Less is More

• • Happy House Rules • No Comment

It’s been a hectic week and I’ve been meaning to post something here and I have just realised that actually, to honour this week’s happy house rule that I should just, in fact, do less and to repeat last week’s 5 minute rule, I should just do it now! So here it is:

less is more more or less

This is not just about having less but DOING less. Choosing quality over quantity where possessions are concerned but also with respect to what you choose to do each day.  Decide what’s most important and make it count.

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Words via DesignedforLife

Do you have 5 minutes?

• • Happy House Rules • 3 Comments

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Nat and I came up with this rule as we were designing our 5 week “Change your space, change your life” course – I don’t recall the details but it had something to do with the book I was reading at the time called Getting things done by David Allen where he talks about a 1 or 2 minute rule for getting all those little things, that unecessarily clog up our already too full to do lists and add weight on our subconscious, done and off our plate. We decided to extend it out a little bit to 5 minutes as it’s more realistic in terms of getting all those household niggles done, so here it is, in a nutshell:

“If it can be done in 5 minutes then do it NOW.”

Don’t be fooled by its simplicity. If done consistently, this rule is a life changer (I’m telling you from experience here that it has changed my life, especially since mummy brain after two kids which has left me rather forgetful, and our clients have also told us how much of a difference it makes)!

I have also successfully used this type of rule when dealing with emails and other work-related tasks.  My colleagues are baffled by my efficiency. Let’s keep this between ourselves okay?

Happy getting it done week to you all,

Tip

PS The photo is by Shira – check out her great blogpost for another take on the 5 minute rule which is a bit more like our “Just Start” rule but also a great way to get going.

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.

Ready, set, find a place! (Or let it go…)

• • Happy House Rules, Interiors • No Comment

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This might seem a bit of an old fashioned Happy House Rule (HHR) for some of you but it is a constant we believe and always holds true. When something in your home doesn’t have a home of its own then where is it likely to end up? On the floor, on the dining table or on the back of a chair? It doesn’t really matter where, to be honest, because wherever it does end up, it will feel like clutter because it’s somewhere it shouldn’t be.

Nat and I have a whole bunch of great HHRs for all kinds of clutter (more to come in the following weeks I promise) but if you want less of the messy kind then here is your challenge.

– Devote a reasonable amount of time and commit to finding locations for all the things that you use that are currently homeless.

If it’s something that looks good, consider finding a home for it in plain view (usually adding it to a display or putting things in a tray are easy ways) and if not, then hide it away in a drawer or cupboard etc BUT keep access to it convenient (both for use and so that it gets returned easily) and logical (because that’s just plain efficient and we love that!).

If it’s something that doesn’t belong, that you don’t use and doesn’t have a home then why do you have it in your house?  Consider letting it go (or returning it to whomever left it there!).

Not sure about letting go?

This is a much bigger rule that we will talk about in detail later but I was thinking the other day that we often talk about clutter. It’s a bit of a buzzword these days but what we mean is:

Clutter – things in your space that you don’t engage with (i.e. use regularly or that make you smile), things out of place (often referred to as “mess”) and other people’s stuff (usually called something to the tune of “crap”).

We all have stuff we like that needs a place & some organising and we also have clutter that doesn’t belong anywhere in our house & doesn’t serve us (anymore). I most certainly do and I’m currently focused on making sure it’s on the way OUT. This happened yesterday as I tidied & cleaned (apologies for the low res pic – it was just a happy snap before it all left the house yesterday):

 

Tip cherry picking declutter end April 2014

 

So, ready, set, find a place (or let it gooooooo),

Tip

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Photo 1 via @sarahshanahan_lifestyle

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?

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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!

Keeping it clean

• • Happy House Rules • No Comment

This week’s #happyhouserules is about cleaning. Yes, that’s right.  Cleaning!

We talked about cleaning at the beginning of the year as part of a new year cleanse but in reality, it’s not just a once a year exercise but an ongoing, regular activity (well…at least it should be!).

While the answer to “Is it clean?” is no doubt different for most of us, generally speaking, if it’s covered in grime/dirt/dust or cobwebs then that should give you a bit of a clue as to the answer! If you can’t see out of a window or your reflection in the mirror looks hazy then a wipedown of those surfaces would definitely be in order (unless of course you prefer not to see yourself properly, which leads me to other questions but perhaps those are for another time). I could go on about when things might need a clean but I’m fairly certain you know … you might not want to know, but you do know.

keeping it clean

So. Our Happy House Rule for this week is to “Keep it clean”. It’s an exercise that we include in our courses and is fairly straightforward so here goes:

1. Stop and look around your space. Look HARD (because we often lose the ability to really ‘see’ things that we walk past regularly so take the time to do this properly).

2. Once you’ve looked then you’ll know what needs your attention. Out of those things, surfaces, drawers, corners etc, pick one thing that you will clean. Start small. A quick win is always a motivation booster!

3. Planning – think about what you need to properly clean the area you’ve chosen and how long it will take you to both acquire your cleaning materials and actually do the cleaning.  Then, plan this in your diary for the week.

4. When the time comes, grab your cleaning materials and completely empty the area that you have chosen. (Yes, this is also why I suggested that you start small.)

5. Clean the area, be it a shelf or a drawer or a corner (floor, walls) etc AND clean all the items you’re returning to the area before you place them back there (also relocate or throw out the things that no longer belong). Clean it all.

6. Stand back, admire your work and give yourself a big pat on the back for a job well done! Yay!

7. And repeat (if you wish) all over the house.

There are a lot more tips we have with respect to cleaning and learning how to make it an easy habit so feel free to ask specifically in the comments if you want to know them! But a lot of you might be wondering how “Keeping it clean” could possibly be a major Happy House Rule for us. Well, besides the obvious health benefits of living in a less dirty/dusty home, what a regular cleaning practice could help you with are the following:

– It encourages you to take notice of where things/stuff/clutter stagnate in your space so you can deal with these areas (research has shown that clutter makes a lot of people rather stressed and unhappy)

– It allows you to engage with your things (also shown to be important in terms of our enjoyment of them)

– It encourages you to change things around in your home (as they say, a change is as good as a holiday for giving yourself a little pep up)

– It ensures that you are ‘seeing’ your home and catching anything that needs repair early on (which will save you money in the end – you’ll be much happier with that I’m sure!)

– It pretty much ensures that you only keep the things that you need and love (because moving mountains of things aside to clean and then putting it all back – well, you’ll get sick of that pretty swiftly)

The above list is by no means exhaustive but rather a handful of things to get you motivated to do something that most of us find a chore.  If that’s not enough then perhaps thinking of cleaning as an act of gratitude (which has also been shown to increase happiness) might help – so go thank your home for providing you with shelter and safety by giving it some TLC. Someone once told me that it helps to name the items that you need to clean so it’s easier to remember to give them some love once in a while – so why not try it with some of the items that you hate cleaning the most (like the Ollie the Oven) and see if it works!

As always, let us know how you go,

Tip & Nat

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Image credit: Dustpan & broom. Design by Ole Jensen for Normann Copenhagen.

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!

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(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