Waking up to chaos and clutter can instantly drain you of your energy and put your spirit in a foul mood, even causing you to become depressed.

As a professional organizer, I'm often asked, * Where do I start? * I always suggest one of two areas, your bedroom or your important home or office files.

Many have disagreed, stating that they would prefer to start with a room that others may see when visiting.

But I'm here to tell you, don't worry about those areas... yet. My saying is, * you can drop by anytime to visit me but if you want to visit my house to see how clean it is, make an appointment! * (there is a difference between clean, neat, and organized, but that's another article ).

Organizing and cleaning those areas will only make your Spirit soar temporarily. Those areas will NOT feed your Spirit in way it needs to be feed in morning, BEFORE you get out of bed! (unless you sleep in one of those areas ).

So why not start decluttering and * OverHalling * room in which you awake every morning? Take care of you boudoir first! It's first room you see in morning and last room you see at night.

Your bedroom can set stage for your day and how your Spirit will feel, react, and cope throughout rest of day.

EDITORS TIP: After reading this article, place it next to your bed with a pencil and before you get out of bed reread and answer following:

Now, look around you. What do you see? Chaos and clutter or calm and organization?

What beauty can a new morning bring you? What is your vision of your day?

Listen. What do you hear? Bickering, * Can't find....*, or laughter and a birds song?

Start this new day by listening to nature outside your window. Sing, whistle, hum, or play music that lifts your spirit and refreshes. (I sing to myself, * You've got to wake up every morning with a smile on your face and show world all love in your heart...Carole King)

What do you smell? Dirty socks, moldy * stuff * or a fresh cut lawn, sun dried sheets, or fragrance of flowers?

Inhale and infuse yourself with power for day with fresh clean scents around you. A scented candle, fresh flowers on your nightstand, scented soaps, lotions, or oils.

What do you feel? Overwhelmed, depressed, drained, or rejuvenated and renewed?

Renew and elevate your Spirit by embracing day upon waking, take a big stretch, read an affirmation, your spiritual book, or a daily inspiration. Pray or meditate.

Write down what you would like to see, hear, smell, and feel when you first awake. What do you have to do to feed your senses and your Spirit?

When you start clearing clutter out of your senses, you will begin to become open and aware to receiving those things that can feed your body, soul, and spirit.

If you feed your spirit and your mind upon waking, you'll day will run smoother. You'll become more aware of what's going on around you and within you.

Alan Cohen, author of A Deep Breath of Life, writes in one of his daily inspirations for heart-centered living: *...Each day is like a life unto itself, and so first minutes of each day are formative minutes. We must take special care to sound keynote that will set tone for our entire day. How do you begin your day? Do you spend it with God, in peace, in attunement with yourself? Or do you pop out of bed and immediately dive into busy-ness of day, postponing your soul's needs in favor of lesser activities? *

This article provides preliminary recommendations for diet and exercise programming for breastfeeding women who have desire and, in consultation with their health care provider, have determined that weight management is necessary.

Lactation places significant energy demands upon mother, causing additional expenditure of more that 500 calories per day. The recommended diet is at least 1,800 calories per day, minimum recommended intake for lactating women. The food eaten should consists largely of complex carbohydrates, low in fat and sugar, and contains necessary meat and dairy products to meet minimum safe nutritional intake guidelines (United States Department of Agriculture [USDA], 1995). No effort should be made to deliberately restrict total calorie intake, and women should feel free to eat to satiety when they are hungry but to refrain from becoming overly full.

There is a need to make use of dietary exchange list to simplify meal planning and facilitates eating and recording food intake. The exchange list represented below consists of six groups of foods classed together because of similar calorie content and percentage of carbohydrates, protein, and fat. The numbers and types of exchanges eaten should be recorded after each meal in a daily food log to keep a written track of daily food intake. The strength of this type of dietary recommendation, which uses exchange lists, is that it allows woman to plan and prepare her own menus based on type of foods she and her family prefer.

The diet should be composed of approximately 60% of carbohydrate (<=10% of which is composed of refined sugars), 20% protein, and 20-25% fat (<=33% of which is composed of saturated fats.) Eat three or more meals per day, and eat snacks of fruit, vegetables, and grains whenever hungry.

It is important to dispel myth that it is acceptable to eat as much as desired of any food touted by manufacturers as low- or non-fat. Foods in this category (particularly snacks and desserts) are often found to be high in refined sugar and calories. This diet is also nutritionally sound and conducive to a lifelong pattern of healthful eating by woman and her family. Vitamin and mineral supplements are not necessary but may be taken at discretion of woman and her health care provider, especially if her food choices provide marginal dietary intake of calcium, magnesium, zinc folate, and vitamins B6 and B12. Excessive drinking of beverages with high sugar, caffeine, or alcohol content is discouraged.

Exercising during Lactation

A postpartum woman can begin a full exercise program as soon as she receives approval from her medical caregiver. This is typically after 6 weeks, although this is not based on studies of a woman's overall health but principally on length of time it takes for uterus and softened ligaments to return to their normal pre-pregnancy state (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists [ACOG], 1994). Each woman is different, and no blanket recommendation as to when to start can be given.

Guidelines for an effective exercise program :

A lactating woman needs to avoid excessive stretching and lifting of heavy weights, however, since laxity of joints and tissues may continue after initial 6-week postpartum period.

It is important to monitor vaginal discharge (lochia), which normally occurs for first 6 weeks. If during activity color of discharge changes from rust or whitish yellow to bright red, exercise must be stopped. If bleeding continues for more than 1 hour or recurs frequently during or after a workout, woman's health care provider should be consulted (ACOG, 1994).

After 2-6 weeks, more strenuous abdominal strengthening exercises can be done. Before starting to do crunches or partial sit-ups, it is important to check to see if two vertical abdominal muscles are separated (diastasis recti). This condition can be