Five Ways to Feel Less Stressed by Your Home

1. Put it away now, not later. Putting away that dish or clothes hanging on the chair is going to take just a few minutes so there’s just no gain to procrastinating such a simple and quick task that will instantly avoid clutter

2. Maintain negative space. Rather than cramming every square inch of the inside of a drawer, cabinet, closet, etc., purposefully allow for empty space in between items to keep the space feeling light and airy. It can be tempting to fill up all of your space with things but it will clutter the space quickly, leaving you stressed and worst of all, make it hard to find things when you need them! 

3. Keep flat surfaces clear. This can be tricky especially if you’re using large appliances on a daily basis. But you can keep those 1-2 appliances out on the counter and be sure to put the others after every use. The same goes with coffee tables, dining tables, side tables, etc — go through what’s on them and store away the items that don’t belong there.  

4. Balance inanimate decor with plants. Plants bring life and color into the home and some even naturally purify the air! They have properties that can lower stress and there are many that require low maintenance care so no extra work is needed! 

5. Schedule a weekly tidy up routine. When you implement and stick to a quick routine on a weekly or daily basis, the space is less likely to accumulate clutter. Be sure to include things like tossing out junk mail, storing things back where they belong and making a to do list for pending tasks. This way you can hold yourself accountable to get things lying around the house like paying bills, returns, etc. I suggest creating a routine to store things back where they belong every evening so that you can wake up to peace and order every morning, starting the day off to the right foot.