It's the first Sunday morning in a brand new house and I am compelled to pace the floor in every room, planning and scheming what to put where, what color to paint that nook, what window treatment to use for that irregularly shaped window in the den.

This scene, as it's played out in my own new space, is likely a familiar one to most of you. But as much as it suggests a slight psychosis, I'm sure many of you will agree that this is in fact a totally natural reaction to being in a new home.

It was suggested to me recently that there are three things that 'stress' people out the most in their lives.....they are:
1. Breaking a bone
2. Splitting up with someone
3. Moving

Now, I have luckily escaped any serious fractures in my adulthood thus far, and my relationship with my fiance is indeed strong and secure. But, for me this past week, such things seem like they might be somehow easier to deal with then this whole MOVING thing.

I've come up with a theory that could explain the recent lack of sleep, pacing, dizzy spells, compulsive shopping sprees and sudden bursts of cyclonic-style cleaning blitzes I've been experiencing.

You see, all of us as nurturing, loving and inherently ambitious women, have a deep and unyielding desire to 'nest'. This need to feather our new nest with style and precision all on a budget can turn moving into a new home into a truly troublesome time.

Yes, we can do it all. We can multi task our way into domestic utopia while unpacking all our moving boxes, whipping up a fantastic meal, washing the windows and floors, placing the furniture and installing the appliances all while creating fresh, new design themes and color combinations for each room in our new home. And may of us will inevitably try to do this, and more, all before noon on moving day. But just because we can do it all on the first day, doesn't mean we should.

Believe me, I know it's tempting to hang those pictures on the wall, or to start scrubbing with TSP and picking paint colors, but if you pace yourself, you may find that you start to actually enjoy the process of nesting in your new place.

If you say to yourself, "I will spend the first week in my new house just cleaning and putting essentials in their rightful places", you may find the whole process less daunting. When I tried this, I found it much easier to find the answers for what to put where and what color to chose for each room. Because you will spend time in these rooms while cleaning, you will see them in different lighting situations at different times of the day. You will get to know which rooms feel warmer or colder then the others and you will start to see how you live in your new space. If it's an open concept home, you will start to see a pattern in what routes you take when walking from one room to the other. You might decide that you need additional electrical outlets installed in certain areas. There's no telling what you might find out in the matter of a week.

Other details like the location of T.V. or computer screens, and if there are any light-control issues that need to be dealt with with window treatments in those rooms. You need to know where you spend your time, what the 'mood' of the house is and what your family's routines are, before you can pick a new color palette or design style.

Little things start to become clear while you are existing in your new space. You'll undebatabley find some small problems here and there, all of which you will want to deal with before you pull out the paint brush or start wallpapering. In my case the issue I've uncovered most recently in my new nest is a shortage of phone jacks in the bedrooms and a small but definite dent in the drywall in corner of the living room. Had I rushed to redecorate, I would have found these details mid-stroke with the paintbrush, and had to call for reinforcements and deal with it before I could finish. There's really nothing attractive about a half re-painted living room wall, is there?

It won't be easy to resist the urge to figure it all out right away. I still toss and turn a bit at night, one week after moving day, wondering if the toilet shower curtain I ordered will be too busy in the bathroom, or what style of light fixture I should put in the foyer. Luckily I haven't done anything too permanent yet in my new place and there's still time to change my mind.

So, you see there is advantage to controlling our instincts when it comes to nesting in our new home. So, when you think you might be tempted to 'move' too fast, just take a deep breath, grab a cleaning rag and while you're shining that new banister and dusting the window ledges, take time to look around. Let your mind wander and give yourself a chance to really get to know your new nest (and to think about how best to feather it).

Most of all, give yourself a chance to enjoy the process. After all, it's not every day that you get a fresh start and a whole new house full of decorating possibilities.