Most people love their current homes, especially if the home is where they grew up or where they have raised their children. But no matter how many memories those homes hold, there may come a time when you will simply need to move into something bigger. Maybe your family is growing, perhaps you’ve acquired too much stuff that you can’t let go of, or maybe you need more room for your hobby. These are all signs it’s time to upsize your home. If you want to know more about these signs, keep on reading.

1. You Use Your Bike as a Coat Rack

One of the biggest signs it’s time to upsize your home is this: you do not have enough closet space. Or, even worse, you do not have enough space to put another wardrobe in your home. If this is the case, you are probably hanging all your coats on your home bike, chair, or something rather similar. So, do yourself a favor… sell your current home and buy a bigger one – one that will have a bigger closet in addition to space for your home gym equipment.

2. Someone Sits at the ‘Kids Table’

We can all agree that family gatherings are the best! But we can also agree that, during those gatherings, nobody wants to be seated at the ‘kids’ table. If you enjoy entertaining and need space for meals, it might be time to upsize to a home that can accommodate a large dining table (and any leaf that you may add during the holidays).

3. There is a Bathroom Schedule

No one likes having a bathroom schedule. If everyone in the home doesn鈥檛 strictly follow the schedule, it can easily catapult into a roommate or family fight. If your home is tight on bathrooms based on the number of occupants in the home, consider upsizing to a property with additional full or partial bathrooms.

4. Inconveniently Placed Rooms

Speaking of bathrooms, is yours located next to your kitchen? Do you have to walk through a laundry room to get to a guest bedroom? Room additions can easily become less of an attraction when they are inconveniently placed in the home. If you must trudge through the kitchen to locate the bathroom in the middle of the night or tiptoe past a sleeping kid to get to a storage closet, it may be time to find a home with a more practical layout.

5. Your Pantry is Giving Up on You

Another sign that it is time to upsize your home is your pantry – either the overflowing or non-existing pantry. It goes without saying that every home needs a proper and functional place for all the food, drinks, and little knick-knacks. If your home doesn鈥檛 have a pantry or if the shelves are overflowing into the rest of the kitchen, it is time to upsize.

*Before you move into your new home, make sure to research moving companies. Many people decide to wait until the last minute to hire movers, but this is one of the if you want to have a stress-free relocation.

6. Everyone is Always in Your Way

A crowded pantry may not be the worst thing in the world, but a crowded life just may be. Crowded living happens when our homes are too full of stuff, people, pets, and pretty much everything. Homes can feel crowded when we are constantly in other people’s personal space without any area to get away from the hustle and bustle of the household. This is when you know you must upsize your home. Decluttering and organization can only go so far.聽 If you are unable or unwilling to plan a home addition, your best option is to look for something larger.

About the Author: Martha Collins has been working as a professional home organizer for the last 4 years. In her free time, she enjoys writing about home organization on her blog.

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Sleeping in new environments can sometimes trigger latent insomniac tendencies. It can manifest in difficulty falling and remaining asleep or waking up early. It鈥檚 a well-studied phenomenon in sleep science known as the 鈥渇irst-night effect.鈥� In that state, half of your brain remains alert while the other half sleeps. It鈥檚 your brain鈥檚 way of protecting you against danger in unfamiliar places.

You may experience the 鈥渇irst-night effect鈥� when sleeping at a friend鈥檚 house, hotels, or new places. Don鈥檛 worry, though. This article will give you advice on how to avoid insomnia in a new home.

1. Sleep Products That Help You Avoid Insomnia in a New Home

Depending on how severe your insomnia is, you鈥檒l need the weapons to fight and win this war. These sleep products can help you avoid insomnia in your new house:

• Sleep mask to minimize the pressure from your eyes.
• A weighted blanket to help you feel safe, making you fall asleep faster.
• A white noise machine that enables you to sleep soundly and avoid insomnia in your new house.
• A full-body pillow that will help you sleep in a comfortable position if you’re a side sleeper.
• Breathable clothes to help your body鈥檚 temperature remain constant throughout the night.
• A memory foam pillow to rest your head and neck for comfortable sleep.
• A lofty memory foam mattress topper to help soften the impact of an extra firm mattress.
• Blue-light-blocking glasses to wear when using electronics.
• Noise-canceling earplugs that can reduce noises that wake you up in the middle of the night.
• 0% caffeine herbal teas to help you enjoy better sleep at night.
• Sleep-friendly light bulbs that eliminate blue light.

Other products that will aid in combatting your insomnia include comfortable bedding and a high-quality mattress. Do your research to learn what would work best for you. Sites like , an Australian company, reviews both mattresses and bedding. The company has been serving people suffering from the lack of sleep for years and has helped many people overcome their insomnia.

2. Consider Sleep Supplements

If you鈥檙e suffering from insomnia, consider trying sleep supplements, especially melatonin-rich extracts. Melatonin is the hormone responsible for regulating your inner body clock. Thus, one of its purposes is telling your body when to go to sleep and when to awaken.

Insomnia is the natural result when your body doesn鈥檛 produce enough sleep hormone. So, supplementing melatonin might be an effective way to fight insomnia. Other herbal remedies like lavender, valerian, and chamomile might also help alleviate insomnia.

3. Use the Power of Your Mind

If you don鈥檛 have the budget to invest in sleep products, seeing as you鈥檝e just invested in a new place, here鈥檚 a military technique used by soldiers to fall asleep when they鈥檙e in combat. In essence, it鈥檚 a modified body scan meditation that lets you get rid of the bodily tensions that might keep you awake.

• First, lay on your back, relax, and focus on breathing to avoid distractions.
• Be aware of your body from head to toe. Start with your forehead, face, and neck.
• After that, calm your shoulders, arms, and hands. Loosen any tension you notice.
• Move to your chest, stomach, and lower body parts. Keep relaxing your legs, calves, and feet.
• Imagine yourself sleeping on a hammock on a serene beach. You can use any other imagery that helps you feel safe and protected.

Repeat the exercise a few times, and you鈥檒l indeed find it easier to fall asleep.

4. Bring Out Your Old Bedding

Replacing bedding in a new house is a good idea. However, your body may feel unsafe in this new environment. Thus, it remains alert to avoid the imagined danger. It鈥檚 an instinctive reaction that you can鈥檛 reason with. One solution might be temporarily using your old bedding, as this will trick your mind into believing it鈥檚 a similar environment. Thus, it鈥檒l be easier to feel safe and fall asleep.

5. Develop Healthier Habits

. Thus, you can improve your sleep quality simply by changing your habits. Remember, what you do during the day will come back to haunt you at night. So, adopting these sleep-friendly habits will help you avoid insomnia in your new house:

• Stay away from artificial lights during the day.
• Lessen screen time one to two hours before bed.
• Avoid checking your social media before bed; disturbing news will make you lose sleep.
• Consume less alcohol.
• Practice meditation during the day.
• Take a warm shower before bed.

You probably know this already, but it鈥檚 worth repeating: make your room as dark as possible. Furthermore, you may want to take inventory of your daily habits and optimize them for better sleep at night. Every change you make will add up to a night of better sleep.

Conclusion

It鈥檚 exciting to move to a new place with all the possibilities opening up to you. However, sleeping in a new home often triggers insomnia. By following the tips above, you can avoid insomnia in your new house and enjoy better sleep at night. Most likely, it鈥檚 a matter of getting used to your unfamiliar environment. So, give it some time.

In conclusion, try not to overthink it. Sometimes, it鈥檚 just as simple as changing your daily habits!

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Buying a new home is an exciting time for anyone! Getting to show off your new pad to friends, family and neighbors…even more exciting. Here are some tips to get you ready to hold an easy and fun housewarming party.

Who to Invite?

Knowing who to invite to a housewarming party can be stressful. Do you want it more of a intimate gathering or open to many? It is ultimately up to you but typically family, close friends, new neighbors and even some of their friends should be included on the guest list. The point of welcoming people into your new home is to expand your circle and make friends in your new area. If you have young kids, this is also a great opportunity for them to meet kids their own age and schedule play dates. Meeting new friends, introducing your family to your new home…all this will help acclimate you to your new neighborhood.

Should You Have a Theme?

Not all parties need to have a theme, but it can help bring the decor, food and place settings all together and look cohesive to your guests. Maybe you want something more casual? Then go with a block party type housewarming, full of easy handheld food and games. Looking for something sophisticated? An open house with a seasonal theme is more for you. Some examples are for spring, your guests could expect fresh flowers from the garden and bright colors. For fall, rustic place settings and pumpkin based desserts could tie everything together. Whatever the theme, choose something that best fits your friends, family and new home.

Decor

Your new place may not be completely in order by the time the party comes around but that鈥檚 OK! Not having everything done means you can ask your guests for decorating or organizing advice. For the party decor itself, go back to your color scheme or a theme you decided on. Gather simple items to place on tables or trays, put out candles or flowers to spruce up the place.聽

Entertainment

Having games can be fun but housewarming parties don鈥檛 need to have set entertainment like others. You can plan some easy games, like a scavenger hunt, allowing for a house tour without any of the talking or ask guests to compete in design contest for one of your rooms, don’t feel the pressure to constantly entertain during this time. Everyone that attends the party is there to enjoy your home and to mingle! Sit back, relax and break-in your new beautiful home.

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Moving is always a source of stress, but there are several ways you can get through the process and work through those boxes as efficiently and quickly as possible. Check out these tips to moving without the stress and hassle.

1. Adopt a solution-focused attitude

You can鈥檛 control everything, but you can choose how you react. If you see moving as a challenge, you鈥檙e more likely to see options and solutions to difficult situations. Staying optimistic and positive will help you keep calm and open to new possibilities. In contrast, if you see moving as mostly a negative experience on par with getting a tooth pulled, your natural response could be to shut down, avoid, and procrastinate — which will only lead to more stress. While there鈥檚 no doubt that moving involves stress and work, you can make things easier on yourself by deciding to move forward one small step at a time. 

2. Make time your ally

Much of the stress from moving stems from time constraints and scheduling snafus. But there are ways to relieve some of the pressure. Start packing early. Do your best to avoid getting forced into a difficult moving schedule. If the timing is too tight, ask for what you need. For example, if you鈥檙e moving for a job, negotiate for a start date that will allow more breathing room. The same goes for closing dates. Moving on closing day is a sure way to put stress on steroids. Avoid booking your move date until you鈥檝e scheduled your closing and then give yourself some leeway. It may be well worth paying for some overlap time between homes or negotiating a day or two of extra time to move out or move in. Other options include temporary housing and storage. You can even choose a moving service that鈥檚 designed to allow plenty of time for loading and unloading, such as portable storage and moving containers.聽

3. Eat healthy meals and snacks

Your mind and body need healthy fuel to keep going during the moving process, but that can be hard when you鈥檙e short on time and the cooking supplies are packed away. Missed meals and unhealthy food choices can lead to low blood sugar, which can zap energy, fog thinking, and ignite tempers. Yes, getting 鈥渉angry鈥� is a real thing. It鈥檚 easy to get so busy that you not only forget about eating, you don鈥檛 even notice you鈥檙e hungry until it鈥檚 too late. Resorting to fast food, while a quick fix, can be a poor choice for your body, as high carbs lead to blood sugar spikes and crashes 鈥� the opposite of what you need to manage stress. 

Keep your mind and body fueled up and on an even keel by planning ahead with . This doesn鈥檛 mean cooking, either, as there are plenty of pre-packaged choices at your local grocery store. Avoid getting dehydrated, too, by keeping a supply of cold bottled water at the ready. 

4. Don鈥檛 skimp on sleep and rest

Next to food and water, sleep is another essential pillar of your life-support system. Studies show that if you鈥檙e sleep deficient you may have trouble making decisions, solving problems, controlling your emotions, and coping with change 鈥� exactly the functions you need most in the middle of a move! Losing sleep will just slow you down when you really need to be performing on all cylinders. No matter how busy you get with your move, commit to getting a full 7 to 8 hours of sleep every night. Some quick tips for getting enough shut-eye include:

• Going to bed and waking up at the same time you usually do
• Avoiding excessive caffeine, sugar, and alcohol, especially before bed
• Taking a hot bath and using relaxation techniques before bed

Even though it鈥檚 tempting to go non-stop to keep up with all your move-related tasks, give yourself mini-breaks every 2-3 hours. Sit or lie down, stretch, and breath. This is the perfect time to drink some water and eat some nuts or other healthy snack, too. Not only will a good night鈥檚 sleep and breaks reduce your stress level, you鈥檒l get the time back through increased productivity and energy. 

5. Ask for help

You don鈥檛 have to do this alone. Reach out for help with the parts of moving you find most challenging. If you鈥檙e stuck at the beginning stage, a professional organizer or friend who lives to declutter can kickstart your packing and downsizing process. Want to skip the heavy-lifting? Even if you鈥檙e not using traditional movers you can still hire professional help to load and unload your moving truck or portable container, as moving services are no longer an all-or-nothing proposition. If you have to watch every dollar, then enlist help from friends or family. 

No time to clean your old or new place? Hire a cleaning service. Worried about dealing with your 2-year-old in the middle of the moving chaos? Ask a friend or relative to watch your kids for a few hours or arrange a 鈥済ood-bye鈥� play date with their friends. They鈥檒l probably welcome the opportunity.

6. Remember to breathe

Do you ever catch yourself holding your breath when you鈥檙e stressed? Start practicing breathing exercises early in your moving process so it will be more like second nature as things get hectic. Close your eyes and picture a place where you feel calm and peaceful. Breathe in, starting in your belly, and say a word or phrase in your mind that brings reassurance, such as 鈥淚 breath in peace and courage.鈥� As you breathe out, say something that you want to release, such as 鈥淚 breathe out stress and worry.鈥� Even if you just do this for one or two minutes, you鈥檒l be surprised at how just taking time to breathe can bring stress relief.

7. Stretch your muscles, relax your mind

Moving is physical, even if you鈥檙e not doing most of the heavy labor. If you start stretching ahead of time you can increase flexibility, which will help avoid strained muscles and injury. Try some to prepare your muscles and calm your mind. Once you know some basics you鈥檒l be able to take time out during your move for a few minutes of stretching. This will help minimize aches and pains and help you sleep better at night.

Need some motivation? Plan to treat yourself to a professional massage as a reward for regular stretching, not to mention all your hard work. According to the Mayo Clinic, for reducing stress and muscle tension.

8. Pack your sense of humor

With benefits backed up by science, , writes wellness coach Elizabeth Scott, author of . That鈥檚 because laughing actually reduces the level of stress hormones like cortisol, epinephrine, dopamine, and growth hormone at the same time it increases levels of health-building hormones like endorphins. There are bound to be frustrations along your journey getting from Point A to Point B. So why not choose to react in a way that relieves stress instead of igniting it? Rather than complaining, blaming, or getting down, try looking on the lighter side. Maybe it鈥檚 so ridiculous that you can just laugh and think about what a story this will make looking back. 

Whether this is your first big move or one among many, it鈥檚 only human to feel overwhelmed at times. This blend of practical moving tips and stress management techniques will help you move forward with confidence to a new home and way of life.

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