Do you feel good about your home environment? Do you want tips on how to make your home your happy place? Read on as we cover exactly how to make your home your sanctuary.
Right now many of us are spending more time than ever at home. Some of us are now permanently calling the home our workplace too as businesses have realised the cost-saving and employee wellbeing benefits of allowing their staff to work from home. Whilst also realising productivity can go up, not down as they might have feared!
Either way, whether you’re spending more time at home as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, or the same as before, it’s important we all have a place to call home and that it’s a happy place.
If your home does not make you feel happy then it’s time to do something about it. Our own homes should be our own private little castles, our own palaces, our sanctuary, whatever you want to call it. They should be an extension of ourselves, our personalities and somewhere we enjoy spending our time.
If you’re not feeling so happy at home and your surroundings don’t inspire you or fill you with positivity, then here are some tips for how to make your home your happy place.
Tidy house, tidy mind
Believe it or not, there really are some negative psychological effects to living in a messy house which is why people say tidy house tidy mind. People who live in messy houses filled with clutter to sort, overflowing paperwork and unfinished projects, often find themselves more depressed and fatigued than those in finished, organised, clean houses. One study of almost one thousand participants also found that people who lived in cleaner and tidier homes were actually healthier than those who did not!
If your home is cluttered then your mind is likely cluttered. Having a good sort out and minimising your belongings is a really therapeutic way of making your home a happier and more pleasing environment, but also for clearing your mind and helping you feel more organised and less stressed in general.
Less stuff also means less stuff to clean! Shelves filled with numerous knick-knacks are a nightmare to clean and easily collect dust. Less stuff means less cleaning which means more time doing the things you love.
When your home is cluttered it’s also easier to lose stuff in the chaos. This results in more stress trying to find these lost objects. In a tidy and organised home, everything has its place. You always know where your belongings are and it’s difficult for them to become lost.
Clutter also stops your brain from being able to focus properly. Your mind can easily wander and be distracted by all the tasks that need doing around you. As WebMD explain “It’s hard to focus on important tasks when several things compete for your attention. Researchers have found that being around disorganization makes it harder for your brain to focus. It can be especially tough for people with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder). If you have ADHD, a professional organizer or coach may be the best way to restore some order to your space.”
Make it accessible
If you have mobility issues that affect your day-to-day life, then it’s vital your home is accessible for you to ensure it works for you, instead of every room working against you.
If you struggle to get up the step into your house, for example, then consider changing the step to a ramp. If you struggle with the stairs then choosing the right home lifts UK supplier to advise and install a stair lift is crucial to your enjoyment in your own home.
By making your home accessible to your needs, you will be happier at home as you can move freely around your home and use it as intended. Otherwise, your home will likely frustrate you each day which is not going to make you feel happy.
Let natural light in
If your home feels dark and dingy, then it can affect your mood and overall happiness. Make sure your windows are not covered with large pieces of furniture and natural daylight is able to flood each room.
This light will not only make your furniture and home décor look better and colours pop and feel brighter, but as Healthline explain, natural sunlight can boost your serotonin and mood: “Exposure to sunlight is thought to increase the brain’s release of a hormone called serotonin. Serotonin is associated with boosting mood and helping a person feel calm and focused. At night, darker lighting triggers the brain to make another hormone called melatonin. This hormone is responsible for helping you sleep.”
Not only should you get out into daylight each day, but you should let as much of it into your home as possible to brighten your home naturally and your mood.
Bring nature indoors
Nature is known for its calming effects and bringing positivity to us humans when we experience nature in all its glory, but how can you replicate that indoors. Whilst you might not want to create a full-on jungle in your living space, you can easily bring some of the benefits of nature into your home through houseplants.
In the kitchen, you can easily add a row of fresh herbs to windowsills to bring life and greenery into the space, whilst being useful too.
In your living rooms and bedrooms, you can add houseplants to boost your mood and help to purify the air.
In experiments with adding plants to otherwise lean and bland offices, employees performed better and had better memory retention. So if you have a home office then add a plant, or two, to your desk!
Make it yours
To make your home your happy place then it needs to feel like it’s your home. You need to fill it with things that make you happy such as photos of great memories, your favourite colour and home décor that makes you smile and feel cosy.
Let your uniqueness and personality shine through your home styling and don’t be afraid to be different to everyone else. No one wants their home to look exactly like everyone else’s, so make yours personal and enjoyable to you. You could try personalised cushions or personalised glasses to add flare to your home. You can be a little creative here and shop around on Etsy for the best in personalised items.
Set up self-care areas
Create inviting areas that allow you to practice self-care and time to just be you.
For example, a table next to the sofa to place your favourite book and a cup of tea, along with a throw slung over the end of the sofa, ready for you to cosy up in when you get back from work.
Or a warm, fluffy inviting towel and bathmat ready and waiting in the bathroom for you to enjoy a relaxing bath before bed.
Final thoughts
Our homes are the places where we should feel secure and comfortable and happy. if your home fills you with dread or you are not relaxed there, follow the steps above to improve your home environment.
Lovely suggestions, thank you. Feeling safe and calm at home is so important for the health.