Clean House!

I know most people recommend cleaning-house with the proverbial "spring cleaning", but I personally think the beginning of the new year is a great time to clean out your crowded closets, corners, and cabinets. You've probably promised yourself that you'll eat better, exercise more, or try to have a more positive attitude (or something like that) when you created your resolutions for 2009. But it's nearly impossible to successfully alter your lifestyle if your home doesn't promote healthy, harmonious living.

1. One room a day. Choose a room (or closet) and make it your goal to spend even just 10 minutes to organize, straighten, and throw out what you do not need or use regularly. Remember, you don't necessarily have to throw things out - you can donate or recycle them, instead!

2. Beautiful or Functional? If you do not use it or do not find it beautiful or feel that it enhances your life, GET RID OF IT! We fill our homes and our lives with so much unnecessary clutter. Try to progress with an objective mind and remember, you'll feel so much better when you're clutter-free!

3.Rearrange and Change. Don't be afraid to move things around. Sometimes, we live with a certain setup for so long, we forget that we have the option of changing things around! Rearrange your living room furniture if the traffic-flow doesn't feel right, add more lighting if a certain room always feels too dark, or hang up curtains or blinds in front of the window that gets direct sunlight. These small changes greatly improve your quality of life.

4. Organization Stations. Oftentimes, clutter accumulates because we don't have logical places for things. If mail piles up on the kitchen table, create a mail-bin or filing system to organize it. If keys get tossed haphazardly, hang up key hooks near the door.

Try to observe your home (and lifestyle) as if you were an outsider. In general, do things seem logical, organized, harmonious? If not, ask yourself why. Often, the solutions are simpler (and much less expensive) than you might have originally thought!

For more information about Cailen Ascher Design or my upcoming book, Well-Designed Living, visit www.CailenAscher.bravehost.com or email CailenAscher@gmail.com.

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Beautiful or Functional?

"Homes really are no more than the people who live in them." -Nancy Reagan

At its most basic function, a home is meant to shelter you, keep you warm, and house your family. Keep this in mind as you glance around your house. How many unnecessary items do you have on your shelves, coffee table, desk, or bedside table? Clutter weighs you down and detracts from your quality of life.

In your home, you should have only things that you find either beautiful or functional...the rest is just cluttering your home (and your life). Pick one room in your home and take a garbage bag with you as you walk around and throw out (or recycle!) anything you don't need and/or don't use. Try to progress with an objective eye and attempt to see how others would view your space. What does it say about you? Do you like what your house is communicating to your friends, family, and to yourself?

We often get very attached to our "stuff", but too often we keep things because we don't know what to do with them or feel guilty about getting rid of them. It is important to realize that having something (or someone for that matter) in your life that doesn't contribute is not worth keeping. Cleanse. It will lift your spirits and leave your home looking and feeling much better.

Keep in mind that everything you eliminate from your home could potentially be put to good use in someone else's! Donate unwanted items or hold a yard sale for things that are in good condition.

*These photos show the before & after of a living room in need of some de-cluttering.

For more information about Cailen Ascher Design or my upcoming book, Well-Designed Living, visit www.CailenAscher.bravehost.com or email me at CailenAscher@gmail.com.

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