Reducing Stress

We all experience stress, and some of us face more stressors than others. I believe you will agree that we rarely discuss our daily struggles or how we manage our stressors.

Interestingly, clutter in our homes is a significant stressor. From bedrooms to bathrooms, kitchens, living rooms, and garages, clutter is taking over our spaces.

While some may not consider how clutter affects their stress levels, I assure you that it is a subtle yet persistent concern.

Our transition from a traditional house with walls everywhere to an open-concept design has significantly improved our quality of life.

An open-concept home is much easier to maintain, as everything has its designated place, and any disorder is immediately noticeable. This motivates us to keep our home organized, as clutter contributes to stress.

One of the first major changes we made in our new home was addressing storage issues in our closet. For years, we had considered installing a built-in closet system that would house ALL our clothing and eliminating traditional chest of drawers and dressers. And while we have put in closet systems in several of the homes we’ve owned over the years (see above photo of one from the house in Ayer, we’ve always kept the dressers… until now.

We finally achieved this goal in our shared walk-in closet.

The removal of those two large pieces of furniture from our bedroom reduced visual clutter and hidden stress. The built-in drawers in our closet encourage us to put away clean clothing immediately, as there is no space for temporary storage. Our motto is "put it away now."

Even our guest-room closet has been upgraded with a closet system that makes optimal use of the space.

Our home is neater and cleaner because everything has its designated place, and we return items there immediately after use. While I cherish the memories of our larger home in Ayer, our needs have changed as we age, and we are adapting to these changes.