This year, after all our country has been through, we really needed a collective day of gratitude in order for us to stop and appreciate what we have, rather than dwell on what we might not have. Thanksgiving could not have come at a better time.

Perhaps, then, we can take a lesson from the message of the holiday and focus on being more grateful every day; regardless of the challenges we face individually and as a country. We Americans are resilient and, although we are grappling with a slew of problems right now, we will learn from them, we will eventually correct our mistakes and we’ll move forward. Historically, that’s what Americans have done, and it’s one more thing we can all be thankful for.

“You say, ‘If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.’ You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled.” –Charles Haddon Spurgeon

We got to work and rearranged Marcia’s living room, dining room and entrance foyer and a couple of hours later they looked lovely and had become much more functional. She then asked me to stay and work on her remaining rooms. When we entered her bathroom, Marcia shared a great storage secret with me: She had used double-faced, industrial strength, Velcro tape to line the back of her medicine chest and had also placed a bit of tape on each of her toiletries so that they instantly stuck to the wall of her cabinet. This enabled her to effectively use all of the “air” space for storage as well as the shelves. How clever!

Marcia’s idea was a fine example of one of my theories: air equals potential storage space. If you’ve read my newest book, Downsizing Your Home With Style, you are probably familiar with the concept. If not, just think about it: Anywhere you can wave your hands, you can create new storage opportunities, and the possibilities are endless, as Marcia proved. So, if you need more storage, you have several options: Get some industrial strength Velcro tape; read the downsizing book - which came out in paperback last week - or just start waving your hands around and pondering.

The birthday girl and her husband were retirees and their rooms reflected a clean-lined, modern aesthetic. Aside from the 10 Common Decorating Mistakes that were present, as usual, one of the more important issues for them was what to do about their extremely low sofa. It was a big, ivory, modular piece that was so close to the floor that anyone who tried to sit down or stand up - no matter his or her age - had difficulty.  For this older couple, it wasn’t an option - they used a pair of higher clubs chairs, instead.

After they explained that they did not want to replace the sofa, there were only a couple of options left:

1) Have the platform base remade so that it would be 6″ higher

or

2) Add tall legs to raise the sofa more and then have a tailored slipcover made for the entire piece (which was somewhat worn anyway) to conceal them.

If you have a low sofa or chair you may be able to use one of these alternatives, too. And, if you are getting older and starting to appreciate the benefits of having higher pieces, you may want to consider a couple of other possibilities: If you are in the market for a new toilet get one that is  “comfort height,” 16″ - 17″, rather than standard height, 14″, and, if you need a new washer and dryer, purchase a pair that have storage drawers on the bottom that raise the units at least 12” and make loading and unloading a lot easier on your back. Actually, two good choices no matter how many birthdays you’ve had.

Well, unfortunately, I have seen this problem in a number of clients’ homes over the years. They usually hire me for a room or two, that is relatively clear of clutter, and then, after an hour or so of getting more comfortable with me, they shamefully reveal their secret and show me their rooms that each have one narrow path and piles of stuff that go, literally, from floor to ceiling. Although I feel equipped to deal with most situations I encounter, this is one that is totally outside the scope of my work: These individuals usually need a mental health professional who is equipped to help them understand why they are manifesting their problems this way.

If you (or someone you know) are dealing with this dilemma, therapy seems to help a great deal, based on what clients have shared with me. Should you notice signs that it is just starting to develop, try to deal with the predicament now instead of waiting a few months or years. Choosing to take action and get help, quickly, may alleviate the issue before it gets out of control.

If you are familiar with The Ten Most Common Decorating Mistakes that everyone seems to make, and which I write about in my books, you know that these are my commandments and provide the solutions to making every room that is not aesthetically pleasing or comfortable, look and feel better. And, if so, you are probably aware that color is not a factor in any one of these Top Ten. Why? Because a well-redesigned room - like cake - needs to be really good even before the finishing touches are added.

So, fixing the lighting in a badly lit room, correcting an awkward traffic pattern, arranging furniture properly and giving a place a more cohesive look - among other issues - all need to be addressed and corrected before a lot of time is devoted to selecting a fresh color scheme.

As thousands of people have witnessed, it is startling to see what dramatic change can be affected in a couple of hours just by correcting the existing mistakes. Rooms are literally transformed without a paintbrush or any new fabric in sight. That’s not to say that those things aren’t marvelous at bringing rooms to new heights afterward. It’s just that priorities must be established and color is not at the top of the list.

If you are about to embark on redecorating one or more rooms in your home, and don’t want to spend a lot of money, be sure and check to see which of The 10 Most Common Mistakes you’ve made (most people make between 8 - 10) and correct them before you pull out your fan decks and fabric swatches. You’ll be amazed at how yummy your place looks, in hours, all without a dab of new color.

Why on earth would I stand out there - for hours! - to see an exhibit inside a super modern spaceship looking white pod, designed by architect Zaha Hadid in collaboration with Karl Lagerfeld and based on the quilted, chain-strapped Chanel bag known as the 2.55? For two reasons: 1) Because I wanted to share the “experience” with Tracy, who is absolutely wild about anything Chanel, and with Matt who is an artist and 2) I was curious to see what was on the inside of this super modern spaceship-looking white pod that was traveling the world. Hey, we’re talking movable interiors!

So, here’s what I will tell you in case you did not wait in line at dawn: It was so much better than I’d expected because it was like nothing I’d expected.

Upon entering we were warmly welcomed and asked to surrender everything except our inner layer of clothing. We were seated in a row, literally on the wall, and each given an MP3 player and headset, which was placed on us.

We were then asked to, individually, follow the directions given by the seductive, deep, French voice of Jeanne Moreau, which asked us to stand, turn, left or right, and instructed us when and where to walk. Ultimately, for me, it was all about the experience of the sights, the sounds and the dynamics that were created by the 15 artists within that environment and not, so much, about the iconic handbag that inspired the tribute (although, I admit, I really love the 2.55 darling Joe gave me early in our marriage and, interestingly, which a fellow shopper, fashion designer Mary McFadden, had advised him to buy.)

Like The Gates, Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s 2005 Central Park project, the Chanel exhibit was a true New York “happening;” if you happened to have had the desire and patience to wait on a very long line, very early on an autumn morning.

My husband is a napper - good for him!  If he’s tired on a weekday, he slips out of the office for an hour or so to go take a siesta; he just doesn’t understand why I can’t do the same. I wish I could but I can’t relax and sleep when there is so much work to do, even on days I am not meeting with clients or training a class of decorators.

Whether you try to get some shut-eye during the day or slumber only at night, if you love your bed, especially at this time of the year, read my August 11, 2008 blog, ‘‘No More Casual Flings,’ which offers tips for making a prettier and more comfortable bed. Winter is coming.

Like you, and millions of other Americans, I am so excited about being able to witness this historic event as it unfolds, state by state, and to finally learn who our next president will be - even if we have to stay up late tonight.

Whomever you support, we probably agree that we are long over-due for a big change. Lots of us have been galvanized by our dissatisfaction with recent events, and the policies of the current administration: I have been working hard for my candidate; making hundreds of calls to swing states, after work and on weekends; talking to friends and family, and donating money.

After the election is over, I hope that we will all come together, as never before - regardless of party affiliation - and begin to work side by side, to make our country strong, once again, and more united and better than it has ever been before.

We are only 8 years into the 21st century. There is still time to turn things around and restore America to greatness and for each of us to help our nation reach new heights. Let this election be the start of a new page in our history that puts us on the road to greater personal responsibility, peace, prosperity, cooperation and lots of positive energy.

DID YOU KNOW?

Peel a banana from the bottom and you won’t have to pick the little ’stringy things’ off of it. That’s how the primates do it.

Take your bananas apart when you get home from the store.
If you leave them connected at the stem, they ripen faster.

Store your opened chunks of cheese in aluminum foil.
It will stay fresh much longer and not mold!

Peppers with 3 bumps on the bottom are sweeter and better for eating.
Peppers with 4 bumps on the bottom are firmer and better for cooking.

Add a teaspoon of water when frying ground beef.
It will help pull the grease away from the meat while cooking.

To really make scrambled eggs or omelettes rich add a couple of
Spoonfuls of sour cream, cream cheese, or heavy cream in and then beat them up.

For a cool brownie treat, make brownies as directed. Melt chocolate mint patties
In double broiler and pour over warm brownies. Let set for a wonderful minty frosting.

Add garlic immediately to a recipe if you want a light taste of garlic and at the end of the recipe if your want a stronger taste of garlic.

Reheat Pizza
Heat up leftover pizza in a nonstick skillet on top of the stove, set heat to med-low and heat till warm. This keeps the crust crispy. No soggy micro pizza. I saw this on the cooking channel and it really works.

Easy Deviled Eggs
Put cooked egg yolks in a zip lock bag. Seal, mash till they are all broken up. Add remainder of ingredients, reseal, keep mashing it up mixing thoroughly, cut the tip of the baggy, squeeze mixture into egg. Just throw bag away when done easy clean up.

Reheating refrigerated bread
To warm biscuits, pancakes, or muffins that were refrigerated, place them in a microwave with a cup of water. The increased moisture will keep the food moist and help it reheat faster.

Newspaper weeds away
Start putting in your plants, work the nutrients in your soil. Wet newspapers, put layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and forget about weeds. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

Broken Glass
Use a wet cotton ball or Q-tip to pick up the small shards of glass you can’t see easily.

Flexible vacuum
To get something out of a heat register or under the fridge add an empty paper towel roll or empty gift wrap roll to your vacuum.  It can be bent or flattened to get in narrow openings.

Reducing Static Cling
Pin a small safety pin to the seam of your slip and you will not have a clingy skirt or dress. Same thing works with slacks that cling when  wearing panty hose. Place pin in seam of slacks and.. ta da!… static is gone.

Measuring Cups
Before you pour sticky substances into a measuring cup, fill with hot water. Dump out the hot water, but don’t dry cup. Next, add your ingredient, such as peanut butter, and watch how easily it comes right out.

Foggy Windshield?
Hate foggy windshields? Buy a chalkboard eraser and keep it in the glove box of your car. When the windows fog, rub with the eraser! Works better than a cloth!

Reopening envelope
If you seal an envelope and then realize you forgot to include something inside, just place your sealed envelope in the freezer for an hour or two. Viola! It unseals easily.

Conditioner
Use your hair conditioner to shave your legs. It’s cheaper than shaving cream and leaves your legs really smooth. It’s also a great way to use up the conditioner you bought but didn’t like when you tried it in your hair.

Get Rid of Ants
Put small piles of cornmeal where you see ants. They eat it, take it ‘home,’ can’t digest it so it kills them. It may take a week or so, especially if it rains, but it works and you don’t have the worry about pets or small children being harmed!

INFO ABOUT CLOTHES DRYERS
The heating unit went out on my dryer! The gentleman that fixes things around the house for us told us that he wanted to show us something and he went over to the dryer and pulled out the lint filter. It was clean. (I always clean the lint from the filter after every load clothes.) He told us that he wanted to show us something else; he took the filter over to the sink and ran hot water over it. The lint filter is made of a mesh material… I’m sure you know what your dryer’s lint filter looks like. Well …the hot water just sat on top of the mesh! It didn’t go through it at all! He told us that dryer sheets cause a film over that mesh that’s what burns out the heating unit.You can’t SEE the film, but it’s there. It’s what is in the dryer sheets to make your clothes soft and static free… that nice fragrance too. You know how they can feel waxy when you take them out of the box ..well this stuff builds up on your clothes and on your lint screen. This is also what causes dryer units to potentially burn your house down with it! He said the best way to keep your dryer working for a very long time (and to keep your electric bill lower) is to take that filter out and wash it with hot soapy water and an old toothbrush (or other brush) at least every six months.He said that makes the life of the dryer at least twice as long!

Note: I went to my dryer and tested my screen by running water on it. The water ran through a little bit but mostly collected all the water in the mesh screen. I washed it with warm soapy water and a nylon brush and I had it done in 30 seconds. Then when I rinsed it… the water ran right through the screen! There wasn’t any puddling at all! That repairman knew what he was talking about!

PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO OTHER PEOPLE.
NOT ONLY COULD IT SAVE SOMEONE’S HOME, BUT IT COULD SAVE SOMEONE’S LIFE.

Terry McGowan, who spoke at the IRN national conference last week and who is the Director of Engineering for the American Lighting Association as well as the former manager of GE’s Lighting Institute and Worldwide Lighting Applications Group, has worked on studies that determine how lighting affects our health.

His group’s findings revealed that melatonin is a great disease fighter and its production in our bodies peaks at 3 AM. He went on to explain that if we wake late night, it is best to avoid any “blue” light, which the receptor in our eye is sensitive to so that melatonin blood levels are not suppressed (exposure to orange and red lights are okay). That means that we should not open the fridge, with its bright white (blue) light, to get a drink in the middle of the night, nor sit at our computer if we can’t sleep. Who knew?

Ideally, we humans need bright daylight for vitamin D production (or, as people with Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) know, use interior lighting to supplement sunlight); then, as the day wears on, we’re better off if we are exposed to only low, subdued lighting in the evening and, finally, dark nights for good health.

Therefore, as the days get shorter and we prepare to turn our clocks back, let’s all resolve to spend some time in the sun, daily, and also shut off any unnecessary lights at night. And, sleep really well.