Creating Wellness Blog

Organization, cleaning and purging have become catch phrases for TV shows and news articles. It’s no longer something hidden in the closet, literally, but is now out in the open and becoming almost a fad. De-clutter your life and be happier, safer and sane. Really? Maybe it’s just a matter of having a little more time and space. Regardless of your reasons, here are some helpful ways to cut out the clutter.

If you’ve ever found yourself thinking that you need a bigger house, that might not actually be the problem; it could just be that you need less stuff. Our homes are typically our biggest clutter collectors.

The first step is to start with one room or closet that has become a catch-all of sorts. Take one large box and two large baskets and dig in. In one basket, you will put the stuff that you will use regularly and should continue to have easily accessible. In the other basket, you will place those things that you just can’t bear to part with but that you know you don’t need to be able to get to quickly. In the box, you will put everything else.

Once that room or closet is empty, everything in the first basket is put back neatly. The items in the second basket should be packed into a storage bin, which should then be labeled and put in a storage closet in your home, in the garage, or in a small rental unit.

Do this with each room, then when you’re finished, the items in the boxes can be sold at a yard sale. Anything that doesn’t sell can be donated to a local thrift store or rescue mission. If you don’t want to have a yard sale then skip the sale and go straight to the thrift store.

You might not realize it, but your car can also be a clutter collector. If you turn a corner too fast and hear a loud thunk, it’s probably not something wrong with your car but something slamming around in your car.

The trunk or rear storage space may be home to an assortment of re-usable grocery bags, jumper cables, an emergency tool kit and perhaps even an emergency rations kit.

The back seat might currently be housing empty water bottles and snack containers or even miscellaneous toys that have been carted to the car and forgotten.

Hair brushes, books and book bags, notebooks and more have probably found their way into your car and under the seats.

Cutting out the clutter in your car is as simple as one storage bin for the trunk or rear storage space and a small box for the back seat. Place anything that needs to stay in the car (jumper cables, etc.) into the storage bin and place it neatly in the corner of your trunk or rear storage space. Place anything that should stay in the backseat (hair brush, car toys, etc.) into the small box and place it on the floorboard of the back seat. Everything else should be taken out and discarded or returned to the house.

Clutter in Your Workspace

Whether you work at a home-office or in a cubicle at a company, clutter can reduce your efficiency and interfere with your productivity.

The quickest way to cut the clutter at work is to get the stuff off your desk that you don’t use everyday. A couple of bins and a few organizational hanging folders and you can actually have your desk clean and organized in no time. For instance:

• Extra office supplies should be put in a labeled bin and in a closet.
• Project notes should be put in labeled files and stored in a project bin.
• External hard drives or other office equipment that you only need to get to when something goes wrong with them should be stored on the floor under your desk away from your feet.

An extra filing cabinet or bookshelf can get stuff off your desk and away from your workspace and make a huge difference.

Clutter in Your Schedule

This may seem a little out of place, but this is probably the area where our clutter causes the most stress. The average schedule typically includes at least 8 hours a day at work, grocery shopping at least a couple of times a week if we’re eating whole, living foods, and trips to school, daycare or after-school activities where sitting in the car can feel like so much wasted time.

Other clutter in your schedule can be work meetings or healthcare appointments (dentist, chiropractor, etc.) and we can’t forget lunch dates and coffee chats. Finally, mix into this mess, meal preparation and necessary family time; well, it’s easy to see why your schedule could be considered cluttered.

Cutting out the clutter in your schedule can be as simple as learning how to say, “No,” or as complicated as time management classes. However, the truth be told, it’s probably somewhere in the middle by owning and managing a calendar.

The first step to de-cluttering your calendar is to actually own one. If you were to print off a one page calendar with spaces for appointments starting at 8 AM and ending at 8 PM, then took the time to fill in those spaces with everything you have to do tomorrow, the truth is you’ll probably find things overlapping and areas where you haven’t left yourself enough time.

Many people think they don’t have enough on their schedule to require a calendar, but in fact these are the people who typically have the most cluttered calendar because they have no way to recognize when they’re reaching their limits.

It’s a lot easier to say no if you know your calendar’s full. Time management is really nothing more than knowing not to schedule two things for the same time. Both of these clutter-cutters can be helped with just the purchase of a day calendar.

Finally, always include in your calendar at least ten minutes in between meetings or appointments and travel time (even if it’s just 5 minutes to get from one conference room to the next).

In Summary

In every area of our lives we should try to remember the old saying: everything has a place and everything in its place. The simplest way to de-clutter is to only keep the things you positively can’t live without and then give them a place that is appropriate to their use.

One final piece of advice, every home needs a pantry. It doesn’t necessarily have to be a closet in the kitchen, it can be any closet in the home; but it should be where cleaning supplies are stored up high and other items can be tucked out of sight.

Cutting clutter out of your life is really nothing more than recognizing that some things you own because you want to, and not because you need to. If you don’t have the space for them, let them go.

The Keys to Cutting the Clutter:

One step at a time.

Can you live without it?

Do you really need it?

Drs. Kris and Melissa Tosczak are dedicated to providing you with the absolute best Vista chiropractic care money can buy. So take a moment today to discuss with your Family Wellness Chiropractor any concerns you may have regarding your family’s overall health and wellness.

Looking for healthy meals in a very short time without the expense of last minute prepared food items can be a real challenge for families.

One of the foundational rules for getting to a 10-minute meal is premeditation or the planning stage. The best day to stage your week is Sunday, using this day to prepare for those days that you know you’re going to need a simple and healthy choice for your family. Menu planning three to four days ahead can make a world of difference and prevent those last minute poor choices.

Getting Started

A way to get started is by developing six to eight menus from which you can select. For example if you know that one or two nights coming up will be especially busy you’ll have something to fall back on and prevent repeating yourself too many times in a month. If you are having difficulty creating your 10-minute menus next time you are on the phone with or emailing a friend, ask if they could send you a recipe that has worked for them in a pinch.

With your menus selected, choose to shop and prep in advance, and in some cases completely finish the meal so it only requires reheating on that busy evening. Also, consider multi-tasking on Sunday by prepping several dinners at once.

Another great tool that is returning to many households is the slow cooker or crock pot. If the vegetables and other ingredients are chopped and resealed in separate bags on Sunday, it will only take you five minutes in the morning to mix your protein, vegetables and stock allowing you to come home to a finished dinner. (Vegetable, beef and chicken stock can easily be pre- purchased to simplify this process.)

Ten-minute Recipes for the Family

The following recipe ideas are going to be nutritional, delicious and quick. These are the kinds of recipes that you want to keep on hand for those days when you know you’re not going to have time to take 30 to 40 minutes to prepare dinner.

Points to Remember

During even the most hectic of evenings your family will be able to eat healthy if you remember just a few important things. The first of which is that the most time consuming part of eating healthy is the prep work. This is especially true of chopping vegetables and precooking items, which makes spending a Sunday afternoon prepping two or three last-minute meal options an easy way to preserve your sanity and your family’s health.

Don’t forget that your kids can help with a lot of this prep work. Make it a family affair by getting your kids involved. Younger children can wash and drain the vegetables, while older kids (who can safely handle a knife) can be dicing, slicing and chopping those vegetables.

Also, your younger kids are going to love being responsible for handing you bowls, wooden spoons and measuring cups. This is a once-a-week opportunity to connect with your kids in a relaxed environment. You might be surprised to find that the benefits go beyond your family’s physical health.

Turkey Taco Salad

Using ground turkey, cook it thoroughly and add season to taste (taco seasoning can also be used). Place the cooked turkey in the center of a bed of lettuce (this can be pre-washed and bagged). A great addition to this meal is warmed or cool pinto, kidney, white or garbanzo beans. Garnish the plate with baked small taco chips, salsa for the adventurous ones to add it like a dressing, and a small amount of shredded cheese to top it off.

Three Bean Turkey Chili

This meal will take 10 minutes to warm and dress up but 45 minutes to prepare. On your prep day brown 1- 2 pounds of ground turkey and put it in a large soup bowl with olive oil. To this you will add the following:

• 2 cloves or 1 TB of crushed garlic
• 1 large diced onion
• 1 diced jalapeno pepper
• 2 (15 ounce) each kidney, pinto and garbanzo beans
• 1/2 cup of corn 
• 1/2 cup of diced celery
•  2 cups of vegetable stock or water 
• 28 ounces of whole tomatoes 
• 1 TB chili powder 
• Salt to taste

 

Bring to boil and then simmer for 35 minutes. Let it cool and store it for your upcoming week. Warming up your chili, this serving for 8 can also be a great after school snack. Garnish with baked chips and shredded cheese.

Chicken Wrap

Using a precooked chicken (you can pick it up that evening coming home or prep it on Sunday and store) slice and shred the meat. Then mix the meat with the following ingredients:

• 1/2 cup red bell pepper thinly sliced 
• 3 medium carrots 
• 1 cucumber cut into matchsticks 
• 3 TB of bottled vinaigrette
• Shredded lettuce
• Warm tortillas, wraps or flatbreads

 

Remember that gluten-free tortillas, wraps or flatbreads are available at most health-food stores and, to add more veggie count to this meal, consider adding a salad with a healthy salad dressing.

Beef and Vegetable Stew

Your prep time is less than 15 minutes, with cooking time being 4-5 hours on high or 8-9 hours on low in your crock pot.

Brown 3 lbs of cut chunks of boneless beef chuck in olive oil then add to the slow cooker the following healthy ingredients:

• 1 cup beef broth
• 1 cup red wine
• 1/2 pound of frozen pearl onions or 1 chopped yellow onion
• 1/2 pound of baby carrots and chopped zucchini or mushrooms and squash can alsobe used
• 1 TB of chopped garlic  Salt and pepper to taste

 

Additional ideas include adding 2 chopped bacon slices for flavor or 2 TB of tomato paste to thicken.

More information on eating healthy

www.icpa4kids.org

www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/

www.eatingwell.com

www.healthychild.com

www.healthy-recipes-for-kids.com/

Drs. Kris and Melissa Tocszak are dedicated to providing you with the absolute best in family wellness care and chiropractic in Vista, CA. So take a moment today to discuss with your Family Wellness Chiropractor any concerns you may have regarding your family’s nutritional needs. 

We tend to make our decisions based on what we’re told by our healthcare providers is best for our families. So, what do we do when science starts proving what we’ve been told for more than 50 years may be wrong?

Studies are showing that fluoride might not be good for our teeth; in fact, it’s probably the opposite. In order for fluoride to bond to teeth, it must remove calcium and that process is called fluorosis. Fluorosis is defined as an abnormal condition caused by excessive intake of fluorides and is characterized in children by discoloration and pitting of the teeth. In adults, fluorosis is characterized by pathological bone changes.

In January of 2011, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommended lowering the accept- able level of fluoride to 0.7 milligrams per liter of water. This “remarkable turnabout” is a result of streaking or spotting on the teeth of 2 out of every 5 adolescents, which the government is calling only a “cosmetic problem.” Additionally, according to a recent Center for Disease Control report, nearly 23% of children ages 12 to 15 had fluorosis between 1986-1987 and that number rose to 41% in a study covering 1999 to 2004.

Finally, according to a 1998 U.S. patent by the pharmaceutical company Sepracor, fluoride activates the very oral “G proteins” that have been determined to lead to chronic gingivitis, periodontal disease and ultimately tooth loss. Considering this latest information on fluoride, maybe it’s time to take a closer look at some other products we put in our mouths.

Originally created to be a powerful surgical antiseptic by Dr. Joseph Lister in 1879, mouthwash was given to dentists for their patient’s oral care in 1895, but it never was a true success until the 1920’s when its advertisers created a new medical condition, “Chronic Halitosis,” for which it was the only known cure. In just seven years, Listerine’s revenues rose from $115,000 to more than $8 million.

The basic ingredients found in Listerine include:

• Menthol
• Thymol
• Methyl salicylate
• Eugalyptol
• Ethanol

 

The basic ingredients found in Scope are similar but start with an alcohol content of 15WT%. Crest doesn’t have an ingredients list; they only list what they are required to – Cetylpyridinum Chloride 0.7%.

In addition to their specific ingredients, most mouthwashes contain water, food coloring and artificial flavors, and as with all toothpastes, all mouthwash bottles contain a warning to seek assistance or contact a point control center immediately if accidentally ingested.

While the American Dental Association and the U.S. National Cancer Institute do not believe that the alcohol content in some mouthwashes contribute to oral cancers, the Australian Dental Journal reported in December 2008 that “there is now sufficient evidence to accept the proposition that developing oral cancer is increased or contributed to by the use of alcohol-containing mouthwashes.”

Andrew Penman, chief executive of The Cancer Council New South Wales “called for further research in the matter,” and research supported by Stanford University suggests that the alcohol in antiseptic mouthwashes might increase the risk of oral cancer as frequent rinsing can weaken the lining of the gums and oral cavity.

One of the most commonly used tooth fillings, amalgam has been in use for 150 years. Containing 50% mercury, 30% silver and differing amounts of tin, zinc and copper, amalgam is made by blending almost equal parts of elemental liquid mercury with an alloy powder of different metals.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention mentions on their website, “Amalgam can release small amounts of mercury vapor over time. Patients can absorb these vapors by inhaling or ingesting them.” The CDC also says, “Possible symptoms of mercury poisoning include irritability, memory loss, tremors, poor physical coordination, insomnia, kidney failure, and anorexia.”

They also claim reports that suggest mercury from amalgam causes the above-mentioned symptoms, conditions and other diseases like Alzheimer’s or multiple sclerosis, are not backed up by current scientific evidence. However, if we consider that amalgam must be treated as a toxic-biochemical once removed by the patient, then it probably shouldn’t be in the patient.

In a report published in the International Journal of Hygiene and Environment Health entitled, “Amalgam Studies: Disregarding basic principles of mercury toxicity,” Mutter, et al. stated that most amalgam studies are basing their findings on blood and urine toxicity levels. Since mercury rapidly moves to tissue, testing blood and urine is not going to accurately reflect mercury toxicity levels meaning that the “current scientific evidence” on which the CDC is basing their findings is misleading.

Other filling types, or composites, also contain chemicals that should be checked for compatibility with a patient prior to being used. Such as: formaldehyde, phenol, polyurethane and acrylates.

Holistic Dentists

As research has begun to expound on the potential dangers in amalgam fillings and other routine dental practices, wellness families are beginning to look for alternatives: non-fluoride toothpastes, organic mouth- washes and fillings that are compatible with their own body’s chemistry.

There are dentists who recognize that a filling material that is over 150-years-old just might be outdated and are offering their patients more holistic, wellness options.

1. To find a wellness dentist in your community you can visit the following: www.mercuryfreedentists.com and enter your zip code
2. Huggins Applied Healing at www.hugginsappliedhealing.com
3. or by calling 1-866-948-4638

If you find that there isn’t a wellness dentist in your community, it’s worth it to travel a few miles or even a few hours to find a dentist that will offer you more options; since you only see a dentist twice a year or so. If you do travel, consider scheduling your family’s six-month visits during the summer and then the winter school break.

This could even be tied into a family day outing or overnight trip. Perhaps the nearby city that is home to your holistic dentist also has a great museum, zoo or aquarium. Although it is a distance and carries an expense, it can be turned into a special day for the entire family. 

Drs. Kris and Melissa Tosczak are dedicated to providing you with the absolute best in family wellness care in San Diego. So take a moment today to discuss with your Family Wellness Chiropractor any concerns you may have regarding your family’s overall health and wellness.