Make that 5 relatively quick, inexpensive ways to make yourself feel right at home after a big move!

So you’ve made a big move to a new house -- the hard part is over, right? While moving is inarguably awful, it’s easy to overlook how tough the next phase can be. Settling in and turning that new house into a real home can be difficult. The good news is that there are ways to speed up the process -- and they aren’t too expensive or too difficult. Here’s where to get started.

Don’t Procrastinate on the Unpacking

You just packed and moved -- that’s a lot of work. I...

Families are increasingly more stretched for time, as a result of an increase in dual-income earning families, an increase in our children’s commitments, and, we own far more belongings than ever before.  So much so that a $22 BILLION a year industry has been built around personal storage.  

Virtually all product trends and sales in the U.S. home organization products market are driven by the fact that North Americans have a lot of, and many consider too much stuff. Consumers say they need more products to help corral their things. Two thirds of Amer...

Life is so busy.  There are so many aspects of life to be managed on a day to day basis.  Having a home that is free of excess that you do not use allows for better function and less stress.

Assigning homes to those items worthy of occupying your space ensures your surroundings maintain order.  When items are housed in a location that creates ease of use, it is a beautiful thing.

Here is an example...this is my kitchen cabinet that hold our everyday dishes.  I've located it above the dishwasher for easy clean up and beside the dining table for easy tab...

Getting organized is often the easiest part.  Its staying organized that many find challenging.  So many times I've been asked, "...but how do you keep up the organization?"  The answer really is easy.

One of the biggest influencers in maintaining organization is to make items easily accessible AND easy to put away.  Assign them homes that will allow you to access them without having to dig around or move other items to get at them.  Otherwise, you will almost certainly disturb the system and create a mess to clean up and rearrange....

Over my adult years, I've moved 9 times.  That's 18 times I've packed and unpacked my kitchen. As odd as it may seem, I've actually enjoyed the process.  
 

The kitchen is, in my opinion, the room in the home that benefits most from organization. And it is so much fun to plan out. Literally any space can be set up to be as efficient and user-friendly as possible.  When homeowners have the luxury of building new though, a whole new world of opportunity emerges!  The world of custom cabinetry and designing a layout to your own specifications....

Crafting is an outlet for many.  It is often a means to relax and unwind from the stresses of life.  When supplies are disorganized, this past time can too become stressful.

These resources may prove helpful to you in getting on top of your crafting game and enjoying the release again.
 

 What methods have worked for your crafting?  

You aren't alone.  So many of us struggle, for our own reasons, to let go of what has found its way into our space.  That's ok.  To move forward though, take a look at the below 9 reasons people struggle with letting go.  From this starting point, you will more easily be able to reason with yourself on what you really value enough to keep and what you are okay passing on.  
 

A current client had, as most of us do, many, many photos in various states of organization (if any at all).  She had attempted to get them organized on her own more than once but the project was just too big for her busy schedule.  

Together though, we have managed to corral and sort the photos into categories such as kid 1, kid 2, family trips, home renovations, etc. then within each category, we sorted in chronological order.  We still have multiple sessions to go in order to get them all sorted in chronological order by theme before we can begi...

Getting organized is one thing.  Staying organized is another challenge all together.  Here's four simple questions to ask yourself before buying something to integrate into your home or office.

 

Having a well-organized kitchen has always been a thing for me.  I'm not a great cook but I do enjoy making a nice meal for my family and friends.  So, of course, me being me, I thrive in an efficient space. I've had many varieties of pantries over the years and my current pantry wins the prize for the most challenging space to organize.  It is narrow and deep.   Putting items in this pantry without a system in place meant they were lost in the abyss that is the back of this narrow pantry.  What would happen is we would ended up trashing expired food found mo...