This time of year we tend to give a little more of ourselves to others by sharing and caring, often to the point of sacrificing ourselves. How much is too much? Are you one who sacrifices to the point of feeling like you have nothing else to give? Does your house look like a tornado went through it and you are so overwhelmed you don’t know where to start?

How we feel in our homes can affect everything around us. Relationships, motivation, stress levels, job performance, overall well-being. Home is supposed to be a sanctuary, retreat, place to reset so you can address the madness in the outside world. Is your home environment conducive to peace and harmony or a hot mess?  Most of us enjoy some additional time off this year and are therefore spending more time at home entertaining, being with friends, family, and/or pets. Where does the key to serenity start? In YOUR HOME.

Here are three basic home staging tips to help you relax, love, and enjoy your home not only this time of year but all year round.

CLUTTER-FREE:  Are you a collector of things? Original Star Wars figurines in their boxes or everything farm animal (pigs, horses, cows, roosters, etc.), maybe glassware in the form of collectible plates, beer steins, figurines, or whatever your collection poison may be? We need to talk. These collections which you adore and love to look at individually may be overwhelming you as a whole. When entertaining or if you have people coming in and out of your home regularly, these collections may be a source of stress and at risk of disappearing, breaking, getting lost, or being cramped together accruing large quantities of dust. As you know, when there is silence in a room full of children or when you don’t know where your mischievous (yet loveable) pet is, something is about to happen. Crying, the sound of breaking glass, items getting lost, or some other pandemonium. The first casualty is usually a prominent member of a collection, most often glass in nature. For the greater good and love of your collections, pack them away when you need extra space for your holiday stuff or when entertaining. Freeing up visual and physical space for other things by carefully packing your collection away will ease your inner peace of mind. De-cluttering your home from all the extras, including your seasonal clothes, will be instrumental in helping you relax in your home.

CLEAN:  Does the cleanliness of your home live up to your standards? For me, if I sit down to de-frag after a long day and notice fur balls on my floor or a sink full of dishes; it’s difficult to mentally relax. The subconscious mind is making a checklist of all the stuff that needs to get done. The best advice I can give is either take a day to deep clean your house or bite the bullet and hire a professional cleaning company to come in. You would not believe the difference it will make in how you feel and in the mental clarity you’ll experience. Once your house is deep cleaned, all that’s needed is light maintenance. Over the next month, it is highly likely your house will get dirty again but starting out ultra clean will make it easier to relax and enjoy your home again regardless of whether or not you are entertaining this holiday season.

COLOR: The mood changer, literally. How you feel in your home can be as simple as changing colors. Whatever your holiday of choice, the key is color moderation. Too many colors or too much of one color can lead to visual clutter which is the opposite of what we’re trying to accomplish. Here are a few of the most popular color choices and the emotional attachments that go along with them:

RED: Warm, inviting, inspires love and passion, and in kitchens can encourage hunger/eating. However, when used as the only main color it can provoke anger and agitation.

GREEN: Calming, relaxing, brings you back to the healing powers of nature, relieves stress, and inspires fertility in bedrooms. However, when used as the main color, tones and undertones are critical as they can incite the feeling of living in a forest or swamp. In bathrooms, ladies, you will have issues with how your makeup turns out (you’ve been warned). Plants and natural elements are always a plus but balance is important to avoid overwhelming a space.

BLUE: Calming and relaxing in lighter shades, in darker shades blue can be depressing or feel lethargic unless counteracted with a bright white or yellow. In Montana, we have to be especially careful with the tone and quantity of blues used because of living in a colder climate. Blues as a main color can be icy and uninviting.

ORANGE: Energizing, exciting, inspires enthusiasm. Great as an accent color but in larger areas can over stimulate and be exhausting. Perfect for exercise areas or breakfast nooks for when you need a little pick me up.

YELLOW: Warm, happy, sunny, and cheery when used sparingly and in the proper tones. When used excessively, yellow can be agitating to the point of provoking anger and frustration. Bright yellow is meant to be an accent color, never a main color. Keep yellows soft and you will feel hugged by sunshine instead of scorched by the sun.

WHITE/CREAM: Clean and fresh when used in moderation but when used as a main color can feel sterile or bland. White has a way of sucking the life out of your house when used as a main color. Think of using white/cream as an accent and use it sparingly.

METALLICS/WOODS: The same rules apply to metallic and woods…all metallics coordinate and so do all woods. Mixing them is even better.
“Home is where the heart is.” May your heart find peace, warmth, and relaxation in your own home. Have fun by changing things around and getting a new perspective with each passing season.

Brandi Cernohlavek is an Accredited Staging Professional Master, owner of Centre Staging in Bozeman, and global recipient of the 2012 International Association of Home Staging Professionals Stager of the Year Award.