Could your home hold the key to a happier, healthier life?

Arriving home from a hard day at the office, you walk up the overgrown pathway to your front door and trip over the piles of discarded shoes left just inside. Your spirits sink even lower as you stressfully view the surrounding clutter, thinking for the hundredth time that you really must do something about these matters.

So much for "Welcome Home" or the "English man's home being his castle". - "More dungeon than castle!", you may think to yourself.

Interior designer and property stylist Julie Bryant believes that our living environment has a great influence upon our lives and our sense of well being. "Our living environment is an external representation of what is happening for us inside ourselves. If our home is cluttered then it usually follows that our minds are as well. Ideally, our homes should be somewhere where we can relax and leave the stresses of the day at the front door - a safe and supporting refuge. Living surrounded by clutter and numerous unfinished projects has a completely opposite effect and will only serve to pull our energy levels down further. As well as adding unnecessary stress, excess clutter can affect many other areas of our lives, including our health and relationships."

Working with clients helping them to prepare their property for sale, Julie has come up against this problem time and time again. "When a person decides to sell, it is a time when they are being asked to look at their home through the eyes of a prospective purchaser. Often a client is unaware of just how much clutter they have accumulated over the years and the effect it has had on them." Helping her clients to begin this clearing process, Julie has witnessed some amazing results. "I feel as if a huge burden has been lifted from my shoulders" says one client. Another speaks of a feeling of becoming "streamlined and of standing tall for the first time in years". "My husband thought I was crazy when I started clearing every nook and cranny. After a few days though, seeing what a great effect it was having, with no prompting from me, he went out and started clearing out his shed!" says another.

Julie's advice is not to wait until you want to move house to begin to enjoy the results of clearing your clutter. She suggests that you begin by clearing out one or two drawers or cupboards. "Take each item, look closely at it and ask yourself three questions: -

1. - Does this item serve a useful purpose?
2. - Do I gain a sense of pleasure from looking at this object?
3. - Have I used this item/worn this outfit over the last twelve months?

If the answer to these questions is a firm 'no', then it is time to let it go. By clearing your clutter, you begin to feel your spirits lifting, your stress levels lowering and you become aware of a tingle of anticipation for what new and exciting things will be entering your life now that you have created some space for them to enter into."

Julie Bryant has been working within the interior design business for over 20 years and is also a trained counsellor, colour therapist and NLP practitioner. 'Doctoring' both the workplace and privately, Julie is available for consultations regarding all aspects of property presentation and interior design, clutter clearing and colour consultancy. Please contact her via the HelpDesk@LifeFocus.co.uk.