Show your home some love, not just on Valentine's day, but every day. Below are five easy ways:

For those of you who have been following my blog for the past few years, y'all know I've chosen a word that drives my decisions for the year. Doing so has become a powerful way to incorporate a concept/idea/way of thinking into how I go about living/being/doing/supporting/thriving. 

Hello, friends. How are you? It's been a while. We're smack-dab in the middle of January 2019 already and I'm baffled as to how that happened.

As 2018 comes to a close, I'm so grateful to have announced on January 1 that this was my Year of Confidence, and now I'm proud to declare I feel much more confident as the result of this mantra. Finding and expressing my confidence in everything I do has helped me to remember how strong and empowered I am. I feel more connected to my inner rockstar. I trust my gut instinct more than ever before. 

“Sleigh bells ring, are you listening? In the lane, snow is glistening. A beautiful sight, we’re happy tonight, walking in a winter wonderland.” - lyrics from Winter Wonderland, written by Felix Bernard

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday for two very big reasons: 1) its focus is gratitude and 2) there’s no pressure to give or receive gifts. Gratitude and simplicity are two of my core values, all rolled into one big, beautiful holiday spent enjoying a meal with loved ones.

Humans are biologically programmed to want more. This idea rings true throughout many aspects of life and home, including the pantry. If you were to open your pantry doors and take an inventory of what’s inside, what might you discover?

I read a fascinating article from the Center for the New American Dream on The Art of "Making Do." The author, in her late 30s, and her family had moved to the U.S. from Barcelona six months ago. Recently, her 8-year-old daughter participated her school's science fair. The daughter chose to research and study ladybugs, and she and the author put together a display for the science fair by using materials they had available in their home.

What is it about guilt that makes us hold onto that ugly lamp that great aunt Sarah cherished, when it brings back ill feelings every time you lay your eyes on it? Guilt is such a powerful emotion, capable of turning even the most decisive of individuals into a waffling flip-flopper.

Numerous articles have been written about how millennials are choosing to spend their money on experiences instead of things. Why might this be?

Does this scenario sounds familiar? Your alarm startles you out of bed. You drag yourself into the shower with hopes of becoming more alert. When finished, you stand in front of your clothes hoping a stylish, fashionable outfit will jump out of the closet and onto your body. When you realize this is an impossible feat, you rifle through the enormous pile of clothing on the floor in search of something...anything...that's clean and unwrinkled that you can throw together in a hurry so you're not THAT late for work.

Habits are formed when nerve cells that fire together wire together, and creating a new habit takes time. A habit is like walking through grass; the more you walk on the same path, the more the path forms. When you stop, the grass grows back.

Maintaining order and organization is a skill that can be developed and learned, similar to creating a new habit. The more you practice those skills and habits, the easier it becomes to maintain organization.

Nearly every budget-conscious, coupon-clipping website suggests that one of the best ways to save money is by buying in bulk. In many cases, this is true. To a point.

When we keep bringing items into our home without releasing anything, our homes become bloated and stagnated. Let's consider previous hobbies or previous roles we used to play.

The question, "How do I feel when I walk into this room?" and your response to the question offer tremendous insight into how your home is affecting you, whether its a negative reaction or a positive one. "How do I feel..." is an open-ended, gentle question intended to delve into areas that lift your spirit versus areas that suffocate and/or frustrate you.

Nearly everyone has a box (or more!) of memorabilia - special items they want to keep in order to remember an event or a person or a trip. Greeting cards and letters fall squarely into this category.

Sometimes procrastination plays a role in a client’s disorganization. For example, they’ve got a pile of clothing lying on the floor of their closet that they need to take to their tailor for alterations. And that pile has been lying there for weeks or months, and now it’s grown to include other items of clothing that need to be washed, folded and/or hung up.

I’ve been working with a client who has lived with her husband in their 2000 square foot home for the past 25 or so years. Career pursuits and busy lives meant that home organization fell to the bottom of the list for years and years, but now they’re ready to purge what they don’t want any longer and organize the rest.

One question I get asked most frequently by my clients is: "So Shannon, have you ever donated or thrown out something you wish you had kept?" And I always answer this question the same way…

I don't usually write too much about my personal life other than my Small Space Stories posts, but today is the fifth anniversary of my dad's passing and I couldn't let the day pass without "publicly" acknowledging him. You see, my dad was a pretty incredible person. Humble as can be, he touched so many people's lives with a smile and a genuine interest in learning about others.