In a world that can feel chaotic and demanding, introverts often find solace and rejuvenation in solitude. The art of recharging your energy within the comfort of your own space is a powerful and necessary practice, but what if your home doesn’t feel calming? What if it feels overwhelming or overstimulating, and stops you from being able to recharge?
I don’t know about you but when my home is messy, with laundry piled up on the bed, or clutter everywhere, I feel overwhelmed. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not spending all day tidying my home and ensuring that it looks meticulous. As I write this blog I have dirty dishes on my coffee table from breakfast, my bed isn’t made and there are boxes from deliveries taking over my lounge that need to go to the bins.
Some days are like this, but I know that I feel more at peace when everything has a place and my home is clutter-free. Here are 8 ways to make your home feel more peaceful and relaxing.
8 ways to make your home more peaceful and relaxing
1. Declutter Your Space
A cluttered space can create feelings of overwhelm, and effect anxiety, sleep, and your ability to focus.. Follow these 3 simple steps to start the process of decluttering:
Step 1 - Be Intentional
Clutter starts outside your home, with donations from friends, and random purchases. Start with your mindset around the idea of clutter and be intentional with what you bring into your home.
Say no to well-intentioned donations, unless it's something useful to you, and avoid buying things just because they are cheap, I've been guilty of this too, and still struggle to resist a bargain sometimes.
Step 2 - Everything has a place
Clutter is not only random items that take up space in your home, a lot of it might be things that you use and need on a daily basis. Notice where things tend to pile up in your home.
It might be laundry, shoes, notebooks, or stationary. Whatever it is, allocate a space for these items and make a habit of returning them to this space once you’re done using them. Clear space, clear mind.
Step 3 - One space at a time
Declutter your living spaces one at a time, don't try to do this all in one day. Remove unnecessary items, and create an organized, clean, and calming atmosphere.
Don't let this step overwhelm you. Tackle one small space at a time and start with your most frequently used space.
I usually move through each room one drawer or cupboard space at a time. The feeling of getting rid of unwanted items can be one of lightness and calmness.
Notice how you feel as you slowly move through sections of your home and allow this feeling to fuel you.
Clear space, clear mind.
2. Soft Lighting
I have been accused of living like a vampire at times, I like to have soft lighting in as many spaces as possible. It makes the space feel comforting and restful.
I don’t use the main light in my kitchen, I only use the extractor fan light. Jake and I labeled our red kitchen light switch with a “Don’t press the red switch” sticker, we thought it was funny. Haha!
In the bedroom I use salt lamps that are on every evening, their orange glow is soothing and they are said the promote sleep and clean the air in your home.
Using soft, warm lighting that gives off a relaxed ambiance, try it for yourself and see how you feel.
3. Natural Elements
Place natural elements around your home to create a sense of tranquillity. You could use houseplants, wooden furniture, or stone accents. Think about bringing the elements (earth, air, fire, water) inside your home.
For you, this might mean a lovely water feature, or simply opening your windows to let some airflow through your home. If you are fortunate enough to have a fireplace, get the fire going and enjoy the ambiance, some soothing candles could create this atmosphere too.
When it comes to plants, consider the placement of the plants and how they can benefit the environment, for example, some plants clean the air, improve your mood, and much more. You can read more about this in this blog post "7 Reasons Why Indoor Plants Make You Feel Good".
4. Aromatherapy
You can probably name at least 1 fragrance that calms your mind. How can you incorporate this fragrance into your space?
The concept of aromatherapy is using essential oils for therapeutic benefit. This is a simple and personalized way to bring fragrance into your home that is not overpowering, and you can control how much fragrance you want to introduce.
There are a few ways you could do this, you could burn essential oils in an oil burner or create your own home spritz, by adding a few drops of your favorite essential oils in a water spray bottle.
My favorite is a combination of 10 drops of lavender and 5 drops of rose geranium in a 200 ml spray bottle. I spray this in my bedroom every evening before going to sleep. This prepares me for a good night's sleep, and I now associate the fragrance with calmness
Here is a list of essential oils and their benefits.
5. Noise Control
Continuous exposure to noise can cause stress, anxiety, and high blood pressure, to name a few. By minimizing noise or taking control of the noise in your home you can create an environment that is conducive to relaxation.
You could minimize noise by using rugs, curtains, or soundproofing solutions. White noise machines can also be a great option. If you don't want to bring more stuff into your home listening to some calming frequency music from any device can help to alter how your space feels. This is my favorite one to listen to for getting a restful night's sleep.
You could also try this 432Hz sound for inner balance on YouTube.
6. Focus On Your Bedroom
Sleep is essential to your well-being, so invest some time into ensuring that your sleeping space is conducive to a restful night's sleep. Check that your bedding is comfortable, good pillows and soft sheets can make such a big difference.
"It’s during deep sleep that you digest all the events of your day, restore your energy, and store memories from short to long term, so this stage of sleep is essential to your well-being."
If you are going to keep any room in your house clutter-free, choose your bedroom, this can lead to better sleep. Bedroom clutter can prevent your body's cortisol (stress hormone) levels from declining throughout the day which leads to disrupted sleep patterns and reduces your ability to access deep sleep.
It’s during deep sleep that you digest all the events of your day, restore your energy, and store memories from short to long term, so this stage of sleep is essential to your well-being.
7. Create A Dedicated Relaxation Space
Consider what activities make you feel the most peaceful. Is it reading, doing yoga, meditation, crafts? Whatever the activity is, create a relaxation space that will encourage you to do this activity more. If yoga at home is something that makes you feel good, check out Breathe & Restore – Online Home Yoga Retreat.
Here is a short welcome video to Breathe & Restore.
Choose a space in your home, it doesn’t have to be an entire room, it could be a cozy chair or a corner. Place things in that space that make you feel peaceful and will make it easy for you to carry out your peaceful activity.
We live in a society that tells us that we have to be doing something all the time in order to “feel productive” or “be doing something of value”. I’d like to pause here and mention that your relaxation space can also be for you to sit and do nothing if this is something that will make you feel at ease.
8. Technology-Free Zone
Technology has become a big part of our modern lives and I do believe that it serves a purpose at times and can help us to make our lives easier, however, we don’t need access to it all the time. When I speak about technology, I am referring to anything that takes your attention away like your smartphone, TV, Tablet, or gaming consoles.
As a fellow introvert, I do find that my energy gets drained by technology, being on my phone too much, or watching too much TV makes me feel disconnected from myself, overwhelmed, and exhausted. This might not be the case for you or perhaps you haven’t noticed that it is, either way, taking some time to reconnect with yourself can be beneficial to your mental wellbeing.
Choose a space in your home that you don’t want any technology to enter, this could be your kitchen, maybe cooking is your calming time, or it could be your bathroom or bedroom. Whatever works best for you, affirm to yourself that no technology will enter this space as this is your space for peace.
My tech-free space is my bedroom, I have a charging station outside my room that ensures my phone doesn't enter my room. This makes my room feel like a little sanctuary, with the salt lamps glowing and the fragrance of lavender in the air I always enter with a calm mind, no matter what time of day it is.
These are just a few things that you can do today to transform your home into a tranquil space for Rest and relaxation.
Stay tuned for the next blog post where I will cover the perfect restful yoga practice to complement your newfound peaceful environment.
Restful regards
Eliza