community and have asked for donations of pre-loved frocks. They’re looking for 15 dresses to help make these girls feel amazing and ensure they have the most wonderful night.

So, given that I’m forever helping people clean out their wardrobe, I did a shout out to my little miss sorted Facebook community, and I couldn’t believe the response I got. I had so many messages offering dresses. And not only that, but people offering to be a collection point and to post them to me at their own expense. People offering to drive them to me at their own expense and meet me halfway to save me some travel.

Donate your pre-loved formal gown as part of the August tiny challenge

To essentially, help rally the troops, get the dresses, and ensure the girls’ have the most wonderful night.

And, this is the thing. I think most people are just so happy to be able to be generous when they see the opportunity.

So I’m going to encourage you this month to look for the opportunities and to act on them.

Other ideas…

If you’ve got other things to donate, givit.org.au is a great Australian website where you can list items that you’ve got to donate and people can request it and say that they need that item. Or you can just look for things that people are after and match the need. When I looked this morning, there were 37,885 items being requested. So it’s highly likely that something that you’ve got lying around that isn’t bringing you any joy or being used anymore could be going to someone else.

It could just be your time.

Or it might be a simple compliment. So often we think something lovely about someone and we never tell them! So offer that compliment to someone and be generous with your words. Embody that spirit of generosity this month. Because I just know that you will get so much more out of it than what it costs you in time, money or resources.

So have a think about at least one thing you could do this month to be more generous to yourself. And at least one thing you could do this month to be more generous to somebody else. Or maybe you want to do one thing a week for someone else. Or one thing a day. You pick the level that you want to play at. Challenge yourself and do it without expectation.

To me, that’s what generosity means. It means giving without expectation.

It’s about letting go of having to know how the story ends, but just knowing that it’s going to be better because you saw a need and you acted on it.

And that’s all I’m encouraging you to do for our tiny challenge this month.

So, are you going to take the August tiny challenge?

I can’t wait to hear the stories of the ways you’ve been able to Think & Act more Generously to Yourself and Others.

Let’s create a ripple effect out to our environment, to our people around us and to the people that mean the most to us. And even to complete strangers.

Have an awesome August.

Sophie x

P.S. If you’ve got a dress to donate, please get in touch and I’ll do my very best to get that from you. I’m collecting them this week so I can get them to the organisation as soon as I can. They need time to ensure every girl has a dress and any necessary alterations can be made. And hopefully we get way more than 15 dresses so the girls can pick their favorite and not just get told which dress they’re wearing.

July challenge accountability time!

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July challenge accountability time!

The 31st of July means it’s July Challenge accountability time…

Did you take this month’s challenge?

(If you missed it, you can catch-up here. Otherwise read on or tune in above and let’s wrap it up!)

The challenge was simple: Try something new.

So, how did you go with this month’s tiny challenge, to try something new? I would love to hear what new thing you tried this month.

I found this challenge pretty fun. It’s something I try to do every month. It’s a good way to be curious, try things you mightn’t otherwise try and just have a go and not take yourself too seriously.

We had a bit of a tricky month here in Melbourne with a two week lockdown in the middle of it. So it wasn’t super easy to go out and try things out in the big wide world for a lot of the month.

But it made me think about how else we could try new things, even in the midst of a lockdown.

So wherever you are, and however you’re living your life right now, I hope you had a chance to try something new. Even if it was a new way of thinking about your situation.

My July challenge accountability

We had school holidays here and were meant to be going to the Gold Coast.

That didn’t happen.

Instead, we ended up going to Ballarat and Sovereign Hill. 3 of my 4 kids have been to Sovereign Hill for school camps, but I hadn’t actually been myself. And I was amazed. I had a great time! So that was something new.

We also called into Kryal Castle on the way. You may have seen the video I posted of me trying axe-throwing. This was not something that I had planned on trying, but we took the opportunity to have a go. And, we all had fun, despite varying degrees of success.

As a family, we tried to support small businesses we hadn’t frequented before as I’ve obviously got a soft spot for small business.

We also went to new restaurants, tried a few new recipes at home and I tried online yoga. That wasn’t so good. There’s something about having to pause midway through a downward dog to make porridge that just didn’t help me find my Zen! So I’m chalking that one up to experience. And I have to say, I was super excited when the lockdown ended. It was great to get back to the studio where there were no kids wanting breakfast or a cat walking under me as I tried to hold a plank!

So yes, some things were more successful than others.

July Challenge Accountability: Trying Go-Karting was the highlight of my Try Something New Challenge.
July Challenge Accountability: Trying go-karting was my highlight!

So, all in all, it was fun, easy and for the most part successful.

How did you find the challenge?

I hope you got to try at least one new thing this month. Maybe you’ll even keep it as a good habit! If you did, I would love to hear about it in the comments.

I know someone who posted at the start of the July challenge that they were going to try a dance class. That would be cool, although a bit tricky during a lockdown. So I’m wondering whether that happened. And I know a few others who had some plans so I’d love to hear how you went.

Try a new way of thinking

I know it’s tricky to try something new in the middle of a pandemic. So, I want to share one new thing I tried, because of the lockdown and in particular with reverting to homeschooling/remote learning with the kids.

It was simply to be in flow.

Not really a new thing I guess because I am forever aiming to stay in flow. But new in terms of applying it to remote learning and the expectations of the kids and my own thinking.

It was helpful for me to think, “If we can’t get it done, it’s okay.” And be truly at peace with that. Thinking bigger picture about it. And that actually helped in terms of the pressure that I put on myself sometimes, trying to do all the things.

So even if you just had a shift in mindset for the July challenge and tried to see your situation from a different perspective. That in itself, if you were able to do it, would be worthwhile if you were experiencing a month, like me, that didn’t necessarily go to plan.

So tell me what you did below or post a photo of you doing it (if you’ve got one) on my Facebook page.

I’d love to hear about it, and I’d love to hear whether you’re going to keep up with it.

And I’ll be back tomorrow with a new, tiny challenge for August.

Your tiny challenge for July

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Your tiny challenge for July is here…

Welcome to your new tiny challenge for July! Yep, it’s a new month, so it’s time I jumped on and gave you a new challenge for the month. Watch the video above or read on to find out what it is…

Try something new

The challenge for July is to try something new. So it’s a pretty easy and straightforward challenge, and it should be a lot of fun.

This is something I try to do every month; to try at least one new thing.

The reason I do that is because it helps me get out of my comfort zone, find new ways of thinking, doing and being, and keeps me questioning whether the way I do things is the best way. Because sometimes trying a new way might actually end up being better than the old way. Plus, it just helps to keep life really interesting and fun.

And when you’re in business for yourself or entrepreneurially minded, it’s especially beneficial because it helps you to be creative and flex your courage muscle. That’s really important when you’re putting yourself out there in business all the time!

Wondering what to try for your tiny challenge for July?

Last month, my “try something new” challenge was to go to a basket weaving workshop run by Perfect Pear, which was heaps of fun. And it was really good for me because I often catch myself thinking and saying that I’m not particularly creative or artistic. So by trying a new thing that is in that realm, it really helps me to challenge that belief that I have about myself.

Probably one of my more famous challenges was the month I decided to try Roller Derby, which happened to be the same month that I was getting married. I think my fiance thought I was going mad and he was actually quite concerned that I was going to end up walking down the aisle with my arms in plaster! But, happy ending, no arms in plaster! I walked down the aisle with two free arms working perfectly. So it all worked out ok.

In fact, I kept up with the Roller Derby and had a great fun 12 months or so before we entered our big lockdown. That brought on an early retirement for me unfortunately, but it was lots of fun. And I loved that time in my life.

Your July tiny challenge is to try something new. You might just love it!
Try something new. You might just love it!

So perhaps you’ve always wanted to go diving with sharks or jump out of a plane or something else. It doesn’t have to be that drastic, but it can be if you want it to be.

Really, this challenge is just giving you permission to dust off your Bucket List and have a little bit of fun this month.

Let your values guide your choice to try something new

Something else I like to do when I’m picking something new to try is to link it back to my core values and think of trying something new in areas of my life that are really important to me.

Example#1: Top value is Fun

For example, if one of your values is Fun, perhaps one of your ideas for trying something new this month might be to try something new that will help you to have more fun. Maybe you’re going to be taking the kids somewhere for the holidays. Rather than just watching, why not join in with them and have a go at whatever the new activity is that they’re doing. Or perhaps it’s going to a different part of town that you’ve never been to before. Trying a new show. Checking out a new musician or comedian or something like that.

If you can’t get to a live show, perhaps you can download a podcast or watch a new series from a comedian and just have a bit of fun and have your own in-house comedy night.

Example#2: Top value is Family

For people who value Family highly, maybe you could get the kids to cook you a three-course meal and you can have the night off. Or perhaps you could have a Twister championship in your lounge room or take the kids on a big geo-caching adventure… something fun that involves the whole family! That way, you’re trying something new and it’s also linked to something that’s important to you in terms of family.

Example#3: Top value is Health

If Health is important to you, maybe try a new membership to a yoga or pilates studio- something that I did in February. Maybe it’s trying a new sport, like my example with Roller Derby. Or even just something simple like a new night-time routine to help you to sleep better at night.

There’s just a few ideas to get you thinking about how much fun you can have with this… how crazy who go with it, but also how simple you can keep it. The key is just have a bit of fun with it and don’t be so serious.

Benefits of trying something new

Been a bit overworked lately? Trying something new can help you to get more balanced in terms of work and play and not be so work or task focused all the time. And hopefully it helps you find new and improved ways of living, being, and doing. You might even decide to stick with your new thing!

For example, I did a one month trial at a local yoga and pilates studio in February and that has turned into an ongoing membership. It’s had such a postive effect on me. It’s help me create a new routine that I structure my whole week around now.

Finally, I am incorporating exercise into my weekly routine, despite being a pretty busy person with a business, four kids and lots on the go.

But I knew I really wanted to stop using the excuse of not having the time for exercise. So that trial in February has become a really great habit I’ve been able to keep up with. A change for the better!

Mo money, mo problem…

So have fun with this month’s challenge. It doesn’t have to cost you any more time or money. It may, if you’ve got the money to do it and you want to do it great. But please don’t let time or money stop you from having a go at the challenge this month.

It doesn’t cost money to join in with the kids. If you’re already there, it doesn’t cost you any more time. If you’re sitting there watching, if you’ve already paid your entry, it doesn’t.

It doesn’t cost you any more money to switch out one habit and try something new. You can just divert the funds you’re already spending.

And perhaps it will save you time & money. If you do a cooking challenge and let the kids cook you a three-course meal and they’re vaguely competent in the kitchen, you might even buy yourself a little bit of time to sit down and read a book or relax with your feet up.

Time to decide!

So this month’s challenge should hopefully be a really positive, fun challenge. I so look forward to hearing what you’re going to do!

Please send me an email or tell me in the comments below. You might help inspire other people including me! And I’ll check in with you throughout the month and see how you’re going.

Oh, and I’d love to see any photos you’ve got of you doing something fun and different. Or tell me a little story about how it went down. Feel free to share them on my Facebook Page.

Have fun with our July challenge and I will check back in with you soon!

June challenge accountability time!

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The end of the month means it’s June Challenge accountability time…

June Challenge accountability time is here!

Did you take the challenge?

(If you missed it, you can catch-up here. Otherwise, read on or tune in above and let’s wrap it up!)

The challenge was simple: to declutter one area of your home.

June challenge accountability time! photo of folded towels and baskets on a shelf

So, did you declutter some part of your home? Because if you did, I’d love to know and see your After photos. Tell me about it below, post your pics to my Facebook Page or send them to me via sms or Direct Message if you’d prefer. Let me know how you went!

I got into a few different areas of my house:

  • I decluttered my youngest daughter’s bedroom with her
  • Cleaned out my office, including emptying old paperwork from inside folders, cleaning out the drawers and rearranged the furniture a bit
  • I filed my son’s schoolwork that had been coming home in prolific amounts and was gathered in a little pile waiting for me to set-up a new folder
  • Sorted out the cleaning cupboard in my kitchen
  • Rearranged some storage in our garage

It sounds like a lot but really, besides the office that took a bit of time because I was going through paperwork, the rest of the areas were just little 5 or 10 minute jobs here and there. And I’m feeling like the house is much lighter because of it.

So, I’d love to know how you went with your challenge this month. Did you declutter any part of your home?

I know people were doing wardrobes and bedrooms and moving house and garages and all sorts of areas.

So make sure you show me or tell me about it… I’d love to know!

And if you’re having fun playing along at home with my tiny challenges, make sure you come back tomorrow because I’ll have a new one for July.

It’s going to be fun and easy!

June Challenge Check-in

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It’s June Challenge Check-in time! So, how are you going with this month’s declutter challenge?

I know some of you have been doing it because I’ve been getting photos via DMs which I’ve been loving.

I’ve seen beautifully organised offices, people are clearing out their wardrobe and sending bags of clothes off to charity. Others are decluttering their garages and one person is decluttering and packing up to move house!

So I know many of you will be on track as we touch base for our June Challenge Check-in. But I just wanted to encourage those of you that haven’t started yet because we’re over the halfway point of the month, so time’s ticking!

Pick one area of your home to declutter and tell me below which area it’s going to be so I can help hold you accountable. Then, go for it!

Not sure where to start? Here are some ideas for you, especially if you’re short on time:

  • Clear out your medicine cabinet. In Australia, old medications (i.e. expired or not required) can be taken to any pharmacy for proper, safe disposal
  • Go through your underwear drawer and banish any uncomfortable, holey and worn out items. H&M have boxes in store to recycle clothing & fabric to keep them out of landfill
  • Tame your reusable shopping bags. Decide how many you actually need and pop them in the boot of your car or near your door ready for the next shopping trip. Excess “green” bags (woven polypropylene bags) can be recycled via any Woolworths or Coles store through the REDcycle program

You can check out my previous episode of AlignMe TV below for tips on how you can go about the declutter, if you need some help. I also have some useful resources for getting rid of your decluttered items in the Free Resources section of my website.

And I would love to see your After photos when you get it done! You can post them on my Facebook Page or send them to me via DM if you prefer.

I can’t wait to hear all about your decluttering and organising! Good luck and have fun!

Your mini challenge for June is here

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Your mini challenge for June is here… and it’s not just getting out of your pyjamas by noon!

Wondering what your mini challenge for June is? Watch the video above or read on to find out!

We’re in lockdown here in Victoria at the moment so there’s nowhere to go. Although that doesn’t necessarily mean there’s not much to do. Afterall, it was about 3:30pm before I showered and got out of my pajamas today with all the remote learning and other stuff I had going on! So I appreciate that some of you may not need any more to do.

But if you’re at home and you would like to do another challenge (that’s not just to get out of your pajamas by midday) then your mini challenge for June is… to declutter one area of your home.

Here are 6 basic steps to help you with this month’s challenge:

1. Decide what area you will declutter

So, the first step is to decide what to declutter. And remember, it doesn’t have to be a whole room, although it might be. It certainly doesn’t have to be the whole house. But pick a room or pick a shelf, a drawer or a cupboard. Any area that you know you want to work on.

And often, you know.

What’s that one place in your house that really annoys you?

It might be your own bedroom, a kid’s bedroom, a wardrobe or, like me the other day, I was de-cluttering my son’s drawers, because every top he put on looked like a three-quarter length sleeve. And every pair of pants looked like pedal-pushers! So all of a sudden I was decluttering his drawers and pulling out the next size up hand-me-downs from the top of the cupboard and organising them into his drawers. Nothing like an impromptu organising session!

Some other common clutter corners in your home might be your pantry, the fridge, a cupboard or your junk drawer. It could even be your garage. The key is to pick an area you want to do, that will make a difference and that feels manageable to you.

Truly, if you just declutter and organise one drawer this month, that’s better than nothing.

Will your mini challenge for June be to declutter a cutlery drawer or a whole room?

2. Ask yourself these questions…

When you’re ready to start, really think about what’s not working for you in the space. What’s the problem with the space as it is. What do you find frustrating about it? What’s difficult about it? And then conversely, what would you like the space to be? How could it function better? What’s your vision for the space? How would you like to use the space? How do you want to feel when you’re in that space?

3. Declutter

Always start with the declutter first. That way you know how much and what type of stuff you’ve got to organise and find a home for before you actually start to put things away. And always remember your vision for the space. Only things that will add to that vision and help create the feeling you want in the space should stay. Not sure what to do with your unwanted stuff? Check out my free resource here for sustainable ways to declutter anything you no longer want or need.

4. Organise

Once you’ve decluttered, it’s time to put things away. Group like things together. Put things you use regularly in the easiest to reach places. And make sure everything has a home.

So, are you ready for your June Challenge?

If your answer is “YES!”, great! Now you need to make time to do it.

5. Schedule time

Grab your diary or your calendar. Yes, right now!

Have a look and see where you can allocate some time this month to either do the project if it’s a smaller area or at least start the project, if you’re going to need to do it over a number of sessions.

Making an appointment with yourself in your diary and sticking to it is key!

And just remember, starting is often the hardest thing. Often once you’re on a roll, you’ll find that you can go longer than you think you can.

6. Photograph it

Finally, I want to encourage you to take photos before you start and again when you’ve finished. Even if it’s just for yourself. (Although I’d love you to post them in the challenge post on my Facebook Page so we can all cheer you on and see the fruit of your hard work by the end of the month)! It’s really cool to see the transformation and it’s especially good because sometimes it gets worse before it gets better.

So, now you know what your mini challenge for June is, are you in?

I really hope you’ll join me.

“Where to from here?” I hear you ask.

Mid-month I’ll be checking in to see how you’re going. I might even do a live session on Facebook where you can ask me any questions you might have.

And at the end of the month, I’ll be asking how you went and how you feel about your newly decluttered space. Plus, I’ll be asking to see your after photos!

If you need help at any time throughout the month you can chat with me via messenger or find me on my Facebook Pages: Sophie Hornidge or little miss sorted.

And don’t forget to tell me below which area of your home you’re going to declutter!

Good luck and have fun.

May challenge accountability time!

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The end of the month means it’s May challenge accountability time…

May challenge accountability time is here!

Did you take the challenge?

[If you missed it, you can catch-up here. Otherwise, read on or tune in above and let’s wrap it up!]

The challenge was pretty simple. I asked you to:

  • think about what health appointments you need to prioritise in your own life
  • make a list of them and
  • do your best to either make the appointments to get them done or at least get the ball rolling

So how did you go? Did you take the challenge? Did you write your list? If you did, tell me in the comments below. How many things did you have on your list and how many did you actually make progress on?

And to all my challenge takers, I want to say that I’m really proud of you! And you should be proud of yourself! Your family, your health, everything will benefit because of this. Because we have nothing without our health. So well done to you for making it a priority.

And what I hope you take away from all this is that it actually isn’t that hard.

It’s simply deciding it’s important enough to warrant your attention and taking aligned action that supportes that decision.

And so often the things we want to do are not as hard as we think they are. It’s just a matter of prioritising and starting.

So kudos to you if you decided it was important AND took action.

“So Sophie, what’s next?” I hear you ask!

Tomorrow’s the 1st of June. We’re heading into winter and I thought it might be fun to do another little challenge to help keep you organised. So…

What do you want help with?

What’s taking up your headspace?

What nagging task could you finally face if you had some support and accountability?

Because rather than thinking about it all the time, let’s just deal with it.

June here in Australia means Winter, turning indoors and bunkering down.

It also means the end of the financial year so maybe financial tasks are on your mind? Things like catching up with receipts for your personal budgeting, income tax or business bookkeeping for example.

Or maybe it’s the perfect time to finally sort out your email inbox. Especially if, like me, you’re stuck inside more than normal because of lockdown.

Or perhaps you’re thinking about turning your hobby into a business? Or rethinking how you currently work?

Because I know, especially here in Melbourne, we continually have to think about how we navigate these situations whenever life gets turned upside down and comes to a grinding halt. I’m certainly in that boat at the moment, not being allowed to go into people’s houses to help them declutter and organise.

In fact, I actually ended up de-cluttering my daughter’s room on the weekend! So that might be another thing you want help with? We could all pick a space in our house and declutter it together this month.

Anyway, let me know what you want support with below and I’ll make it happen.

Because often, you already know what to do. It’s really just about being accountable to do it. And I’d love to be your accountability buddy, if you’ll let me.

May challenge check-in

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Are you taking my free Challenge in May? It’s all about getting your health organised.

Tune in below for a quick 2 minute check-in plus simple steps to get started if you’re late to the party.

(P.S. It’s never too late and neither are you. You are right on time)!

In the previous episode of AlignMe TV back at the start of May, I was talking about how as women, especially, we often neglect our health and I challenged you to use this month to catch up on your health appointments. So to help keep you accountable, I wanted to check in and see how you are going.

So how ARE you going?

I was actually just doing some filing and came across my Ambulance Victoria membership. If you don’t already have an Ambulance Victoria membership, I highly recommend you get one. I’ve just paid for a full year for my family of six and it was under $100 for the whole lot of us. Touch wood we never have to use it, but it’s a very good peace of mind in case we do and really you can’t afford not to have it when you’ve got kids.

So Ambulance Victoria membership… if you haven’t got one already, jump on and do that this month. Make it Number One on your list!

Something I need to do this month is make an appointment to get my moles checked as I haven’t done that for a while and it slipped my mind during COVID.

What do you need to do? Because this is how we start. Grab a pen & paper and jot down all the things that you can think of that need your attention.

  • Are you overdue for the dentist?
  • Do you need to get your prescription and your glasses checked and updated?
  • Make an appointment with the podiatrist?
  • Are you up for a massage?
  • Have you got a niggling pain or injury that you need to go and see someone about?
  • Are you not sleeping well?

What could you do this month to at least take the very next step to making sure you get your health back on track?

Because that’s what this is really all about. It’s about breaking down the things you know you need to and want to do to keep making progress and stay in momentum.

So if you’re serious about taking care of yourself, at the very least you could make a list of the things that you need to do and pick one thing to start taking action on. Pick up the phone and make that first appointment. Start to get the ball rolling and before you know it, you’ll be getting all of your medical appointments up to date and your body and your family will thank you for it.

So, now’s the time for action. Grab that pen and paper and write your list!

Your challenge for May 2021: Healthy Habits

1 Comment / Health, Life Admin / By

Tune in to see what I’ve been up to lately, and also take a free little challenge I’ve set for you. If you’re a busy mum, you need to watch this!

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Recently I was at an event with some fabulous people and something that came up was our health and how we don’t always put ourselves, particularly as women, first in our lives.

And it’s so true! Like one of the mums there was saying, if it was our kids and there was anything wrong, we would drop everything and go and make an appointment straight away. But as mums, we often don’t make the time to do that for ourselves and just keep putting it off.

We think we’ll get round to it.

We put up with it.

We delay it.

And at the end of the day, it can come back to haunt us and create a really big problem where there didn’t need to be one.

Perhaps you’re putting off a dental appointment or other female appointments that you know you need to have. Maybe it’s just getting a niggling little injury fixed or taking time out to go and have a massage or whatever it is that’s going to keep you healthy.

[Insert YOUR achilles heel here]… pun entirely intended!

It’s crazy because we’re too busy keeping our family together to look after ourselves. But if we don’t look after ourselves, we’re not going to be there for our family. It’s a vicious circle and we need to act TODAY to break it.

So this month, I want to challenge you to stop and think about what you need to do in terms of your health to catch up and get back on track. Specifically in relation to any medical-type appointments that perhaps we put off, especially in the wake of COVID-19.

Make a list!

Grab a pen, grab a piece of paper and I just want you to think… when’s the last time you went to the dentist and had your teeth checked and cleaned?

When’s the last time you went and saw your GP and had your blood pressure and your cholesterol checked?

Or perhaps it’s a breast screen or pap smear you’ve been delaying?

And guys, you’re not off the hook either.

When’s the last time that you’ve had a massage to fix that niggling pain that you’ve got?

Or seen the physio to address a problem that keeps coming up for you?

I want you to make a list and then this month, your challenge is to do what you can that’s due and to make appointments for the rest so that by the end of May, you’ve either caught up on those medical appointments or you’ve got appointments in the diary for a time that’s going to suit you and that works for your schedule.

So if you’ve been to the dentist in the last three months, fantastic! Your job now is to either ring up and make the appointment for another three months time so you’re going every six months. Or make a note in your calendar to ring up say, six weeks before and make that appointment because then you get to pick a time and day that suits you.

So who’s up for the challenge? Will you put your hand up and say, yep, Sophie, I’m in, I’m going to do this?

I’d love you to post what appointments you come up with as being due because it might prompt somebody else to realise they need to do the same.

Have an awesome May and let me know how you go with your medical appointments.

Let’s Talk Trash

3 Comments / Events, National Organising Week / By

NOW 2018 imageWelcome to Day 1 of little miss sorted’s 7 Day Sustainable Declutter Challenge

When it comes time to declutter, many people default to sorting items into 3 piles: Keep, Donate or Toss. Whilst it’s a starting point and a good way to conceptualise the task at hand (especially if already feeling overwhelmed by stuff) the majority of the time I personally don’t find 3 categories to be enough if you want to declutter sustainably.

One thing I know for sure is that if you put down a big tub lined with a garbage bag and start putting everything in it that isn’t being kept or donated, the contents will end up in landfill. No-one is going back and sorting that rubbish bag out. No-one. So the key for me when it comes to sustainable decluttering is to sort items properly in the first place.

Depending on the space you are decluttering, think about the following categories for more sustainable sorting (I find large open tubs of different colours or labelled boxes work great for this):

  • Stay (in this room)
  • Redistribute (to another family member/room/place)
  • Sell
  • Donate
  • Recycle (kerbside)
  • REDcycle
  • Compost
  • Shred
  • Landfill

So hopefully now you are starting to see why the simple “Keep, Donate & Toss” system isn’t that useful for sustainable decluttering.

If you’re interested to know more, go grab yourself a beverage of choice (this isn’t a brief post) and allow me to share a few of my sustainable “Donate & Toss” tips and resources.

Because if we get this right, we can have a really positive impact on our environment.

 

  1. Donate

I personally love this option for unwanted goods that still have life left in them. It helps to ensure items get to the people who really need and want them whilst generating income for charities who support some of our most vulnerable citizens. It also means you don’t end up imposing your unwanted clutter on an often reluctant recipient (who probably doesn’t want it either but is too polite to say and who probably also struggles to find somewhere to stash it).

However, when it comes to donating, we have a responsibility to do so mindfully and respectfully or quite frankly, we don’t deserve the feel-good fuzzies that come from being charitable.

Charities spend millions of dollars every year disposing of unusable items that have been dumped on them. If you can’t use it, neither can a charity.

Top Tips for Sustainable Donating:

  • Only donate during opening hours or into a designated collection bin. The little miss sorted Resource page also lists charities who offer a collection service
  • Check the guidelines for what the charity will accept before you donate as the rules differ. Some don’t take electrical items, soft toys or certain baby items, for example.
  • Only donate what you would be happy to use for your own family
  • Some clothing, whilst not being suitable to be worn again, may be an acceptable donation for rags. Check out these general guidelines and ensure the charity you take them to accepts this type of donation as many don’t

 

  1. Recycle (Council/Kerbside)

This seems straight forward but apparently 11% of people think used disposable nappies are recyclable. I mean, really? And don’t imagine there’s some magical fairy fixing your recycling sins at the other end. There isn’t. Contaminated recycling goes to landfill.

The top 3 mistakes people make when recycling are:

  1. Putting plastic bags into recycling. 9 out of 10 councils reported this was the main problem. A good rule of thumb we use in our house is if the plastic changes shape when filled with water, it can’t go into council recycling
  2. Putting recyclable items into the normal bin. Nearly half the councils reported this problem which is a real missed opportunity and sees unnecessary space taken up in landfill
  3. Food contamination. Grease and oil affects the paper pulping process, a problem for a quarter of councils

It doesn’t help that every local council has their own rules on what you can put in your recycling bin but we can’t use that as an excuse. Take 10 minutes to look-up the waste services section on your local council’s website and familiarise yourself with the rules for where you live.

Top Tips for Sustainable Recycling:

 

  1. REDcycle

This is a game changer in my opinion. I can’t believe I hadn’t heard about this until recently. RED Group, a Melbourne-based consulting and recycling organisation, has developed and implemented the REDcycle Program; a recovery initiative for post-consumer soft plastic. RED Group has teamed up with Coles & Woolworths to make it easy for you to keep your plastic bags and soft plastic packaging out of landfill. Think plastic food wrapping, shopping bags, bread bags and cereal box liners.

One business doing this well is The Garden. Well worth checking out their system in the reception area if you live local to Frankston, Victoria.

Top Tips for Sustainable REDcycling:

  • Check out what can be REDcycled – do the scrunch test!
  • Set-up a permanent box or bag for your REDcycling at home and print off this list so you know what goes in
  • Set it up at work, your local kinder, childcare centres, schools and universities and spread the word!

 

  1. Compost

This is so easy, we should all be doing it. Even if you live in an apartment you can invest in a composting system that works under the bench. It doesn’t smell… promise!

So why isn’t this more widely practiced? I think people either don’t know how to do it or get complacent about it because they think food and other things you can compost is organic/living matter and therefore it breaks down easily so what does it matter if it goes to landfill? But that is the very issue. When food scraps are sent to landfill, they decompose without oxygen (anaerobically) to produce methane, a greenhouse gas with
over 20 times the global warming capacity of carbon dioxide. Decomposing food scraps are also a potential source of leachates (liquid that drains from landfills) that can contaminate surface and ground water.

If food scraps are composted, the organic matter and nutrients they contain can be reused as fertiliser. Properly composted food scraps are a valuable resource. In some commercial composters, methane and other biogases can also be captured and used to generate electricity. Read more about the impact of methane released into the atmosphere from food scraps here.

Top Tips for Sustainable Composting:

  • Make sure you have your own compost bin, compost heap, worm farm or Bokashi bucket to do your bit at home
  • Composting is not just for food scraps. In fact it requires a combination of wet and dry material to really thrive. Take your open mind over to this article and educate yourself!
  • Even if you don’t have a garden, your local community garden is unlikely to turn your delicious compost away if you do it right. Alternatively you could raise it as an item for your body corporate to consider providing for your block of residents

 

  1. Shred

Anything you wouldn’t want printed on the internet should probably be shredded and not just recycled. However, if you think your life’s too boring for anyone to bother stealing your paperwork, or you like living on the edge, at the very least shred personal and financial information that is tempting to thieves. If you have a large backlog of paper to shred or you seem to generate a lot, it’s worth having a secure document company come and shred it for you. This can be done on site in front of you, at their location with a certificate of destruction issued at the end or a bin (much like your recycling bin) can be delivered to your door for later collection. This can be lockable – just make sure you request it, if that’s what you want.

Top Tips for Sustainable Shredding:

  • Invest in a shredder. One that cross-cuts is ideal
  • Ideally shred as you go – don’t make a huge job for yourself by saving it all up to do “one day”
  • Put your shredded paper into your compost bin or worm farm. The worms will love it and potential identity thieves will give up and go next door

 

  1. Landfill

Okay, so hopefully now we have very little left in our “Toss” pile because we’re utilising all the other options first. There’s really not much more you can do to avoid some items going into landfill if you’re utilising the other options mentioned above first, except for being more mindful during the acquiring process and ensuring you aren’t disposing of harmful items in your rubbish. A big culprit here is household batteries. These should never be put into the rubbish bin as they leach dangerous metals into the ground. Battery World Stores accept all types of batteries for safe disposal and ALDI supermarkets accept household batteries.

Top Tips for Rubbish Disposal:

  • Keep a small child-proof container somewhere safe from little people and store up your used batteries. Then simply take them with you when you know you’ll be nearby to a drop-off point. I find writing a little reminder on my shopping list to be a great way to systemise this when the container is ready to be emptied.
  • Dispose of harmful items in the appropriate way. See this great website for more information
  • Wherever possible, avoid buying items with lots of plastic/excess packaging that you can see will end up at the tip
  • Utilise your council’s resources such as recycling centres and hard rubbish collections. Most offer at least one free collection each year. Some are on set dates, others you need to call and request a pick-up.

 

All these resources and more can be found on the little miss sorted Resources page on the website. We are constantly updating our Resources Lists so check back regularly.

Tomorrow we tackle the kitchen so look out for lots of hints, tips and resources and remember you can drop your unwanted items from the list mentioned in my post on Sunday to me any day during National Organising Week. Tomorrow you will find me here:

Pinewood Nursery (Carpark)
478 Blackburn Rd, Glen Waverley
3:15-3:45pm

I’d love to know if you’d heard of REDcycling before now and if you participate or if we’ve been living under the same rock! Leave me a comment.

Happy Sustainable Decluttering! The planet thanks you.