PREPPERS PARADISE AHEAD

Did You Know That Bell Peppers Can Be Grown Indoors? 10 Home Herbs.

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Suppose you are making a delicious pesto sauce and find yourself in need of some basil. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just stretch your hand and take a few fresh leaves from your home garden? What about some parsley? Or maybe even a bell pepper? Believe it or not, with a couple of flowerpots, this kind of thing is possible in every home. Read on and discover 10 herbs and vegetables commonly used in the kitchen that can be grown with very little care and space, including plants that you never thought could thrive in such an environment.

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Whether you are making pesto, a Margherita pizza, or a number of other things, basil is a great herb to have around. And the fresh variety is a huge improvement over the dehydrated one.

Lucky for us, this plant can easily be grown indoors. Just a small flower pot or vessel with small holes for drainage on the bottom, soil, and a bit of sunlight. Harvest by cutting a few stems just above where two leaves meet and the plant will keep on giving!

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A herb so noble its uses are too varied to count, parsley can be easily grown indoors. All it requires is a small pot, some lightly moistened soil, and a sunny window. Give the plant these humble ingredients and it will reward you with an infinite supply of aromatic leaves that can be minced, chopped, or used in full for a myriad of dishes and sauces.

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Chives are a basic ingredient for many recipes but groceries only deliver tiny packages of cut chives or full plants that last only one meal or two. Fortunately, chives are a great herb to grow indoors.

The seeds can be sowed in a pot placed in a sunny spot, with a tray of pebbles and water under the pot to give the plant some extra moisture and you’re all set!

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Sprinkle it on a pizza, a roasted chicken, a tomato slice, or a thousand other foods, oregano is a celebrity herb in the Mediterranean pantry. And the great news is that, if it is on this list, it can be home grown!

Find a flowerpot with holes on the bottom, add some pebbles and soil, then put the seeds inside. Oregano needs lots of sunlight so make sure to place it near a sunny window and it will provide an infinite amount of flavor for your dishes.

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Most people would not believe that a sturdy, shrub-like herb can grow well indoors but, in the case of the rosemary , it does. It is a friendly plant that can be grown in the same pot with basil, as it shares the same soil and sunlight conditions. Snip a few stems to add amazing flavor to meats, pasta, and all kinds of preparations!

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Add a touch of French cuisine flavor to your everyday dishes with this aromatic wonder. Poultry, salads, soups, egg dishes, and virtually everything can be enhanced with this culinary jack of all trades.

To grow chervil indoors, simply plant the seeds into a small pot or container with some soil and put it close to a sunny window. Trim leaves and stems for your preparations and the plant will keep on giving for as long as you need it to.

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A herb so wonderful that it is even used to drive mosquitoes away, sage can be grown in the comfort of your own home. As with all the plants on our list, it needs all the sunlight your home can provide, a small pot, and fresh soil.

Its soft leaves, resembling bunny ears, can be plucked out to make flavorful stuffings, sausages, sauces, and more.

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All aromatic plants and herbs are beautiful in their own right and can help decorate a room, but if the plant is especially beautiful like thyme is, then the benefit doubles! This wonderful herb can add flavor to your roasted potatoes, chicken drumsticks, roasted vegetables, pasta, soup, and everything in between.

As usual, give it a sunny spot, a well-drained soil that can dry between waterings, and your gorgeous thyme plant is good to go.

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A multi-talented herb like mint flourishes in all kinds of preparations: from savory dishes and mojitos to chocolate-mint desserts, and as a topping for ice creams or infused in a tea.

If you were to plant it outdoors, mint can run wild and thrive by itself. But, since we are talking indoor plants here, we must advise putting mint in a small pot with rich soil and frequent watering. This way, your mint plant will grow and provide all its freshness for a very long time.

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Few vegetables are as ubiquitous in our dishes as bell peppers . You can stuff them literally everywhere. And growing bell peppers indoors has the advantage of providing a year-round supply of delicious homegrown produce.

Bell peppers are ideal for growing in pots. They need well-drained rich soil with organic matter and, again, all the sunlight your home can provide. Make a small stick cross, about 12 inches high, and plant it firmly in the soil, so the bell pepper that grows can attach itself to it.

STREAMLINE YOUR LIFE

Why You Should Embrace Personal Organization: Tips For A More Productive Life

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Personal organization is the cornerstone of productivity and success in both our personal and professional lives. And who doesn’t want to be successful? Whether you are aiming to declutter your space, manage your time more effectively, or simply reduce stress, mastering personal organization can make a significant difference.

Taking the first steps can be quite tricky, where shall you start? Here are some tips to help you tackle personal organization to streamline your life and effortlessly achieve your goals.

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Before getting started, take a moment to reflect upon your goals and define your objectives. What do you wish to accomplish? Do you wish to increase productivity, reduce your stress levels, manage time more efficiently, simply decluttering your space?

Having a clear goal will help you plan out and guide your efforts towards a single point which will, ultimately, keep you motivated.

If you haven’t thought about this yet, here is the first tip: a goal will give you the most important quality, perseverance.

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Even if you are just working on your productivity or time management, decluttering is one of the most important steps toward personal organization. Clutter can easily become overwhelming in both our physical and mental spaces: a cluttered space is a cluttered mind!

Make it a habit to clean your workspace . And don’t limit yourself to it, declutter the rest of the spaces in your home or office to create a neater environment that invites you and the rest to be more organized.

Even creating the habit of decluttering your digital spaces will benefit you. It is time to let all those newsletters and emails go!

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This might strike you as obvious at first sight, but trust us, it is not! Keep a calendar at sight to track all your appointments, deadlines, and relevant dates for both work and personal life. Having a visual representation of what your month will look like will allow you to manage your time more effectively, so you can plan ahead and avoid overbooking.

Personal organization also has to do with boundaries, so using a calendar can also serve as a strategic tool to protect your time to prioritize self-care and personal activities which are rather important when it comes to leading a successful life. In this sense, a calendar will help you allocate time for all areas of your life, not just work or business.

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Lists are a simple but powerful tool for personal organization. To-do lists will serve you as a roadmap to success. Write down your tasks (all kinds of them) and prioritize, that is, list them according to the level of importance or the deadlines you may have.

This tool will relieve your memory: You won’t worry about remembering tasks, you will be focused on actually carrying them out. Moreover, when setting a hierarchy for your duties, you will be able to allocate time , and energy to it. This ensures that all your critical tasks are done first. Whether you are a paper person or a digital one, this will help you feel relieved and satisfied at the end of the day.

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After you create a to-do list, and especially when the list is long and tedious, take the time to break down each task into smaller steps.

The main goal of this is to keep you motivated. It is not the same to have a bullet point that reads "present report" as three different ones that read "gather data," "create a spreadsheet," and "format and revise."

This approach will not only make the task seem less daunting, but it will also allow you to make steady progress toward your goal .

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Yes, the plural is very much intended. Routines are the backbone of personal organization . Develop daily and weekly routines to help you stay on top of your responsibilities. These will vary according to your lifestyle, your work, and your space.

In any case, consider setting a morning routine that includes some time for personal care and getting ready for work; and a night routine that serves the goal of getting rid of all the day weight and getting ready to get a good night's sleep.

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Maybe you are not that much of a tech-savant, but the truth is that you don’t need to be one to make the most out of the advantages technology has for us. This is a very valuable and versatile asset. Explore productivity apps, software, and digital tools that can help streamline your workflow, prioritize your tasks, and keep track of your deadlines, among other things.

In the apps market, you will find task-management apps, calendar reminders, and voice-to-text self-notes. Find the tool that works best for you and incorporate it into your daily routine.

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As we said before, personal organization has to do with boundaries too. At some point, you might realize that your personal organization is not possible because you are asking too much of yourself. Some things won’t change , regardless of how much you want them to: there are only 24 hours in a day, and eating, taking a bath, and sleeping are non-negotiable parts of it.

Creating a to-do list, using a calendar and all these tips will help you notice whether this is your case or not. And if it is, you should first and foremost consider delegating some of the tasks that are overflowing your list.

No, this won’t make you less capable of anything. In any case, will make you a more productive, successful person who knows their own limitations and respects them.

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You might be acing all of these tips and tricks, but a distraction can easily derail your detailed plans. Identify these distractors in your environment and take measures to minimize them.

This could involve less chatting with colleagues, leaving your phone on mute or even in a different room, and blocking websites so you can’t access them during a certain task.

Time management techniques can come in handy when it comes to distractions. For example, the Pomodoro technique sets a five-minute break for every half an hour of work.

Again, you have to reflect upon what works best for you. Be honest, but don’t force yourself into being someone you are not!

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Personal organization is often confused with setting strict boundaries, routines, and times. They won’t take you anywhere if you are not capable of adapting to unforeseen circumstances.

Every tool you use needs to be adaptable, the key to personal organization is to use them to your favor and get ready for when those unexpected changes come knocking on your door.

Unpredictable events will have nothing on you if you have a clear goal and strong organizational strategies. And don’t forget to take some time every month to review and reflect upon them to make the necessary adjustments!