When looking for ways to manage stress, people often overlook one of the simplest and most effective strategies: create a peaceful home. Because most of our days begin and end at home, having a peaceful home as your base can help you launch yourself into the world from a less-stressed place each day. (Children appreciate this, too!)
Because this seems like such a given, why don’t people put more focus on discovering and assembling the elements of a peaceful home?
It’s a paradox that many of us experience—even though home is important, the need to take care of the structure and workings of our homes may not seem like as pressing of a need as others we experience day-to-day. When we’re rushing to get out the door in the morning, or collapsing on the couch after a long day, cleaning and organizing may seem like a ridiculous pursuit. However, when you consider the value of creating an inspiring place to wake up to, a soothing place to come home to, and a relaxing place to live, it becomes apparent that time and energy put into creating a peaceful home can translate into energy saved and stress relieved. Here are a few more reasons to create a peaceful home.
- The Toll of Clutter
In ways many people don’t realize, clutter costs. It drains us of time, energy, and even money! Learn more about the hidden cost of clutter. - Fun With Friends and Family
One of my favorite clutter-clearing experts, FlyLady, refers to a cluttered environment as living in CHAOS: Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome! I love this acronym because it’s so true—who can relax with friends and family in a messy home? Probably not you or your guests! Because of the benefits of social support, and the stress relieving benefits of having fun with friends, it’s even more helpful to have an environment where everyone can relax and have fun
- Raise Your Energy Levels
The eastern practice of Feng Shui—the ancient art of placement—is gaining popularity all over the globe, as people notice that their surroundings can influence the way they feel and the energy that they have. Feng Shui holds that the placement and type of objects in our surroundings can affect our energy or chi. Whether or not you are interested in Feng Shui, you have probably noticed that cluttered environments can be an energy drain—even if just because there’s so much to look at (and everything you see is a reminder of cleaning that should be done)! Maintaining an uncluttered, peaceful home can make you feel more energetic and relaxed at the same time.
Now that you know why it's important to maintain a peaceful home, let's cover how. The including several peace-promoting elements in your home can make it a more soothing and enjoyable place to be. When trying to convert your home into a more peaceful space, consider the following elements of a peaceful home.
Pare Down, Organize, and Decorate
These are the classic activities people think of when they think of home makeovers. Getting rid of clutter can help you plug up energy drains all over your home. Organizing your things can help you to know where everything is, and have a place to put everything in your home so that clean-up goes very quickly. Decorating, using colors and themes that truly speak to you, can help you feel relaxed and energized at the same time as you look around and take in the beauty, order, and style of your home. The following resources can help you with this step:
Create A Space for Stress Relief Activities
One of the challenges of maintaining stress relieving habits is that we get busy and let other activities in our lives come first. If we build in a physical space for our stress-soothing habits, we have a physical reminder, as well as a facilitator, to help us maintain the motivation to keep these habits in our lives.
Read this quick list of stress relief habits worth having, and learn how to create spaces to support their practice in this article on home organization tips for stress relief.
Feng Shui
As I mentioned earlier, many people have reaped the stress relief benefits of Feng Shui and swear by the practice. As you're making changes to create a peaceful home environment, factoring in a little Feng Shui (or a lot) can bring long-term benefits, as once you incorporate the stress relieving elements of Feng Shui, you don't have to constantly maintain most of the changes--they're just part of your decor. Learn more about Feng Shui here.
Aromatherapy
Because aromatherapy is getting a lot of buzz these days, it's easy to find products that provide a wonderful, soothing scent for a room. And the hype isn't unwarranted; aromatherapy research shows that there are real stress relief benefits to its use. Aromatherapy can help create a peaceful home that subtly offers passive stress relief, making it a recommended element of a peaceful home. Learn more on how to incorporate aromatherapy into your environment.
Music
Music is another of those wonderful stress relievers that, like aromatherapy, offers passive stress relief, can energize or relax you (depending on the type you use), and can offer benefits that are better than you might imagine. (Read about the stress relief benefits of music.) Incorporating music into the background can help contribute to a peaceful home environment--it's a great way to relieve the stress of those you're with, and relieve your own stress at the same time, without much effort. Read more about music and stress relief.
Dr. Pierre Milot, Ph.D., Ph.D. (tc)
Therapeutic Counsellor - Life Coach - Author
Online - Phone - One-on-one consultations
Info or free evaluation
Canada: 613.703.9237 - USA: 813.515.4875
E-mail: drpierremilot@mail.com
Website: http://www.coaching4life.ca
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