I like traveling to new places and exploring new things, but I love staying at home. There is nothing more comforting to me than being home in comfy clothes with my feet up and enjoying the freedom of plans. However, when the world shut down due to Covid-19, my daily peaceful at-home routine went out of the window and I was stuck in the house indefinitely with my three children. My peaceful home was instantly converted to an elementary school, lunchroom, daycare, church, office space. Because I prefer serene environments, I used the stay-at-home order as an opportunity to cultivate a calm and peaceful home not just for me, but for my entire family.
When the shelter-in-place orders were announced throughout the country, I knew we would be spending a lot of time at home. But then the orders got extended again, and again, and again. And here we are, months later, still staying home and taking precautions to stay safe. After numerous canceled plans and rescheduled dates, I have now embraced our new normal. I’ve found new ways to enjoy every moment (despite what’s going on) and have learned new ways to enjoy my time here at home.
With all that is going, self-care and relaxation have become the biggest part of my daily routine. I found myself becoming easily overwhelmed and upset with all of the current events, news and opinions constantly circling the internet, so I knew I needed to make a change. Because we can’t travel or go on vacation to escape the madness, I retreated to my favorite spots in our home and used my personal space as a sanctuary to pray, meditate, and reclaim my peace.
Your home should be your sanctuary.
One of the most effective ways to manage stress is to create a peaceful home environment. Because we spend most of our time at home, it’s important to make it a place where you can rest, recharge, and escape the woes of the real world. Although our current circumstances are less than ideal, our home has become our sanctuary – a place where we can find peace in a time of chaos.
The world is a crazy place, and I am a firm believer that your home should feel like a safe space. As a mom, it is my job to create a welcoming and safe environment for my family to enjoy. Cultivating a safe space for my family to be able to be themselves is and always has been important to me. I want my children to feel the power and freedom to be themselves – and it starts in our home.
What makes you feel at home?
After Covid-19 hit the world, our homes are now the one-stop-shop for everything in our lives. From school and work to church and online gatherings, many of us are social distancing and doing life from the house.
For some, home is not a safe place or sanctuary. If you find that your home does not feel like a safe place, I recommended finding a space that you can call your home.
We all have special things that help us to feel at home. As a child, you may have had a teddy bear or a special blanket that you didn’t leave home without. As an adult, what are the things that help to feel comfort – even if you aren’t actually at home? These are the things that help you to feel at ease whenever you get stressed out or wound up. The next time you’re away from home or feeling particularly unsettled, remember that there are plenty of ways to create a peaceful space around you.
3 Steps to Prepare Your Space
Before you can cultivate a calm and peaceful home, you have to first prepare your home for peace. If you haven’t cleaned your home, aren’t maximizing your space, or need to get rid of some things, you may want to start there.
Here are a few steps to prep your space for peace:
1. Get rid of unnecessary clutter. A messy space can drain your time and energy. Get rid of everything you no longer need or use.
2. Organize your space. Store everything you need within easy reach, and make everything you need easily accessible. Your home should serve you, not the other way around.
3. Have a purpose for every room. By designating spaces for various activities, you make it easier for yourself to move with ease and purpose within your home. All rooms are important, and no room is too small. Whether you have one room or ten, maximize your space, and use every room to it’s fullest potential.
7 Ways to Cultivate a Calm and Peaceful Home
1. Utilize large windows and natural light.
I love the beauty of natural light peering through the windows of our home. I enjoy natural light so much, that I won’t move into a home unless it has big windows and faces the south for maximum sunlight exposure. Science proves that a naturally lit room boosts productivity, improves mood, and creates a more peaceful atmosphere than an artificially lit environment. If you want to cultivate a peaceful home, open the blinds, pull the curtains back, and let the sun shine through!
2. Play background music and natural sounds.
My favorite way to cultivate peace in our home is to play background noise throughout the home during the day. Music and sound therapy help people to regulate their mood and can make you feel calm, happy, or at peace.
If you have a favorite playlist of songs you love, loop the playlist and let it play throughout the day. For relaxing nature sounds, I search “nature sounds” or “beach sounds” on youtube, and allow the videos to play in the background. The kids really enjoy watching the videos with the sounds, so we watch and listen to the TV.
Here are a few of my favorite YouTube nature videos:
3. Incorporate calming color palettes into your space.
Color psychology suggests that colors can help you to feel emotion. By choosing to fill your home with calming colors, you can cultivate a calm and peaceful home. For example, shades of blues, greens, and grays all inspire relaxation. Neutrals like ivory and beige are great choices for creating a calm environment. I personally like white minimalistic looks with pops of green from plants.
Bright, vivid colors, tend to energize rather than relax, so don’t be afraid to add those colors to your rooms for a spark of joy! I like to use vivid colors for accent colors on pillows, furniture pieces, or throws.
4. Use scents and smells.
Take time to find what scents you enjoy most, and find a way to incorporate that smell into every room of your home. There are many ways to add delightful smells to your home, such as using floral arrangements or by diffusing essential oils.
5. Add plants and greenery.
Did you know that indoor plants can make you feel better? Not only are they beautiful to look at, but living with plants can also make you healthier. Studies have proven that adding houseplants can reduce stress levels, boost your mood, and help you to be more productive. Live plants also emit fresh oxygen, remove toxins from the air, and much more. If you have a green thumb, adding a plant or two to your home may be a great way to cultivate a calm and peaceful home.
If you are like me and haven’t quite mastered your green thumb, faux plants are also a great option. The look of a beautiful plant in any room helps to create a serene environment.
6. Decorate and accessorize.
Home decor is a great way to help set the atmosphere in your home. Instead of spending thousands of dollars on interior design, use small decor pieces to enhance the atmosphere. Determine the mood you want to experience in the room, and use your favorite furniture pieces, decorations, photographs, and accessories to help you to cultivate the mood in the room.
For example:
- drape your favorite comfy blanket across the couch in the living room
- add a vase of flowers to your dining room table or kitchen countertops
- add eucalyptus leaves and candles to your bathroom to create a “spa-like” environment
7. Set relaxation times throughout the day. In our home, we call it “quiet time”. For two hours each day, my toddler naps, the older kids read a book, and I read my bible and pray. In fact, I have a whole blog dedicated to my quiet time called Quiet Time With Jesus. No matter what you do during your relaxation time, spending intentional time each day engaged in meaningful activity can have a powerful impact on your mood and sense of peace.
I hope these tips help!
Until next time,
Sincerely, Victoria
How do you cultivate a calm and peaceful home? Share with us in the comments!
Did you like this article? Share or pin it for later!
Leave a Reply