There has always been a push and pull between the both . . .
Minimalist design is about prioritizing the essentials. A minimalist building, object, or interior design is stripped of its core functionality.
It is realized using limited materials, neutral colors, simple forms, and avoiding excess ornamentation to achieve a pure form of elegance.
While the final expression of a minimalist design might appear effortlessly simple, as spare as a poem, and as clear as a bell, achieving this kind of powerful simplicity is anything but easy.
It takes purposeful decision-making to bring it all together.
Maximalism design is popular among younger generations, particularly millennials, who were eager to incorporate plants, mixed colors, and other accessories into their spaces.
Maximalism became a way to define an eclectic home with a chaotic array of colors, prints, objects, and textures in a single space.
Maximalism is the art of more-is-more; layered patterning, highly saturated colors, ample accessories and artwork hung “salon-style”, and a real sense of playfulness and bold gestures.
Maximalism is all about going big, or going home!
Here is a list of articles, and information about both minimalist & maximalist design:
To the basics . . . I am returning to where I started thirty-three years ago, providing my clients with Organizing & Coaching services.
People are overwhelmed with their clutter, but most American families live within chaotic family and work schedules, which keeps them in the clutter because they’re telling themselves “I don’t have time” so clutter has the time to accumulate. We can help break that cycle.
We can help you find the time, when you’re surrounded by clutter, your mindset is in total chaos – that’s where we can first help. We can partner to find a starting point along with an action plan while moving you forward to your goal.
We provide a safe place for you to start letting go of your clutter.
Letโs be truthful, clutter makes us feel crappy. Thatโs why, every year, after the big ball drops, oodles – oodles and oodles of us vow โthis year we will get organized,โ Fist pumps in the air, the family high-fiving each other. But, as days, weeks, and months go by and we resume our daily routines, the motivation to declutter tends to diminish. Perhaps your inner โneat freakโ merely needs the incentive to jump-start the organizing process.
Do you have too much clutter lying around? Do you have tripping hazards? such as tripping over toys in the middle of the night. Nevertheless, clutter causes many internal problems which โ although less obvious than the Lego maze spread across your family room floor โ are quite impactful on your life.
Putting in the effort of getting organized, especially if this organization extends to multiple areas of your life, can help reduce stress and anxiety levels long term by requiring less last-minute scrambling in a variety of directions in everyday situations. It can also feel empowering, so you can experience new situations as “exciting” rather than “stressful.โ
HEALTH BENEFITS OF BEING ORGANIZED:
*Boost your energy and productivity
*Reduce stress & anxiety
*Sleep better
*Lose weight
*Improve your financial health
Clutter happens to all of us at one time or another and regaining control over the chaos can be challenging. Fortunately, science has shown getting organized has so many health benefits. Making small changes and successive improvements in one area can lead to positive effects in other areas. For example, less stress means a better nightโs sleep. This just might be the motivation you need to kick your organizing goals into high gear.
Check out the three Organize & Coach Packages that are available now.
I have focused my organize + coachwork on busy professionals that have struggled with chronic disorganization throughout their whole life. My clients and I work together to understand their challenges and to identify, and strategize along with learning new skills and habits.
Chronic Disorganization Fees
$75 / hour 60 – 90 – 180 minutes sessions
Walk & Talk Strategy
A 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hour Walk & Talk Strategy Session will provide clarity and a written step-by-step strategy for getting organized. We begin with an interview and an examination of the spaces of concern, then continue with an evaluation of various organizing options and product recommendations (if needed). I can provide a sketch of the future layout as part of this package and would also be pleased to advise you on how to work with an assistant or temporary help in order to achieve your organizing goals.
Walk & Talk Fees
Individuals, non-profits, small businesses โ $75/hour plus expenses
Corporations โ $100/hour plus expenses
3. The Organizing Operation
I’ll sort through the clutter, create simple systems designed to your style and specifications, and replace the chaos with a pleasing functional, clean & tidy space.
Have a deadline?
Not productive or frustrated by your desk, filing system or office?
Overwhelmed with household storage areas, home office, or the so-called guest room?
On-Site/In-Person Organizing Operation Fees
Individuals, non-profits, and small businesses โ $75 per hour plus expenses
Corporations โ $100 per hour plus expenses
Coaching Package Activities: to facilitate your journey to a Simple Lifestyle!
Vision/Mood Board Kit – learn techniques of creative visualization to achieve goals
Journals Kit – help you organize your thoughts, set goals with positive self-encouragement
Daily Planner Kits – help with time management, become more productive, stay on tasks
These three pathways fit into all Organize & Coach packages:
Hands-on Sessions.
In-home organizing tailored to fit your lifestyle and design style. For help making all spacesโincluding walk-in closets, home offices, pantries, playrooms, and everything in betweenโfunctional and stylish.
DIY Organizing ~ Virtual Coming Soon!
Expert guidance via videos & guidebooks. Follow a personalized plan and shopping list that fits your budget and design aesthetic. LBD prefers placement over purchase to style the space, we will have you shop your home before sending you off to the stores. You will then put it into action with one-on-one organizing support in real-time. You will receive a written action plan within the personalized guidebooks for your organizational needs.
Organization Design.
Customized Review of planned closet systems and/or built-in kitchen, bath, or garage cabinets. So you can be sure your newly built or remodeled storage spaces will be well organized for your lifestyle, and that the storage fits the purpose of the space.
Do you know that period of time between Christmas and New Year?
I always remember as a former House Cleaner, those days were the busiest, most chaotic, and all schedules โgo to hellโ week.
The kids are acting up, and the pets are acting up.
Kids are out of school and โjacked upโ on holiday sweets and chocolates
The family is visiting, and even though they visit every year they forget where things go so everything is on the stairs itโs a competition โwho can create the best displaysโ.
Your schedule has remained the same at work during this period, but the schedules at home have gone to hell!
You have ribbon all over the place, gifts in boxes scattered all over the floor, the cat is laying on every single wrapping paper it can find, and the dog has cleaned the kitchen island with its tongue . . . someone spread more jelly on the cutting board than the bread.
Friends want to stop by to visit your relatives in town, and you canโt find the living room through all the gifts, paper, ribbons, kids, parents, and pets.
Thatโs where a Lifestyle Organizer comes in – to be those extra hands to help keep your home in that Holiday Spirit to welcome in the New Year. A welcome filled with less stress, organized surroundings, a place where you are comfortable welcoming all that come to your home without worry or anxiety. This year you will probably for the first time truly enjoy YOUR Holiday Season.
Your home is not only your sanctuary during the holidays, but it’s also the stage for many holiday events. Whether you are hosting parties for family and friends, gift wrapping, or decorating your space, we are here to help you create your vision of what the holiday season means to you.
Want to decorate but can’t find the time to get to the attic where you store your decorations? We can help with that! Need to declutter and clean your closets, pantry, or bedrooms before guests arrive? We have that covered on our list, too! As you prepare your home for all of the wonderful memories to come, we can help you organize it to accommodate any event you have visioned this Holiday Season.
This Holiday, give yourself the best gift you could ever receive– the gift of Peace & Harmony! so you can enjoy the holiday events as you should.
Here’s how a Home Stager can get the premium price from a sale
Stagers are professionals who work with real estate agents to help them sell homes by enhancing interiors for the best possible presentation. Realtors know that selling is more effective, and perceived values increase when prospective customers walk through rooms that are beautifully designed and decorated. This is where the stager can be an essential partner to the agent and the seller.
We partner with real estate agents and Property Managers like yourself in order to market your listings to their best capacity. Partnering with a professional home stager & Redesigner adds credibility to your business, tremendous value to your listing package, and ultimately results in faster, more profitable home sales. Certified Home Stagers are specially trained to work with agents to quickly transform the inside of the home so that the traffic that the agent drives to the home will result in multiple offers.
How do they do this? We use an 8-step “FEEL HOME EMOTIONS” mission in each room of the home that serves to engage your clients (the home seller) in the process while ensuring that every detail is dealt with in the transformation of the home.
Here are the three easy steps to ensure a SOLD home:
1. Before listing the home, have a Home Stager come to the home and develop a plan for staging the home that focuses on quick transformations, return on investment and works within the client’s budget. Even if you’re a DIYer, we can create a WALK & TALK action plan for you to reference.
2. Working with the home seller, the Home Stager makes only those changes that will reap a large return on dollars spent AND will speak to home buyers’ emotions.
3. Once staged, the home is photo ready! Since 95% of home buyers are using the Internet to determine whether to visit the home, photos of professionally staged rooms will set the listing apart from the rest.
Staging of Owner-Occupied Homes for Sale –We offer a variety of services for occupied homes including in-home consultation, a DIY Walk & Talk action plan, art and accessory packages, and staging only a particular room to showcase its function. Occupied staging focuses on decluttering and furniture placement over purchase to make your home market & photo ready.
Staging of Vacant Homes for Sale –We walk every property before providing a bid so we can create a customized design plan that positions the home to sell fast, with the most abundant amount. Our bid is a fixed, flat fee – no monthly fees, no ongoing fees, no design fees, no delivery fees โฆ NO Surprises! The rental fees are based on the number of rooms or square footage of the home.
Interior Redesign –Lifestyle by Design can provide options and ideas for “refreshing” your home’s decor as well as providing assistance with shopping (which is primary in-home shopping) and setup. Services and products can be customized to fit the homeowner’s budget. This service works well if you have an upcoming personal or business event that youโll have within your home, great way to showcase your sanctuary.
Holiday and Event Staging – Whether you’re planning an event at your home or office and need assistance decorating for the holidays, Lifestyle by Design can provide options and ideas to give your space that perfect look to enhance that special occasion. Services and products can be customized to fit the homeowner/clientโs budget.
Itโs human nature to be attracted to pretty things and staged homes are much prettier than unstaged or badly staged homes. Staging relieves your client of stress and pressure and worries if their home looks good enough for buyers to pay the highest price.
Professional staging will encourage the buyer to form an โemotional linkโ with the house and itโs that connection that leads them to buy the home. When our home was on the market I put out pamphlets of information about the local schools, local farmer markets, local wineries & Music – this way it makes them a part of home & community. Itโs an idea I took from going up military, for each new deployment we would have a welcome kit waiting for us with all the information we needed to engage with our new community.
Remember staging is an investment, not an expense. You are investing in a proven method for appealing to the greatest number of potential buyers willing to pay the highest price. Remember earlier when I said we had our home on the market – it was on the market for 1 day, our home was a 30-year-old home with some aging, and it was bought within 4 hours. I asked our realtor what was her response to your survey question, and he said as she walked around she felt she had found โHomeโ.
If youโre looking for guidance beyond this post today, my Coach/Organize/Stage Programs can be customized just for you and/or your clients. Book a Complimentary Session to discuss how I can help your clients get the best and quickest price for their homes. I look forward to guiding you on your journey to achieve a โShowcaseโ of your homes or business.
Ways to contact us!
Call/Text 860.961.6824 or you can email envisionsdesigns@gmail.com for your free 1/2 hour consultation.
Simplify Your Lifestyle (SYL) Hands-On Professional Organizingworks best if the client is present for the decluttering portion to make decisions about what to keep vs. discard as we go through the spaces that the client has chosen to start. Charges for these services are in 2 segments: Labor (package pricing available) and Product (if needed). ($50/Hour)
Simplify Your Lifestyle (SYL) Total Space Refresh is another option. This service is great for those who are behind with dishes, laundry, organizing, picking up, and cleaning – youโre always late out the door, and the kids are late to school without their homework. Itโs an organizing service that offers it all! ($50/Hour)New London County, donโt stress as the clutter & chores pile up. Let us tackle them for you once and for all, giving you a fresh start along with customized organization systems and habits from which you can move forward, with a clean space.
Each Session Includes Organize/Clean/Redesign Services($50/Hour)
What is a Slow-Living Lifestyle? Taking time to enjoy life
What are the benefits? Less stress, increase happiness, more time to enjoy moments
Declutter your spaces- having organized spaces give you more energy and time
Learn to say โNOโ –you will learn not to feel bad for making yourself a priority
Step away from Social Media –there is no such thing as living slowly on these platforms
Spend time doing nothing – Not Literally!Savor time during the day to enjoy what brings joy
Do things more slowly – This IS Literally!Be less aggressive and more purposeful with your time
The SLOW acronym means:Sustainable – Local – Organic – Whole
Coaching Package Activities: to facilitate your journey toSimplify Your Lifestyle!
Vision/Mood Board Kit –learn techniques of creative visualization to achieve goals
Journals Kit –help you organize your thoughts, set goals with positive self-encouragement
Daily Planner Kits –help with time management, become more productive, stay on tasks
These three pathways fit into all three SYL coaching packages:
Hands-on Sessions.
In-home organizing tailored to fit your lifestyle and design style. For help making all spacesโincluding walk-in closets, home offices, pantries, playrooms, and everything in betweenโfunctional and stylish.
DIY Organizing ~ Virtual Coming Soon!
Expert guidance via videos & guidebooks. Follow a personalized plan and shopping list that fits your budget and design aesthetic. LBD prefers placement over purchase to style the space, we will have you shop your home before sending you off to the stores. You will then put it into action with one-on-one organizing support in real time. You will receive a written action plan within the personalized guidebooks for your organizational needs.
Organization Design.
Customized Review of planned closet systems and/or built-in kitchen, bath, or garage cabinets. So you can be sure your newly built or remodeled storage spaces will be well organized for your lifestyle, and that the storage fits the purpose of the space.
You spend a large part of your life and hard-earned money on the concept of the American dream, buying and living in your forever home. Your home is a special place, filled with lots of memories, love, and tons of laughter. As you age, you might start asking yourself whether your home works with your changing daily routines and needs.
To ease challenges and simplify living, you may want to consider downsizing. Downsizing can offer many financial and lifestyle benefits for seniors.
Why Downsize? Downsizing is the idea that your current space is more than you need and moving to a smaller space may fit your future needs better. Minimizing your living space and the amount of stuff you have can lead to less stress, lower living expenses, and a simpler overall life.
What to Look For. Before you downsize, create a list of your needs and wants in a new home. First and foremost, make sure you are moving to a space where you feel safe and comfortable. If you are going from a single-family home to a condo, consider that you will now have neighbors and the style of living will be different, but sometimes different is good and can expose you to new things you would never enjoy if you didnโt downsize.
Also, consider your future health needs. You may no longer want or be able to go up and down the stairs easily, so consider a ranch-style home or a first-floor unit. Ensure you have optimal mobility in your new living space to help prevent accidents and falls.
YOUR FIRST STEP:
Declutter. As we get older we seem to accumulate a lot of treasures over the years. Moving into a smaller space forces decisions on how to sort through treasures. There are some basic ways to streamline possessions when downsizing:
Determine what is going on with you
Give items to the adult children
Donate
Sell
Create 4 piles when declutteringย each space – K-T-D-S = KEEP TOSS DONATE SELL
Packing. If the senior and family members are packing up instead of using professional movers, there are a few tips to consider:
Pack one room completely before moving on. This means making the more difficult decisions up front without leaving items to decide on late in the process.
Pack dishes and glassware with care. Use extra packing paper and wrap each individual piece. Stack dishes vertically, not horizontally. Pad the container’s top and bottom with cloth or towels and mark the box โfragile.โ
Pack essentials separately. Consider what will be needed in the first week in the new homeโexamples: medications, toilet paper, shower curtains, towels, and hand soap. Make sure you Label the boxes so that each container does not have to be opened to discover what is inside. Label each box with – WHAT ROOM DOES IT GO, CONTENT believe me as many times as I have moved your friends will appreciate these two bits of information.
Consider a portable storage unit or a moving pod, which will provide a less stressful experience because it can be loaded over time. Make sure when youโre setting a new budget for your new home – you budget this item.
Consider hiring professionals. There are Professional Organizers (like Lifestyle by Design) who specialize in assisting older adults and their families with the emotional and physical aspects of relocation or a transition in your lifestyle.
If youโre looking for guidance beyond this article today, my Coaching Programs can be customized just for you. Book a Complimentary Session to discuss what’s holding you back. I look forward to guiding you on your journey to achieve organized spaces in your home or business.
Lifestyle by Design 