How a graphic novel helps this millennial cope with living in a cluttered family home
The millennial generation knows too well the need for a room of one’s own and the ache of lacking privacy. The pain of losing privacy is second only to the pain of being surrounded by too much stuff. I find I’m anxious if I’m surrounded by too many things or if I have too little room to move. My physical reasons for being unhappy around clutter are pretty obvious, but reading Bad Houses made me understand the emotional reasons for my clutter-anxiety…
How can I keep up professional appearances at work, when my home life is a mess?
I am a recently graduated newlywed with an awesome job in my field. But I have a secret: due to finances, the husband and I are living with his mother, who is a chronic hoarder. Any suggestions on maintaining professionalism (at work and life in general) when your living space is working against you?
5 ways to cope with hoarding
I didn’t expect hoarding to impact my life in such a big way. I grew up in a house that made constant donations to whatever organization would come by our front door — at least three garbage bags each month, minimum. Stuff came in, stuff went out. This was my normal. And then I met the man who would one day become my husband. And then I met his parents. And now hoarding is a very real and stressful part of my life. Here are some of the challenges of dealing with hoarders, and how we cope with them…
Husband: pack rat. Me: neat freak. How do we learn to compromise?
SO MANY COUPLES (or roommates, or families) have the deadly combo of packrat + neat freak. When your organizational styles clash, what can you do to ease the tension?
The best ways to display your action figure collection
Collections: awesome to cultivate — hell to decorate. But, you guys have worked your ass off to collect these things, you should totally work ’em into your decor and show ’em off! Here are some (hopefully) inspirational options…
A scary-easy kitchen update in five fast steps
These scary-easy suggestions will help you give your kitchen a facelift. Whether you don’t have the time or money for a full-on kitchen reno — or you just don’t need one — everyone likes a fresh view.
Replace the clutter with an eclectic collection
My beau and I took some time last week to declutter our stuff-catching mantles – and they became home to an interesting group of ephemera. Read on to see how we used an alpaca sculpture, Virgin Marys, worry dolls and a painting of a possum to create personalized altars.
Ditch the magazine: Improving house-esteem
We all compare our homes to the ones in our magazines, and that can run down our house-esteem. I put together these steps to help you treat your home like a temple.