6 Ways to Make Your Home a Stress-Free Sanctuary

Do you ever feel like you can’t relax and unwind, even in your own home? You come back from work exhausted and frustrated, and all you’re looking forward to is some peace and quiet, but it just doesn’t seem to be happening? This might mean that your house isn’t the green, peaceful oasis you need it to be. Luckily, there are ways you can change that to make it a place where you can truly relax and be at peace in your own home. 

6 Ways to Make Your Home a Stress-Free Sanctuary

Make friends with your neighbors

Okay, this might seem a bit contradictory when talking about improving your space, however – especially if you live in an apartment building or adjacent houses – your neighbors are a big part of your environment, and making friends will make it easier to find peace when you need it.

If the neighbor next to you really likes practicing his electric guitar skills in the afternoon, you can talk to him and ask him to do it while you’re at work, or later in the evening when you’re up and doing your own thing.

But you can only do this if you’re friends with them, otherwise, it probably won’t work.

Bake some cookies, invite people over for tea and just be pleasant to them. It’s a small thing that might make your days a lot easier when you need it.

Soundproof your mind

If negotiating with neighbors doesn’t work, you live next to a busy road or someone in the building just had a baby and they’re a bit of a loud crier, no amount of cookies will fix that.

This is when you need to take some internal action.

You want to invest in whichever one of what you prefer: earplugs or noise-canceling headphones. Many people find earplugs annoying and uncomfortable, so finding ones that fit could be challenging.

Get rid of things that annoy you

Are there some things that you regularly bump into when you’re walking by, you just cuss them out and go on with the day just a little bit annoyed?

Do you ever sit in a chair and just wish it was more comfortable, or in a different spot, or that you have somewhere to put your coffee when you sit down?

These are all the little things that can annoy us and make it harder to relax around the house, because no matter how small they might look, they add up, and in the end, you wind up not being able to truly relax. Start going through your house room by room, item by item, and replace, relocate and change the things that you don’t like.

Invest in small things that will make your daily life easier, whether it’s a small extra trash bin on top of the counter, additional cushions for a chair, or darker curtains to block out the lights when you’re trying to sleep.

Plenty of fresh air

If you live in the city, chances are you’re constantly breathing polluted air. Not only outside but also when you’re in your apartment. Letting in “fresh air” isn’t always the best option, because you’re just getting more polluted air in. A better option would be to get an air purifier that will allow you to always have healthy air indoors.

But what about oxygen?

Well, it’s time to introduce the twofold trick to being at peace: plants. Fill your living space with as many live plants as you can possibly take care of. They will not only produce more oxygen for you, but their mere presence will make it easier to relax, as they soften up space and make you feel more in touch with nature.

A peaceful oasis

We can’t always leave work at the office or forget about a fight with a friend when we cross into our apartment. But it’s still important to have one place in the house where you can actually relax and forget about any stress you might have had.

Perhaps it’s your terrace where you drink your afternoon tea or a special chair in a corner surrounded by books. You should start making your stress-free zone by spending time there only when you’re feeling happy. That way, if you feel stressed, you can strip it away, sit there and feel the positive energy you accumulated there in the past.

Remember not to go there when you’re feeling very stressed and annoyed, because it’s not magic, and it won’t immediately make you feel better.

Have your little rituals

The habits and rituals we have are what makes us feel like there is something in this world that is never changing, and no matter what happens, you’ll have that cup of tea in the morning and read a few pages of a book before bed. These rituals are most likely when you feel most relaxed, and also you feel most disturbed when they are disturbed.

Try to give yourself a little bit of time every day for these rituals to give yourself a head start and really make you feel like everything’s going to be okay.

Feeling calm and relaxed isn’t a privilege that only some can afford. It’s a state of mind necessary for all of us to function normally under all the stresses that life poses to us.

It doesn’t take a lot to make your home an oasis, and step by step, you will feel like you are really building a space where you feel truly at home.

photo source | unsplash + giphy

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