5 Tips For Falling in Love with Your Home Again in 2015

Picture by Artifact Uprising

 1.  Make a list of spaces in your home that need order.  Pay attention to how the space is currently used and what you'd like it to be used for.  Having vision and purpose for the space is key to getting motivated to start & finish. Try thinking about the things you wish you had space for in your home. When you start thinking outside of the box you may realize that you can re-purpose a closet into a crafting nook or a home office.

Picture by Katie Norrell

2.  Don't go it alone.  Call a friend, a family member or Help You Dwell to be a second set of eyes allowing you to envision creative ways to organize and re-purpose your space that you might not ordinarily think about.  Organizing with others helps you not get bogged down in the details and helps to make the decisions on whether to keep or share items with others.

3.  Make attainable goals, staying focused on one project at a time.  Set aside small, specific increments of time to accomplish your goals.  Setting aside an hour of focused, intentional time can be much more productive and less overwhelming than a whole day or weekend of work.

Picture by HayleyAnn.Styling

4.  Get supplies ready; trash bag, donation bag/box, "put away" bin (laundry baskets work great for this) and any storage containers you may need.  We recommend organizing before buying bins so you know how many containers you will need. If you prefer to buy storage bins before hand, make sure to keep receipts so you can return items you don't need.

5.  Get started. Half of the battle is taking the first step. Turn on some music, grab a bottle of water and stay the course so you can enjoy your space the way you've always wanted.

The Greatest Christmas Gift

"Fear not, for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you: Ye shall find the babe wrapped swaddling clothes and lying in a manger." Luke 2: 10-12

Help You Dwell wishes you and yours the most Merry of Christmases!  May your hearts be full of the great Joy that has come for all the people.

Knoxville Holiday Gift Guide

Image by Rala on Market Square. All items for sale in store.

We were thrilled to partner with WDWRK as guest bloggers last week. We wanted to give you the link to our Holiday gift guide:Shopping Locally in Knoxville in case you missed it. So without further ado...

HERE IT IS!

Additionally, here are links to some of our favorite gift guides in case you are still looking for last minute ideas.

1. A Cup of Jo (gift ideas for everyone in the family)

2. Happy Pretty Home (gifts for every price range)

3. WDWRKCO (handmade gifts)

4. Little Green Notebook (DIY gifts)

Our Favorite Calendars

1canoe2 on Etsy

It's right around the corner - A Brand New Year!  One of our favorite items to shop for this time of year is a new calendar. 

Calendars can be an easy & inexpensive way to brighten up a spot in the kitchen or office.  Traditional flip calendars, tea towels or creative letterpress calendars are just a few of the ways to keep your days straight & make your space look great!

We've collected some our favorites to get you started. 

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Rifle Paper Co

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Fabric from Spoonflower

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Here's one of Help You Dwell's favorites for your desk....

1canoe2 on Etsy

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This one can make any wall happy...

Gingiber on Etsy

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Nikki McClure

This Nikki McClure is wonderfully unique.  Armed with an X-acto knife, she cuts out her images from a single sheet of paper and creates a bold language that translates the complex poetry of motherhood, nature, and activism into a simple and endearing picture.

5 Ways to Simplify Your Life During the Holiday Season

A 1950's Christmas

1. Take some time to reflect on your desires for the season. What things are most important to you? What can you let go of? What parts of this season really stress you out and what parts really bring life to you?

2. Clear your calendar. If you are like us, you are probably committing to way too much over the month of December. Along with all of the parties, events, and celebrations, we often feel the pressure to have our house decorated by a certain time, food cooked, guests rooms ready for out of town guests,  Christmas shopping done, and presents wrapped. It can be exhausting just thinking about it.

3. Delegate. If you have a willing husband and kiddos, put them to work. Let the kids help with things like hanging stockings on their hooks, wrapping presents (who cares if the wrapping isn't pristine?), and using cookie cutters to cut out Christmas cookies. If you have family coming in town, ask them to help with the cooking--It's always more fun to have a friend in the kitchen with you and usually people want to be of help. If you don't have family in town, host a "Decorating Party" and invite friends over for Egg Nog and to help you decorate your house and string lights.

4. Do good. Make a point to turn your focus on others during the Holidays. Volunteer as a family, purchase angel tree gifts (and let your kids help you pick out the gifts), make a meal for an elderly neighbor who doesn't have family in town, or donate lightly used coats to a homeless shelter. Taking the time to remember those around us who are lonely or struggling helps us remember the point of Christmas.

5. Cut back on social media. Be purposeful in spending time with loved ones rather than browsing Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram for hours. Skype a friend or family member that lives far away, write a letter to a grandparent (include pictures!), grab coffee with a friend, schedule a play date, or split a babysitter and double date with another couple. Spend your time wisely and push through that to-do list so that you can get to the fun stuff! 

The Thankful List

What better way to celebrate Thanksgiving than to make a list of the many things we are thankful for. Here are each of our top 5.

Caroline's list:

Photo by Knox Heritage

1. My Knoxville Community. I'm thankful for my neighborhood, the kids down the street that stop by to say hello, the older gentleman that always waves when I walk by, and the neighbors that we have shared meals and stories with. I'm thankful for a downtown that is creative and encourages new businesses, the farmers market, and local festivals. I'm thankful for my church which is made up of a mess of humans that hurt each other but strive to confess and repent and live life together. I'm thankful for a city that feels like home to me.

2. This sermon. Daryl Arnold from OBC in East Knoxville preached at our church on November 17th and I basically cried through the whole thing. Thank God (literally) that I don't have to work my way into a relationship with Him.

Photo by Katie Norrell

3. A home and a family. After working in the social work field for several years I often think of the many neighbors we have in our city who spend their nights on park benches and in tents. Many of these people are estranged from their families and holidays just become another day of the year to them. I'm thankful for a husband and family that love me in spite of myself.

4. Good Health. I have a few friends and family members that have chronic health problems and illnesses and it has made me much more mindful of how thankful I am to be in good health. I've watched as people I love have struggled with the most humbling grace and rawness and have watched in amazement at the beauty that seems to accompany brokenness.

5. The ability to make money doing something I love. It is uncommon in our world to have the opportunity to do what you love for a living. I still kind of can't believe that Taryn and I get to work together to organize, stage, decorate and meet amazing people along the way. What a privilege! 

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Taryn's list:

1.  My family's health.  Matt, my kids, myself & both sets of our parents are alive & very healthy.  I am so grateful my kids get to know their grandparents & that Matt & I get to be active & involved in our kids lives.

2.  My people.  The close circle of women, men & children that I get to love & be loved by brings me to tears weekly, if not daily.  I am thankful that I am known & cared for by so many.

3.  Hope.  No matter the circumstances, this one word has carried me beyond what I could've imagined.  I'm thankful for a husband who never gives up, friends who remind me of my purpose & a God who calls me His.

4.  East Tennessee.  This place I get to live just continues to fill me with wonder, awe & curiosity.  The people, the artisans, the hills, the food, the rivers, the music, the art, the history - I am thankful to be a Volunteer.

5.  Help You Dwell.  I have been blown away by my experience with HYD.  Any creativity that has been buried in me now has an outlet as part-owner of this little business & I just love it.  We have so much room to grow & the ground is fertile.  I am thankful.

Creative Christmas Present Idea

We now offer gift cards for this holiday season. Email us at Info@helpyoudwell.com Or visit us at Helpyoudwell.com Thanks so much!

Donations for Habitat for Humanity

It's been a couple of weeks since HYD's first ever pop-up market & we are still a little high from the experience.  Caroline & I were overwhelmed by the positive response from our shoppers as well as our vendors.  The community support from our Knoxville family was tremendous.

We are excited to say that with our 10% of profits from the sale, HYD & the vendors donated over $200 to Habitat for Humanity of Knoxville. 

HYD would also like to thank KBrew for providing their delicious coffee to our guests throughout the day.

Lastly, we wanted to show off some of the shots of the day that our dear friend, Katie Norrell took.  HYD was overjoyed to watch all the hugs, compliments & conversations throughout the day of the market.  We are looking forward to the next one, whenever it "pops-up!"

If you didn't make it out and are interested in purchasing any of these fine goods, let us know and we will get you in touch with the maker.

We had over 200 people come through our market and our vendors sold over $2,000 worth of goods. We had a blast seeing old friends and making new ones. If you took pictures at the market we would love to see them.

These 5 Things : November 2014

Image from A Daily Gathering

1. How to live in 86 square feet. I bet you didn't think it was possible.

2. Check out this Ted talk about living with less.

3. Need creative ideas for your home? This book is on our wishlist.

4. We are gearing up for Thanksgiving and this article from the Washington Post is a great place to start if you are looking for ideas for getting your home ready.

5.  We are a little bit in love with this tiny new york apartment. Check out these 13 tips for decorating small spaces.

Help You Dwell Pop Up Market - You're Invited!

Look for these signs (above) on Saturday! This Saturday, November 8th at 1721 Coker Ave. is Help You Dwell's first ever pop up market and we are so excited! Please come out and support local Knoxville artists and craftsmen along with Habitat for Humanity (10% of profits).

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Habitat, the Knoxville chapter has been up and running since 1985. 475 homes have been built through the organization in our city for people who find themselves unable to afford typical housing. Habitat builds homes using volunteers and home buyers, sells them at no profit, and the homes are financed with a 25-30 year, 0% interest mortgage. Habitat makes home ownership an option for people who have fallen on hard times, or who need a "hand up, not a hand out". The home owners are heavily involved in the building of their homes and pay a regular mortgage like anyone else. Check out the website to learn more about Habitat for Humanity and how to get involved in Knoxville.

Some of our vendors are set up to accept credit/debit transactions but not all of them so make sure to bring cash. We can direct you to a close ATM if needed :)

Can't wait to see you all and please share our flyer on Facebook or your website!

Caroline & Taryn

The Help You Dwellers

Meet Our Vendors Pt. 2

Ericka Ryba, Eric Savage, Blair Wright, and Laura Cottrell

We are less than 2 weeks away from our Holiday Market and we are blogging today to announce the rest of our vendors.

Meet Ericka! We share a booth with her at Nostalgia on McCalla and often have a really hard time not buying everything she puts in it. Ericka is one of those people who has the golden touch--we are convinced that she is good at everything. Ericka sells her handcrafted goods under the name of Providence Road. In Ericka's words about the name Providence Road, " It actually started on a real road that I lived on from ages 3 mos. to 8 years old. Almost fifteen years later, and not a very direct route, I landed in Providence, RI. I remained in Providence through my post college years, abandoned my carrer trajectory, and started working on an organic farm. Thinking this was my destiny, I moved back down South to start a farm. Well...ten years later I'm back in school studying art and letting creativity reign. I love where I've been and am excited about where I am going (wherever that may be). Providence Road to me is the culmination of everything I've learned so far about the world and about myself. "

We have had the pleasure of knowing  Eric for several years through church. Eric could do stand up or have his own sitcom if he wanted to but we are glad he hasn't left Knoxville for stardom. Eric learned carpentry from his dad and they began making furniture together a few years ago. We love the headboard he posted on instagram several months ago.

If its old, wooden and architectural, Blair loves it.  He travels to the northeast for his real job but his passion is finding and repurposing architectural salvage and vintage furniture.   He brings things home you don't see often in East Tennessee.  He cleans them up and sometimes makes new things with them.  Corbels, balusters, newel posts and more are what you'll see from White Station Architectural Finds.

We met the lovely Laura Cottrell at church and have loved getting to know her over the past year. Laura is a mommy of two and somehow still manages to find time to create all kinds of art. We are particularly excited about her recipe paintings and her fall themed banners. I shamelessly bought about 10 of her handmade ornaments last Christmas...don't judge me.

ONE WEEK FROM THIS SATURDAY PEOPLE!! BRING EVERYONE YOU KNOW!

Meet Our Vendors

Ashley Addair

Mary Ann Watkins

Rob Laliberte

Jordan Wright

Daniel Aisenbry

KBrew Coffee Shop

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Let us introduce you to Ashley Addair and Mary Ann Watkins who are collaborating on a project of art and hand lettered words. Ashley and Mary Ann are both moms of two boys and have been part of our church community for several years. They are both extremely talented and we are loving their collaborations which celebrate some traditionally southern phrases and figures of speech. Here is a link to Ashley's blog entry including their artist statements and pictures of some of their work.

Next, we are proud to introduce a good friend of ours Rob Laliberte who owns WDWRK Co and  does beautiful woodwork in Knoxville, TN. We have collaborated with Rob in various ways and love his passion for community development and encouraging artists in our city. We share a booth at Nostalgia on McCalla with Rob and he also has a booth at the Market Square Farmers Market.

Jordan Wright has been blowing us away with his awesome new lighting business; Wright Mason Co. Currently his lights are for sale at Remedy Coffee shop and Blue Mason Coffee Shop in Knoxville TN. He uses vintage mason jars and repurposes them in one of the coolest ways we have seen yet. We are so jazzed that he will be selling his lights in our market.

We have known Daniel for several years through our church as well and have been drooling over his coffee tables ever since he started making them. Daniel owns and runs Knox Urban Homesteads and does everything from helping people start urban gardens to building chicken coops. Daniel does great work and we can't wait to share his furnishings with you all.

Finally, we are proud to announce that KBrew Coffee shop is sponsoring this event by providing coffee for all of you lucky patrons. They will also have tshirts and mugs for sale as well.

Next Thursdays blog will introduce our final four vendors.

We are only a few weeks away! Please share our flyer on your facebook page and invite your friends on November 8th.

HYD

Holiday Shopping Ideas

Yep.  It's time.  Get it done now & November & December become much more enjoyable, allowing you to enjoy the Peace, Joy & Love of this special time of year.

Now's the time you can think, be intentional about each gift & budget. 

As a mom of three, my list always starts with my kids.  Several years ago, Matt & I were given the great advice to just do three gifts per kid (just as Jesus received three from the Wise Men).  This has been monumental for us in our giving to them & helpful for their receiving as well.  Our goal is that each of their gifts fit into the three categories:  Active/Sport-related, Educational/Creativity, & Something they love.  It has helped us be much more intentional & creative ourselves.  As you can imagine, it's also curved that last minute spending frenzy so many parents fall subject to in those last days before the big day.

Moving down the list to Matt, parents, in-laws, & friends the same mentality works.  Taking just a few extra moments to think of that one person & thinking outside the scarf, slippers, candle box can add much joy to your giving.  If handmade is your desire, you still have time for that if you start now. Etsy is a great place to find handmade items if you're not able to handcraft gifts yourself.  If creating photo memories with books or calendars is your plan, start now & you'll have plenty of time.  Two great sites for that are Shutterfly and Mixbook.

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Organizing my list has become much easier over the years after I found this super simple little notebook to keep my current list, receipts, & lists from previous years in.  It was designed by Pepperpot & has served me well for about 5 years now.  Your smartphone is also another option, but I love having the previous lists & receipts all in one place.

And if you're a local here in Knoxville, Help You Dwell is making it even easier to Holiday shop by offering a Pop-Up Market on Nov. 8 with all kinds of delightful items for lots of folks on your list.

We'd love to hear some of your unique & fun ideas for taking the stress out of holiday shopping.  Give us a quick comment below & help us enjoy the upcoming season just a bit more with your clever ideas.  Thanks friends!

Help You Dwell Pop Up Market

Image by Brooke Bock

Over here at Help You Dwell we are BEYOND excited about this market of home wares on November 8th.

We have gathered a group of awesome local artists and vendors who have a wide range of talents and skills. 

We will have paintings, woodwork, pottery, furniture, and other hand made goods for the home.

You can expect light refreshments and coffee from KBrew as well!

We will also have gift cards for home organizing and staging in the Knoxville area available for purchase.

Tell all of your friends and please stop by!

A few teasers of some of the items you might see...

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Ashley Addair & Mary Ann Watkins

Ericka Ryba

Rob Laliberte http://wdwrkco.com/

Blair Wright

Daniel Aisenbrey

To Do List

Having a rough week and don't know where to start....

Keep it simple and start here.

Source unknown

Meet Caroline: Social Worker turned Organizer

My last job included doing home visits in the projects, street outreach under the bridges down by Knoxville Area Rescue Ministry, and attempting to convince chronically homeless and severely mentally ill folks to take their medications and stay out of jail.

Home staging and organizing is just a little bit different than that.

I have always been a curious person and whether I'm finding out about people's stories through their life circumstances or through organizing their belongings, I love collecting pieces of peoples lives and learning about what makes people unique and also the commonalities we share.

If I'm being honest, I come by my knack for organization and decorating naturally. My mom has impeccable taste and is really great about purging her home regularly. My mom's Grandfather, followed by my mom's father, owned and ran a furniture company based out of High Point North Carolina so I'm sure I owe some of my decorating ideas to that history.

My mom and I in New Orleans.

It really all began a long time ago for me. I remember a friend in middle school thinking it was strange that along with teen vogue and Bop magazine I had a stash of interior design and home furnishing magazines. Among other bizarre childhood behaviors, I loved organizing my friends rooms, frequently rearranged all of the furniture in my room if I couldn't sleep at night, and walked around at the age of 12 making a list of all of my moms furniture that I wanted to inherit one day. Lord help me.

All of that to say, Help You Dwell has provided a great way to channel all of my organizing and staging energy into other people's homes so I don't drive my husband crazy by purging and rearranging our home every two weeks.

Andrew and Caroline Smith

On a more serious note, I have to say that the part of Help You Dwell that I love the most is getting to walk with people through change. Whether that is a big move or the decision to let go of belongings, change can be hard. Taryn and I love helping people find creative ways to hold on to memories without letting the past take over your home. We have found that so often we spend pointless time simply managing all of our things and that simplifying and getting your home organized actually frees you up to live more in the present.

"Organize your what?"

View fullsize

"Twiggy" Artist unknown

Help You Dwell received a strange request a few weeks ago...

"Can you all do what you do in people's houses with my head?"

At the time it seemed a little bizarre but mostly intriguing. We began meeting with this lovely lady and started a journey that has been inspiring to say the least.

In the process, HYD realized that most everyone can benefit from some brain organization.

In America today, most of us are over-committed, drained, tired, and too busy to do things as well as we would like to.

One thing that we have found to be helpful in life organization / time management is to make a list of your commitments:  Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Quarterly. Do you feel over committed? What in your life is draining and what is life giving? Writing things down helps us compartmentalize and simplify.  However, list making is not for everyone.

Anna Rusakova

For HYD, the unique challenge of life organization and time management is that each person connects with different ways of thinking.  For some, a list makes everything clear and manageable but for others, like the client we spoke of earlier, a list is more overwhelming than helpful.  Learning how to help a creative, imaginative, passionate artist & photographer make a plan that she can tackle, one step at a time has been really fun. We are realizing that using visualization of the tasks, talking through the scenarios, making clear action plans are some of the key ingredients for getting the brain in order for our dear client. Sometimes it's just more fun to make a mood board or an art journal for your life than to write a list.

Through our research on this journey, we also came across a fantastic resource for artists who seek organization.

www.theorganizedartist.com

Zachary Smith

The brains behind "the organized artist";Ms. Bennett, gives simple, clear guidelines to help entrepreneurs, artists and the like get their projects on the road to fruition.  We learned so much from her experience with many creative folks over the years.  She also has a couple of great books available on her website HYD enjoyed reading through for more specific tools to success.

Once again HYD's cup runeth over as we walk this journey with our client.  Her passion for living life fully is contagious and her commitment to tell the stories of those she walks with will inspire anyone who gets to hear them.  We are learning everyday here at HYD and loving every minute.

Our Favorite Containers

Clients often ask where we like to purchase or suggest that they purchase organizing pieces. There are a variety of places we frequent but we wanted to highlight a few of our favorite containers and where you can get them. We also love scouring thrift shops and vintique stores for unique baskets, bins, and boxes. For the sake of giving you immediate options, here are a few things that you can easily purchase in store or online.

In terms of food storage we are loving these wire baskets from The Container Store for a farmers market feel. We love well organized, open faced pantries.

For counter top storage we tend to gravitate more towards baskets and bowls. We noticed this awesome fruit bowl at Target from the Nate Berkus Collection.

If you prefer to keep your counters clear, this hanging basket is a great fruit/veggie storage solution for your kitchen.

For storing fire wood, blankets, DVD's or other home good's we love this collection from West Elm.

For blankets we also love these Jute Baskets from World Market. They come in a few different colors.

We love the idea of using a caddy to contain your cleaning supplies so that you can easily move your supplies from room to room as you clean. This caddy from World Market is our current favorite.

Where do you typically purchase storage pieces?

Help You Dwell's "Thank You" Giveaway!

We love our clients and followers and wanted to say "Thanks" by giving you the opportunity to shop on us at one of HYD's favorite spots in Knoxville to find fabulous home treasures...

Bliss Home - 29 Market Sq - Downtown Knoxville

Bliss Home - 29 Market Square & 7240 Kingston Pike www.shopinbliss.com

The shop is filled with an unmatched variety of casual contemporary furnishings, rugs, inspiring art and accessories.  We have personally shopped there for years, filling our own homes as well as purchasing unique gifts for others.  The staff is always warm, knowledgeable and helpful.  Bliss Home also proudly supports local artisans from around East Tennessee and the Knoxville area, which is near and dear HYD's heart.

For a chance to win the $100 gift card to Bliss Home, just 'Like' us on Facebook and leave a comment about which room/space in your house you would like to organize first at www.facebook.com/helpyoudwell.   We'll randomly pick the winner Monday morning and announce it on our Facebook page.

Meet Taryn: Personal Trainer Turned Organizer

So this is a little “get to know Taryn” moment on the HYD blog.  Consider this my journal entry.

Matt and Taryn McLean

Let me just start by saying, I never saw this coming.  As an athlete who has always loved my job in fitness, no one could’ve predicted this shift in vocation, especially not me.  My husband has reminded me a couple times as I’ve recapped the birth of Help You Dwell that I didn’t go looking for this, HYD found me.  Now, several months later with a few jobs under my belt, I can genuinely say, “This is where my heart belongs!”

All the years I spent guiding my fitness clients to achieve their goals is so similar to what I get to do now in clients’ homes.  I’m so thankful I’ve been given this opportunity to encourage others to find freedom in their lives in a new way.  Although I don’t have a background in design nor am I terribly OCD about anything really, it has been obvious as HYD came together that Home Organization & Staging makes me come alive just as working with my personal training clients did along their fitness journeys.

My husband and I both share a passion for restoring a living space.  He owns a company that he would say is a “Residential Redevelopment Company”.  Essentially that means he loves remodeling and restoring family homes.  I love creating a living area so that people can feel free from their stuff to enjoy family, guests, free time, rest or whatever they need. The icing on the cake is that I get to do this with Caroline.

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“Don't own so much clutter that you will be relieved to see your house catch fire.”
― Wendell Berry, Farming: a hand book

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As I’ve reflected on my 18 or so years in the fitness world, I’ve learned the importance of the service provider/client relationship and how I cherish it so much.  I love to get to know people, to find out what makes them come alive and then to encourage them in that area.  Of course, this relationship is not a one-way street.  The encouragement, inspiration, and wisdom clients have shared with me have been priceless.  So much of who I am today and who I aspire to be has come from those who willingly shared their lives with me.  Walking though the homes of my HYD clients, I feel the exact same way.  I want their home to be the place they can feel best in their own skin, the place where they can laugh the hardest, rest the most peaceful and enjoy just being.  HYD clients have told their stories with their family photos, been honest about not getting it all done and then been willing to ask for help, which we all need – me included!

I hope HYD gets the chance to get to know you, encourage you, be inspired by you and that I get to be a part of it.