Five tips to make your home a peaceful sanctuary
Is your home a safe, calm haven from the chaos of the world outside? Or does stress flow you through your front door?
When we close the front door to our home, ideally we’re shutting out the problems and stress of the outside world. But what if your home isn’t the peaceful sanctuary it should be?
If you want to create a refuge from life’s dramas, you need to look beyond objects and aesthetic choices, and find easy ways to declutter your home and generate an atmosphere of tranquility. Here are five tips to help you make your home a peaceful retreat.
1) Bring nature into your space and plant for peace
Not only do plants bring the beauty of nature into your home, they also act as air purifiers and increase the levels of oxygen in the air.
A stuffy space can be given a breath of fresh air with the right plants, and you can add color, depth and texture to a space that may be bland or dull.
The unfortunately named spider plant is a great indoor grower that produces a large amount of oxygen for its size. Its metabolic process also absorbs harmful toxins that can exist in the air and convert them into neutralized compounds or destroy them completely.
2) Try some natural aromatherapy
Scents and aromas can be powerful tools when you are trying to create an atmosphere at home. There are many natural sources of pleasant smells you can use if you want to avoid using strong oils or incense and burners.
Lavender is a scent that is often associated with stress relief and relaxation, and can be easily grown at home either inside or outdoors.
You can also use seasonal smells like cinnamon during the winter months. If you half cover cinnamon sticks with hot water in a coffee mug, you space will soon be filled with a pleasing and seasonal aroma.
3) De-clutter to de-stress
Clutter in the home is a source of household stress, and nothing brings more peace and tranquility to a home than having a place for everything and everything in its place.
By taking on the mess and clutter at home, we can often save ourselves time and stress later; it becomes much easier to find your missing house keys in a tidy space. It can take as little as half an hour of continued de-cluttering to change your space completely and de-stress yourself with it.
4) Pay special attention to your bedroom
One of the most important spaces in any home is the bedroom. Your bedroom should feel like it is inviting you in after a hard day of work, offering you the ultimate in rest and relaxation.
Getting the right mattress is important, and memory foam mattresses are a great choice as they can be super comfortable while also offering great value if you are on a budget. Use neutral colors in a bedroom to help create a calming and relaxing place for your eyes to rest.
Add some plants here too – Aloe Vera is a great bedroom plant, and you should have some extra space when you remove the television. Don’t have a TV in your bedroom if you want to have a good night’s sleep.
5) Clarify and purify your space with natural light
Natural light is the best gift you can give a space. Naturally lit rooms have been proven to improve people’s mood, and it creates a much more tranquil atmosphere than rooms lit by artificial light.
If you don’t have much access to natural light in your home, try to use reflective surfaces to make the most of the light you do have. By using strategically placed mirrors you can double or triple the amount of natural light in your spaces, and even reflect it into rooms or spaces that have little to no natural light available.
Hopefully these tips and tricks will help you create a more relaxing place to live, and your home becomes your peaceful sanctuary.
Photo by Hannah Busing
