Creating a calmer home life is much the same as baking a cake, in the sense that you need the right ingredients in the right proportions. It can seem a little tricky at first if you don’t know the recipe. But once you have a recipe to follow, it’s as simple as ABC.
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If you’re interested in learning more about the “ingredients” required to live a happy, harmonious and stable life you will want to read up on Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, as this article is less psychologically intensive, and stays more on the surface of how to achieve a more happy and harmonious home life in a practical way.
A SENSE OF “HOME”
Having a stable sense of home is clearly imperative. Yet “home” is much more than a physical place. It’s an emotional state that is triggered by the comfort and protection one feels when at home.
Home doesn’t have to be a fancy property. In fact, it could just be a room in a shared house. That is, as long as you feel safe, independent and at peace in your environment. Your home should essentially be your “safe place”. It’s where you should feel comfortable and free to just relax, be yourself, and replenish.
TIDY HOUSE, TIDY MIND
There’s one thing that can make a huge difference to this feeling of home, however. And that is keeping it clean and tidy.
The well known saying “tidy house tidy mind” rings true. Especially when it comes to creating a happier home life. It summarizes the psychological phenomenon associated with how having a clean, tidy, and well-organized home has a significant effect on your emotional well-being!
Furthermore, your sense of ‘home’ goes beyond the boundaries of your property. It extends to the area in which you live. Because if you aren’t comfortable with the area, then it doesn’t matter what you do inside your home. Nothing is going to make you happy. It might be time to move, particularly if it’s a safety issue.
Home is a sense of certainty and safety that stabilizes you. It reassures you that everything is going to be alright. Moreover, it provides a shelter from the storm that life can throw at us from time to time.
DON’T GET CARRIED AWAY WITH AESTHETICS
Whilst it’s important to create an aesthetically attractive living environment it’s important you don’t get so carried away with the material aspects of home that you end up trying to compensate for a lack of an internal feeling by buying external things. This is a common challenge many people run into in their quest to create a nicer home life.
Living in a beautiful space can certainly be uplifting and it does contribute to the feeling of a happier home. But what’s more important in terms of the ingredients of a nicer home, is that of independence, safety, and a sense of certainty.
MAINTENANCE TASKS
It’s very easy to take our homes for granted, in the sense of not giving back to them in the way we should, such as by keeping up with regular maintenance tasks.
There’s a good chance your home has a number of tasks that need doing, which have been niggling at you for months, such as the squeaky door hinge, dripping tap, or replacement windows that you’ve never quite got around to ordering.
Take on these jobs one at a time to keep your space calm and organized.
GARDENING
Taking care of the garden has many benefits to the soul, as not only does it provide a great place for social activities such as picnics and barbecues but when your garden is in order for your life feels more in order. Whereas when the lawn is overgrown, for instance, you can’t help but feel like life is a little out of control.
Indeed, the point is very subtle, to the point you might not even consciously notice it. However, it is there and does have an effect.
FINANCE
With regard to money, you don’t need to be rich in order to have a happy home life. You do, however, need a reliable income that comes from a secure and independent source. So you feel secure and not feel like the rug will be pulled from under you any moment.
HEALTH & WELL-BEING
Your health is your foundation, as when you think about it, you can have all the money in the world. But, without your good health, life has a tendency to feel very out of control.
YOU TIME
With the busy time-starved lives many of us lead, it can be hard to make time for yourself. But it’s vitally important you have some quality you time. Otherwise, it will deplete and exhaust you. Which means you aren’t able to perform at your optimum. You’re also likely to be grumpy and irritable, so make sure you take some time out for yourself each day.
RELATIONSHIPS
When it comes to creating a happier home life a supportive network of nourishing relationships can be fundamental.
That said, sometimes it can be the people in our life that are causing us disharmony. Therefore it’s important to consider each of your relationships carefully. This is so you can work out which add to your sense of happiness and which take away from it.
FOCUS
Many people would agree that the thoughts we think create the feelings we subsequently experience. Essentially, you decide where to focus your attention, and as the popular saying states “where attention goes energy flows”.
If you have a positive focus then you are much more likely to attract positive things into your life. Moreover, you feel better about whatever situation you are dealing with.
LEARN TO LOVE YOURSELF
The western world seems to be plagued with an epidemic of low self-esteem, low self-worth, and low-confidence.
As a culture, we often look to external solutions to resolve emotional voids. Yet this can be a dangerous (and expensive) formula. This is because of the fact that the external things we buy don’t satiate the internal feelings we crave. Therefore, we get stuck in a cycle of wanting more, more, more… where nothing external fills up the emotional void we feel within.
The answer to this is to learn how to love yourself and appreciate the good in your life.
These 9 ingredients are critical to a calmer home life and will affect a positive outcome on your life, in general.
Editor’s Note: This contributed post certainly gives some food for thought, doesn’t it?
Despite freelancing to make a living, her love is "all things home."
Deborah grew up in a family that grew a large vegetable garden and a fruit orchard, helping her parents pull weeds and can home-grown foods as part of her childhood. In fact, she had no idea that she could purchase veggies and fruits in pre-packed steel cans until she went to college and made a food run.
Today, she lives in Bertie County, North Carolina, an agricultural rural area with more chickens than people. She lives with her husband and a sweet toy fox terrier. Together, they enjoy DIY projects, furniture refinishing, gardening, and canning.
This blog celebrates all things home.
