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The Shed
Your home is your safe haven, your body is what carries you through this life, and your thoughts determine how you feel and respond to the world. Clearing each one of these areas out and filling them with love, laughter and beauty will bring your life immense joy. Mess and disorganisation according to Feng Shui principles is thought to create blockages and stagnant energy, and it also reflects a cluttered mind. Devoting time and energy to organising your surroundings and your life enables greater productivity and the potential for anything. Like many women, I can do a hundred things at once with confidence. In order to do these one hundred things, I have to be completely organised. My home needs to be organised, my time needs to be organised, and my mind needs to be organised. I have to prioritise when it comes to distractions. Fortunately for me, I can clean my teeth and clean the bathroom mirror at the same time. I can wipe the kitchen bench whilst putting away the dishes, and I can even straighten my hair while I am having breakfast. I love multitasking, especially when it comes to general cleaning duties. I like to get the daily chores out of the way first thing. This way I am free to fill my days with more enjoyable, productive activities. I know the same mess will have re-formed and be waiting to greet me on rising the next day, so I perform these necessary rituals with extreme speed. I tend to work in time blocks during the day so I can achieve many things. My day has a beginning and an end, and the 'in-between' has a plan. The plan is filled with multiple achievements from minor to major and then when the day ends, it's tidied up and reviewed for closure over a glass of wine or two. Now don't get me wrong; there is plenty of chaos, plenty of stress and plenty of mess, but I always finish a task before I move onto the next and I try and follow my daily plan as best I can. By having a plan in my head, my mind stays clear and focused and I can achieve a plethora of activities in 24 hours. Not everyone chooses to live this way. I choose to work in time blocks because I like to get the most out of my life. There are only 24 hours in one day, and I need to fit in family time, organising everyone time, work time, friend time, food time, exercise time and meditation time. What's that old saying? "There is never enough time in a day!" Time is a precious commodity, and I like to use mine wisely. When it comes to being organised, I have friends who just wing it and fly by the seat of their pants from one day to the next. Some do it effortlessly, and some do it with gusto. I often visit one gorgeous girlfriend of mine, who shall remain nameless. Her home is filled with mess, both good and bad. If you drop in to visit Miss Messy for a mid-morning coffee when the kids are at school, she will still be in her pyjamas. Endless dirty dishes are covering her sink. There is spilt milk on bench tops, the television is blaring, and the radio is on. There are kids' toys all over the house, last night's rubbish is still waiting to be removed, dozens of books are half-read on the lounge, and washing in piles covering the floor. Everything from room to room is so wildly out of control that she doesn't know where it all begins and where it all ends. Whenever I drop in to see Miss Messy, it's like her life is on hold. Have you ever seen the movie Groundhog Day? Every new day brings the exact repeat of the day before. There is so much mess surrounding her that she can barely take a step forward. I have only ever heard her refer to her days as being extremely challenging. She constantly complains that her life is a mess, her relationship is a mess, her kids are not coping at school, and she can't get a break. She feels like she is stuck on a merry-go-round and just can't get off.I can see how overwhelmed she is, but if you look at her world, she is surrounded by chaos. There is so much of it in her home, in her personal life, and in her
- GenresNonfiction
134 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 18, 2012
About the author
Jo Ettles
7 books34 followersI was born in Perth,Western Australia in 1963.I moved to Cairns,North Queensland in 1996 after falling in love with its tropical ambience and unique beauty.
I have worked as a wellness consultant for the last seven years. I am staggered at how so many men and women are going through the motions of each day in automatic pilot,never stopping to acknowledge all of their blessings. Through my writing, I hope to reach as many people as possible and assist them to change their lives for the better. I believe you do not need a degree in heightened enlightenment to change your life! It is often the simplest of actions that bring the most amazing changes.
I have worked as a wellness consultant for the last seven years. I am staggered at how so many men and women are going through the motions of each day in automatic pilot,never stopping to acknowledge all of their blessings. Through my writing, I hope to reach as many people as possible and assist them to change their lives for the better. I believe you do not need a degree in heightened enlightenment to change your life! It is often the simplest of actions that bring the most amazing changes.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 14, 2014
A lovely testimonial from a woman in Perth:
"What a fantastic read! I couldn't put my book down, until I had finished it. This book is very inspiring and sincere." - Jill Newton, Perth.
When Cairns resident Jo Ettles was told by a clairvoyant that her husband needed to clean up the mess in the area in front of their home she was stunned.
How could this complete stranger person know about the mess?
The clairvoyant said: “It’s not what you think, but it’s done, only then will your lives change, allowing you to move forward.”
It was true. There was a big mess at their home, but it was in the shed.
What seemed like a simple task of cleaning out an old shed soon became a mammoth mountain for her and her husband.
The emotional baggage associated with cleaning out this shed was enormous. Each box was a like an emotional time bomb of things past, of her husband’s late father and a myriad of other things.
The shed did eventually get cleaned out, but it took a huge amount of emotional energy.
This book encourages people to tackle the emotions that may be keeping them stuck in the past. Cleaning out each room in your home, which is supposed to be your safe haven, your safe haven, can produce amazing results.
The act of clearing things out and filling the spaces in your home with love, laughter and beauty (and organisation) will have an energising effect on your emotional and mental wellbeing.
Ettles believes in Feng Shui principles, which say mess and disorganization create blockages and stagnant energy, and reflect a cluttered mind.
Devoting time and energy to organizing your surroundings and your life, enables greater productivity and the potential for anything!
"What a fantastic read! I couldn't put my book down, until I had finished it. This book is very inspiring and sincere." - Jill Newton, Perth.
When Cairns resident Jo Ettles was told by a clairvoyant that her husband needed to clean up the mess in the area in front of their home she was stunned.
How could this complete stranger person know about the mess?
The clairvoyant said: “It’s not what you think, but it’s done, only then will your lives change, allowing you to move forward.”
It was true. There was a big mess at their home, but it was in the shed.
What seemed like a simple task of cleaning out an old shed soon became a mammoth mountain for her and her husband.
The emotional baggage associated with cleaning out this shed was enormous. Each box was a like an emotional time bomb of things past, of her husband’s late father and a myriad of other things.
The shed did eventually get cleaned out, but it took a huge amount of emotional energy.
This book encourages people to tackle the emotions that may be keeping them stuck in the past. Cleaning out each room in your home, which is supposed to be your safe haven, your safe haven, can produce amazing results.
The act of clearing things out and filling the spaces in your home with love, laughter and beauty (and organisation) will have an energising effect on your emotional and mental wellbeing.
Ettles believes in Feng Shui principles, which say mess and disorganization create blockages and stagnant energy, and reflect a cluttered mind.
Devoting time and energy to organizing your surroundings and your life, enables greater productivity and the potential for anything!
January 21, 2015
Life can be difficult but after reading this book I realised it's me that has to change if it's going to get better. A clear mind leads to a clear life and "The Shed" was just what I needed. Fantastic read to put things into perspective.
February 19, 2016
This was won this as a Goodreads Giveaway.
I admit that it was nice to get this free in the post. And although it did re-motivate me to clean the pile of clutter on my bedroom floor, the information in it was nothing spectacular. The author has merely read and regurgitated information that is better expressed elsewhere.
I think if read by an Australian that the terminology and descriptions would work better. But for a global audience a lot of what she says and how she says it does seem somehow out of place.
All that said, it is an interesting little book that tries to do a whole load of things and take the concept of cleaning the clutter in your life to all possible levels from the basic shed to emotions and the body.
This is not a book I'm going to be hanging on to though. I doubt I will re-read it or dip into it to motivate me again.
I admit that it was nice to get this free in the post. And although it did re-motivate me to clean the pile of clutter on my bedroom floor, the information in it was nothing spectacular. The author has merely read and regurgitated information that is better expressed elsewhere.
I think if read by an Australian that the terminology and descriptions would work better. But for a global audience a lot of what she says and how she says it does seem somehow out of place.
All that said, it is an interesting little book that tries to do a whole load of things and take the concept of cleaning the clutter in your life to all possible levels from the basic shed to emotions and the body.
This is not a book I'm going to be hanging on to though. I doubt I will re-read it or dip into it to motivate me again.
January 11, 2016
This book made me laugh, think and realise that not all bad things in our life are suppose to stay as a negative. That holding on to negative experience or situation can mean blockages in our future lives and to really clear our mind is to be a peace with ourselves. Through her writing Jo teaches you to trust your inner voice and thoughts, to be able to live a happy healthy life. Really enjoyed this book!
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews