The KonMari method of organization has become wildly popular around the nation this year—especially in San Francisco, where Marie Kondo gave live seminars and trained her first consulting employees. Even Ellen featured this tiny organizing powerhouse on her show to experience the Japanese art of decluttering in person. From folding to hanging and everything in between, the KonMari method helps each of us treat our belongings with more care.

Pleasantonians are proud of their picturesque, quiet city, and rightfully so. With First Wednesdays, the best fairgrounds in the Tri-Valley, and a charming downtown—plus free parking throughout the city—this is definitely a suburb with a small town feel where you would want to raise a family. “The second Silicon Valley,” as Pleasanton has been nicknamed, is a thriving place full of friendly faces and generous people.

Pleasanton’s own Open Heart Kitchen, a nonprofit that has been incredibly active with feeding those in need, recently came across a major obstacle in operations: a two-alarm fire at Vineyard Christian Fellowship in Livermore, their second location and a major storage facility for foodstuffs. The Pleasanton community has stepped up to the plate magnificently to help the organization continue operations as normal, but this month they’re more in need of our help than ever to serve this community and spread the love.

If Chicagoans discuss the Cubs and Portlanders chat about the rain, Bay Area residents belabor house prices. It’s always on our minds—rising mortgages, increased rent prices, and an ever-growing influx of new neighbors make housing our number one concern. Some even joke that newcomers to the Bay should stay for a couple of years and then move along to make space for others to cycle through. We know house prices are high, and growing steadily higher.

As 2016 drew to a close, single-family residences in the Bay saw an all-time high in price (according to the Case-Shiller Index). What’s more interesting, in my opinion, is that homes in the bottom third of the market increased the most, surpassing the rest to reach a level almost 5 times what it was in the late 80s. Homeowners, this means that your “lower-end” property is becoming more valuable than ever. If you’re looking to sell and need a way to increase your profit—or if you’re just looking for a way to increase your home value without the pressure of selling—you may want to consider going in for a closet makeover.

Super Bowl season is coming up fast. The final ten teams have emerged, and although the Raiders aren’t going to feature in the playoffs (too soon?), there are still a lot of fantastic games in store for football fans. If you’re of a mind to entertain at home, a custom-designed man cave complete with entertainment center, built-in bar, and all the bells and whistles will be just the place to watch the games unfold.

In Orinda, family is the number one priority. We invest heavily in our schools, and recently supported their switch to solar power. We take the time to commute deep into Silicon Valley to support a lifestyle that gives our children the wonderful holidays they dream about. As the new year hits, we’re busy setting resolutions and moving forward with our lives, but Orinda families may be bringing more clutter into the new year than they would like. The holidays bring plenty of mess, from wrapping supplies and packaging to food waste and glittery or sugary kitchen floors—and Orinda families with children know what the real disorganization culprit is this time of year.

The holidays bring so much joy, but they also fill our homes with more toys than we (or our kids) know what to do with. Our homes become inundated with dolls, games, and about a million toy cars. It can be really difficult to move forward into the new year when you’re busy tripping over soccer balls and stuffed animals from last year. Orinda clients come to us this season begging for closet solutions for their children, and we’ve developed some key strategies to help tame the toy monster.

The holidays have officially descended upon Silicon Valley, and we are in full decorating swing. Now would be the perfect time to have a custom Christmas room like the one a recent client wished for. She wanted space for tree storage, gift wrapping, and year-round functionality to boot—which provided a fun challenge for our design team. If you’re green with holiday envy right now, don’t worry. There’s still more than enough time to get a custom room ready for you before the new year, and definitely before the holiday rush of 2017.

The new Sorellas housing development in Los Gatos is beautifully under construction this holiday season near Summerhill, and I’ve seen a slew of customization-minded home buyers jump at the opportunity. Retirees with plenty of time for crafting throughout the year can really benefit from including a crafting space in the floorplan. All you need is a functional way to make the best use of your new space, and custom cabinetry can make that happen.

The pace of Silicon Valley’s innovative industries’ growth is not slowing down, and neither are your work days. Now that global businesses are commonplace—running on diverse time zones—and instant communication options are boundless, what’s stopping you from working the hours that are most convenient for you and your company’s needs?

Work-life balance is a universal goal, regardless of your occupation, but it can be difficult to mentally separate from one or the other when your work and life compete for your time and—if you ever work from home—when they compete for the same physical space. Some Silicon Valley startups are making a point of paving the way for work-life balance out of the gate. But it’s not too late for you to create a context for balance even if work demands are in full effect and your hours are atypical.

Walnut Creek is one of my favorite towns in the whole Bay Area. It’s a cool little arts hub, with a history of being quirky and dancing to its own beat. People there love their art, and they also love their wine. I love the galleries and restaurants that populate the downtown scene. You can go there and feel for a little bit like nothing has changed around the area.

I’m sure I don’t have to tell you, but home prices in the Bay Area are among the highest in the country. What’s interesting to me about this is that the high home prices seem to be driving people to remodel, rather than move.

I recently worked with a couple who were planning a remodel of their small kitchen, which had a breakfast nook and an adjacent dining room. Their kids’ rooms were too small for desks, so the family used the dining room for homework and projects. When they wanted to have people over for dinner, they had to spend hours cleaning up all the school papers, textbooks, and clutter.

Working from home in the Bay Area sounds like living the dream, doesn’t it? My telecommuting clients tell me they enjoy a better work/life balance, avoid traffic, and generally feel more productive. I believe it, especially given that the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area came in first, nationally, for number of mega-commuters—people who travel at least 90 minutes and at least 50 miles each way for work. That’s a lot of time and stress most of us could do without.