Creating Calm at Home

The last few years have been incredibly tough. If you’re still reeling, here are a few ideas to introduce calm into your home

Declutter

In an ideal world, your home should be your sanctuary, a place to retreat from the world when things get tough. Life is busy and before we know it, we’re knee-deep in things that we don’t necessarily need in our lives.

Taking the time to declutter your home will also help calm your mind. Even if it’s 10-15 minutes a day, the compound effect will make you feel like you have more physical and emotional space. Ask yourself whether you need, want, or love the things that you have, and if none of these fit those categories, remove them from your house.

Keep surfaces clear

In the business of the daily hustle and bustle, it’s so easy and tempting to use empty surfaces as temporary, or sometimes, permanent storage.

This not only makes a mess of our home but also disrupts our thinking processes, even if subconsciously.

Keeping flat surfaces clear is an instant way to introduce calm to your home. Keeping on top of unopened mail is another way to keep surface clutter to a minimum and also provide you with more of a feeling of control.

Clear up any dirty food or crumbs and only leave out what you need or enjoy looking at. Pack the rest away or bin it if it’s not needed.

Create a calm space

If you have the space to do so in your home, carve out a space for yourself, free from clutter and the trappings of day-to-day life.

Give yourself permission to create a small sanctuary for yourself. It should be a place where you can rest, nap, write, listen to music or even practise yoga or meditation.

Make other family members aware that this is your calm space, and that it needs to be respected. Keep a comfortable blanket there that you can snuggle into.

Make your home work

Decor and furniture work best for you when it’s set up to allow yourself to live comfortably, and to make the most of family time, relaxation, and stillness.

For instance, if you like to listen to music while you cook, add a simple radio to the kitchen. If you like to talk with others while you cook, take some comfy chairs into the kitchen so that you can talk while you cook.

Keep everything as simple as you can. It will help calm your mind and leave you feeling less cluttered and overwhelmed.

Embrace space

Creating space at home will make you feel like you can breathe more easily. The space may look odd at first and it can be tempting to fill the space with something else. But space is needed as much as anything else. View space as part of the furniture, as part of the decor, as part of your home.

If you’re able to spend time sitting in this space, the better. It’ll soothe your busy mind.

Use storage

We all keep ‘stuff’; some of us keep more than we actually need. Our cupboards are often stored with things that we’re never going to use again and these things take up valuable storage space that could be used to store other, more useful things. Just because it’s out of sight and out of mind, doesn’t mean that you won’t need to sort it one day.

Set aside some dedicated time to clear your storage areas of things that you are never going to use again. You can then utilise this space to clear your surfaces and store the things that you do actually need and use.

To successfully move away things so that they are hidden from view, you can look to keep coats in a closet, or plates and mugs in a cupboard instead of open shelving.

Show the things you love

You have the ability to create a home that reminds you of all the things in life that you are grateful for. Displaying pictures of happy memories or loved ones isn’t vain – it’s a reminder to yourself that happy times do exist – and that you are blessed. Express who you are through items of homeware, whether it’s a piece of artwork, a trinket, statement pieces or a larger piece of accessory.

Doing this in combination with removing unwanted clutter will make them stand out and shine.

Add natural elements

There is possibly nothing more soothing than a touch of nature. Introducing the calm stillness of nature into your home not only makes you feel calmer emotionally, but it also filters and cleanses the air that we are breathing at home.

Most home plants are fairly low-maintenance but even if that’s too much, you could also bring branches, fresh flowers, leaves, seashells, rocks, or cones inside and put them on display for a calming, natural presence.

Purge bad mojo

A home can collect bad memories as well as good ones, and hanging onto bad karma isn’t going to make you feel any better.

Removing all reminders of negative experiences has a cleansing effect, and can also help with emotional healing. Seek out anything that takes you back to times that weren’t so good and bin them or give them away. If they stay, they’ll be constant reminders, even subconsciously, ruining the serenity at home that you are seeking.