As I started to put together the foundational elements for Harmony + Home and tuning into why I was the best person for this role, I began to delve deep into my life to see how experiences and people had shaped my journey of cleaning and organising spaces... This is what I found...

As asthmatic children growing up, our mother kept the house clean not only to manage 3 kids but also to reduce allergens for our health and wellbeing, so right from birth I was instilled with a sense of organisation and the benefits of a tidy home for your health.
My parents shared roles in taking care of our home with what was and is quite a standard split: my dad keeping our outside spaces organised and tidy, and my mum taking care of the inside. Both of these roles influenced me and I grew to love taking care of the inside AND outside of the places I lived.
Even from an early age I had an interest in architecture, interior design, landscaping and creative solutions which I got to explore as we moved around houses and when my mum became a real estate agent. Beautiful homes have always been a love of mine and the beauty isn't necessarily in the design of it, but the energy of the spaces and locations I've visited (which have been all over New Zealand!).
As a teenager when I wanted to earn pocket money, my first 'jobs' were mowing the lawns and cleaning the house. This is where I learned the practical aspects of taking care of my home and yard and developed my keen attention to detail because I had a suspicion my Dad was gazing his eye over my work meticulously to check my thoroughness, so for example: I made sure to vacuum behind the doors because I thought he might test me by putting sand or crumbs there!
Like many young people, I did go through a messy pre-teen/teen phase which reflected the chaotic inner world during that time of finding myself as well as the inevitable hormonal evolution of my body which causes chaotic inner snd outer world for a time.
My mum actually photographed my messy bedroom a couple of times as reminders of the state of it haha.
I have always been acutely aware of stagnant or old energy in homes and it has always affected me physically with allergy symptoms or headaches, although I didn't know that was my sensitivity to energy until I was in my 30s. I am now very particular about where we stay and especially our sleeping environment as I can sense mould or mildew very acutely - an energetic AND physically rewarding gift.
When I moved out of home at 17 from Rangiora (North Canterbury) to Dunedin, I took what could fit in my car and because I didn't have much I learned to really look after it and appreciate what I did have. My first flatting experience was in an old student flat, sleeping on a mattress we found on the side of the road in 'studentville' Dunedin, so I have always had a great appreciation for the comfort and cleanliness of a quality bed (although back then I could sleep anywhere).
Over the earlier years between 17 and 25, when I met my now husband, I travelled all around NZ, living in various accommodations from rentals to motels, caravan parks and garages to people's couches - all of which taught me to value what I had and non-attachment to the things I couldn't take or keep (like the many beds I ended up with that couldn't fit in my car and a beautiful table and fold out couch my mum gave me).
During this time I also worked cleaning at a Motel in Christchurch and a Hotel in Dunedin so I learned from some really nice women about how to clean thoroughly, efficiently and quickly. They taught me new ways of cleaning and taking care of spaces that I hadn't previously learned from my parents which I then utilised in my own life and still do to this day!
When John and I met, I moved back to Dunedin and together we moved into a brand new 1 bedroom apartment which had to be kept clean with minimal belongings due to the size of it and lack of storage available. As we built our lives together, we began to accumulate things and expanded into bigger 3 bedroom rentals, filling all the spaces to make them feel like a home and to showcase the many items we collected on our travels.
By the time we moved from Dunedin to Nelson in 2013 we had to use a moving company to pack and move all our stuff to our new home in Kawai Street South - quite different from when I moved out of home with only the stuff that fit in my car!
*This is our Kawai Street house all clean and tidy, ready to sell (we had already got it into this state before we decided to sell so it was super easy and quick to get the photos done). I absolutely loved this house.*
The Kawai Street South house was really where I was able to explore storage solutions, furniture placement and creative ways of using space, as well as gardening and landscaping. It was a beautiful 2.5 bedroom home with a small kitchen and minimal storage upstairs but a converted garage and 2 more internal spaces downstairs as well as under house storage too that allowed us to accumulate even more stuff (lots of shelving and random home maintenance stuff). After taking care of it like it was our own, we eventually bought it and began exploring the added depth and responsibility of home ownership and maintenance.
Every year I would have at least 1 large 'Spring Clean' or deep clean, where I began to develop my now tried and true cleaning process I call 'The Magic of Cleaning': of going room by room and clearing out anything I wasn't using or no longer liked, moving it downstairs, reorganising what was left and cleaning each space before moving onto the next - then at a later date sorting what I'd moved downstairs into keep, sell and donate piles.
At that time though we still had so much 'stuff' that especially I had become attached to and as my health and weight fluctuated I had so many clothes that I didn't fit that ended up being stored. That was when I learned how plastic containers with lids were better storage options than cardboard boxes as you could see what was inside them, they would stay dry and you could stack them (before we had storage shelving).
Our daughter Emma arrived in October 2022 and was another catalyst for cleanliness: Our home was relatively compact so we needed to make sure we didn't fill it with too much stuff and that it was safe for her - she was also fanatical about cleaning in all the spots that only babies find (eg. the tracks of the sliding door). Her unique ability to find those unseen things actually helped us improve areas we hadn't even considered to clean, which in turn helped with leaks and dirt accumulation that we didn't know were even an issue! (She is still a stickler for cleanliness, even when we are out and about).
In 2023 I had a strong inspiration to 'Get Our House in Order' so we began to clear out all the clutter in and around the house, including the yard and garden - after having Emma it had gotten away on us and was quite a big job to sort and I can't find my before and after photos but it was a major transformation and felt so good! We cleared under the house and in the washhouse (FB Marketplace came in very handy to give things away). We fixed up the outdoor areas and made it all as tidy and child friendly as possible and bought storage shelving and plastic containers to better organise our laundry storage
We actually began to pack away in plastic containers anything in excess around the house, not knowing that this divine inspiration was actually because we were going to be selling our house! That 'word' came in January 2024 "sell your house" so we put it on the market on January 11th and it sold on Feb 2nd - everything was pretty much already packed and ready to go!
Moving house has got to be the best motivation for clearing and decluttering... We made a deal that we wouldn't take anything into our new house that we didn't need. So we dumped, donated and sold as much as we felt comfortable with then unpacked everything else either into the new house or into the garage for further sorting.
*This is our Richmond house and it is so different and such a different energy. It really offered me a different way of exploring spaces and feeling the energy - and it was a rental so I could only do minimal things to make it home.*
The energy was so different from our old place to our new place and revealed that we were ready to shift lots of 'old energy' via way of our belongings so we began the task of intense refining of everything we owned and are now well known at ReStore, where we donate most of our things.
Our house was different and bigger (4bdrm, 2 bathrooms and bigger kitchen but terrible pantry space). Not only was the house very different, but so were we - so much stuff no longer aligned and much more new stuff did so we brought in new energy, new things and new ways of doing things and got rid of anything that no longer aligned - boxes of beautiful clothes and shoes, boxes of memories and knick-knacks, kitchenware, etc. We had to come up with new storage solutions and think creatively when setting up the spaces - I tapped into the energy of the home, land and ourselves and aligned it all together.
We set up our storage shelving in the garage and constantly refine, refine, refine so we don't overload our spaces - in fact in our new home we refine the whole house almost monthly and move on things we no longer want or need.
This experience taught me so much about the feeling of energy in a home - what old energy feels like in comparison to brand new and provided me an opportunity to explore what new energy felt like.
I learned more about the intuitive way I could feel how a space wanted to be used and expressed, through decor and furniture. I learned that I could always feel the flow of energy but never quite understood what I was tuning into until I had the opportunity to explore two completely different houses with 2 completely different energies.
Whilst our new house was brand new and bigger, it still needed creative storage solutions to maximize the spaces, like containers in the pantry and artificial plants to bring in a bit of life inside. I learned with this experience that unless you design and build your own home, there will always be spaces that you need to 'compromise' with or use creatively; you just have to do your best with what you've got and know that it will only get better.
I became aware that homes have their own personality that aligns with your own level of consciousness so you actually co-create the spaces in unison with your home and garden - like a sculptor revealing what was always there in the clay. You and your home are working together to enhance and love each other.
Moving house AND coming into abundance has allowed me to explore energy and things in a way like never before. I've been able to buy what I've needed to enhance the spaces and bring in new energy and explore how it works and then move it on when it no longer aligns - something that can happen quickly when you are changing rapidly like we have. (Similar to the rapid changes children go through).
Through this lifetime of learning and hands on exploring I've gained a deeper appreciation and understanding of not only the energy and feel of spaces in a home and garden, but of the way we can work together with the home to express our inner world into our outer world.
As I've cleared beliefs and attachment within myself, I've been able to clear clutter from my outer world. The relationship between the inner and outer worlds is the most apparent in our homes and I understand it on a personal and practical level through all of these valuable experiences.
All of my awareness and experience makes me the perfect person to bring you and your home back into harmony and alignment. My unique ability to feel the energy of a space and the true expression of a person means I can help bring these into alignment and harmony - there is always a way otherwise you wouldn't be there.
Creating sacred spaces and harmonious homes doesn't mean minimalist living, brand new Swedish designed homes, Feng Shui or white everything - it means bringing out your true expression into the spaces you live in. Meeting you where you are now, working with what you've got or can get and clearing away all that is no longer serving you that you are ready to release - and this can happen in a big burst, lots of short bursts or slowly and steadily over time and never stops.
As we change, we change the world around us and this is very easily reflected in our homes, in the way we dress and how we choose to love ourselves (setting boundaries, new jobs, changing perspectives, slowing down, downsizing, upsizing, moving, new relationships, etc.).
All change begins within... are you ready?
Thanks for reading.
Amanda Sears
The Inspired Guide
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