Environment is Everything!
Simple Tips To Create A Positive & Peaceful Home Environment
Did you know that your surroundings affect how you feel and act? Our home is one of the most important places in our life. We spend a great deal of time there, work daily to keep it, look forward to returning to it, create memories and find solace inside our homes.
“In order for you to feel your happiest, your home needs to become a happy place that supports that energy.”
Removing negative energy can seem difficult sometimes because we usually don’t recognize it until we take a good like at our surroundings & start creating a positive space. Creating a space where you can relieve stress, express ourselves and get our best rest allows to manage our thoughts, feelings and lives overall.
Many people find peace in places outside of their homes, which is an amazing escape as well, but they can be a temporary solution — especially with the way our world keeps growing and changing nowadays. You have control over your home’s design & atmosphere, and we have a full set of simple tips to create and maintain a positive and peaceful home environment.
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Clean & Remove the Clutter
First things first, get rid of the unnecessary. I know decluttering seems like the most obvious step, but it’s truly the most effective one.
We get so used to things being in our home that we don’t even realize how much some of them don’t serve us until we really take a good look at them and ask why they’re here. Letting go can be hard for some of us, especially when we get so comfortable keeping random things that “we might use later.” Let’s be honest…we rarely use them later.
Start going through your home section by section with 4 boxes or bags: Trash, Donate, Sell, Reorganize.
You’ll probably get a lot done if you set aside a day to specifically go through everything, but if you don’t that’s okay. We accumulate A LOT of things over the course of our lives. You didn’t acquire it all overnight, so you can’t be expected to declutter it all overnight. One of the best tools for working your way through your home is The Home Edit Workbook: Prompts, Activities, and Gold Stars to Help You Contain the Chaos. This workbook has 52 exercises for you to go through each area of your home and narrow down what you really need and how you can make changes. Take it easy and don’t let the decluttering become another trigger for stress.
Organize What Remains
Once you’ve gone through all of your spaces and chosen what stays and what goes you can decide on the best steps for what remains. Does anything big need to go into storage? Are there things you need that could look better with a good storage system?
Aim for minimalism & organization with items usually out of sight (i.e., kitchen pantry, hall & bathroom closets, holiday decor) then choose a style for the more visual areas of your home. Try to be as space-conscious as possible.
Consider what you truly want to look at each day will reduce visual conflict and allow you to design your perfect home, while still remaining functional.
Deciding on the right style for your home can also seem intimidating when looking at its current state and trying to revisualize it. Some of my favorite home design books are Home Body: A Guide to Creating Spaces You Never Want to Leave. There’s an entire section that helps you narrow down what you really like and how you can work it into your home.
Beautifully Organized: A Guide to Function and Style in Your Home & The Home Edit: A Guide to Organizing and Realizing Your House Goals are amazing for organizing your home and finding a place for everything!
Create a Welcoming Entrance
First up on our list is designing the perfect entrance. The moment you set foot in your home you should feel like you’re taking in a breath of fresh, calming air. This is your first point of contact between you and your home and it needs to give off the right vibe.
Create a simple entry way that isn’t cluttered with a million different things. Give everything you need a home: the shoes you wear & take off as you come in, home for your keys, a nice scent candle or diffuser, flowers or plants to add some life, a mirror for additional light & reflection. The idea is not to over decorate the space. Sprucing up this small space in your home can instantly uplift the atmosphere and make it more peaceful.
Here are some examples:
Deco 79 Recycled Spanish Glass Vase, 11" x 11" x 17", Clear
roro Natural Long Tray with Bark Edge Made from Sustainable Wood, 17" L
Napa Home & Garden Seagrass Small Round Baskets, Set of 3
NEST Fragrances Reed Diffuser- Ocean Mist & Sea Salt , 5.9 fl oz
yinhua 39 Inch Artificial Cherry Blossom Branches Flowers Stems Silk Tall Fake Flower Arrangements (Cherry Blossom, Pack of 3)
Better Bevel 30” x 30” Black Rubber Framed Mirror | Round
Reorganize Your Furniture
Creating a state of harmony in your home and mind can be easily achieved by the placement of your furniture. Organizing your furniture in a way that helps you navigate through your home without obstacles or blocking your line of sight helps you feel comfortable and visually enjoy your surroundings.
Learning the basic principles of Feng Shui can teach you to look at your space, visualize what gives you peace and then create a balance environment. Creating more floor space for regular indoor exercise like yoga allows you an area with purpose that doubles as an open, welcome zone when not in use.
Include Plants in Your Home
Plants play an important role in our lives yet they’re often taken for granted. We know the fresh air we breathe is thanks to trees and plants, but they also purify our minds and moods. Plants can also help cleanse the air inside our homes, assist with our sleep, anxiety and create a positive energy.
Fake plants are the easily managed, obviously, and can serve us by adding peaceful aesthetics in our home, but try adding some real plants as well. Doing so adds life into your home and can also engage with your design style and space.
Try incorporating plants such as Bamboo, Basil, Eucalyptus, Snake Plant, Spider Plant, Peace Lily, Aloe Vera and English Ivy.
This bundle is amazing for getting started with adding air-purifying plants into your home: Costa Farms Clean Air-O2 For You Live House Plant Collection 6-Pack, Choice Assorted, 4-Inch, in Grower's Pot
Make sure to research the plants you choose so you know how to care for them and be aware of their safety or toxicity for pets so they’re carefully placed out of reach in your home.
Enhance the space
Once you’ve eliminated excess and organized what you truly need to keep, you can begin personalizing the space to create a quiet, stress-free retreat.
Use a neutral color palette that makes you feel relaxed and calm. Neutral palettes are also amazing because they allow you to add some life to your walls but they don’t clash with furniture, decor and plants in your home.
Personally, I love having white cabinets in the kitchen so that natural light reflects throughout my home — making the space feel even bigger — accompanied by a light, mint for my walls. Cream, off-white, taupe, light yellow and mint are great colors that can make your home feel calm and easily blend with home additions.
Enhance the space
Once you’ve eliminated excess and organized what you truly need to keep, you can begin personalizing the space to create a quiet, stress-free retreat.
Use a neutral color palette that makes you feel relaxed and calm. Neutral palettes are also amazing because they allow you to add some life to your walls but they don’t clash with furniture, decor and plants in your home.
Personally, I love having white cabinets in the kitchen so that natural light reflects throughout my home — making the space feel even bigger — accompanied by a light, mint for my walls. Cream, off-white, taupe, light yellow and mint are great colors that can make your home feel calm and easily blend with home additions.
Adding décor items that have meaning to you or make you happy also have their place in your home. It’s easy to go overboard sometimes, I know, but being intentful with your choices. One of my favorite pieces in my home is my décor gallery wall. I’ve added photos of places I love or have traveled to, framed bags of record stores I love (not everything has to cost a pretty penny), and of course gotta have Queen Dolly Parton right in the center!
My living room gallery wall including my favorite decor pieces, books, vinyl records & crafting cubby
Find Your Signature Scent
One of the simplest ways to turn your home into a stress-free & personal space is with scent. People have been selling homes for years with the scent of fresh baked cookies and for good reason. We connect with scents and they can induce happy, calm feelings and memories.
Walking into your home and experiencing a great scent is one of the greatest feelings and instantly makes you feel a weight lifted off your day.
One of my favorite responses was from Marilyn Monroe when a reporter asked what she wore to bed and she famously replied:
“I only wear Chanel No. 5.”
It was a sassy reply but she had the right idea. I tested out her theory and going to sleep with my favorite Coco Chanel Mademoiselle perfume makes me instantly feel so luxurious, comfortable and go to sleep with a smile.
Every store, restaurant, hotel or venue has a scent that instantly overwhelms our senses and allows us to feel welcomed. You can have the same effect in your own home by using candles, essential oils, incense or your favorite room sprays.
I always have a candle going when I’m writing, usually my favorite Capri Blue Luxury Aromatherapy Volcano Candle or Jo Malone Nectarine Blossom & Honey Scented Candle — I absolutely can’t get enough of this one during spring time! These are a little on the pricier side but last FOREVER and are worth every penny to me when I think of the joy they bring me.
If you want to try out essential oils the Ultimate Aromatherapy Diffuser & Essential Oil Set - Ultrasonic Diffuser & Top 10 Essential Oils is a great way to test out what you do and don’t like, then decide on your favorite one.
Play Some Music
This is probably the greatest stress reliever and mood setter! There’s power in music and you can change the entire vibe by including it into your home.
One of my favorite parts of the day is cooking dinner with Frank Sinatra or Bing Crosby playing on my vinyl record player. I’m soooo happy they’re making a comeback! They’re the best way to listen to your music and have such a crisp & old-school feel to them.
If you want to stick with more digital style the Apple TV is great for keeping things organized. You can pick up right where you left off on a playlist you had on in the car, search radio stations of your favorite artists and just let things play out while you cook, get ready for work or sleep, workout, or just to sit down, listen and enjoy. The Echo Dot with Alexa is another great device that can play everything you need.
Plan to maintain
It’s easy to get busy and lose the habit of removing unnecessary items and tidying up properly. Life happens and we usually associate cleaning day with a negative connotation, but changing the way you see this day has a major effect.
Once you get the big steps out of the way and create the space you love, maintaining it can be very simple with the right plan in place.
Throughout the week, put things away as you go. Dirty dishes have a way of making the whole kitchen look distraught so clean as you cook and then you’ll only have to clean the plates and utensils from dinner. Put dirty clothes in the hamper right away (using one that’s already separated really helps save time on laundry day).
I personally like making Sunday my personal care day — this includes myself, my weekly prep and my home. I know I’ll be starting the morning with pilates, going to a nearby trail, then cleaning floors, doing laundry, keeping up with my home and clearing out the fridge so I can buy fresh food for the week and prep before bed. It’s become extremely relaxing and a day I actually love for myself.
Start by devising a regular schedule for maintaining your home and change your mindset to taking pride in your home and enjoying the feeling you have when it’s looking & feeling its best.
Decide on the day of each week you want to vacuum, dust, grocery shop and clean out your fridge, and “deep clean” your home. In addition to this, make a list of the little things you can do daily such as making your bed, tidying up throw pillows and blankets, cleaning the dishes as you cook and wiping down counter tops once you’re done.
There are a lot of simple tasks we can do throughout the day that only take a few minutes and have a huge impact on our home. Frequent cleaning keeps you in control of your space, rather than letting your space dictate your health and happiness.
Create Visual Support Systems
A positive home environment is one that supports your lifestyle. Consider what activities or areas cause frustration or are often overlooked and find a solution that will support you.
For example, I always had the habit of buying food and forgetting to eat it, which drove me absolutely crazy! My solution was to set up a weekly meal plan white board so that I knew what I wanted to eat throughout the week, didn’t buy food I didn’t actually plan to eat and could keep track of groceries I did need on my next trip.
Having a To Do List near my cleaning supplies also helped me keep up with what I needed to do on my deep cleaning days until it became a regular habit.
Placing notes that reflect your goals, intentions and inspirational quotes on your mirrors and fridge can also boost your mood and add positivity to your home. Creating a vision board filled with things that motivate you or that you care about is another great way to surround yourself with things that make you happy. Place it somewhere in your bedroom so you see it as you wake up and go to sleep, keeping your best mindset active when you start and end the day.
So, as you can see, creating a positive home environment is easier than you think. Take things step by step & room by room. Reduce clutter and donate, recycle or sell unnecessary items, organize what remains, personalize & enhance your space, commit to a regular cleaning schedule & place supportive elements where needed.
If You Need Some Extra Help Hire A Professional Organizer
If you need professional assistance, The Home Edit team is amazing! No, you don’t have to air your home on Netflix if you don’t want to.
Whether you need a home organizer, move manager or estate organization, the goal is to make where you live and work, work for you. Sometimes we all need a little help and if we can afford it, that’s totally okay! Together you y’all can deal with what you no longer need so that you can appreciate what you love most and truly enjoy your home.
We wish you the best!
Let’s Do BetterTogether!