Researchers at the Center on Everyday Lives and Families (CELF) at UCLA discovered a link between clutter and depression. They found that the more stuff in a home, the more stress female homeowners feel. They also found that women associate a neat and tidy home with a happy and successful family.

Our lives are complicated. We’ve got a million things going on and our minds are being pulled in a million different directions. We’re stressed out and exhausted.

Now's the time to swap those warm-weather tank tops for comfy, cozy sweaters. While you're at it, it's a good time to assess which items of clothing you actually wore this season and which items stayed hidden away in your closet or drawer. And, as you review, stay curious and have fun.

We're halfway through 2022. How is your year going so far? Are you where you thought you would be, or are you feeling a bit stuck?

I love to be at home. My home is a sanctuary and retreat from the stressors of everyday life. It's a source of comfort, calm, and peace, and it's my favorite place to be. I feel incredibly lucky and grateful to live in a space that brings me joy and supports me and my life.

Let's say you've decided to tackle a decluttering project. You’re feeling ready to pare down and purge things that you no longer need and use. Yay for you!

Do you tend to put off taking care of regular, everyday tasks - like cleaning the kitchen maybe? Sometimes an honest evaluation of the time and effort it actually takes can move you toward action instead of procrastination. 

During the process of sorting and purging, your mind may work against you. Thoughts like “I don’t know how to do this,” “this is hard,” “I want this done now,” “I’m so overwhelmed,” and “I give up” can quickly hijack the project, leaving you feeling frustrated and defeated.

Hello, beautiful friends. I hope you and your loved ones are healthy, safe, and well.

At the beginning of January, I shared that 2020 would be my Year to Be Present/Year of Presence, which was inspired by a sign on a church down the street encouraging us to BElieve THEre is GOOD in the world." I wrote about my intentions to be the good, see the good and do good.

We all do our part to tread as lightly on the earth as possible, and most of us recycle, but not everything is recyclable. What are we to do with our old electronics, light bulbs, and other items we cannot put in the recycling bins?

When working to declutter and organize your closet and wardrobe, some people find it helpful to impose rules or limits on the number of items they own. Putting self-imposed limits in place around the amount of clothing one owns can be an easy way to simplify one’s wardrobe and end the constant wrestling of, “to keep or not to keep?”

Unfortunately, the journey to the Land of Organized never ends. There will always be laundry to wash, dry, fold, and put away, new clothes to purchase, old clothes to donate, groceries to buy, meals to prepare, mail to sort, beds to make, bills to pay, items to return, paper products to store, to-do lists aplenty, hobbies to pursue. Our houses are a revolving door of stuff coming in and going out.

The process to purge, declutter and organize a space involves motivation, time, commitment, energy and decisiveness. When these five components work in conjunction, this creates a recipe for success. If one of these aspects wanes, the system begins to break down.

As my Year of Clarity has progressed, I've been presented with some interesting personal and professional projects that are forcing me to stretch in new ways. Clarity has brought them to light and bravery is needed in order to move forward.

Remember the days of 35mm film and cameras that were only a camera, not a phone, computer, and camera all rolled into one? Back then, when you took a picture, you hoped it was in focus, everyone in the shot was looking at the camera, and nobody's eyes were closed but had to wait until the roll of film was processed to find out. And once the film was developed, instead of immediately tossing the blurry pictures or the shots you didn't like, you stuck the whole stack back into the paper envelope and threw them in a box, container, or drawer, to be discovered years later. Such is the case for many of us, including some of my clients.

Show your home some love, not just on Valentine's day, but every day. Below are five easy ways:

For those of you who have been following my blog for the past few years, y'all know I've chosen a word that drives my decisions for the year. Doing so has become a powerful way to incorporate a concept/idea/way of thinking into how I go about living/being/doing/supporting/thriving. 

Hello, friends. How are you? It's been a while. We're smack-dab in the middle of January 2019 already and I'm baffled as to how that happened.

Does this scenario sounds familiar? Your alarm startles you out of bed. You drag yourself into the shower with hopes of becoming more alert. When finished, you stand in front of your clothes hoping a stylish, fashionable outfit will jump out of the closet and onto your body. When you realize this is an impossible feat, you rifle through the enormous pile of clothing on the floor in search of something...anything...that's clean and unwrinkled that you can throw together in a hurry so you're not THAT late for work.

Habits are formed when nerve cells that fire together wire together, and creating a new habit takes time. A habit is like walking through grass; the more you walk on the same path, the more the path forms. When you stop, the grass grows back.

Maintaining order and organization is a skill that can be developed and learned, similar to creating a new habit. The more you practice those skills and habits, the easier it becomes to maintain organization.