One of my favorite things about spring is all the change it brings. With new growth sprouting up all around us, it suddenly becomes easier to imagine new beginnings, even in our own lives.

Not sure where to start, how about your home? We all know clutter and disorganization can cause unneeded stress and anxiety, but did you know it could also be weighing you down, consuming energy that you could be using to make other changes in your life?

It’s a theory author Maxwell Gillingham-Ryan explores in his book Apartment Therapy: The Eight Step Home Cure.   You can read a sample of the book on Amazon. (Yes, he is also the founder of the widely popular blog apartmenttherapy.com.)

All this time, I thought apartmenttherapy.com was just a clever domain name, it’s actually much more. Apartment Therapy is actually Gillingham-Ryan’s belief that you can fix your life by fixing your living space.

He lays out an eight step cure in the book; each step of the cure takes a week to complete, so the “cure” takes a minimum of eight weeks.

Here are some example tasks from Week 1-Step 1 of the Cure:

• Make list of needed repair and solutions
• Vacuum and mop the floors
• Remove one item from your apt. and put it outside
• Buy fresh flowers
• Sit for 10 minutes in a part of your home that you never sit in.
• Look into earth-friendly (non-toxic)cleaning products

In Step 2, he delves more into the kitchen and the importance of cooking and nourishing yourself inside your own home. Cleaning out your kitchen also allows you to break out of any poor eating habits you might have fallen into.

By week eight of the “cure” he has you cooking and eating at home five nights a week, dedicating Sundays to your home, and planning a housewarming party for all your friends to show off your much improved space.

What do you think about his theory? Do you notice a difference in how you feel when your house is in tip top shape?

Until next time,

Trendspotter

P.S. To see our post on cute cleaning products, click here.