Despite what Disneyland tells you, your home should be the happiest place on earth. You spend a ton of time there and it should be a place where you feel safe and happy. There are many things you can do to create a happier home. Here are 6 strategies you can start implementing today.
1. Create A Sacred Space
Everyone in the home should have their own sacred space. A space where they can go and do the things that make them feel good.
For kids, a sacred space is usually a bedroom. But for adults, a sacred space can be any room or nook in the home.
Step 1
Pick a space that makes you feel good. There are no hard and fast rules on what it should be like. This sacred space is personal to you. For instance, it may be a spot with lots of windows or no windows at all.
Step 2
Declutter that space. If you have to move furniture around, do it. Make your space an actual space with room to sit, stand, lay down, dance, or do whatever you want to do.
Step 3
Focus on smells and sights.
A certain smell can help you get into the zone when you get into your sacred space. Or a beautiful painting or pleasing ornament may help you get into the zone when you get into your sacred space.
Smells and sights have the power to bring you into the moment, which is where you want to be in your sacred space.
Step 4
Add a piece of nature if you can. It doesn’t matter what your sacred space is going to be used for, adding something from nature is a good idea. It has been shown that being in nature is calming, balancing, and healing and that includes when you bring nature indoors.
For example, one study found that being able to view nature while recovering from surgery reduced pain medication use and length of stay in a positive way.
What will nature do for your sacred space?
2. Create A ‘Stop Doing’ List
This is such a simple but powerful strategy for a happier home (or a happier life, happier relationship, happier anything!).
What do you do in your home that doesn’t make you happy?
Stop doing it!
For instance, do you watch 10 hours of TV a day? Does it make you happy or does it make you feel like you are missing out on life? If it doesn’t make you happy, stop doing it!
Or, do you spend too much of your time cleaning your home, and it’s making you miserable at home?
Stop doing it!
Find ways to clean your home quicker or find ways to keep your home cleaner to begin with. Or outsource the cleaning in your home.
Or maybe you hate cooking. Well, there are solutions for that too, and it’s no longer called TV dinners. You can order from Hello Fresh or something similar.
3. Organize Your Home
A lot of people say that organization is good for their mental health. There are a few reasons for that.
First, it’s pleasing to the eye. It feels good to see things organized and makes you appreciate your home more.
Second, it limits stress and distractions. An organized home reduces stress (I know where everything is and where it goes) and limits distractions (there’s nothing displeasing to the eye or something that needs to be done).
Third, it saves time. For example, you don’t need to try to find something because, if you have everything organised, you know where it is. For instance, instead of searching for the baking soda in the cupboard, you can easily find it and get on with your recipe.
From organizational shelves to bins to hooks, there is something out there to help whatever area you want to organize.
4. Declutter Your Home
It’s ironic that less stuff can make us happier, but it’s how it works.
A cluttered home can make your home feel smaller, dirtier, and more confining. A decluttered home can feel spacious and clean and give you more room to breathe.
Donate – All those things that are still good, but you don’t use anymore, donate. Let someone else get some use out of them.
Recycle – All those things that don’t get used anymore but are probably not something someone else would want should be recycled.
Give Away – Don’t automatically throw things directly in the garbage. Let other people who are great at repurposing things have those things that may not work but still have the potential to be repurposed into something else. You will be amazed at how one person’s literal junk can be repurposed in a brilliant way by the right person.
5. Make Your Home Fun
Home should be a place where you can relax and unwind, but it should also be fun.
Devote space and time in your home to having fun.
For instance, setting up a karaoke machine is a great way to have fun at home if you enjoy singing. You don’t have to go to the pub to have some karaoke fun.
Other ways to have fun at home?
- Classic game nights with boards or cards.
- Bring in the pub with a pool table or dartboard.
- Buy a tennis table.
- Host a book club or something similar.
- Have a weekly dance party.
- Create themes for each night of the week (music, movie, game, learning, romantic, etc.)
There are so many ways to create a fun home that you want to spend time in.
6. Adopt A Pet
If you love animals and are willing to give them the care that they need, then adopt a pet. It’s extremely hard to be in a bad mood when you have a pet around.
They keep you laughing, keep you busy, and help you feel loved in a way that you can’t get from many people.
Animals have a natural sense of play and can easily remind you that fun should be a big part of life in your home.
7. Learn Feng Shui
Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese practice that’s all about transforming the spaces in your home to promote good energy. In other words, it’s about creating a happier home.
If you want to learn more about it, you can take a free class with Feng Shui master Marie Diamond here. Or if you are on Skillshare, there are a few Feng Shui classes there that can give you some idea of how to make a happier home by transforming your spaces.
