One of the best things about the design industry is that it is collaborative.  With that in mind I have launched a guest blog series that will post occasionally.  For the very first one I am happy to introduce Sally Warren of Clean-Our-House.com

Life at home often feels like a series of moving parts—meals, laundry, paperwork, and endless small tasks that can pile up. When everything blends into clutter, stress follows closely behind. By shaping a few deliberate tidiness habits, you can create an environment where relaxation comes more naturally. These are not grand renovations or expensive overhauls. They are simple adjustments that change how you experience your living space. Rhythm in the home begins with small cues of order, and the way those cues echo through your day is what makes the difference.

The weight of clutter on mood

The presence of clutter does more than fill physical space; it eats away at mental ease. Researchers at CAMH describe how clutter undermines well-being by amplifying feelings of tension and fatigue. When surfaces are buried and belongings spill into sightlines, the brain interprets the chaos as unfinished tasks demanding attention. Instead of restoring calm, the home becomes another source of noise. Removing unnecessary buildup helps reestablish an internal quiet, the kind of quiet that allows you to breathe more deeply and recharge.

Digital order supports peace

The calm of a tidy home extends into the digital layer we all live with. Bills, school forms, recipes, and personal records can quickly scatter across inboxes and devices. Consolidating them makes the household feel lighter. With PDF tools, it becomes simple to gather multiple files and compress them into a single, unified document. If the idea of digital tidiness resonates, check this out. Just as clearing a table opens mental space, combining scattered files reduces the friction of managing daily responsibilities and allows home life to feel more streamlined.

Lighting changes the atmosphere

Tidiness isn’t only about putting objects away—it’s also about the cues that set the emotional tone of a room. Something as simple as switching bulbs or lampshades can reset the energy. Design experts have long emphasized that warm soft lighting promotes calm, encouraging people to unwind at the end of the day. Light that is too harsh makes even an organized space feel sterile, while a warmer glow enhances comfort. Pairing a clean surface with the right lighting produces a gentle sense of sanctuary that lingers long after the switch is flipped.

Every item deserves a place

It’s not the number of possessions that creates the most tension; it’s their lack of a defined home. The habit of giving a place for every item at home ensures that tidying becomes automatic rather than exhausting. Keys return to the hook, bags slide into the same corner, and books line the same shelf. Over time, this practice builds muscle memory. You no longer debate where to put something down, and you waste less time searching when it’s needed. This rhythm turns maintenance into a nearly invisible part of your day.

Small resets, big relief

Grand organizing sessions rarely hold up because life keeps moving. The trick lies in short, repeatable resets. Experts suggest that it’s enough to pick one area each evening and restore it before bed. One night it might be the kitchen counter, another night the entryway bench. By morning, the first thing you see is a clear surface instead of yesterday’s residue. The advice to pick one area each evening brings order without overwhelming effort, and the payoff is a smoother start to the day.

Clear labels for quick access

Even tidy shelves can become sources of frustration if containers look identical or unlabeled. The act of taking a few minutes to label containers for easy finding reduces the micro-stress of searching. Transparent boxes marked with a simple tag save time and prevent double-buying items you already own but can’t locate. This habit is especially helpful in shared spaces, where family members or roommates need to access the same supplies. By clarifying what belongs where, you also lower the chances of items drifting back into chaos.

Mess leaves a mark on the body

Untidiness is not just a visual distraction—it registers physiologically. Studies highlighted by neuroscience researchers show that mess triggers physiological stress, increasing cortisol and sparking anxiety. The sight of disarray can raise heart rate and sharpen irritability without you realizing the connection. Tidiness, then, is not an aesthetic luxury. It is a form of self-care. Creating orderly environments protects the nervous system, making it easier to recover from the demands of the outside world once you step back inside.

Tidiness habits are never about chasing perfection. They are about shaping consistent rhythms that create comfort. A well-lit corner with clear surfaces, containers marked for easy retrieval, and paperwork consolidated into simple files all contribute to a sense of relief. Small resets and intentional placements keep disorder from gaining ground. By understanding how clutter affects both mood and physiology, you can see that organization is not a chore but an act of restoring balance. Each choice to create order builds into an atmosphere that welcomes you home and invites relaxation.

Discover how thoughtful design can transform your space and enhance your well-being at Lenore Brooks Design.

As the winter Holiday season ramps up it is easy to get bowled under mountains of to do lists, social obligations, presents to buy or make and of course, decorating your home.  Decorating can be a hugely stressful endeavor for many people, as it is a front and center visual and therefor easy for other people to judge.  Or for us to feel like they are.  Every year the media, (both professional publications and social media) seem to scream at us about what we ABSOLUTELY MUST DO THIS YEAR!  Did you see that A-list actors Christmas tree???  These seasonal boughs will change your life!  Wreathes in this new style will show everyone you're in "the know"!!!  Must be cutting edge!!  No one will come to your party or have a good time if you use last years colour scheme!  OK, that last one might be a stretch, but its what it feels like to me.  I'm here to tell you all of that, and I mean ALL OF IT, is a load of BS.

Sure, change up your decor, follow a trend - but do it because you like it, not because you feel like your stuff is not good enough.  Trust me, it is.  The holidays are an industry like everything else.  If you don't need to buy new stuff every year then they don't make as much money.  It piles unnecessary stress on an already stressful time.  

I'll be perfectly honest, I haven't bought a new ornament (other then one as a present for my son every year) a or holiday decor item in at least 7 years.  Probably more.  I HAVE bought new lights because those things die at an alarming rate, and I like a tonne of them.  Its not that I don't ever see anything new that I like, but that I have nothing I want to replace and a limited amount of storage space. 

So how do I achieve an apparent stress free atmosphere?  It is definitely more then a mindset, and I'm sharing my personal strategies below.  There is no one right answer, and what I do may not resonate with you and that's OK!  But maybe it will spark an idea, or maybe it will make you appreciate what it is that you DO do more. 

Burnout and overwhelm are real issues that can take what is supposed to be an enjoyable celebration and turn it into a nightmare.  Creating systems that work for you can turn into traditions that are both enjoyable and take the stress and guesswork out of the season.  

So if you are bored with your decor, or see something that inspires you that you want to integrate, that's wonderful!  There are always new ideas out there and our tastes and environments change throughout our lives.  Changing up decor and including the tastes of those around you, are things I greatly encourage.  Give yourself room, however, to do what makes YOU happy, makes YOUR heart sing, regardless of the industry side of the holidays shouting at you from grocery store check out aisles and social media.  Choose peace on earth and a silent night.

Designing a room often starts with an inspiration image.  The design expands from there and many things are factored in.  Why, then, are there rooms that don't feel like they work?  Don't get used?  Or worse, feel like they're working against you?  Often our assumptions of what we need, our preconceived notions of what we "ought" to have, or the way we want our fantasy selves to live/work/play lead us in a direction that doesn't complement the way we actually live/work/play.  This disconnect can be avoided by following an often ignored crucial first step: Analysis.  Doesn't sound fun?  Well it can seem like it wouldn't be, but it can be an interesting dive into you, your family and your life.  You can work on it at the same time as your aesthetic choices, but I do highly recommend you stick to mood or pinterest boards and don't purchase anything until its finished.  

Designing rooms based on how you use them in reality seems like a very basic concept but often rooms end up being designed for their desired or named purpose instead.  For example: a dining room that is furnished with table and chairs but the family always eats in the eat-in kitchen. Depending on the family, it might make more sense as a music room, or home office.  While in the mind of the adults dinner parties and sit down dinners together at a carefully laid table with that beautiful table cloth that never gets used may be what they desire, in reality the chaotic casual meals within reach of the fridge is how the family actually lives.

So how exactly do you do this all important Analysis?  I've outlined it below in 3 steps.

2.  What do you currently do or have that you want to maintain? 

• Focus on the room itself. If you have something that you want to keep, but it doesn’t matter where in the house it goes, don’t list it here.

3.  What do you want to do that you can’t do, and what is in the way? 

• If the room is used for its purpose but always messy and uncomfortable, you may want to take some time to address the clutter before continuing. Before launching any redesign,  changing the purpose of the space or not,  you need to sort through the stuff to see what needs to stay and what needs to go either out of the house or into another room.  Otherwise you’re going to be designing for clutter not the purpose of the room. 

4.  What do you want to have that you don’t already have? 

• This is important even if you are not changing the purpose of the room.  Things like storage space for toys, bookshelves, a fireplace, a bar, or an adjacent bathroom.

5.  Who is using the room? 

• In particular, are the people using the rooms the intended ones? For example, do you have a living room that you want to be an adult space but its over run with kids toys? Is there a family room where the kids can’t do their homework because the TV is always on?

Once you’ve analyzed how you use your space, you’ll have a good sense of what needs to change and how hard those changes are going to be.

Similarly, if you want to create a space with a new purpose, or a dual purpose space, like a guest room / craft room, or a home office in a bedroom, set it up with what you have first, use the space for a few days, and then repeat your analysis to see what you need before investing in desks and storage solutions and so on.

Tip: If you are thinking of adding a larger piece of furniture to a room but are not sure if it will work, you can try using painter’s tape on the floor, or piling boxes to the size of the piece to get a sense of how room will feel with a new bed or desk or shelf or whatever item it is that you are considering.

Once you’ve worked with the new space arrangement for even a short time, you’ll know whether you want to move forward with your redesign yourself, or whether you want to consult a designer.

If your space needs renovation:

If you have identified issues that you think will require renovation, consulting a designer before your renovate is a good idea, even if you plan to do the actual renovations yourself. However, there are a few steps you should take before you call the designer!

First, if you can do even a little bit of rearranging for a trial run, you should do so. Second, you should also answer the project planning questions as well as you can before calling in the designer

This is a short version of the information I gather when preparing for working with new clients. You don’t have to have everything figured out, but answering these questions before starting will help the project go forward quicker and smoother. Don’t worry about the HOW yet, just worry about the WHAT.

This can snowball into other rooms. If your space has become a dumping ground, or you decide to move an activity to another location, you may find a similar issue in another room.
During you initial thinking and research stage, take a walk around and see if there are spaces or rooms that will work for the relocated items, activities, and people.

If you can’t think of where or how to relocate things, this is the kind of issue you can bring to a designer. The solution might be as simple as a furniture rearrangement to integrate the overflow activities and items to a new location, or you may need to rethink your plans.

Some designers, like myself, will offer a fixed rate for short consults. Even if you want to do it yourself, it is good to hire a designer for an hour or two so you can discuss your space analysis and the solutions you’ve identified.

This is especially important if you’re planning renovations. While furniture layouts are low-risk solutions that have few consequences if you get them wrong, renovations that miss the mark can be costly, time consuming, and miserable.

The great news is, if you’ve gone through the first three steps listed here, you’ll be able to make great use of a one or two hour consultation: you’ll know the WHAT and you can get the designer’s advice on the HOW.

Do a space analysis of your existing home if you are moving to a new one. This will help you figure out your must haves and want-to-haves, as well as keep you focused on how the living spaces you look at will support your life and the things you love to do.

If you’re ready for a designer’s input, or if you have questions, get in touch!