Work is hectic, schedules are hectic, the kids are hectic, almost all of life can be hectic;
Your home shouldn't be. As Peter Walsh says, your home should be an antidote to stress,
not the cause of it. It ought to be a place of rest and respite and relaxation.
So you can live your entire life inside of it? No, of course not. Home is a place of rest,
and acceptance, and peace, so that we can live our best lives out in the world making the biggest
difference that we possibly can. That's why having a calm and rejuvenating home is so important to
help you accomplish that. Here are 10 simple ways to bring more calm into your home. Number one:
remove a third of your wardrobe. If you want to change your life immediately, clean out a closet.
After decluttering clothes, not only will your mornings be less stressful,
but you'll find more calm by not having to peer into a cluttered closet first thing when you wake
up. Number two: be intentional with the purpose of each room in your home. Not only do our homes
serve an important role in our lives and our families, but individual rooms serve specific
purposes as well. So take a moment to identify what role each room should play in your home,
and then remove everything from that space that doesn't help it accomplish that purpose. Number
three: reset your living room. Every evening before you go to bed each night, find 5 or 10
minutes to tidy up the most lived in areas of your home, otherwise you're constantly bringing
yesterday's mess into today. Now certainly this is easier to do if you own less stuff,
so make that a priority as well. Number four: own fewer toys. Toys are a constant point of stress
for young parents. We buy them because we think they will make play time with our children better,
but often they just add frustration to it. You can own fewer toys, in fact there are countless
developmental benefits to it. Number five: clear your countertops. Don't fall into the convenience
fallacy of leaving items on your counter just because you think it is more convenient to do so.
Every item left out in our home is a form of visual clutter and noise. Now, you don't
need to remove every item from your kitchen countertop, you'll just find more calm if you do.
Number six: identify homes for everything you own. Toys live in the toy chest, clothes
go in the closet or the hamper, your toiletries go on the shelf or the drawer, coats and shoes
go in the closet, the remote control goes on the tv stand. When everything has a home
cleaning up becomes easier and your home becomes calmer. Number seven, tackle one minute projects
immediately. As I learned from Gretchen Rubin, if a task can be completed in less than one minute,
do it right away. Embrace this concept around your home to create a more calming atmosphere
everywhere you go. Number eight: choose meaningful decorations. Decorations are a common place in the
home where it's easy to go overboard. Now certainly, decorations make a house feel
comfortable and calm and relaxing, but too many can make it feel cluttered and busy,
so to add calm into your home, choose meaningful decorations that tell your story and communicate
your values. You can decorate as easily by removing things as you can by adding them.
Number nine: keep your garage tidy. Your garage is the first thing you see every time you come home,
if it's a cluttered mess filled with tools and boxes, then "messy" will always be your first
impression of your home when you arrive. So change your mood and attitude by keeping it clutter free
and tidy. Number 10: complete or discard unfinished projects. There are few things
more stress producing than an unfinished project, so make a commitment today to either finally
finish your project, or discard it entirely. Now I admit that this might not be simple for everyone,
although the more often you decide to declare "project bankruptcy," the easier it becomes.
If you're just starting on the road to owning less, some of these steps may sound difficult
to complete, but you'll be surprised at how simple many of them become when you first
take the step to minimize the possessions you don't need. You'll love owning less.