Last week I posted a picture to my Instagram of a "Peace sign" statue I have in my home and the caption referenced a quote that I am sure most of us have heard before, "Your home should tell a story of who you are and be a collection of the things you love." One of the things I cherish most is the "Peace" in our home. Now, I would be lying if I said it was peaceful every single minute of every single day....Absolutely not! We're all human, we have to allow some space for chaos and mess!
But your home should be that place you can escape to after a long stressful work day or after sitting in hectic traffic. Your home is the most important place for your sanity and sanctity. Creating a peaceful and relaxing home is so important and I just want to share 5 simple ways to do it.
It starts with you. Ensure you are getting a good nights sleep. Get up early enough and make time for yourself. Just remember, if you wake up cranky, the rest of the household will follow suit. You need a moment for yourself even if it's just 20 to 30 minutes (don't check your cell phone). Enjoy a cup of coffee or tea, take a walk around your neighborhood, meditate, read a book or anything you enjoy doing. Some mornings (when the weather is nice), I like to make a cup of tea and just sit on my patio deck and listen to the birds chirping, gives me a moment to just take it all in and prepare for my day. Lately I've been creating a daily checklist of things I need to do, it helps keep me on track because sometimes I like to think that I'm the queen at multi-tasking and often times overwhelm myself trying to do too much at once. You don't have to get it all done in one day.
Declutter. Most of us probably don't think our home is cluttered, but all those shoes in your entryway, yeah, those need to be organized and put away. That one corner in the kitchen where everyone seems to pile everything (i.e. papers from school, mail, keys, magazines, etc) yes, that needs to be cleaned too. If you enter your home and immediately see mess it will affect your mind. Discard the things you don't need and find a good storage solution for the items you want to keep. My kitchen island was always a mess, everyone would walk right in the house and toss their items on the island. I purchased a key holder to hang keys, and we have a drawer for any important papers, everything else goes straight to the trash. You should also go through your closets and drawers and get rid of things that you do not wear. The more stuff you have sitting around that you don’t love or need, the more stressed out you will feel.
Rearrange, Change and Decorate. Use decor that makes you feel more relaxed, happy and at home. I like to believe that I've made our home perfect my family (they said it themselves LOL). Our home feels lived-in and functional, but still beautiful and comfy. It reflects our personalities. I stopped buying so many things for my home if I felt it wasn't functional it had to be something really "amazing" for me to buy it. If there are pieces in your home that you just don't like anymore, sell them and replace with something you really like. You can also make some changes in your space, such as adding a new paint color, finding some new art work, buy a new area rug or a cozy throw blanket. Rearranging your furniture is another great way to bring some calm into your home, the placement of your furniture plays an important role when creating a peaceful environment. You should be able to easily navigate through the rooms of your your home without any interruptions. Try avoiding furniture with sharp edges, we all know that it's no fun bumping your leg on a sharp edged coffee table. Try using a round table, it gives off a more welcoming feel. Add some greenery or a fresh bouquet of flowers,
Cleanliness. One of the first things I do each morning is make up our bed, it just doesn't feel right when I don't. Making your bed each morning, fluffing your pillows, smoothing out the sheets; this easy task really go a long way and it gives your room a more serene feeling, while making it look pleasant and put together. Having nice scents around the house is another great way to bring some calm into your home, light some candles, use diffusers or even plug ins of your favorite scents. Whatever way you choose to do it, adding a comforting scent to your home will bring peace to your household. In addition, cleaning my home before I go to bed each night gives me a peace of calm before I say my prayers and go to sleep and it's one less thing I have to worry about in the morning, although sometimes my kids manage to sneak all the dishes out of their rooms when we go to bed (LOL), that definitely drives me crazy but they've gotten a lot better.
Create Personal Space but be mindful of family time. In our last home personal space was the one thing we lacked, there weren't many other places to go besides our bedrooms, if I was cooking, my husband was 5 feet away trying to watch TV with the volume turned up to the max just to hear it over the loud sounds coming from the kitchen. Our new home has given us a little more space to spread out when we need personal time. We have a tween who asks for a lot more personal time, to read books, talk on the phone with her friends or just doing what girls like to do. Our 19 year old would prefer to sit in his room and play video games and I've noticed he has been enjoying the patio deck more often. The one place that my husband and I call our own is our bedroom, our bedroom has always been off limit to our children...I mean they can come in if it's an emergency, if they want to talk to us, give us a hug (of course they have to knock), but there's no jumping in our bed, we don't do movie night in our bedroom with the our kids, they don't sleep in our bedroom and it has always been this way, we have so many other areas of the home where we can all come together and connect, I think that it's important to set those boundaries especially in a marriage, as adults we need a "private sanctuary" and trust me this contributes to having a peaceful home (if you know what I mean). Our favorite places to come together as a family are the kitchen, living room and basement/mancave, these areas of our home are where we enjoy movies, eat, dance, listen to music and just connect as a family.
Home is supposed to be a safe haven for you and your family, so it's important that you make it peaceful. Regardless of what you choose to do, don’t over complicate it or put you and your family on a strict schedule. Family life is already a pretty complicated business. I hope that adding some of these ideas to your home will create a more calm and peaceful atmosphere. Feel free to share some of your ideas on how you make your home a peaceful environment in the comments!
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