Transform your space into a tranquil home that you’ll be excited to come home to. Your home is often overlooked as a place of peace or a personal sanctuary, especially if you have a large family, rowdy roommates, or children. We live in a chaotic world so your home should be the place where you can escape from it all…. or at least try to.
Often our homes can add to the chaos without us realizing it. Things like clutter, disorganization, and certain colours or decor can unconsciously drain your energy. Your home is where you’ll want to rest and recharge so that you can show up in the world as a version of yourself that you’re proud of.
Finding Calm During Covid-
With COVID-19 consuming nearly everyone on the planet’s lives, you’ve probably been spending way more time at home. This is especially true if you now work remotely or live in a place with strict restrictions.
While homebodies are thrilled, not everyone feels so joyful. Ensuring that your space is a calm and safe haven can make living through a deadly pandemic a little more tolerable.
While you may not have the most peaceful patrons cohabiting in your space, you can try to make the most of it by implementing a few simple tweaks and strategies. Use these ideas below to create a more tranquil home environment in which you can regroup.
Clean-
If you haven’t yet, read Marie Kondo’s “The life-changing magic of tidying up” and watch your life magically change. We don’t realize how much a clean, tidy, and organized space affects our mental well-being.
No one’s home is spotless and organized 24/7 unless no one lives there or you’re hardly home. With that said, taking time every day to tidy up and make certain tasks a habit will leave you with less cleaning time overall.
Do daily tasks such as making your bed, tidying up random crap and garbage, sweeping the floors, taking out the garbage, cleaning dirty dishes, and wiping counters. That may seem like a lot but when you do it daily there shouldn’t be too much of it.
The mental clarity you’ll feel is priceless. Save bigger tasks like washing the floors, laundry, dusting, wiping baseboards, organizing drawers, etc. for the weekend or when you have a day off. Throwing on a podcast or listening to your favourite music while you power clean is dare I say….therapeutic. Try for yourself and see. A clean home is a tranquil home.
Declutter-
Aim to keep clutter down. If there are things that either don’t bring you joy or don’t get used, get rid of them. This includes books, papers, clothes, beauty products, etc. No one needs random knickknacks or products taking up space, especially if you don’t have much space.
Your home will never elicit peace and tranquillity when it’s a disaster. Keep only what you need, what you use, and what brings you joy.
Lighting-
Specific lighting can change the mood of a room in an instant. During the day opt for natural lighting to keep you alert and awake. When looking to move into a new apartment, condo or house always consider the amount of natural light that will be available.
Pay attention to where the sun rises and sets. That’s where you’ll see, (or not) the light from sunrise and sunset if having natural light is important to you.
As it gets darker at night, dim the lights in your home. This will help your body produce melatonin and make it easier to fall asleep. Keep a bunch of inexpensive tea lights handy to have ample candlelight.
Having a heavy stash of candles is a nice way to bring a warm and calming tone to your space, especially during colder, winter months. Be cautious if you have pets and/or children. Make sure to keep an eye on candles.
Tech Free Zone-
If you can, aim to keep either one room or a space in your home as a designated tech-free zone. Ideally, this place would be your bedroom but wherever works.
Keep phones, computers, and TVs out of this space so that you can relax fully by means other than technology. Read a book, meditate, stretch, do yoga, or write the novel you’ve been putting off, distraction-free.
This place would ideally be where you hang out before bedtime as screens from technology emit blue light. Blue light inhibits your body’s natural ability to produce melatonin which causes your brain to believe it’s time to sleep. Keeping a tech-free zone can be your go-to spot whenever you need a media break to decompress without mindlessly scrolling.
Smudge-
If you feel that you have any negative or stagnant energies lingering in your house that are not conducive to creating a tranquil home, then it’s time to clear that sh*t out.
If you haven’t yet, read our guide to energy cleansing respectfully. Just because many people can’t see energy, doesn’t mean it isn’t there. Performing a smudging ritual can help reset the energy in your home to be more calm and peaceful. Again, you should feel the effects more than you will physically see any changes.
Sounds-
While you may not immediately see the correlation, music plays a huge part in how the energy in a room feels. If you’re trying to use your home as a place of relaxation then using certain music and sounds can help to put you in a tranquil headspace.
The frequency of music we listen to can affect our mind, so before bed, or if you’re feeling anxious put on some calming spa music or 432hz to give your vibration a boost. If you’re looking for something with lyrics YouTube or Spotify has a wide variety of chill playlists.
Scents-
Another thing that can get forgotten since we can’t see it with the naked eye is scents. Feelings of peace can come or be hindered by all 5… or 6 senses. Filling the room with scents like lavender, rosemary, vanilla, sage, and ylang-ylang will help to relax your mind and body.
If you have one, use a diffuser and fill it with essential oils, light your favourite scented candles, light incense, or make your seasonal potpourri. Keeping a clean home and making sure food doesn’t get left out and garbage gets taken out daily will help ensure your home smells like an escape instead of something to escape from.
Plants & Flowers-
We all know that being surrounded by nature can help ground us and connect ourselves to our inner being. If you live in a city, have been quarantining, or live in a cold winter climate then you’re bound to spend a lot of time indoors.
Bringing some of the outdoors in can boost your mental and overall well-being. It’s a great feeling to nurture and watch a living being grow. Speak positive affirmations to your plants and see how fast they bloom.
We know that plants purify the air and can help to ground and connect us. Pick a few of your favourite plants to bring home and care for. Fresh flowers are a fantastic option as well. If you worry your maternal or paternal instincts aren’t sharp enough to take care of anything other than yourself then find some low-maintenance, hard-to-kill plants.
Calm Decor-
Decorate your home with your favourite spiritual items like crystals, Buddha heads, sound bowls, smudge sticks, and incense, or make a little alter if you feel called to.
If you practice a certain religion then make a space for items that relate to it and bring you a sense of peace. This is not specific to any religion or spiritual practice but whatever makes you feel protected and enriched.
Feng Shui-
Check out our Feng Shui 101 post to learn the basics of feng shui. Feng Shui is essentially balancing the elements of your home to produce just the right amount of certain energies. Also placing furniture and decor strategically to welcome positive aspects and blessings into your life.
If it seems a little overwhelming, try to incorporate Feng Shui into your space one room at a time. Adding the colours blue, green, cream, and beige into a room will be the most calming choice. Artwork, pillows, blankets, plants & flowers, and furniture are all simple ways to include these calming colours.
Conclusion-
If you’re looking to turn your space into a tranquil home then test out the ideas listed in this post. Use some, or all of the suggestions listed above, or use your variation. This is completely personal to you.
Whether you live in an apartment or a home of your own I hope that you will use these simple measures to bring more peace and tranquility into your space and yourself.
