Does your home make you feel calm or stressed? If you find that coming home is more stressful than it is welcoming, then it's time to take another look at your home's organization and amp up its relaxation factor. Your home should be a calm retreat from the stress of modern life with the right energy to nurture happy family memories. Here are some tips to help you make your home a peaceful retreat in the midst of a stressful, chaotic life. 

1. Get Rid of the Annoyances
   If you're like most homeowners, you have items in your home you never use or constantly find yourself annoyed by. Perhaps it's a piece of exercise equipment that you just didn't love. Maybe its something given to you by a relative that doesn't match your style, but you feel bad letting go. Go ahead and free yourself by letting go of these items, because every time you look at them, they're adding to your stress.
   
   
2. Bring Nature Inside
   Nature has a calming effect, but you can't always spend time outside. Bring nature indoors by using flowers in your home to soothe and calm, or decorating with houseplants. Make sure your view of the outdoors is unhindered, so you can enjoy the outdoor nature even when you can't be outside.
   
   
3. Give Necessary Clutter a Designated and Hidden Space
   Some clutter can't be avoided. Paperwork, for instance, is a constant job to handle. Rather than spending all of your time on this type of clutter, designate a place that can be hidden, like a rolling cart you can roll away when you're done sorting papers or a covered desk you can close at the end of the day. While you should do your best to keep this type of clutter at bay, when it's unavoidable, give it a home.
   
   
4. Make the Entryway Clutter-Free
   The place you enter your home sets the stage for the feelings you experience while living in it. Make sure the entryway is carefully organized, with a home for everything you need to keep there. A key hook, place for the mail, place for the coats and place for the backpacks can keep these important things accessible while keeping your space stress-free. 
   
   
5. Get Rid of Negative Memories
   If you have items in your home connected to negative memories, you need to get rid of them. Does that painting remind you of a difficult time in your life? Replace it. Do you have memories associated with a piece of furniture that bring you down? Get a new one. These types of connections have a bigger impact on you than you might think, and getting rid of them can be quite freeing.
   
   
6. Create a Hobby Space
   A hobby helps keep you grounded and relaxed, but hobbies can bring quite a bit of "stuff" into your home. Protect your home from clutter by designating a space for your hobby, and providing the right organizational tools in that space.
   
   
7. Designate Tech-Free Zones
   Finally, reduce stress by reducing your reliance on technology. Create tech-free zones in your home that are strictly enforced, and regularly spend time in them, both alone and with your family.

Our REALTORS® in Beavercreek want you to enjoy a stress-free home, and as an added bonus these steps will help declutter your home so it's easier to sell when the time comes. If you're looking to buy or sell a home, contact us at Wright-Patt Realty, Inc.