Ask For Help

• • Happy House Rules • 1 Comment

The best shortcut is to ask for help. – Apartment diet

ask for help quote

Over homes are like this too. If one person is carrying the load well…it can be a lot. Too much.

I’m not sure when it became embarrassing or difficult to ask for help. Is it an adult thing? A pride thing? A perfectionist thing? Maybe. But is it really worth all the stress?

There is no faster ways to move on from feeling overwhelmed, stuck, stressed about our homes (and lives)…then this:

Ask for help.

It could be your partner, your kids, your friends, someone to help with the cleaning or cooking, an impartial person like us to give you a roadmap to get back on track…or all of the above.

Really, it is that simple.

The best part is, it’s also usually MUCH more fun!

 

So today, if something feels too big ask yourself

– who can I ask to help me with this?…and ask them.

 

1

Estelle’s Bedroom Before & After

• • Bedroom, Before & After, Courses, Interiors • No Comment
estelle's bedroom after
As we are focusing on ‘le boudoir’ this week, it felt like a perfect time share before & afters from one of our first ever Apartment Dieters Estelle:

“Our bedroom was the most important space to get right. I needed a place I could snuggle in at the end of the day and feel totally at peace.

The Apartment Diet course made me address my embarrassing corners of mess in our apartment. It gave me the inspiration to conquer them and create a more calm and soothing space that I love being in!”
Like for so many of us, the bedroom had become filled with piles of washing, things that needed to be done, things that needed a new home, pictures that needed framing etc. All very ‘normal’, but it was no longer working…
“We were also expecting our first baby and needed to plan how to fit him into our 1 bedroom layout. Apartment Diet was totally necessary in forcing us to create a clutter-free space for our entire family to share for the next couple of years!”
before after bedside

e before after bedroom corner

The result I think you’ll agree is very calm & soothing.

Thanks for allowing us to share your bedroom transformation Estelle!

We hope this inspires you! It certainly inspired us.

Is your Bedroom a place of “rest & romance”?

• • Bedroom, Before & After, Courses, Happy House Rules, Interiors • 2 Comments

How would your bedroom look if you (re-)designed it for rest & romance?
bedroom designed for rest and romance happyhouserules apartmentdiet

“Sometimes we forget about the bedroom, we concentrated our effort in our living room, dining, but the bedroom is our sanctuary, the place where you can have a great sleep zzzzzzz” – @1happymess

I’ve spent the last few years making our bedroom calm and empty except for some pretty things to wake up to like art, small bedside tables and a lamp each.

What’s your opinion on technology in the bedroom?

Over a year ago I took it a step further and banned our phones & electronics from the bedroom too arguing they were counter to restful sleep (and distracting, plus they also emit little lights that I’m convinced disturb us).

FYI: while this change was relatively seamless because we both like watching TV etc on our couch, it was not without argument. For the first 2 weeks my Mr would bring his phone in every night and I got mad…until I finally asked him “Why?”. He grumbled that he gets up earlier and didn’t want to stumble 20m out of the bedroom to turn it off. “Oh?” I said and I bought us an old school battery powered, no light emitting, alarm clock. Argument over.

OK, that’s technology but what about those piles that well, pile up, you might ask?

Is your bedroom the household’s storage unit?

bedroom piles apartment diet

From our work with clients (we’ve seen a LOT of bedrooms), we’ve also understood that for many of us the bedroom can become a storage unit.

We get how it happens. Most of us want the public spaces to be neat when people come over, so somehow stuff just lands in our bedroom. We’re here to help you with some solutions. One part of that is to decide to make your bedroom about rest & romance. Sleep and sex/intimacy. That means no ‘not done’ piles that weigh on your head when you sleep.

Don’t be upset if it is. Let’s do something about it, together, with some of our Happy House Rules.

Do you have 5minutes? Take it and start into those piles. Just start small and repeat…over the next week. Then come up with ways to ensure ‘everything in its easy place‘ & letting go.

before after apartmentdiet client

I decided to stop using the bedroom for stuff that doesn’t have a home.

Right now ours doesn’t have many piles (except for two pieces of art that I want to hang) and it’s deliberate.  Where does our ‘extra’ stuff go’? Pretty much everywhere else. I make sure we have a lot of storage. We have a few pieces that are in a storage garage and we use our flat’s public spaces & the top of closets and shelving in the bathroom/laundry area to keep our excess stuff. I have a hamper in the bathroom. It seems to make it easier to get rid of things.

I KNOW the reality is our bedrooms often seem like the only place we can put surplus stuff.

I just want to introduce the idea that they don’t have to be. I bet you’ll sleep a lot better, too.

bedroom

So: How would your bedrooms look if you (re-)designed it with rest & romance in mind (and sleep & sex).  What would you change? Would you allow ‘technology’ or not? And would it make letting stuff go easier?

Let us know in the comments what you think – we’d love to hear your thoughts!

If this inspired you to act please email us before & after pics, we’d love to share them with the world…or join us on instagram and share your bedroom pictures and what changes you are making just use the hashtag #happyhouserules + @apartmentdiet.

Image sources: 1 / 2 / 3 /  4

The long lasting effects of Apartment Diet

• • Courses, Happy House Rules • No Comment
The other week this email popped into my inbox:
Apartment diet before and after

“The long lasting effects of Apartment Diet”

Subject: “The long lasting effects of Apartment Diet”
Dear Nat & Tip,
*please use this as a testimonial* (with my name, gladly)
I am so grateful to you at Apartment Diet for helping me see where the energy was stuck in my home.  Ever since I took your course (now it has been 8 months), I have loved my home so much more. It took time for me to integrate the changes I wanted to, and there is still more to be done; however, when people visit they say it’s a place filled with “hope” and “happiness.” Thank you!
– Shannon Walbran, spiritual consultant
Receiving this email made me sing…and then I didn’t share it. I got stuck. I didn’t know how to share it…I guess I was scared. Scared the changes in the photo were too subtle.
This week I feel differently. This week I realised ‘Shannon emailed us, without us asking her to, to tell us we had gotten her unstuck and helped her create lasting changes! And even though she is still in the process (who isn’t?) her space feels better. Everything is already better.’
This week something shifted. We may be at the beginning of our journey as apartment diet the business but I’m really proud of our work – we guide people to make lasting change in their lives, by changing their spaces. It works! Our processes work! Shannon is just one example and I am so glad she let us guide her.
—
So this week I’d like to challenge you with the #happyhouserules to “celebrate your successes” in changing your space – no matter how small it feels. Some teeny corners are awfully huge emotionally. So, go on, take a picture of a change you’ve made & tag us so we can celebrate with you.

Invite friends over

• • Courses, Happy House Rules • No Comment

invite folks happy house rules

For most of us, it’s been Easter / Passover / Spring (or Autumn) break and that often means people – family, friends, food…

One of our #happyhouserules is about inviting guests in, having friends come around and entertaining in general.

We’ve included it for two big reasons but I’m sure you can suggest more:

1. Motivation to tidy / finish

Last week we spoke about cleaning and there’s no better motivation than having friends around. Who doesn’t clean / clear up ‘spontaneously’ just before guests arrive? (There’s a another lesson here, usually  a ‘good enough’ tidy takes much less time than we think, we just need the right motivation.)

We also recommend an invitation at the end of our courses or work with folks, as hosting an event / party at the end of making big changes is also great motivation because…it’s a lovely deadline for showing off, and…

2. New energies, positive memories and experiences in our home

When we have people we love in our homes we get to refresh our own energies and create new positive memories in our homes, together.

Laughter, good food, drinks…and good company are all simple ways to make our homes feel even more happy.

Don’t forget, it doesn’t need to be something big. Inviting friends around for a take away meal or wine and low-key snacks is fun too!

So who have you been having around lately? And how has it made your home happier? If not the perhaps it’s time to invite some friends over?

—

PS We know that for some of you (and at times, us – like when the MIL comes to visit!) having people around can be stressful. So of course, the antithesis for this happy rule is that for some of us, having guests over can make us anxious and stressed but it doesn’t have to be like this!

One way to help with these feelings is to start with the people you love and trust who won’t judge…and to plan it in advance so that the things you feel are important to complete are organised in time.

Several people who have hired us or done our course have told us that one positive result is that they now feel comfortable having people over, and that their guests literally comment on how good their homes feel.

I am so grateful to you at Apartment Diet for helping me see where the energy was stuck in my home.  Ever since I took your course (now it has been 8 months), I have loved my home so much more. It took time for me to integrate the changes I wanted to… however, when people visit they say it’s a place filled with “hope” and “happiness.” Thank you!

– Shannon Walbran, spiritual consultant

We’re here if you need us…in the meantime, happy holidays!

Make Mistakes

• • Happy House Rules, Products • No Comment

This week’s #happyhouserules is about overcoming decision paralysis – and making mistakes.

make misteaks monsieur cabinet

A common barrier that Tip & I hear about over & over is “What if I make a mistake?” or “I’m afraid I’ll choose the wrong colour, fabric” etc etc. These types of questions often serve to paralyze us from making any decision at all.

Our answer is simple. “So, what if you do?”

Some decisions are admittedly harder to fix then others, some are easier to ‘live with and design around’ but most are, at the end of the day, just a mistake. Sometimes one that adds character and was the best mistake you ever made or sometimes one that needs to be painted over, or sold.

Yes, you may have to buy new paint or a different rug. You may lose a bit of money. (Generally it’s only a little bit because most goods can be returned/sold). It’s not the end of the world nor something you can’t deal with. It’s just another step in your learning journey towards understanding your true style and what your home needs.

It’s much more freeing to just shrug and allow yourself to try things and yes, make the occasional misteak.

The funny part is that once you allow yourself…you don’t seem to make as many. Or maybe it’s just that when you do make one that your attitude has changed and you don’t consider it a mistake at all anymore. Maybe you’re just ballsier and more willing to ask a store if you can try out that rug in your home and return it if it doesn’t work rather than worrying and making do with no rug at all.

Of course things go wrong. You’ll try a new shade of paint. It’s awful. (Tip actually painted her kitchen wall electric blue for a brief moment – wrong for her space in so many ways!). But because you’ve accepted that this is part of trying things out when the mistake does happen you shrug, laugh and say oops…well that’s not going to work… and go buy another can of paint.

So, what purchase / change, ahem ‘mistake’, have you been avoiding? Off you go and make it!

—

(Image by Monsieur Cabinet – you can buy it as a poster too)

As always, connect with us if you would like more guidance, we offer 1-1 coaching and courses.

Mel’s Living Room Rethink

• • Before & After, Happy House Rules, Interiors • 1 Comment

mel bomba after 4

“What you have done for me is to ‘RETHINK’ my space. My space was beautiful in bits – which showed on Instagram but as a whole it wasn’t all together…you helped me with that. Now my living room has a sense of harmony.”

I’d been following Mel Bombardiere’s gorgeous feed on Instagram for a while. Like all of us I was thinking “Oh, what a gorgeous house she has” (read: envy, jealous, mmm love her style). Then one day she put up a picture of her kitchen (below) and started complaining about her living room and I was like “What? You?” and my second thought was “I can help you with that”.

So I asked Mel if maybe I could help and she emailed me with some pictures of her living room. “Ever since my rant about my living area I’ve been on a mission…. My biggest problem is making decisions and spending money”. “It’s a funny situation because I’m unsure of how I need help … but I’m keen to get my space sorted”.

This is the type of question that has us written all over all over it! Often there’s not enough money for new furniture or you’re stuck with what you want BUT that doesn’t need to be a limitation.
mel bomba before

Tip & I have been running our online courses for the last 2 years and have always wanted to do it as coaches 1 on 1 – you know go into homes and help people get started or resolve their challenges at home (around design, layout, clutter … or achieving a general feeling). We always thought it would work via email but we needed a guinea pig…and suddenly there was Mel based all the way over there in Australia!

So, over email I took Melissa through a process to get her clear on her goals which she established were “complete” & “inviting”.

First things first, we dealt with the living room layout.
Before:
mel before 2
After:
mel bomba after 1
“One of our first conversations was about movement and how movement can help us see things in a different way – that helped me a lot! Moving the lounge and then living in the space for a week made me realize that the new spot brought a sense of harmony to the space – even though I had tried the lounge in that space before it didn’t work because I couldn’t see the space for what it could be – which leads back to our conversations.”
mel bomba after 3
“The biggest impact from our conversations was that they made me totally rethink my space.”
mel bomba after 2
Most importantly, it works for her and her family and feels good!
Not only that, the changes in the living room had flow on effects all around the house. Mel also changed her bedroom, created a kids corner and her husband built a gorgeous cubby in their backyard. Mel just emailed me to say Nina’s room is up next.

Thanks Mel for letting me into your inbox, life & home – and for being the best guinea pig ever!

PS Those of you joining our #happyhouserules project on Instagram will notice that one of our big rules is movement – Mel’s room changed by moving her couch and letting it sit there for a week…so go on, move something big!

Of course, if you want more personal help and someone to guide you through getting clear on what you want from your space and getting you moving using what you have… before you start spending tons of money on new storage or a new couch you may not need drop us a line – now that we know it works we’re offering this service globally… and in the meantime enjoy her transformation!

 

all images by mel

Go on, Remove 1 Thing

• • Courses, Happy House Rules • No Comment

OK let’s start off our #happyhouserules project with something small. If you want to play along, take pics & tag us on Instagram @apartmentdiet & #happyhouserules as well!

It’s spring here so it’s a natural time for clearing (and if you’re playing along in the Southern hemisphere, a natural time for shedding).

Our number one rule is ‘start with a corner’ so…go to a corner of your house (do you dare go to the one you hate most?) and free up that space…remove 1 thing.

remove 1 thing happyhouserules

Maybe it’s those old magazines you’re keeping just in case, maybe a shirt that you don’t ever wear. Perhaps it’s just that you have too many toys that your kids don’t use anymore. Whatever it is, go on and remove 1 thing and revel in the knowledge that you are making space for something new to come in.

…and if you’re still stuck, here are 37 ‘1 things’ the Huffington Post encourages us to get rid of right now.

We’re here doing it with you!

So remove 1 thing – FREE IT and let it be loved by someone else. Donate it, recycle it, give it away or we also give you permission to toss it in the trash if it has gone past its useful life.

PS For those of you who really want to kick into Spring/Autumn clearing, keep repeating this process of looking at a corner and removing things all around your house (one corner at a time) and let us know how you felt or contact us with any questions about this rule.