HYD Team

October 18, 2018

Pineapple Consignment

HYD Team

October 18, 2018

Fall is here! The weather is finally getting cooler and the leaves are starting to turn and now is the perfect time to do a house purge. While that may sound intimidating, it doesn’t have to be. Turn on some music, grab a hot tea and take a walk around your house. Walk through each room and take the time to notice what’s around you. Look at the items hanging on the walls, the lamps, the items sitting on surfaces, the furniture, and the rugs. Take the time to open cabinets and drawers and just take a peak at what you’ve got. Often life is so hectic that we stop noticing what’s around us and don’t even remember what we have. We have two tips to help you make decisions about what to keep and what to let go of.

Ask yourself, “Do I love this item?” If not, is it at least serving a practical purpose? If you don’t love it and you don’t “need” it, let it go.
The most helpful question for me is “If you saw this in a store today, would you purchase it?” Often times, it’s hard for me to decide whether or not I love an item but much easier for me to know whether or not I’d pay money for it. Sometimes, we hold onto things because we’ve had them forever and don’t even see them anymore or because someone gave them to us and we feel guilty getting rid of them. These are not valid reasons to give an item valuable real estate in your home.

Here’s the best part, once you’ve done your house purge (don’t forget to check closets and attic/basement and garage spaces— these typical storage spots are house purge jackpots) sign up for Pineapple Consignment and make some money on all those items that you are letting go of.

What is Pineapple Consignment?

Pineapple is a weekend long (October 26th-28th) consignment shop where you can earn up to 75% commission, and consignors get to shop early. The pictures above are just a few of the items that will be for sale! Want an even better deal? Shop the half off portion of the sale on Sunday the 28th from 8-12.

You set your own prices, and Pineapple’s online system makes tagging and managing your inventory super easy. At the end of each sale day, you can check earnings, and they’ll pay you via PayPal within 10 days. For more information on signing up as a consignor or to see what items they accept, check out the participation page. Sign up now because registration (and the ability to enter inventory into the system) ends on October 21st!

Here is your opportunity to make some easy money on your home decor items without putting the time and energy into a garage sale or making a million online postings.

Who started Pineapple Consignment?

The lovely Megan Church! Want to know more about her and where the idea for Pineapple came from?

Here’s what she has to say…

Nice to meet you (virtually at least)! I grew up in Virginia and Indiana, but Knoxville has become my forever home. I’m wife to one, mom to three, and stylist to many. Life is full to bursting right now, so the only logical thing to do is start a business, right?!?!

This Pineapple dream started earlier this year. I was selling an ottoman on Facebook, and six or seven people said they wanted it. “Awesome!” I thought. I scheduled a time to meet the lady who had responded first. Later, I packed up all three kids and drove to the rendezvous point. The lady stood me up. In fact, I got stood up FOUR TIMES IN A ROW, and I vowed, “NEVER AGAIN.” So here we are!

I happen to be one of those crazy people who loves consignment sales, and over the years I’ve saved a ton of money by up-cycling my clothes, as well as my kids’. Ever since I had my first baby and quit my day job, I have been needing a creative outlet. Hospitality is really important to me, and I’m passionate about bringing women together.

So, now you see how this whole thing got started, the Pineapple seeds. Pineapple Consignment combines many of my favorite things: styling events and creativity, secondhand shopping and bypassing Facebook/Craigslist weirdness, and of course hospitality and making my family’s home beautiful and comfortable.

I certainly hope you love being a part of Pineapple Consignment! If you have any questions abut consigning, volunteering, or shopping, drop me a line at megan@pineappleconsignment.com.”

If you don’t have items to sell, you can still shop!

Want a shot at first dibs on an item? You are in luck, the sip n see is Wednesday (Oct 24th) evening from 6-9pm. For just $5, you will be entered into the raffle to reserve an item and get to join in on a fun evening with friends. Come for a drink and be one of the first to see the items for sale. Along with shopping some pretty amazing previously owned home decor and furniture items, Pineapple will have several local artists and makers selling their creations at the sale.

Announced Vendors Include:

Alex Jaynes: custom furniture

Rob Scott: art

Matthew Peters: furniture maker

Sarah Moore: art

Spencer Ratliff: furniture maker

Kristen Wasik: art

Erica Beck: art

Knox Wood creations: frames featuring prints from Native Maps & Paris Woodhull

Ashley Addair: art

Highline Coffee

For more information and to stay up to date on the details and announcements, follow @pineappleconsignment on Instagram, RSVP to the event, and like Pineapple on facebook.

HYD Team

October 11, 2018

Home Tours

Phillips Family Home Tour

HYD Team

October 11, 2018

Home Tours

Meet the fabulous Phillips family! Dan, Brooke, their 4 kids and their awesome dog. I sat down with them a few weeks ago and had a great conversation about life, love, and making a home. This home tour is a bit different than our usual tours because in a few weeks they will be moving to a new home. We wanted to capture a small piece of the beauty and love in their fixer upper before they said goodbye to it. We hope you enjoy this glimpse into their life. All photos were taken by Haley Kennedy.

How long have you all lived in this house?

We bought the house in November of 2016. (It’s a wild story!—read more about it here on Brooke’s blog.) The home had been sitting empty for about six years and we affectionately coined it the “Phillips Family Fixer Upper” and set to work making this gem of a home into all it could be. We did a major overhaul on the kitchen by removing a wall, adding the island, new countertops, and open shelving. We took it back to the bare bones and simplified. It’s made me realize how freeing it can be to have only what you need. Aside from the kitchen, we restored all of the floors, resurfaced just about every wall in the house, added ship lap in a few rooms, and created a breezeway in order to make the office and master bedroom wing function better. We strategically added walls to create a better flow and layout for our family. We did a lot of the work ourselves with the help of family and friends.

How would you describe your style of decorating?

Brooke: It’s collected. I don’t really know how to describe it other than by saying I don’t follow trends. If anything, I look back to what history has shown us is beautiful. If it was beautiful 100 years ago and still is today, then great! I look around and look for natural textures and use them collectively. I don’t like synthetics or reproductions. It’s more true when it’s been found and discovered rather than copied. When I’m working with a client I always say “Tell me about YOU! You don’t want a carbon copy of a Joanna Gaines’ house. Tell me about YOU! Let’s see what you love and figure out how to use it in a tasteful and beautiful way.” In order to have the richest experience in your home, an item either needs to be useful, beautiful, or sentimental. Ideally it would have all 3, but at least 2 or you shouldn’t have it.

Another major thing I use help create a space is that I want to touch on all the senses when decorating. I pay close attention to the textures felt, the sounds heard, the mood they want, the smells that create memories. Did you know that smell is the only sense that’s initially processed in the brain and the limbic system? Smells can cause a feeling! Dan helps me think through what’s really functional. He grounds me. He comes up with the best ideas because he’s so logical. I think of myself as the creative but he is creative too, just in a different way. He takes my dreamer self and helps me make it a reality in a practical way that’s so much better once it’s been thought through.

Dan: My style is practical and comfortable. If it makes me decompress— that’s my style. I don’t like things to be too put together. I like things that make me exhale. I like dark woods, brick, masculine and earthy things—with a touch of woman— got to have a woman’s touch.

Backstory on how Brooke got into design:

When I was a little girl and my friends were buying toys, I was buying antiques. For my first job I painted horse fences and I took all of the money I made and bought an antique. It was a settee to go at the end of my bed. I’ve loved design for as long as I can remember. Jumping ahead in time— while my friends were in college, I was having babies and Dan was a pastor. I have always decorated peoples homes— but I did it for free. I did big homes and small homes and operated an art boutique for a period of time. When we moved to Knoxville and Dan transitioned from full time ministry to teaching and coaching football he said “Babe, you are going to have to get a job or charge people for what you do.” I went and got a job as a barista at a local place in Knoxville. One day the manager looked at me and said “Brooke— what are you doing here? Why are you serving coffee?? Go do what you do!” So I started my company 3 years ago. It started with one friend and then a few more friends hired me and now here I am!

You have some really amazing pieces in your home, what is your relationship to your belongings?

As sentimental as I am, I don’t hold on to things just because it was my grandmothers or because it has some memory attached to it. However, I love to hold on to things that are sentimental and use them in artful ways. Most importantly, I want my belongings to tell our story. I want reminders of where I’ve been or what I’ve been through. But I also have 4 kids and dog— a million things have been broken and I can honestly say I don’t get mad when things break—it’s just not worth it. I’ve either glued them back together and put them right back up or tossed them and moved on.

Do you have a style or home philosophy?

Everything here is rescued. Whether we spot a chair on the side of the road or hunt estate sales for the perfect armoire, there is a frugal-ness to what we do. You don’t have to spend a million dollars to make a beautiful space. You also have to remind yourself that a home is not built over night— its built over time. Without patience there is constant frustration— allow a space to be empty and wait for the right pieces.

So how do you decide what to purchase?

Wait! wait! wait! Certain pieces can change a room and are worth waiting for. Ask yourself, “Is this something that’s going to be with my family for years or generations?” If it is, it’s worth the investment. Build around your investment pieces frugally. Over the years I’ve found that it’s very difficult to buy good quality new furniture— the good quality pieces will cost you. Good quality new items are outside of 99% of the budgets that I typically work with. You have to look beyond the furniture store. I’ve learned to use furniture in a lot of different ways— ask yourself how versatile a piece is when you are considering it. Stay away from synthetics and go for things that are real. Do you love it? After a week are you still losing sleep of the dresser that you didn’t buy? If you are then go get it!

I will say this—As women, we look at magazines, Pinterest, and Instagram and either we live in envy over it and don’t have peace or we say forget it and give up. Often times people are in one of those camps. Have you given up and stopped caring about your home? Have you gotten obsessed with perfection and constantly worry about things getting messed up? Wherever you find yourself, there is a medium between those two extremes— that sweet spot where you find contentment. The goal is for your home to work for you and your family- it doesn’t have to be perfectly decorated. A home that you love and enjoy is easy for other people to love and enjoy.

What does home mean to you?

Dan: It is my refuge. It’s where I recharge, get encouraged, decompress. I don’t function well when I don’t get enough time at home. Home is where love happens. Everything I love about this home is because I love the people who live here.

Brooke: Home is a place where you receive love so you can give it. Just the physical home itself gives off that feeling. We’ve lived so many different places and they each served such a purpose. Not all of them were pretty… but they were all a home. When I came to this house- I could feel love.. I could feel that there had been a family here.

When people come into your home, what do you hope they feel?

Dan: Creating spaces that people want to be in is Brooke’s specialty.

Brooke: Our house is an emotional place for people. I want them to feel like they belong here and can be comfortable here- be themselves. All their problems, all their quirks, can just be here— you don’t have to become something or someone else to walk in our door.

Thank you so much Dan and Brooke for welcoming us in and sharing part of your story!

HYD Team

October 4, 2018

mixing old with new

HYD Team

October 4, 2018

Sure, we all love and can appreciate a well designed, styled home such as a Scandinavian-styled home, Modern, Country Chic, the list is truly endless. But a certain style we can all agree on is mixing old pieces with new.

An easy way to mix old with new is to cater to the homes architectural features. Incorporate pieces around the same year your home was built, then add in a geometric rug, updated lighting, and pops of color into the mix to create a collected look!

When it comes to decorating around a family heirloom don’t be afraid to add abstract art around or above the piece, or even place the piece in front of a colorful wall. If the family heirloom is something small, place it on top of statement coffee table books, or have fun mixing it in with styled bookcase!

If mixing your old pieces with pops of color and geometric rugs isn’t your thing, keeping your space neutral is a great way to mix in your antique treasures. By adding in a great rustic piece with a more subtle color palette, the piece will not only look and feel unique, but will also have a sense of belonging in the room.

Mixing and matching creates livable and inspiring rooms. It’s a perfect way to mix things up and fall back in love with items you may have owned forever or simply pull a room together!
What are some of your favorite way to mix old with new? We’d love to hear from ya!

HYD Team

September 27, 2018

Sip N Shop is Tonight

HYD Team

September 27, 2018

Tonight at 7pm we will have our first ever Sip N Shop! We are so excited to see you all and give you a first look and an oppotunity to win the drawing to shop before the crowds roll in on Friday morning. Aside from the shopping, we will be giving away a $50 Help You Dwell gift card, one of our canvas tote bags, and an HYD t shirt and hat.

Thank you guys for saving our backs and making the moving and set up process a walk in the park!

We will have coffee from Remedy during the Flea and are conveniently located next to Central Filling Station (they’ll be closed Friday for a ticketed event— The Black Lilies Album release party! but open on Saturday!) which always has a great selection of food trucks throughout the day!

Below you will find some of our featured items and a few shots from our day yesterday moving all of the items over from the warehouse. A HUGE thank you to Moving Time who helped us out and made our day so smoothe despite the rain!

Architectural salvage custom made lamps by White Station Archetectual Salvage

He has a limited supply but can make custom lamps on special order!

Rugs on Rugs on Rugs (we have even more than what you see in the picture!)

We have so much art this year that we covered the wall and ran out of room! Vintage, modern, original paintings- modern and traditional, lithographs, knoxville prints etc

Beautiful detail work on a 400 year old piece!

Even the nails holding it together are made of wood!

See you tonight!

HYD Team

September 20, 2018

the HYD flea is a week away!

HYD Team

September 20, 2018

We are gearing up for our bi-annual Fall Flea on September 28th and 29th and we can’t wait to share these amazing finds with you! The Help You Dwell Flea originally started as a local makers market where we provided a place for our Knoxville artist and maker friends to sell their goods. As Help You Dwell grew and other makers markets popped up, we transitioned into pop up flea markets twice a year as a way to encourage our clients to purge while making money for the items that no longer served a purpose in their homes. We curate the flea with items that you can’t just walk into a place like Target and purchase. Over the years our items have been a mix of vintage, antique, gently used, and always unique. We have a whole new spread of furniture and home decor to pass along to new folks.

This year we’ve come up with a way for you to get a sneak peak of the items that will be for sale and one lucky winner will get the chance to purchase or hold an item of their choice. On Thursday September 27th at 7pm we will have a Sip ‘N Shop! $5 gets you in the door, a glass of wine and enters you into the drawing. Come hang out with us and get a first look at what we will have for sale this year!

We will post more pictures as we get set up but for now, here are a few things you will find…

This year we have more lamps than ever before-everything from high end-brand new, to vintage, to hand painted and custom lamps— even light fixtures! We’ve got art coming out of our ears— Original paintings, botanical lithographs, and Italian mirrors too! We’ve got rugs of all sizes and lots of different styles and colors. We’ve got Americana pieces, hand painted furniture, antiques, mid century, farm house, and glam. We’ve got candle sticks, vases, planters, bed linens, and serving pieces. We’ll have armoires, bed frames, end tables, statement chairs, book cases, ottomans, bar stools, kitchen tables, historic salvage and more.

If you’ve never made it to one of our sales before, we hope to see you next week! Check out our slide show of previous fleas to get an idea of the kinds of things you can expect to find at our next sale!

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HYD Team

September 13, 2018

Inspiration

What's with all the pressure to be organized??

HYD Team

September 13, 2018

Inspiration

If you keep up with blogs, or honestly, any form of social media, you've probably observed this obsession with being organized that has surfaced over the past few years.

Let's talk about this trend.

If I'm being honest, all of the lovely pictures that grace the pages of magazines, Instagram streams, and blog posts make me swoon. They also make me less content with that I currently have and how my home currently looks. I often feel frustrated when I see the perfectly color coordinated kids rooms, the toys that are set exactly 3 inches apart from each other lining a shelf, the immaculately folded linens in a closet--these things are not realistic for me. I totally understand wanting a well designed and well organized home and the desire for things to look nice. What I do want to acknowledge is that I am a professional organizer, and my home will never look like those pictures unless I've specifically staged it for pictures (which would last all of about 30 minutes).

What I've been thinking about and trying to embrace lately is that being organized means different things to different people. The value of being organized is different for every person. I know for myself that if my house feels out of order, I feel distracted and overwhelmed--but my definition of "out of order" is not the same as everyone else’s definition. For example, I like for things to generally have a designated place, I like having clean surfaces, I don't like to store much on my counters, and I like things to be contained. Some people love to have lots of things on every shelf, and that's totally fine. For many, that doesn't feel disorganized or overwhelming at all. The truth is, we hope you never feel pressured by media, fashion, trends, friends, or family to become a version of "organized" that doesn’t work for you.

You may have noticed that many of our “before and afters” do not feature “after” pictures that look perfect- this is purposeful. Many of our clients are looking for practical help, things that can easily be maintained. Sometimes we complete a job where our client really values uniformity and a more picturesque final product, and we are happy to provide that result, but we never want to leave a client with something that doesn't feel realistic to their every day life. We realized that organization looks different for each person and we want to customize our work in a way that leaves each client feeling good about moving forward and maintaining their newly achieved order.

We love to help people who feel overwhelmed by their belongings, who want to let go, have the desire to purge, rearrange, re-invision their space etc. We've found that a very real sense of relief often comes when you purge and get more organized. Our greatest desire is that you feel content and able to enjoy your space without feeling burdened by it!

HYD Team

September 6, 2018

Organizing your time

HYD Team

September 6, 2018

Being organized doesn't just apply to your home, it also applies to your time. We live in a "yes" culture where too many people are too over committed. If you are feeling overwhelmed or like you are a slave to your schedule, we have created an exercise to help you figure out where your priorities lie and how to evaluate the best use of your time.

1. Make a list of your daily, weekly, and monthly commitments. Focus on the thing that reoccur-- not one time appointments. (examples: monthly book club, weekly counseling appointment, small groups, quarterly board meetings etc)

2. Make a list of the people in your life that you see, talk to, or spend time with regularly. Include long distance relationships if phone calls, skyping etc with them are part of your regular routine. Include parents, grandparents, siblings, spouse, children, partner, and friends, etc.

3. Make a list of activities, groups, or people that you don't currently have time for but would like to make time for or wish you had time for.

4. Take a look at the three lists you have made and evaluate your commitments. What commitments and what people are life giving to you and which of them are draining. Are you committed to certain things for seasons? Can you delegate any of your current commitments that are no longer working for you? Is it time to redefine relational boundaries with someone in your life? Take the time to go through the information you've written down to see the big picture of what and who you are giving your time to.

HYD Team

August 30, 2018

Home Tours

Webb Home Tour

HYD Team

August 30, 2018

Home Tours

In the 1950's, a government-created flat top house was a hot commodity in Oak Ridge. Hugh Webb, a UT college student in 1952, bought one for a whopping $900 and had it moved to a plot of land in North East Knox County. Our home tour today offers a glimpse into the crafted home of two artists who have created a masterpiece of a home that started as a prefab box. Barbara and Hugh Webb have lived in their home for 60 years and they have redesigned, reconfigured, and revamped their home into a one of a kind oasis. With 10 acres, horses, and incredible vision, they have truly made a home for themselves.

Early on they decided that, rather than moving around over the years, they would use their money to travel and work on the home they already had. They set a goal to take their children to every state in the US and to travel internationally as often as they were able. Whenever they got the itch to move, they would re-imagine their space and transform it to meet their needs. Barbara would draw up the plan, and Hugh would bring it to life.

Barbara's mother was Finnish and her Scandinavian style carried over in a natural way. Barbara has always been drawn to clean lines and minimalist decor. With muted tones and lots of neutrals, Hugh claims that if he sat still long enough, Barbara might paint him to match the rest of the house. With a mix of family antiques and carefully curated decor, their home is like a gallery in and of itself. Barbara is one of the founding charter members of the Foot Hills Craft Guild and hasn't missed a show in 50 years!

When I asked Barbara what her secret to creating a home was, she said " We enjoy our home and we enjoy each other. That’s the main thing about everything—— enjoying each other." If you spend any time with Hugh and Barbara you quickly realize that they are an incredible team. They love to dream and create together and the results of their teamwork are visible all over their home and in their children and grandchildren who come by the house almost daily to feed the horses or stop in for a chat. Hugh and Barbara enjoy more than making art together, they go dancing every Monday night. She says, "I could Waltz across Texas with Hugh".

Enjoy these scenes from the Webb's home.

The bookcase is a family heirloom from Barbara's grandparents. The birds sitting on top were hand carved by Hugh.

The Living room with a portrait of the Webb's daughters done by Barbara

Breakfast room and view onto the back porch where Hugh and Barbara take a break from creating every day at 3pm for cake and coffee.

portrait of the Webb's daughters by Barbara

HYD Team

August 16, 2018

These 5 things

HYD Team

August 16, 2018

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Every other month or so, we take our blog-writing hat off and point you in the direction of content that already exists out in the world. There are thousands of blogs, podcasts, books, documentaries, tv shows etc out there and we don't want to bombard you. We take a moment every now and then to distill down a few of the things we've read over the past month to some of the most helpful or most meaningful and here they are! Our goal is to provide tools through the words and pictures of other good folks that have encouraged us. We hope you enjoy!

Simplicity as a spiritual practice: Declutter for deep personal growth

Life is easier with a capsule wardrobe

How to clean your kitchen whether you have 15 minutes or all weekend

Greeting Card organization

Need a solution to trying to do it all?

HYD Team

August 9, 2018

Organizing, Purging

donating and selling books

HYD Team

August 9, 2018

Organizing, Purging

As organizers, one of the questions we consistently get from our clients is how and where to donate or sell the books that they are ready to pass along. We've compiled our list of recommendations and are eager to share it with you.

If you are ready to organize and purge your books, we recommend that you take the time to look through all the books throughout your home. Rather than simply purging a bookcase in one of many places that you keep reading material, plan to put your hands on every book in the house! Don't forget cookbooks, textbooks, and children's books. Once you've gone through all of them and have your purge pile, the following steps will come in handy...

Step 1: Determine whether each book is donate-able/sell-able or whether it simply needs to be recycled. If it's water damaged, dry rotted, or torn up it's not worth donating. Go ahead and recycle that sucker.

Step 2: Donate: If you don't want to fool with selling, simply donate your books to your local library or to a thrift store. If you have children's books to donate, you can also drop them at one of the many free little library's around town.

Step 3: Selling: There are many approaches and ways to go about selling your books. For a quick way to offload mass quantities of books, McKays is our recommendation. The amount of books you drop off will determine how you sell/how long you wait. For guidelines check out this link. In addition to McKays, Amazon now has a buy back program for certain books that they will pay shipping for and purchase from you in exchange for an Amazon gift card. For textbooks we recommend Barnes and Noble's buy back program.

Step 4: Enjoy the space you've created in your home by purging the books that you no longer need or want!

HYD Team

August 2, 2018

dorm room organization

HYD Team

August 2, 2018

If you are heading off to college in the next few weeks or are moving one of your children into their first dorm room, we have a few tips to make the move more organized and seamless.

1. Schedule a day with your son or daughter and plan to go through everything in their room at home. This may seem daunting but you will be so glad you did it. PURGE PURGE PURGE. This is a great opportunity to do the initial clean out which will make packing that much easier!
2. Think seasonally. In most dorm rooms, storage is limited which requires creativity and careful planning to utilize the space well. How large is the dorm room? Are frequent trips home feasible? Figure out all of the details before you begin packing. Send seasonal clothing and accessories only and store the rest at home. Use storage solutions like over the door shoe racks, under bed storage, and rolling carts to make good use of your space. Check out this link for more dorm room organization ideas.

3. Pack in clear tubs. College students typically move a lot. Rather than going out and purchasing moving boxes for every move over the next several years, buy some large totes that you can load up and pack easily. Once emptied, the totes can be stacked inside of each other and easily stored.
4. Make the dorm room feel like home. No matter how exciting college can be, its always an adjustment moving out of mom and dad's house and into a space of your own. Although your kid may be excited about the change, it's always easier to adjust when your new room feels comfortable and homey. Remember that this is a dorm room and a college student. Styles change and college kids aren't known for being the most responsible. You don't need hire a decorator and take out a loan to transform a 10x12 dorm room into the next cover of House Beautiful.

Links for dorm room storage, etc., list of things to take with you to college

HYD Team

July 26, 2018

we took a road trip!

HYD Team

July 26, 2018

This week Taryn, Katie and I (and Hank--our mascot/resident HYD baby) road tripped to Nashville's City Winery to see The Minimalists and Rachel Cruze on their Simply Southern Tour. The evening in Nashville was a wonderful hybrid of minimalism and financial freedom conversation. Our cliff note version of the evening is below!

If you aren't familiar with The Minimalists, we recommend starting with their documentary on Netflix and reading about them on their website!

A fun bit of local trivia-- In 2011, the Minimalists came through Knoxville and announced on their website that they would be at a local coffee shop...no one came until they were packing up to leave and then 2 people recognized them. This past Tuesday night we saw them in Nashville at a sold out show! Suffice it to say, they have amassed quite a following in the last 7 years!

Money Tips from Rachel:

While many people view budgets as being limiting, they can actually give you more freedom. A budget gives you permission to spend. When you budget, you tell your money where to go.
"Live like no one else now, so later, you can live like no one else." Dave Ramsey
Real freedom requires discipline
Comparing your real life to the social media version of everyone elses life is never helpful
The three money muscles are "give", "save", and "spend"
Attack your smallest debts first and work your way up to your largest ones. Once you've checked one off of your list you gain hope!
Check out the Every Dollar App for a really easy way to budget and keep track of your income, spending, and finances
For more from Rachel, check out her new book!

Minimalism tips from Josh and Ryan:

"Minimalism is the thing that gets us past the things so we can make room for life's most important things--which actually aren't things at all."
It's important to acknowledge that they things that are necessary for my life, may not be the necessary things for yours. Minimalism looks different for every person in every season.
Minimalism allows you to continue to question the things you hold on to.
The average American household has 300,000 items in it.
Tips on selling stuff vs giving it away: If you can make $20 or more, sell it-- if not, just let it go.
When getting rid of stuff, give yourself deadlines. Ex: If you are trying to sell something and it doesn't sell in 30 days, lower the price or donate it.
Understand "sunk cost". The amount you paid for something when you bought it is not going to be the value of it when you are trying to get rid of it. Accepting the fact that you will not make your money back is "sunk cost".
All things in life fit into three categories. 1. Essentials: Food, shelter, clothing 2. Non-essentials: the things you don't "need" but add value to your life and 3. Junk: everything else that we pretend has value
The things we buy and "hope" to use really just have asperational value, not real value.
Use social media (whether for personal or business use) to add value to others lives, not to add to the noise.
"Love people and use things, because the opposite never works"- The Minimalists
For more from the Minimalists, check out their book.

We had an absolute blast and wanted to share just a bit of our experience. You will be able to listen to the full audio the evening on The Minimalist podcast in the coming weeks!

HYD Team

July 19, 2018

rules of lighting

HYD Team

July 19, 2018

Have you ever found the perfect light fixture, only to bring it home and find that it doesn't fit!? Choosing the correct light fixture can be overwhelming. It's important to find the right look and feel but also the correct size and scale. Below, we have laid out a few go-to visuals to help you place you lighting correctly!

Ceiling height does play a factor when it comes to selecting and placing light fixtures. The visuals above are great indications of how lighting should be placed in rooms with standard 8 ft ceilings.

When it comes to lighting, one of the most important rules of thumb is to have multiple light sources. Although overhead lighting often makes a design impact, it shouldn't be the only source of light in a room. It is best to have at least 2-3 other light sources supporting the overhead light. A great way to add more lighting is to add can-lights, wall sconces, or simply a table or floor lamp!

Some of our favorite places to find light fixtures are CB2, Rejuvenation, School House Electric, World Market, and Target.

HYD Team

July 12, 2018

organizing recipe's

HYD Team

July 12, 2018

For many people, the world of Pinterest has changed the way they keep recipes. In a time when so much is digital, it's easy to keep track of things on your computer. However, there are still plenty of folks who prefer written or tangible recipes to digital. If you have piles of recipes torn out of magazines, recipes you have printed out from online, or hand written recipes that have been passed down to you, it can be hard to manage them all in a way that is user friendly. We've made recipe notebooks for several clients and we would love to share our process with you.

Items needed:

hard copies of recipes
scissors
page protectors
notebook (or notebooks)
tab dividers
label maker or sharpie

1. Sort your recipes into manageable categories. If you don't have a ton of recipes it might make sense to use categories like Appetizers, Entree's, Sides, Desserts, Drinks etc. If you've got a really large amount of recipes it might make sense to further separate into more defined categories like Entree's: Chicken, Entree's: Beef, Sides:Salads, Sides:grains etc. Once you are sorted, throw out duplicates or recipes that no longer look appealing to you. If you like to print recipes from your computer, chances are, you've printed multiple copies.

2. Take stock-- if you've got a large collection of recipes you may want a separate notebook for each broad category-- a whole notebook for desserts, a whole notebook for salads etc.

3. Go through and put each recipe in a page protector-- If your recipe is one sided, choose one to put back to back with another one so that each page protector has 2 recipe's represented. Page protectors are really helpful in keeping your recipe intact. When you are cooking from a recipe, inevitably, you spill something on the paper-- the page protector makes it easy to wipe off spills and protects the paper from getting wet or torn.

4. Print labels for the tab dividers with each category name (or if you prefer to hand letter- use a sharpie to label each tab)

5. Put pages and dividers into notebook. If you have a lot of recipes it may be helpful to alphabetize the recipes in each category. You can also create an index if you want to go the extra mile.

Have a different idea for organizing recipes? We'd love to hear!

HYD Team

July 5, 2018

Holidays

a tried and true tip

HYD Team

July 5, 2018

Holidays

If you've browsed the magazine aisle at the grocery store in the past few years, you have probably noticed that organizing is trendy. Magazines promising "35 tips to get your whole house organized", "how to organize your pantry in 30 minutes", or "best organizing products" are all vying for your time and money. While those articles are helpful and fun to read, there is one organizing tip or method that we always come back to. Organizing by category rather than by room or space is more a helpful and thorough way of turning chaos into order.

What we have found, is that often times people store the same kinds of things in multiple places around the house. You may have holiday decor stored in multiple closets and storage spaces. Organizing each space separately wouldn't be as productive as pulling out all of your holiday decor at once. We suggest taking inventory of all that you have so that you can do a more thorough purge, and then organizing and re-storing the items in a way that makes sense. If you can't store all like items together due to space issues, try grouping by specific categories within the broader category. If you are working with holiday decor, you could separate by seasons/holidays or by inside and outside decor.

Whether you are organizing clothing, cleaning supplies, or linens, make sure to think through every area in your house where you store similar items so that you have an accurate picture of all that you have. You may be surprised by the duplicates or excess that you find.

Do you have a tried and true organizing tip? We'd love to hear!

taryn mcLean

June 28, 2018

The Best Boxes for your Next Move

taryn mcLean

June 28, 2018

It's a busy time of year for moving and Knoxville's housing market is fast and furious these days with lots of folks relocating within and moving to our fabulous city. HYD has had the privilege of assisting lots of folks with their move, be it the pre-pack purge, packing, coordinating the day of the move, or setting up clients in their new homes. In our experience, the one challenge that is consistent throughout this process is figuring out the most protected, cost efficient, and environmentally conscience way to contain all our client's belongings.

Just recently, we had the great pleasure of meeting the owner of a new company here in Knoxville that may help us answer that very question...

Meet Frank Ramey, owner, operator, and "Chief Officer of Customer Happiness" of RPM Boxes, a plastic moving box rental company located in the heart of Knoxville.

Frank has an extensive background in logistics which has set him up perfectly for running this new business here in Knoxville. As packers (and unpackers), HYD really appreciated all he had to say about his research to find the best-sized boxes for fitting the most commonly packed items and how easy he's made it for people to get those boxes delivered to and picked up from their doorstep!

RPM Boxes' user friendly website will answer your questions and help clarify the facts about saving money and time renting plastic boxes instead of purchasing cardboard boxes and tape. Also, as organizers we love how well these pack then stack, allowing for movers to easily access them, load them on dollies, and get them to the truck, cutting down on the time and cost of moving items. Lastly, we can all appreciate the small environmental impact involved by choosing reusable boxes.

We're also excited to share that anytime you use the code HYD10, you will receive 10% off your rental fee! AND... for a limited time only, RPM Boxes is offering 50% off any rentals so if you book for an upcoming move now, you'll get a GREAT deal!!

Call (865) 269-6797 to secure your boxes today!

HYD Team

June 21, 2018

mixing & matching patterns

HYD Team

June 21, 2018

Whether you are looking to update a space without emptying your wallet, or simply want to refresh a room, adding and mixing patterns is the perfect place to start!

Mixing and matching pillows with patterns and color can be tough to get right. In case you need some guidance, we are sharing our go-to tips below!

1. A solid pillow is a great start. This lays the foundation for the color and lets you have room to play with pattern!

2. Texture is key! Adding in a textured pillow such as velvet, faux fur, or a knit pillow, adds depth and interest.

3. Organic and geometric patterns are the perfect pair when mixing and matching. When paired together, the shapes and movement in patterns help balance each other out. In case you aren't sure what we mean by organic and geometric, check out this helpful article.

4. If mixing organic and geometric patterns really isn't your thing, play with scale! Mixing large prints with small prints is a great way to show contrast!

GROUP 1 PILLOWS/ 1 - 2 - 3   GROUP 2 PILLOWS/ 1 - 2 - 3 GROUP 3 PILLOWS/ 1 - 2 - 3  GROUP 4 PILLOWS/ 1 - 2 - 3 — GROUP 1 PILLOWS/ 1 - 2 - 3 GROUP 2 PILLOWS/ 1 - 2 - 3
GROUP 3 PILLOWS/ 1 - 2 - 3 GROUP 4 PILLOWS/ 1 - 2 - 3

HYD Team

June 14, 2018

5 interesting things

HYD Team

June 14, 2018

Thinking about having a yard sale this summer? This episode of The Lazy Genius has some great tips!

Fathers Day is this Sunday! If you haven't thought of something for Dad, check out these gift guides! 1 2 3

We've been loving the podcast The Simple Show! Right now they are doing a series called "Grown Upping the Summer" and its sooo good!

What do you think about creating outdoor rooms? These are beautiful!

Did you know that Food52 sells vintage french kitchen goods? Obsessed!

HYD Team

June 7, 2018

did you know...

HYD Team

June 7, 2018

As organizers, a huge part of our job is to help people declutter. One of our goals in decluttering is to help find new homes for the items that our clients no longer need. Whether we end up helping to sell an item, find the right place to donate it, or recycle it properly--we strive to keep as much out of landfills as we can.

Over the years we've discovered some easy ways to reduce waste and to make recycling and donating easier for everyone.

1. Did you know that you can recycle old cell phones, mp3 players, and ink cartridges at Target? Once you've wiped your personal information from a device you can bring it into a store and drop it off in their electronics recycling bin. Additionally, did you know that Target periodically accepts expired and unexpired car seats in exchange for 20% off a new car seat?

2. Did you know that you can drop off items to be shredded for a fee at Staples? If you don't have time to do your own shredding or don't have a shredder, just drop your boxes of paperwork to be shredded at your local Staples store and let them do it for you.

3. Did you know that there are several thrift stores in town that will come to your home and pick up your unwanted items for free? One of our favorite thrift stores is Habitat for Humanity. They are unique in that in addition to normal thrift store items, they also accept building materials.

4. Did you know that there are several drop boxes around town for unwanted/expired medications? It's not a good idea to flush medications. To find a drop box near you, check out this list of locations.

5. Did you know that you can recycle rechargeable batteries, compact florescent light bulbs (CFL's), and plastic shopping bags at Lowe's? Many businesses have shopping bag recycling so if you have a huge stash from years of grocery shopping without reusable bags, why not drop them to be recycled on your next trip to the grocery?

What other items or businesses have you discovered that are working towards recycling, reusing, and reducing waste?
We would love to hear!!

HYD Team

May 24, 2018

DO'S & DON'TS OF ART HANGING

HYD Team

May 24, 2018

Hanging art can come with it challenges. Luckily, our Interior Designer, Cassie, put together a few visuals and tips to help you hang art like a pro! Below, you will find a few examples of the most common mistakes we see when it comes to placement and spacing and examples of how to correct them.

ART: POTTERY BARN / DRESSER: CRATE AND BARREL

ART: JENNY'S PRINT SHOP / SOFA: WEST ELM

When in doubt....

Hang single art pieces at eye level (56"-60"H)
Treat two pieces as one (stack these items, keeping the distance between them 1.5"-2"; don't be afraid the stack two different frames, i.e. smaller frame above a larger frame)
Get creative with a gallery wall but keep the spacing (1.5"-2") consistent
Mix & Match mirrors and art
On a larger wall, fill the space with a series of art or photos in a grid pattern
Lastly, mock up your wall with a piece(s) of paper the same size as your frame