Nesting time

With cooler temperatures, I find myself wanting to stay home. Nesting season is upon us and to create a comfortable environment at home, it helps to free up the space of things that are no longer working for you.

Hitting a nerve

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Last month I launched a new class, “Put your home on a diet” at the Desmond Campus in Newburgh. What a great turnout! My takeaway on the topic of de-cluttering, organizing and letting go is that many don’t know where to start or what to do with their stuff. Whenever I share my column on social media and my blog on this information, the feedback is positive inspiration. People thirst for change and simplifying their homes.

The teacher becomes the student

Here is my secret shared with the class: I too am in the process of applying what I suggest to my clients. It has become a priority. Why? Time and time again, client after client I hear the same thing; “We should have been living like this all along”. As much as I enjoy my client’s happiness with the results of staging their home, it saddens me that they were missing out of loving their home while living in it.

Don’t wait till it is time to sell your house to refresh your home. You deserve to enjoy your own home and then when it is time to sell, you’ll have a better product to put on the market.

Shop your own home

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When staging a home where the sellers are still living in it, most of the time I am working with what they own. I literally shop their home. As I rearrange furniture and accessories, I’ll ask: Do you have a bowl or a lamp or a piece of art? People usually have everything they need right under their nose or buried in the basement or a closet. Sometimes an item from one room works better in another.

Start with your bedroom

In a future column I will discuss the updating of my own house. My master bathroom was remodeled in the spring but I did not make any changes to my bedroom until just recently. Dressers were rearranged and drawers were redistributed to streamline the process of getting dressed. Some items were removed from the room which will get painted over the winter.

Change is good

Can I tell you how much I love my ‘new’ room? I find myself sleeping better. The new placement of dressers feels more cohesive which is allowing me to stop grabbing the same pieces to wear which is keeping me from spending money because I think I have nothing to wear.

Our homes will always be a work in progress. There will always be a closet to clean out or something to update or repair. Start in one room and move on to the next. You may find you have everything you need but just need to clear the space to honor it. There is nothing better than coming home to a place that makes you feel good.