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In light of the Sun now being in Virgo as well as Mercury being Retrograde in Virgo, I thought I’d offer some practical advise on what to do during this retrograde period, giving some specific items that might offer you inspiration for taking advantage of all the Virgo in the air for the next three weeks!

Virgo’s love to know what day it is and to plan ahead almost as much as Capricorn’s do! And let’s face it, 2010 isn’t going to last forever, so get a jump on 2011 planning with this gorgeous calendar from one of my favorite letterpress companies. I always look forwards to time going by with Linda and Harriett’s calendar to look at! 

3. Chemise Box A4 in Ciel Blue by Semikolon $29.99 (www.organize.com)

Virgo loves getting their ducks in a row.  I once said to a friend, “You have to get your ducks in a row because inevitably someone comes along and shoots one!” Perhaps at first seeming a bit of a “glass half empty” philosophy, it actually is rather optimistic in that the point is, if you actually do have all your ducks in a row you’re usually left with more ducks than not and everything still goes according to plan. So think and plan ahead, and organize those pictures, burn those backup DVDs of important items, and file, file, file!  If you don’t need it, shred, shred, shred! No one wants their identity stolen, and shredding is the only way to go for documents with any personal info on them. 

If you’ve been reading Design*Sponge as long as I have you’ve just been itching to transform some of your furniture by giving it a new paint job! Before applying that new coat, don your dust mask and eye protection, and remove the previous old paint with this 3-in-1 Sander. I know I will be transforming several small end tables this Mercury Retrograde that I should have re-painted years ago! 

You don’t have to be a Virgo to be worried about bed bugs if you live in New York City. What with them appearing in your workplace, your movie theater, your stores, your friend’s apartment, and even the Empire State Building, it’s enough to make many diehard New Yorkers want to just stay home for fear of bringing back unwelcome guests to their abode! However, life wasn’t meant to be lived like that, and one must continue to enjoy the city even with the threat of creepy crawlers abounding. Because of that I suggest gaining some piece of mind by encasing your bed with “Protect-A-Bed” and put your bed bug fears to rest!

 A Virgo once said to me “Sometimes it’s just as satisfying, if not more-so, to not buy something instead of buying it!” Being a Taurean who naturally likes to accumulate things, I almost wanted to disagree with her, but decided to keep my mouth shut and realize that Virgo’s know a thing or two about keeping neat and organized, and not accumulating clutter. I decided instead to try out her philosophy, and have indeed found at times more often than not that I can get just as much satisfaction in not buying something as buying something! For more inspiration on the fun of NOT buying things, check out the Six Items or Less clothing project (www.sixitemsorless.com) or the 100 Thing Challenge (www.guynameddave.com/100-thing-challenge.html). And if you’re not not buying something, make sure to create a budget and keep track of your spending at Mint.com for free!