Creating a more harmonious home means different things to each person, but generally, reducing the noise or busy factor are winners. While we don’t necessarily have as much control over our corporate work environment, it’s not the same at home. In our home environment, we place greater emphasis on what pleases us and calms our mind.
With a relaxing, harmonious place to have fun or be at rest, it supports our overall wellbeing. Stress is well understood to contribute to ill health and wears on us the older we get. In fact, as we age, we’re less able to handle the cortisol chemical that gets released throughout the body during stressful situations. So, it’s more important to consider our home lives in our 40s, 50s, and beyond.
Here are a few ideas on how to create a more peaceful space to live in.
Control the Light Levels
Using a set of custom blinds from Next Day Blinds provides control over how much natural light is let into each room. When able to control the amount of light – instead of an all or nothing approach when using curtains – it lets your eyes adjust early in the morning or late at night.
Because natural light is preferable to artificial light sources, being able to take advantage of a sunny day to feel more alive and energetic supports a happy, productive day too.
Focus on Natural Sources for Materials
When decorating your home, create an eco-friendly space that uses reclaimed or recycled materials wherever possible. Look to use timber in an interesting way, pastel shades for color schemes and organic bedding for linens and cotton sheets.
With reclaimed materials like wood, more forests stay untouched, improving the overall air quality. Also, by using organic sources for bedding, they’re likely to cause less irritation to people with sensitive skin too.
Less Clutter, Calmer Mind
Clutter is an obvious one to deal with when wanting to be more relaxed. Bear in mind that clutter can be physical clutter but also digital clutter too.
For instance, too many apps and notifications on a smartphone or tablet can become a headache to deal with. Some people have started to uninstall Facebook and other apps or turn off notifications within Android or iOS to remove the frequent interruptions.
With physical clutter, going through room by room to see what can be discarded, recycled, given away or sold helps to reduce the number of possessions demanding our attention.
Bring Freshness into Your Home
While you might disagree with fresh flowers in a vase because they die off so quickly, potted plants are easy to manage and last a long time. Whether picking out a bonsai tree that you like or another plant that makes you smile, the act of tending to a plant reminds you that the little things are important in life too.
Also, don’t be afraid to dabble in aromatherapy to enjoy pleasing scents. Don’t use them in rooms with someone who has asthma or another respiratory disease as that causes irritation in the throat, which can bring on an attack. These are best used while having a bath or before bedtime. If you’re not into aromatherapy yet, then some scented candles work well too.
Once you have a calming place to live, then it’s all easy street from there. Just keep everything else organized to avoid getting stressed out in other ways and you’re set!