Practice Home Mindfulness: It’s Time to Fix that Thing that Annoys You About Your Home

We all have something about our homes that irritates us—it may be a leaky faucet, a creaking door, a window that’s jammed. Oftentimes, rather than fix these micro annoyances as soon as we notice them, we choose to ignore them. But why? Wouldn’t it be better if our phone chargers didn’t slip behind our desks and if we secured down the edge of the rug that always trips us up? I think yes! Practicing home mindfulness can help you figure out what those irritations are so you can address them—and hopefully breathe a little easier at home.

Try this (it may sound cheesy, but it works!): Keep a mindfulness journal for a few days of all the little slip-ups you experience at home. Jot down when you stub your toe on the corner of a coffee table, or when you can’t fit a pan into an overcrowded cabinet. As you start to write down these incidents, you’ll likely become more aware of how you move within and feel about your space. You may find yourself noticing things you would typically gloss over, or you may realize how much time you spend avoiding an issue. For example: If you add up all the time you waste searching for scissors or glue in a jumbled junk drawer, you might just realize that the sum is greater than the time it would take to organize it.

After a few days of journaling, look back at your notes and make a list of fixable problems. If they’re simple enough to tackle right now, get to it! If they’ll take a little more time or supplies, make a list of what you need to buy and set a time to shop for them within the next day or two. If these little chores have been put off for this long, they’re likely never going to happen unless you address them as soon as possible.

If you’re a renter, sometimes what you’re really avoiding is a discussion with your landlord. Now’s the time to reach out, when any issues with your home are fresh on your mind and they can all be addressed at once.

Work through your to-do list to de-stress your home. It may be as simple as rearranging your living room furniture so you stop bumping into the coffee table. You’re probably going to wonder why you didn’t do this sooner.

What’s the #1 thing you’ve been putting off fixing in your home?