How to Create Your Perfect Winter Nest

Going into winter, it's common to start feeling a little blue. The prospect of being stuck indoors can start to take its toll -- especially if we aren't absolutely in love with our surroundings. Humans, just as other animals, require a warm, safe place to retreat to. Most of us don't feel like we have the time to spend on the details in our homes -- keeping them clean and orderly is hard enough. What if I told you that you could get both a neat and orderly home AND somewhere you'll love to be?

Making it YOUR Home

You don't need to be an interior decorator to start creating a space you absolutely love. If you can devote 20 minutes a day to this project, you'll be amazed at the results in just one week. Imagine what can be achieved in a whole month! 

Where to Start

Grab a notepad and pen. Create four columns on your page, labeling them something like, GOOD / BAD / INDIFFERENT/NEED. Starting in the room where you spend the majority of your time, take a close look around.

• Is the furniture placed in a manner that creates good flow and a comfortable atmosphere?
• Is there too much of it? Not enough?
• Does the furniture that is there serve a purpose? 
• Are there any pieces you absolutely hate? Any you're mad about?
• Clutter in corners or surfaces?
• Ample storage space or not enough? 
• Is there something missing that could make the room more comfortable and useable? An extra chair for company? A soft throw blanket for the end of the bed? 

Take a few minutes to do an objective inventory of the room. Add your observations to your columns. This shouldn't take too long -- once you really start looking at it, the good, bad and ugly should pop right out at you. I asked a staff member to do this exercise in her own home, and she said it took her less than ten minutes to fill up a page when she assessed the living room of her family's house

Over the next week, do this in each room of your home. Next week, we'll cover how you're going to use this information to begin creating somewhere you can feel happy and joyful to spend time in.