Organize your Closet

• Section out your wardrobe by categories like tops, bottoms and dresses or color coded from light colors to dark ones.

•  Place those clothing categories in order by the season. Now for the fall, put your cardigans and pullovers to the front and your shorts and rompers in the back.

• Make good use of any shelf space by  keeping your shoe boxes and labeling each box with the image of the shoe inside. This way, you can see what's inside each box, and boxes are much more easiy to stack than shoes by themselves.

• Take your bags and purses off the shelves (or floor) and hang them on the closet walls to utilize the space in the best way.

• Use a small dresser or Ikea type storage for clothes that don't need to be hanged, like undergarments, socks, etc.

• Donate or throw out any clothing items that you haven't worn in the past six months to clear out the closet clutter.

Today is the guest post day, and today's was brought to you by Cheryl of Oh to Be a Muse, a fashion and style blogger who focuses on inspiring style.

A very warm welcome to you, Cheryl. You are my first friend from the blogosphere. 

Ain't a new blog world friend the most wonderful gift I could have got on the first month birthday of AllThingsSixx. :)

Vacation Ideas for a Lifetime

The character Maxine from The Namesake was not incorrect in noting  We Indians are not very comfortable with the idea of vacations.

Unlike people from other countries, the idea of getting away from it all for three weeks every year is still in infancy, and only some of us are able to make it, for barely a few days.

From the plethora of options available today, I guess each of us struggle to finds a perfect fit in terms of accessibility, budget, and count of days. And tends to go to similar places, again and again.

I am sharing this list of different kind of vacations one must take in the course of ones life. Enjoy!
Yours could be different, longer, shorter, or (if God has made me like you) same.

• The hills where you can go experience nature in the mornings, devour your books in the day, and engage in bonfire with music kind of pleasure towards the evening.

• The beach is one place where no one and no thing matters, and everyone just chills, every moment each day.

• A religious place when you wish to connect with the higher realms of self.  

• One city of historic importance to let the culture sink in. My take is to choose a place you have read the most about.

• A wildlife safari will tell you, finally, for once and for all, whether or not, you are an animals' person.

• The desert to understand your strengths against nature, to breathe in vastness.

Do share your dream vacations with me. I will look forward to your list in the comments section.

Care for your Shoes like Carrie

Carrie (of Sex and the City) has a shoe-fetish. So do I. And a million other women out there. 

We know we can donate most of our wardrobe and start anew, but still keep that pair of shoe that lies unused since the last three years. Don't you agree, girls?

Finding a shoe is time consuming, energy demanding activity, and thus, taking good care of your shoes is all the more important. These tips may help you out.

• Wiping your shoes with a wet soft cloth once in a while will restore its shine

• Neutral polish is a must have for colored shoes

• Time may shred the shoe thread or wear out its soul - check regularly and repair 

• It may be a good idea to reserve a set of shoes for walking/driving (noticed this trend in Boston first and simply loved the idea - not only is your walk comfortable and spine healthy, your work shoes wear out much less and last longer)

• Wear same /similar socks with same closed shoe because that pair is definitely going to change the shoe shape

• Always store your shoes in soft tissue bags

Every day must do things

Effective Emails in the New Flat World

If you have read Thomas Friedman's The World is Flat (you may buy the book from Amazon or from Flipkart if you are in India. I personally am a big FLIPKART fan.), or something else around similar theme, the post's title today would make a lot more sense. In case you have not, never mind, in essence, the idea explains that the world today operates in a 24*7 environment, with one geography taking over the previous time zone's workpiece in a transparent manner. While workflow software and VoIP phones are big flattening forces, who today, can fore go the importance of written communication, most of which happens over emails (well, yeah, we all know, over Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter too these days - thankfully, as of 2012, the office communication still happens over emails).

• Write the meat of the mail first in the main paragraph

• Decide on the tone of the email and chose your words around it. Weather its fun, strict, professional, indirect, diplomatic, salvaging - choose the tone carefully, and do not mix  more than two in one email

• Chose your words carefully. Polite words in a strict tone work wonders

• Always end the mail with either a concluding moral or requiring an action from the audience.

• Begin and end with civilities. In a professional setting, beginning may be omitted to give your communication a more direct  manner.

• Never, NEVER, I mean really never forget the subject line.

DIY Files - Part I

Starting today, the blog will boast of a new series called the DIY (the DIY files from now on)

The first DIY starts with a Craft Idea to make a Paper Bouquet at Home. You would need these - 

• Take colored paper and cut it in the shape of a flower you love. 
• Add some glitter to this paper.
• Punch in a hole at the center of the flower using the punching machine.
• Take the bendable straw and poke it in the hole, with smaller side on front. 
• Using the scissor, cut small streams out of the lower end of the straw and bend them to get them to lie down parallel with the paper
• Make as many flowers as you like  and tie them up together with a ribbon 

Your homemade bouquet is ready - use it as a Mother's day surprise, or to brighten up a special day for anyone you love. In this era when all one craves from another is time, a gift on which genuine effort and thought has been spent is sure to be appreciated.

Barfee or Heroine... the choice is easy - Both.

Those who know me in real life know that I am not a regular box office follower. I do One (yes, you read it right, ONE) movie per year at the Cinema hall, the rest (no, I don't watch it online  - pro anti-piracy), I wait for them to play on the good old television, and watch it in the comfort of my home, usually on Saturday afternoons. (whateverr! That's Me.) Yes, I watched The Dirty Picture only last weekend, once its television broadcast was approved. Just in case you are interested, I did not find it that great.

This year has caught me by surprise because Barfee is my  fourth  movie at the cinema, and did you think I will make it for Barfee and miss Heroine? Well! I hope not. 

Both the movies are poles apart, and yet, I think they are a must watch - here is why!

•  Barfee will take you to the quiet eastern India, Heroine will bring you back to the fast pace of cities most of us live in.

• Ranbeer Kapoor is brilliant with his Raj Kapoor act, leaving no room to miss his voice.  Arjun Rampal and Randeep Hooda ( I have a crush on both, but I will be partial towards Arjun) provide ample eye treat, accompanied with great screen presence, and power packed performance.

• Priyanka looks adorable in her knee length skirts and peter pan tops, with her short curls adding character. But you would not want to miss Kareena's halkat jawani (read naughty youth). I can say I may not find her so pretty, but she indeed is Very glamorous, and seems like just right for this role. 

• Barfee is a fresh story, like a just-out-of-the-oven cake. The element of unpredictability stays for more than half the movie. The end is story like, picture perfect sweet. Heroine is its director's niche, his reality cinema, ending painfully but with a strong message.

• Barfee is a fairy tale romance, it will move you with its poignancy. Heroine is crude reality, will hit at a nerve we all strive to hide.

• Bollywood without music tastes bland (like pasta sauteed in water, oh yeah, my food is my first love) - both the movies have an excellent soundtrack.

This is my review of both the movies, what's your take? Did you like either, or both?

Life's lessons learnt from a Pup

My Yellow Labrador, who has been a friend in the most difficult times of my life taught me a few things by example.

• Never loose hope.
• Love unconditionally .
• Patience is an acquired habit
• Empathy is not limited to humans.
• Be persistent it always yields results.
• A lot can be expressed without uttering a word.

The ascending length for sentences in today's post totally epitomizes its writer, my friend Abhilasha, who too, like me, believes that to better and extend oneself is the only worthwhile way to exist.

quick (& healthy) snacking options

• Eat some Jaggery with salted peanuts.

• Dry fruits dipped in honey are a healthy and tasty option when your sweet tooth is crying for pleasure. 

• Fresh fruits cut up, and sprinkled with rock salt and roasted cumin seeds is wonderful.  Powder the cumin seeds if fine is your thing.

• 
  
• Nibble on a small square cheese, with  a sauce of your liking. Mine is mustard.  

• Microwave come corn, mix it up very little Tabasco sauce and munch on.  

• Toasted garlic bread with a slice of cheese is a ready in an instant, filling option. Chop on green chillies over the top and you have your own version of Pizza Hut's chilly garlic bread.

when in need of More Space

From London to Paris to New York (well, the movie was the could-have-been category), and closer home in Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore and Hong Kong, the space problem continues to grow.

Because life is not a cake walk, and the dream of a bigger home may take some more time still, here is my quick fix list to make your small house more spacious.

• opt for shorter furniture options

• chuck the bed in your room, make it a ground level setting with a thick mattress, colored cushions and a rug. 

• adding large mirrors enlarge a space (virtually) - simple, ain't it

• lighter upholstery (curtains, couch covers) make a space more breathy, and seemingly less congested 

• investing in an chest (such as these)  is idealistic and a long term fix to store many items in an organized, aesthetic way

• opt for wall fitments to stow away show pieces and smaller day to day things like keys, belts, and mugs

Shrink your Salon Spend

• Follow the 90 day rule - yes, a gap of 45 days between two haircuts is considered the best, but you will be glad to know that our hair can manage without crying out loud for up to 90 days. 

• Scrub your own back - smash about three walnuts into fine powder, and mix it up in leftover cream. Add to it few drops of rose water (for your nasal delight), some honey and whip up a home made body scrub. 

• Curate your limbs - with that bottle of shampoo you bought to try but did not turn out so great. If you do not have that, cut up two sachets of shampoo in tub full of warm-to-your-taste water and dip your limbs in. You can get rid of the dead skin and mend those cuticles while enjoying your favorite television show in the comfort of your home. Use cold cream from last winter for massage, and finish off with nail paint. Some great choices are listed here.

• Bleach yourself - while it is way easier to get yourself bleached amidst other rituals, getting the same brand of bleach home from your pharmacist, and doing it yourself is about one fifth the cost, may be lesser. We must not ignore that four out of five parts as application fees is a pretty large chunk. 

• Soothe your eyes - with the changing lifestyles, most parlors have come up with eye soothing packs. You can handle your own eyes effortlessly yourself. Read more about it in another post.

Gifts for Workplace

All of us, at some time or the other struggle with what would make a perfect gift in a given setting. For someone you know at a personal level, the options are quite some. Finding a gift for someone in the workplace is an altogether different arena. (And something I still struggle with, after working for many years, with many people, in many organizations, from many geographies). A non-controversial and basic list such as the one below may help you next time you want to gift someone from your workplace.

• Mugs work well with peers, someone within your team or lunch group 

• Desk adornments like a clock or a mirror piece can be given to your friendly senior

• Team picture in a modern frame is perfect for occasions such as as send-offs

• Cocktail set from Magpie is a huge hit as a wedding gift (wow, that rhymed!)

• Laptop bag is sure to make a useful gift 

• Monogrammed pens are still the best gift for someone to whom you wish to express your gratitude. 

P.S.  - There could be times when people (would be gift receivers) are not any of the types to use or appreciate such gifts. Shopping coupons from a popular store are easiest for such testing kinds.

Up your Water intake, Now

• Start the day with a glass of water. But don't forget to hit the washroom right before starting for work, unless you want your bladder to shout amidst traffic.

• Divide the water intake in parts depending on your day. I personally aim to finish one liter each  before and after the lunch break in office.

• Drink a glass of water before each meal. This will not only subside the unnecessary eating, but also prevent a bloated stomach that many of us get from post meal glass of water.

• End the day with a glassful of warm water.

• Always carry a bottle around - be it the gym, when watching television or being on the iPad, even during family time, not to forget, your office meetings.

• Too much water can be too bland at times, why not flavor it up with lime or herbal tea.

Minimize your travel time to work

In last 5 years of traveling in different directions to work, I have noted a pattern. Monday morning and Friday evenings boast of the densest traffic. Why, you may think. Well, there is no answer. Only theories. People travel out of city and are coming or going back on this route. Everyone is starting on the same time because no one wants to be late for office on Monday and party on Friday. People using the public travel prefer to use their private vehicles on these days. I, for the lack of patience to deal with the crowded public transport, drive on my own every single day, and pretty much follow the same timings every weekday. And because I am one of the few lucky ones who still lives in the same city she was born and grew up in, I do not fit into any of these brackets. So the only option I have is to bear it, or come up with some pointers that may help others like me. Here we go. 

• Skew your schedule - start and end the day about one hour earlier from the rest of the office.

• Know the alternative routes to work in case a particular point is stuck.

• Health check your car for air and fuel on Sunday evening. Avoid to do it en route work.

• Listen to radio for any sudden announcements of heavy traffic. If yes, the second bullet point may come handy.

• Having a GPS enabled phone helps, specially on foggy winter mornings. Worked for me, twice.

• Being connected with friends on common work route so that they can alarm you of any blockage. Thanks to my friends, who have been always kind enough to inform me of such incidents.

 This is my list of saving on the time on road, what is yours?

ingredients for the happily-ever-after

• The first secret of an everlasting relationship is trust. A marriage without it can easily crumble easily. Respect your partner's views even when they are different from yours.

• Unpack the gunnysacks read unexpressed frustrations by opening the communication lines asap.

• Observations at office and social gatherings may lead you to believe that they are having all the fun.Rather than wallow, devote your time and  energy to rekindle the good time between you and  your partner and genuinely love them.

• Criticize, Compliment -  Criticism attacks a whole person, the core identity of an individual. Just like you, no one wants to feel that they are under constant attack. Be polite and tell the strengths and weakness of the one you are with.

• Love his family, like family because finding your love is one thing, and getting his family to like you a totally another. The in laws play a prominent role in any marriage. Make sure not to make your spouse choose between yourself and rest of the family.

• Have a strong faith that things would work out and always believe that your relationship is a gift from God that needs to be respected. Don't undermine the power of prayer.

This is the first guest post on this blog, coming in from a family member, my Bhabhi (sister-in-law in Hindi, brother's wife). Dear Bhabhi, Welcome! She is fondly known as Rimpy. :-)

Light up someone else's day

Having lived in India all along, its painful to see the common man struggling to make ends meet. Though we cannot change this state of being in one single day, we can take a moment to think about them - lessen their burden or ease their journey in some little way. 

• Tip the air fill guy with some penny even when the poster shouts NO TIPS. It would not hurt to sponsor his tea today.

• Smile at the person you see at the toll. He is at work - Yes. He is paid for it - Yes. But how frustrating could it be to see passing vehicles all day. Your smile may be a welcome change to his landscape.

• Return back wishes to your office security when they wish you a Good Day - didn't we learn so in school too. :-)

• Wash some cups before your domestic help arrives - know anyone who does not like surprises? She too, needs one.

• Donate a portion - a birthday or new year is a good time to sacrifice any one of your indulgences (I am so sure we all have so many of them!) and give that portion to charity. Choose a cause you feel strongly for.

• Buy balloons to the little children at construction sites. They too, are children, and in the most vulnerable phase of their life. 

This post is inspired from this bollywood song, the lyrics of which go like this -

ghar se masjid hai bahut dur chalo yu kar le
kisee rote huye bachche ko hansaaya jaaye

Though the emotion will be lost in translation, a rough idea is that God's home is inconvenient to go to everyday, I would rather do a good deed instead.

In essence, the song conveys that to serve Humanity is to serve God.

must have colors in every wardrobe

•  Black for the night out, or even a day when you wish to look sharper

• Grey for a work day marked with back to back meetings, with people from diverse cultures or background

• Red is the best choice for sports, picnics and Fridays.  No matter what day, red adds a tint of happy to the persona, both on the soul and outside, and works wonders to turn around a gloomy day.

• Pink  should be worn selectively, for days when you are in a romantic mood and feel like spraying a  hint of love up your sleeve. 

• White when you are in the mood to experiment - be it throwing a bright scarf across, or wearing neon jewellery to bring about the spark, or the ever hit white paired with denims, it takes oodles of dumb meat to get it wrong with white.  A very intelligent styling in white can be found here.

• Yellow is for those days when the energy within is so oozing high, that you jump out of the bed, jump every traffic signal, dance to  the radio, take the stairs. When the day is sunny side up in all spirit, why stop from wearing some sun on our shoulders too. 

show your Eyes some love

• Wash your eyes with a lot of water twice a day - when the day starts, and ends

• Always use genuine eye makeup, and Do Not Forget to remove all of it diligently before you hit the sack. 

• Put in a drop of honey in your eyes at night - follow this up with a complete eye wash. This is a tried and tested home remedy that results in clearer, cleaner eyes, a congestion free ENT system, and a sharper eye sight.  

• Slice a potato to cover your eye socket once a week - this goes a long way to reduce crow's feet

• Inverted tea spoon, cooled or frozen can be kept on each eye to instantly reduce stress.

• Other than getting your daily beauty sleep, making red your best friend when it comes to fruits and veggies (which is papaya, beetroot, rich Vitamin A sources) aid in healthier eyes.

Strengthen a Resume

• To have your name and contact on the footer of each page - helps if someone was to print your resume and misplace the loose sheets in parts. 

• Start with the strengths - be it your education, skill set or the brand you wish to highlight, always structure your resume to showcase your strengths in the first half. - the simpler things like initiatives, and personal info should be reserved for the end.

• Refrain from putting any confidential information like your passport numer or your salary details in the profile - since most resumes are uploaded online, it is better to include information in a descriptive yet non disclosing manner. e.g. - Passport - Available instead of Passport number X-XXX-XXXX.

• Use lots of keywords for your profile - depending on the target job, your profile should include nouns and verbs which are prominent. Eg - In IT Support, words like administration, deployment, documentation may come handy. Most engines would zero down on your resume depending on the presence of certain domain specific keywords.

• Always use professional font of uniform size with no bold or underlined facets. Arial, times new roman, Verdana and Georgia work best.

• Once complete, always give it a second look at the complete resume on computer screen with narrowed eyes and in print to make sure it neither looks too light or too overwhelming.

Some of the most important tasks are mundane, and however much we may try, it is easy to give up on a resume when it is still not in the best of shapes. After all,

How you can catch up on NEWS

• Browse the e Newspaper on your laptop for 5 minutes everyday during lunch or the the digital edition on your phone when stuck in the traffic.  

• Tune in to hourly news on radio while driving.

• Read the newspaper with the evening tea after getting home. 

• Check your social networking feed. I am quite sure one out of your 100 something friends will share it in case a slice of news needs your utmost attention 

• Listen to news over food. (Not my choice, but it is still an option, specially when you are eating by yourself)

• Catching up on news with colleagues, family or friends is good-to-do when you have a super busy day at work.

One of the strongest habits, yet the most difficult ones to inculcate (more so for women, I think, with a silent voice asking me, are you a sexist?!), it is imperative to know what is happening around in North-East-West-South (aka NEWS).

Basic Budgeting Tips

• Know your MUST-DO expenses

• Learn to cook as outside food is unhealthy and expensive

• Never leave home without a bottle of water

• Periodically take the public transport like may be once a week

• Shopping sabbaticals that last a month are good to do twice a year. I usually do mine when fresh back from a vacation.

• Trim the frills by going online for journals, books, periodicals and movies

Healthy habits that will run long distance

• End your day with a glass full of warm water

• Brush your teeth twice a day - if at all time is a constraint and once is what you can manage, make it at night, and only mouth wash it in the morning. This is what all my dentists preach and repeat on each of my visits. 

• Snack on fruits - seasonal, dried. Such snacking would not only bring in the benefits of fruits but also help you cut on the off the shelf snacking options like biscuits, pretzels etc. 

• Replace at least two cups of tea or coffee with water. In case plain water tastes mundane or medicine like, flavor it up with some dips of herbal tea. Green tea helps boost metabolism and reduce stress, but there are other milder flavors like Jasmine and Rose available in the market too. 

• Like the grandma said, have breakfast like a king, lunch like the working class man, and dine like a beggar. Eating at or just after twilight helps. I always try and wrap my meals up latest by half past eight.

• Have one squeezed out lemon everyday - Vitamin C is the most significant nutrient in building up immunity, and brings along multiple benefits to build on good health.

Baby steps to a Smaller Carbon Print

• Take the public transport once in a while - if not everyday. Once a week, thrice a month, on all other-than-work outings. Try and incorporate public transport in teeny-weeny bits. 

• Switch off the lights as you spare the room. We all like lighted places, but do we need the entire house lighted when all we are doing is having family time in the living room. Guess not. 

• Lessen the use of paper, where ever you can - more of it here.  

• Turn the ignition off for your car when stuck in traffic.  

• Save the battery life for your devices - put laptops in sleep mode for 10 minutes of inactivity, disable WiFi from your phones when not in use, switch off your iDevices (iPad/iPod et al) instead of only locking them away. 

• Remember to power off your electrical devices and plug them out of the socket post use.

Shrink your Mobile Bill

• Subscribe to pay per second plan
• Choose a common operator for numbers you call most often (family, friends, coworkers) - check to see if your workplace has a CUG
• Activate GPRS to be more connected and save on texts
• Special numbers are a BIG NO, specially the ones that predict your future
• Analyze usage periodically (every quarter, may be), and adjust your plan
• Calling cards are Very cost efficient when calling long distance

Nailpaints you shouldn't (can't for many) live without

• Deep red for the evening look - does not seem odd with anything ever 

• French nail paint (the basic nude and white) when you want to give the I-know-what-works impression in a new professional tryst 

• Nude metallic work well for the office in case French nail paint fails to satiate you

• Bright colors that make you happy for weekends and vacations. I have bright hues in the peach and pink family because you cannot go wrong with them. Someone more more experimental could go with chirpy neon.

• Brown&Beige family when you know what you have ahead is a busy work week that won't allow you to mend your paint

• Transparent shimmer to depend on when you wish to ready your toes for a party

Get most out of your LinkedIn account

Update your profile regularly with your experience and skills. Once a month is good, twice even better

• Connect with everyone you know, have known or are likely to know soon. While the debate on how correct is it to add a coworker on Facebook continues, you can be sure Not to go wrong when adding any remotely related person on LinkedIn 

• Follow your P(prospective, present and past) employers. LinkedIn will come up with suggestions to follow companies in similar arena and competitors. You may choose to follow those too 

• Join groups of your expertise - this is a easy practice to keep up to date with the latest happenings, meet new people in same field and get tracked by recruiters 

• Make your profile public and searchable, else the whole purpose of being on a professional networking site would fail

•  Subscribe to the network updates' weekly newsletter if you are like me and do not like logging in to see what is happening around. This email would update you on who moved where, and who connected to whom, along with new groups and associations. 

Happy Professional Networking, Y'all!

P.S. - This is not a sponsored post, just giving back my love for LinkedIn. :)

Strangest tricks I learnt at my hostel

Who can argue that hostel life is the most learning experience of your lifetime. While the list can go on and on, I share with you simple tricks that I learn in my hostel, from many other beautiful women. 

• applying tooth paste on a burn heals it quicker
• putting a melted chocolate inside a wet towel napkin resets it
• applying coconut oil on pimple marks will gradually fade them away
• you can loosen too tight a t-shirt by making your chair wear it overnight
• tomato juice lessens your tan
• glycerine and rose water are an excellent shield to protect your feet from cracking up in dry weather

Reduce your use of paper, now

• Read the newspaper in the web edition 

• Spare the PostIt - make a ToDo list on your phone instead

• Print only absolutely necessary - if practical, make the font smaller and print two sided

• Scale down the photocopier when all you need is proof of submission, better still, take a photograph instead

• Take receipts(at ATM, fuel counter etc.) only when you really need to

• Subscribe to eBills wherever you can. Choosing eStatements to monitor finances is cool too.

Increase your fitness with everyday work

• Station your fridge in the room away from the kitchen
• Park your car farthest from the entrance door
• Take up some house cleaning yourself - may be one corner at a time. Don't shy away from moving furniture yourself and clean under it
• Place the kitchen jars of daily use in the top most shelf
• Take the stairs wherever possible. Extend yourself - use the washroom and printer from a different floor at work
• Aim at a brisker walk

Kitchen tricks

• Marinate your veggies in curd or spices for half an hour or more.
• Dry roast your spices for enhanced flavor and great essence
• Cook in the same water in which lentins have been soaked overnight to give your preparation a stronger taste.
• Use color contrasts for garnish - a red pepper on yellow food, or a green mint leaf over white yogurt
• Vary your grease with the same ingredients - ghee, butter, mustard oil, olive oil, pick your take.
• A hint of sugar can give your food the unexpected edge

Given that it is my first post on my blog, I wanted the topic to be very general. The most recurring activity in a day, any woman can bet on - something totally inevitable. 

Here, I start my blog on All Things Six with one of strongest ingredients, Food.