We can't believe it's already March! We're still scratching our head at where 2008 went. Although time seems to be flying by, you can take stock in each day by doing a few simple things in your home to feel fulfilled and satisfied.
1) Make Your Bed. Yea, this seems more like work then enjoyment but we promise you will feel so much better in your space walking home from a hard days work with a clean and cozy bedroom waiting for you.
2) Buy yourself flowers every week or so and enjoy them every day. Over the weekend, pick up a generous bunch of flowers for $5 at a store like Trader Joes, Costco, even Home Depot. By treating yourself to an affordable floral addition, your home will feel brighter each day. Arrange them throughout your home in individual vases or move them around each day to a new spot.
3) Turn off the TV. We've been keeping our TV watching to a minimum lately and our days feel so much longer. You will feel more accomplished in your day by using this time on activities like DIY projects, reading, simply hanging out and talking with your partner / roommate or catching up with friends and family on the phone.
4) Open your curtains or blinds. Although mornings can be hectic getting everyone out the door, open those curtains to a new day. When you return home, it may be dark but the idea that your space was exposed to sunshine and blue skies provides a comfortable feeling. Also, clean the glass every now and then and your windows will feel bigger and brighter!
5) Get some exercise. Take 20 minutes or so and do some exercise. You will recharge your creative battery, feel better throughout your day and your time at home in the evening will feel like it's in front of you instead of you trying to catch up to it.
What are some other inspiring tips for enjoying each day in your home?
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I put on music and have speakers placed all over the apartment to listen to - and soft throws placed on sofas and chairs are always nice to curl up under whether you're watching TV, reading e-mail or returning a phonecall.
Keeping the clutter down and clothing hung up and put away is always a good thing - And for some reason, keeping fresh towels in the bathrooms and the dishwasher run always makes me happy.
#1 is so true. There is something about coming home after a day at the office and the bed is neatly made that makes me relaxed. It literally takes 2 minutes but can have such a big impact.
Oh, I agree with bepsf--hanging up work clothes right away instead of waiting before bed is soothing too.
#1!! I always feel like my life is more organized when the bed is made, ha!
I totally agree with the flower idea- It seems like a luxurious expense, but it's worth it if they brighten your mood. Plus, even if you have a bit of clutter around your house- a bunch of flowers always communicates to your guests that you have it together. I am counting down the days until the farmer's markets in Seattle start up again...
My tip? Between 2 people and a cat, it is easy to let my laundry pile get out of control. Instead of putting it off (and having it sit there as an ugly reminder), I scrounge together a load every evening. I then limit my "down-time" activities to the time it takes me to get the load done. I know that my washer takes about 35 minutes, which is plenty to do a few craigslist searches. The dryer takes an hour, which is exactly the length of a fave tv show. And folding laundry? A great thing to do in pairs- my boyfriend and I like to catch up at the end of the day while we put away the clothes.
Too much relaxation at the end of the night always feels like laziness to me- so putting a buzzer at the end of each activity makes it guilt-free AND productive.
Since starting to read AT, I have made my bed most mornings. Once you make it a habit, it's as easy and quick as brushing your teeth. It is infinitely nicer to come home to than an unmade bed.
Thank you, AT, for the gentle encouragement to do this simple chore. If my mother had made me do it, it would be unmade into eternity.
I also have gotten into hanging up clothes automatically when I take them off and if they're clean enough to wear again. If they aren't, they are immediately deposited in the washer. Things that need dry-cleaning are a little more problematical.
I am a nut case on fresh towels.
After 22 years in New York without a dishwasher, washer, and dryer, I find it so fantastic to just put the dirty stuff into the appropriate appliance and run it.
However, no one has found a simple and nearly automatic way to encourage vacuuming. I find that next to ironing, it is my most hated chore. Electrical engineers, keep working on those Roombas! Mopping is another downer, although I was strangely inspired by Maxwell's account of staying with a family who washed their floors every day. I can't possibly do them every day, but I do them far more frequently than in the past.
Unpacking boxes of useless stuff is my downfall. I don't know how anybody does it.
When I was a little girl, I used to marvel at how much adults liked to work. I marvel no more.
Besides fresh flowers, I have plants in the all the rooms - including bathrooms and bedrooms. It's just something I was raised with - you must have something that is alive in each room - if you know there is something else that is alive in that room, living with you you tend to respect the space more. In respecting your living space, you're respecting yourself.
I also have seasonal fruits on the dining table. They look good and fill the house with fresh natural scents.
But I don't do laundry. My husband does it :P
Laundry everyday!?!? What a waste of energy and water! :( Plus, who wants to do laundry everyday? That doesn't count as soothing in my book.
Ditto on the daily laundry, nmkc.
I have to have fresh air in my home every day. I don't care how awful it might be outside (granted it's not really that bad in California), I open my doors and windows for at least 15 minutes or so daily and air the place out a bit. On nicer days I leave them open much longer. Stale air makes me feel cranky and irritated and cranky. I sleep better in an aired-out bedroom, and fresh air in the kitchen and bathrooms are really important.
Cook a wonderful meal to fill your home with good smells.
i'm surprised by how much having clean windows impacts my contentment with my home. and good smells - fresh air, coffee, home-cooked food, clean laundry. and spending some time everyday in a good book. yep, all simple little things that have a big impact
I don't always remember to make the bed but when I do, going to bed at night is so much nicer, not having to do that chore right before bed (I don't like sleeping in an unmade bed!)
nmkc: A waste of energy and water to do laundry everyday? I'm mystified by this.
I do all but 1 load a week in cold water... and my washing machine allows me to do smaller loads without wasting water. How is doing a load per day any different "energy-wise" than waiting until the weekend and doing 7 loads in a row? The math is always the same...
Anyway, DOING laundry isn't soothing at all- but having it done regularly (hell, every other day if that changes the equation for you) IS soothing. The only reason it's ever a chore is if you have to devote a whole day to such a dull task. If you can make it a habit to throw in a load the second you get home from work, the effort is almost negligible.
The bigger point is that if you do tasks as they arise instead of letting them accumulate... you can really be the master of your own time.
Or you could get rid of your TV altogether. I did 10 years ago. Hands down the best thing I could have *ever* done for my home.
I like to rotate things every so often (put some things away, get other things out). Usually just small things: A vase, a picture, a small tabletop arrangement. You know how it feels when you unpack your xmas decorations every year? Same thing.
Also, it sounds cheesy but is lovely: Cedar or Pinon "Incense of the West" -- I love this stuff!
http://thesouthwestshop.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=89&zenid=9d27af1cd46109e3bc3ce65acf48bca0
i agree w/ you shockthebourgiois...doing laundry makes me feel so "complete" and on top of it. Seeing a huge pile accumulating, stresses me out. Yes, i've been called the "laundry queen" and tend to be a bit OCD...but that's the whole point...it's so individual as to what soothes/calms each person. Burning candles daily - no matter what the season or the time of day - (sometimes i light one as soon as i wake up) also makes me feel so good in my home.
shock -- you posted that you "scrounge" together a load everyday. to me that sounded like you didn't have that much to wash and dry. that's all.
Plants, especially edible ones, are my biggest home-thrill -- our little first-floor flat feels like a haven so long as I've got a wall of windows full of herbs and what-not. Even when it's cold out, it's like a greenhouse in here (the main advantage of a small top-floor walk-up?!). It's fun to try new things - latest experiment is a jasmine vine in a pot, which is growing well so far - and the splashes of real green are by far the most aesthetically pleasing thing in my home (and, unlike cut flowers, they don't die or need cleaning-up after). They also make it easy to cook spontaneously (I never have to run out for herbs etc at the last minute), another simple pleasure.
Re the laundry debate, I'm also a bit baffled by the idea of daily washing, but I guess it depends how many people you've got and how many changes of clothes you go through in a day. Someone said, in defense of daily loads:
"waiting until the weekend and doing 7 loads in a row? The math is always the same."
This isn't true. At my place, we'd never ever be able to fill seven loads a week. We do two loads each Saturday -- one for whites, one for darks. If we have the occasional thing that won't fit either -- an in-between colour, a garish red, or whatever -- we wash it by hand. So -- it is definitely possible to get by without a load a day, and this doesn't necessarily mean, as some have claimed, giving up a whole day of the weekend to laundry. BUT - I'm talking about a couple with no kids. I'm sure a big family with many kids would have to do things differently.
To each his own. But for everyone, I recommend plants :)
#4 is a big deal to me. I hate coming home to the idea that my whole apartment has been shut away. I find that as long as I have plants around, I will always open my blinds so I can give them much-needed sun!