'The Home That Loves You Back' Home Harmonising Project Starts June 28th

Overview

Become a person with a naturally beautiful, organised, force-free home. A Japan-influenced ecosystem approach to decluttering and beyond.

If you are a big-picture thinker with better things to do than battle home chaos, this project is an opportunity to become a person with a naturally beautiful, organised, force-free home.

Be warmly supported to change the patterns that create mess in the first place, while your nervous system is listened to and reassured. The process honours both your past and your future, giving the decluttering part of the project the relief of an exhale.

Things become findable, overwhelm fades, and you get to say, “Hey, this home looks just like me, and isn’t it nice?”

You have plenty of time.

Unfolding over 9 months, Katie and Cecilia will work their practical magic with you, through your home, your nervous system, and your life. As each room in your house finds its groove, so do you.

Our embodied reaction and sense of overwhelm often get the blame for not having the surroundings we want. Looking closely, “I can’t be bothered” or “I don’t even want to see that mess” are messages from a wise place within us that never received a skilful response.

Our work is known for its original, insightful approach, which prioritises embodiment and real human systems. Your felt reactions will be reclaimed. They become energisers and way-finders.

With every webinar, your eyes will be opened anew to the significance of each physical object around you, and its potential to be a better friend to you.

Relief and celebration are the currency of this program. Get used to it being the new normal in your life.

What People Say:

“Cecilia Macaulay’s style is different to any other declutterer.

She shows you how to celebrate your own ways of finding beauty and clarity in your life and your surroundings.

She is one of those rare and interesting people who naturally draw you into learning something new”.

~Delldint, Melbourne

What the program includes

• Nine Webinars. Each room anchoring new ways of being, a springboard towards transformation:

June: Kitchen: Sink, bench and storage

July: Sacred Space - Bedroom, Sunroom, Living rooms

August: Kitchen: Fridge, pantry

September: Home office or studio

October: Bathroom and beyond

November: Festive Gathering Place

December: Osoji & Holiday Spirit Session

January: Garage & Storage

February: Bedroom

• Monthly summaries, checklists and resources.

• Buddy system for mutual encouragement and strategising.

• Mentoring via email with Cecilia

• 30 minute one-on-one home consult

• Support to identify your adorable personal dream: something implausible, but not impossible, that will power your project.

The Big Picture

This series works with your home as a living whole. Each session focuses on one ordinary but influential space, showing how a small, well-chosen change there can support rhythm and flow throughout your home life. Like learning a language, each session builds on the last, as your home project takes shape and you graduate to the next level.

Across the series, you’ll learn a succession of well-established design frameworks, drawn from ecology, nervous-system aware practice, and thoughtful design traditions: Ayurveda, Japanese Tea Ceremony, Lean Manufacturing, Permaculture, and more. Be surprised by how many spot-on solutions they have in common to the problems we thought we were stuck with.

By the end of the project, your own home will hold the patterns that calm and energise you for decades to come.

Webinars are live, hands-on, and participatory. Group size is limited, so you can get to know and care about each other as we progress, and be each other's inspiration. You will make real changes in the shelves, nooks, and vibe of each room, with time for questions and shared reflection during the webinars.

Clear ideas are introduced and immediately applied, so learning happens through doing. Be inspired by the aesthetic of Cecilia’s story-rich slideshows, and let Katie guide your body to discover new inner realms and deep-felt readiness for new ways of being.

What People Say:

"Cecilia gave a knockout presentation that drew me in immediately.

Her passion and energy for creating beautiful and usable spaces were infectious and heart-warming. I didn’t realise how much energy I wasted at home simply because of the way it was structured.

Based on her extensive knowledge of permaculture and Japanese design, she shared numerous lifestyle tips that were simple and practical in nature.

I loved her ‘before and after’ case studies, and I have already started cleaning up, clearing out and creating my new, effortless, eco-loving space at home. Thank you!"

~Brigid Walsh, General Manager Golden Door Wellness Retreat

Joining this project is $1,400 for an entire 9 months of live webinars and personal guidance. If a lump sum is difficult for you, contact Cecilia directly to make a payment plan.

The Kitchen Sink Reset: Where Home Culture Begins

June 28th, 2026

A zen-influenced sink setup can calm conflict, ease your nervous system, and shift household culture. Learn design patterns that turn daily friction into flow, reward and connection.

The kitchen sink and surrounds are the emotional crossroads of the home.

This small, high-pressure zone shapes how we relate to one another, how safe we feel, and whether daily life flows or frazzles us. When it works, conversations are lively, and meals happen naturally. When it doesn’t, tension accumulates, and we don't want that.

Cecilia shows how to set up your sink as a functioning ecosystem that fits your personality now and allows evolution in the future.

You’ll learn practical design patterns drawn from Japanese culture and Permaculture that reduce friction, increase clarity, and remove the hidden triggers that push nervous systems into fight-or-flight.

You will reset your sink in real time and feel the difference in your body. This initiation session with its stories and rewards gives a preview of design strategies to come, getting you excited about the sessions ahead.

Space for Grace

July 26th, 2026

In overcommitted homes, the first things to be sacrificed are the important-but-not-urgent parts of life. Reflection, breath, stretching, creativity, and precious daydreaming all require more than good intentions. They need a place that supports them so they actually happen.

Once this place is established, something shifts inside as well. The nervous system relaxes, meaningful practices become easier to approach, and a different pace of life begins to feel possible.

Design a Garden of Food in Your Fridge and Pantry

August 30th, 2026

Turn your fridge and pantry into a colourful, living food system. When food is visible and grouped cleverly, the ingredients themselves will suggest what to cook next. The meals are fresh, and the cooking process itself becomes enjoyable.

As the space clears, other things shift, seemingly by themselves. Shopping becomes simpler. Cleanup is lighter, and good food doesn’t get forgotten. The cooks can be better dinner companions, saving their best energy for enjoyment. These design patterns become rewarding new habits that can spread naturally into other areas of home life.

Enchanted Workspaces: Creating Conditions for Focus and Flow

September 27th, 2026

Turn your workspace into a zone of clarity and creative momentum, whether it's work from home, writing a novel, or a place for basic life admin. We will use design-power and a process of ‘curious enquiry’ to support freely-chosen focus, remove road blocks, and help meaningful work happen without angst.

You’ll learn how to bring related things together so they go “click.” We will minimise paper documents (declutter!) and create to-do lists in a way that elicits enthusiasm. Expect to be blown away by the power of protecting clear space, and the lightness it brings. Rather than pushing yourself harder or giving up, you set up conditions so that beginning the dreaded task feels natural and staying with it becomes not just possible, but satisfying.

A well-designed workspace can become an ally in bringing your ideas into the world.

Honourable Bathroom, Loveable Laundry

October 25th, 2026

You’ll learn how to create a sense of spaciousness and modest luxury in these small, often unappreciated rooms. Using patterns from Japanese ritual, you will arrange humble items beautifully, eliminate clutter confidently, and step into a new level of honouring yourself. When once-tedious tasks like laundry become inherently satisfying, that's a big life upgrade.

Experience bathing and somatic practices that can shift your mood, energy, and nervous system state in minutes. Image styling by Giselle Bongiorno.

Less Stuff, More Merry

November 22nd, 2026

How to keep the thrills of Christmas and the festive season alive, while avoiding the pitfalls. Learn new ways to hold gatherings in a way you genuinely enjoy.

Explore and gain new perspectives on:

• Doable ways to declutter and reset your gathering space to get you excited and hopeful. Remove subliminal sources of stress. Beautify without buying a thing.

• Resourceful gift-giving. How to gracefully request and give desirable gifts, creating value, not clutter.

• Creative ways to have warm exchanges, especially with relatives we find challenging.

Christmas is a gift that comes pre-made through our culture. We can customise it to be truly worthwhile and even unexpectedly wondrous.

O-Soji: Put a Bow on Your Year

December 20th, 2026

While this date is in the pressure-cooker days of peak Christmas preparations, this hour together is a time to see where doing less can be the solution to your problems.

The Japanese celebrate the final weeks of the year with an 'Honourable Big Clean’: O-soji. They close loops. They pay or forgive debts, wash and fix everything, even the dog, in preparation to start a new year light and fresh and encouraged.

This year, so shall we.

Storage

January 24th, 2027

After close to a year of subtraction together, in this session, we do a final refining of our storage systems: Garages, boxes, and things behind doors. We will create intuitive structures so you can find objects right away, no fossicking, all using as few containers as possible.

'Storage systems' become 'retrieval systems', holding items that clearly support your present and future in practical or yet-to-be-discovered ways.

We will create a ‘museum of you’ with select items that remind you powerfully of the life you have lived, and distinguish true treasures from 'expired' possessions. Make systems so that no object remains homeless or unemployed in your life.

We will compare storage patterns of diverse cultures and ecosystems, ask our 'inner selves' what's going on, and get permission to do things differently.

Rebirth!

Protect Your Dreams

February 28th 2027

In this final session, we fluff up our bedrooms for rest, safety, and renewal. We make them the place that only holds our heart's desires, and excludes all else.

At this ending, we acknowledge the new choices and paths that are now open to us, as designers and harmonisers, and the once-unlikely dreams we can now make happen.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I know if the project will work for me?

An orientation conversation is part of the process. Before you join, gather any questions and email Cecilia to set up a time for a 15-minute phone call: cecilia.macaulay@gmail.com

9 months is a long time. What if I lose interest?

The sessions are story-rich, engaging, and will possibly be the highlight of each month. As your space changes, your capacity and perspective change, which keeps the process intriguing. Rewarding surprises are designed in, so momentum builds over time.

I am a mental health professional. Is this course suitable as professional development?

Yes. Many professionals find this approach adds a practical, environmental dimension to the care they offer. You’ll gain ways to help clients shape living spaces that support regulation, follow-through, and daily stability. The principles are memorable, adaptable, and easy to communicate.

What happens if I miss a session?

In-person attendance at each webinar session is a requirement, but we can send a video recording for dates you cannot be present in person, to be pre-arranged before the project begins.

How do participants track and share their progress, while protecting their privacy?

Documenting your progress with photos and short reflections is encouraged as part of the process. Sharing within the group is optional. Any public sharing of participant images or stories only occurs with your clear, written permission, and identifying details are removed.

Is this course suitable for people with mental health challenges?

This is a design course to create conditions that allow whole-person wellbeing, but is not a substitute for professional mental health care. If your life is significantly impacted by depression, anxiety or trauma, your participation should be under the supervision of a qualified professional.

Is this course suitable for people with ADHD or Autism?

Yes! This course was designed with neurodivergent nervous systems in mind. It reduces unnecessary sensory and decision load, while increasing clarity, meaning, and choice — supporting both ADHD and Autism in practical, everyday ways.

Is it possible to pay in instalments?

Yes! Contact me by phone or email, and we may be able to arrange payment in 4 instalments, once every 2 months.

Speakers

Cecilia Macaulay

Cecilia Macaulay is a pioneering home harmoniser and originator of 'Togetherness Design', a method of creating home ecosystems that spark clarity, useful action, and lively connection.

Based in Melbourne, Sydney, and Japan, she blends Permaculture thinking with Japanese design and compassionate insight.

If traditional home organising methods don’t excite you, today might be your lucky day. With Cecilia, order unfolds naturally, and your home begins to support your flourishing. She has 35 years of experience gathering teams and creating Permaculture habitats.

Katie De Araujo Katie is one of Australia's first qualified yoga Therapists.

In Katie's presence, you get the feeling deep in your body that 'Everything's going to be alright'. From that safety, choices and possibilities open up.

Katie's current work includes nervous system care for inpatients at institutions such as the Victoria Clinic and training mental health professionals in somatic practices.