OCD'ing It Just a Little Bit

One of my favorite guilty TV pleasures is the show Flipping Out on Bravo. It is about a home flipper/designer in California and the amazing before and after transformations of the homes he designs .The show is also about his OCD personality.

I feel like I connect with this guy on so many levels! For instance, this is the kitchen he designed in season one. It was my inspirational photo for the house I was building at the time. I love EVERYTHING about it (and you know you really love it when you still love it 3 years later...), but most of all, I like how everything has a clean line and it just feels peaceful and organized. What better space to cook in than one where you aren't stressed by all the craziness of clutter.

A funny OCD habit I just happened to pick up from watching Jeff every week was his need to have all of his drinks in perfect rows with the labels all facing the same direction. I have taken this habit on as my own. Something about doing this makes me feel like I live in luxury (maybe if I had a maid do it for me, I might feel even more luxurious). But, it's little things like these that just might take your home up a notch-- showing yourself that you care about the details makes a big difference in how you take care of the rest of your home.

I say "show yourself" because taking on habits like these are not to impress others with your perfect life. They are to remind yourself that you care about your home and you want to be a good steward with it. By creating organized and beautiful spaces and accents in your home, you are saying that you appreciate the gift that it is, and it makes you more excited about taking care of it.

Start with something small-- a shelf you think is pretty or a counter that you always see-- take it up a notch in design and organization and see if you take care of it better that you did before.