It seems that being happier is quite a challenge these days. After all, we’re so busy in every aspect of our lives that the only place we can really relax and switch off is in our home… or is it? With social media, we have the comparison culture and accounts that can directly or indirectly make us feel bad about ourselves quite literally at a touch of a button. It can leave us looking around our home feeling as though it isn’t up to scratch and inadequate compared to some of the dream insta homes we see online. The key really is to tune out of those negative sources and to tune into positive accounts online. Remember, you’re able to control what you choose to see online so don’t go looking for things that make you feel bad, especially when it comes to how you feel about your home; that place should be your sanctuary. You’re able to quite literally switch off too, whether thats from social media or the world outside as soon as you step through your front door and for me, I find that feeling to be quite relaxing and calming.
I lived for a lot of years feeling quite tense and anxious when going home and it was only until I moved out and created my own home that I began to feel a sense of calm when going home and its done wonders for my anxiety. I love being at home as I feel so safe and at peace here. It really is my happy place. There’s nothing wrong with taking inspiration from accounts online that make you want to put more time and effort into your space. I for one am a big fan of Mrs Hinch and some of the cleaning accounts that I’ve found through her hashtags. They have really inspired me to clean my home and to take pride in it and ever since I read The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying several years ago, I’ve been really big on decluttering and organisation. I’m sure many people feel as though their homes could benefit from a little sprucing up from time to time, I know I’m still working on mine, and ultimately, it enables you to feel the benefit in yourself. From buying artificial grass to that perfect, solve it all storage solution, there are so many ways that you can get started and in todays post, I want to share some of my tips with you.
THE HABIT OF DECLUTTERING
Decluttering is one of the big ones. As they say, if you have a messy home, you’ll have a messy mind. It’s a very simple thing to say in theory, but much more difficult in practice. My tip with decluttering is to give Marie Kondo’s book a read first. I’m not so much a fan of the Netflix series but the book is brilliant and it really helped me to let go of possessions that I was holding onto that weren’t making me feel happy but that I felt as though I had to keep because I’d feel guilty getting rid of them. I’d suggest having a huge decluttering session to streamline your life and then give all of your possessions a home so that it is easy to keep it tidy because everything will have a place for you to return it to when you’re not using it. Then its just a case of keeping on top of it. Having a big clear out can make you feel really good and a lot less stressed once its completed.
THE BIG SPRING CLEAN
If you haven’t done your big spring clean yet, then get started and enjoy the therapeutic aspects of this. Dusting under the settee, in between the cupboard and walls, and every nook and cranny just makes your home sparkle that little bit more. I’ve been spring cleaning my home little and often lately and I’m really loving the results both aesthetically and how it makes me feel.
EMBRACING THE LITTLE HACKS
To make a happy home, you’ve got to decide what is really getting you down about it from your perspective. Sometimes we can let life get too busy, and as such, it stops us truly looking after our home. While decluttering is the best option, if you find that you are just too busy to get your home up to code, you could either hire a cleaner on a semi-regular basis (remember my post; theres no shame in admitting you need help to make your life easier and happier?) or think about the little hacks that make your home sparkle. For example, by installing more mirrors and shiny surfaces like brass, chrome or gold you could transform a dark and dreary space into something with a lot more light as metallics and mirror reflect light. If your garden needs a lot of overhauling but you don’t have the chance to dig up weeds and tend to the grass, perhaps get someone in to help you with it once and for all and you could even consider AstroTurf or artificial grass as a better option for you in the long run because its a lot less maintenance. You can find out more info on the different types of artificial grass online. When I buy a house, I’ll definitely be buying artificial grass because I want to be able to step out and enjoy my garden when I have the opportunity to rather than thinking about having to mow the lawn and everything first.
Little hacks can help you with not just how you feel about things around your home but how you feel on the inside too. If you’re someone who struggles to get up in the mornings and finds yourself always rushing around, prepare your day the night before by laying your outfit out, getting your bag ready and preparing your packed lunch for work. That way, you’re ready to head out the next morning and more prepared without lots of decision making to be done first thing!
MAKE THE PLACE WHAT YOU WANT IT TO BE
Sometimes we are overwhelmed with the idea of renovating our home completely, that we don’t really know what we want it to be. There’s so much inspiration online that it can get really overwhelming and its hard to know how it’ll translate into our own space and fit into how we operate our lives. If you have grand plans to make your home more akin to a show home rather than a cosy, comforting cubby hole, will this make you happy in the long run? Sometimes simpler is much better. In my opinion, we are overwhelmed in life, and we need our home environment to be a place to relax and as such we need to overhauling the space and minimise the stressful aspects so that its a place to come home and feel happy in.
What are the things that you need doing around your home? How do you feel in your home?
