The Secret Trick to Feel Happier at Home
Studies show that our spaces impact our emotions, and our emotions impact our spaces.
Often we think,
-"I don't feel like tidying up."
-"I will fix this place up when I'm out of this funk."
-"I will never feel good in this house."
-"This place is temporary, making it look good just isn't worth the effort."
And we stop. Letting our emotions freeze us. But we have incredible power to change how we feel in our spaces, by simply, changing our spaces.
Ever deal with something that makes you want to pause everything and hide? It could be a rude comment, or a breakup, or just not feeling yourself, and all you want to do is stay in bed for a week, binge watching Netflix? At some point you realize that your space feels heavy, it is hard to move through, and you tidy it up. Suddenly things feel a little lighter, optimistic, easier. Why?
Our spaces are constantly impacting us, but so many of us stopped noticing. And the trick is, we can let our spaces be in control, or we can use that secret power to our advantage.
Many people mistakenly think this requires a lot of effort, or huge changes to make them feel good in their spaces. But they are wrong. It just takes one tiny thing.
You've experienced the ripple effect before. You clean one table off, and suddenly the smudges on the window are impossible to ignore. So you clean the window, and all of a sudden, the cobwebs on the ceiling are shouting at you. It's kinda like that book, "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie", except you are the mouse and your house... well, it's full of cookies 🍪🥛...
The great thing about wielding the power of your spaces to impact you, is it feels amazing! Who doesn't love a good dopamine rush?
One thing done ✅
and another ✅
Bring on the dopamine and happiness! 😍
But how do you start? Do one tiny thing off your home to-do list and watch how it ripples into another, and another. It's kind of hard to stop the magic once it starts.
Need some help? Try one of these kick-starts and see what happens next:
-make your bed
-toss all the shoes on the floor into a basket
or put on a shelf
-scrub the sink
-do a 10 min sweep of the house and tidy up anything that doesn't belong
-organize one drawer
-purge a linen closet of stained and mismatches and donate
-vacuum one room
-dust one surface
-magic eraser the smudges off the door or wall
-swap out wall or table top art you don't like with art you love
-clean the dining table or island
-set out fresh flowers on a tidy surface
-put out your favorite holiday decor item
-organize your purse
-clean out your closet and donate anything you don't love
-get new white linens for the bed or bath
(secret trick to making it feel fresh!)
-clean one shelf in the fridge
-get new decorative pillow covers in colors or textures that make you happy
-paint a wall
It doesn't take much to change how you feel at home. Letting go of what doesn't make you truly happy will make you feel lighter and can bring you more of what does make you happy. And being surrounded by what you love is a magical feeling.
You have the power to feel amazing in your home. So... what tiny thing are you going to check off the list today?