Home.
It’s where you wake up every morning and where you lay your head to rest each night. It’s where you run for solace after a bad day. It’s where you have epic shower concerts and where you make French Toast at 3am. Home is where you create some of your best memories and quite frankly: it’s the only place you long to be when you’ve been anywhere else for too long.
Home is also one of the few places where you get to control your environment. On any given day, there’s no telling the many different environments you’re exposed to: the office, school, conferences, the store, etc. While you cannot control the majority of these environments, you can control your home environment, and really it’s the one place you should seek to occupy fully.
When I was younger, my dad would always urge me to “keep a clean space because a person’s home environment is a reflection of their inner world.” At the time I didn’t fully understand what he meant. As I’ve gotten older however, I find myself doing the same with my daughter because I finally get it:
There is a strong correlation between the clutter in your home and the “clutter” in your life.
I know it sounds strange but how many times do you walk past the piles of dirty laundry, messy “ends & things” drawers, the unfinished bookshelf, or the closet full of junk and cringe a little?
Your subconscious mind picks up on the “clutter” and believe it or not, that affects your self worth. It gives your subconscious the idea that you settle. You settle for less than favorable surroundings, and when you do this consistently you develop a habit for settling for what you don’t want in other areas of your life as well.
Life works like a mirror. When you look into a mirror, for better or for worse… what you see is a reflection. While your home isn’t “the end all be all” metaphor for how messy or not your life is, it does play a role.
When it is cluttered and unorganized, you’ve probably got a bit of turmoil somewhere in your mind.
When it’s clean and neat, you probably feel more at peace in other areas of your life too.Also, when I talk about your home, I want you think about what it takes to make it a “humble abode” for you. Whatever furniture pieces, color schemes, or fabrics you pick should be good enough to make you feel relief and comfort as you walk through the doors. Your home is your sanctuary; treat it with a comparable respect.
“Your home should tell the story of who you are, and be a collection of what you love”
-Nate Berkus
Now I’m going to give you some homework, I’d like for you to walk around your home and make a list of all the things that aren’t the way you want them. This can be anything from unfinished projects, unorganized spaces, unclean desk drawers or closets, etc. Once you’ve done that first part, take a day to tackle items on this list, tackling the easiest first (so you can build momentum).
Clean out the closets, the desk drawers, finish that bookshelf, or decorate the guest room you’ve been putting off. Call a friend if you need to but get this area of your life in order!
It’s an act of self-love to cleanse and decorate your home as you please. It cultivates a greater experience of self worth, self-esteem and self-value in you; and it really is such an easy way of acquiring a sense of order in your life.
Now before I let you run off to do your homework, I’d like to finish with this HUGE disclaimer: Please do not beat yourself up if your home isn’t immaculate everyday! Hello? I’m the mother of a toddler. I would be lying if I said I didn’t sometimes have piles of laundry competing to become the new Mt. Everest. Or that my dishwasher sometimes becomes a toy box for my daughter. I could almost swear that sometimes tornadoes seem to blow right through my closets and no other place in my home. It’s the darndest thing, guys. Hehe.
What I’m trying to say is… this isn’t about being perfect; it’s about living mindfully. Choose to be mindful about how you live in your home; you spend a whole bunch of your time there after all. Have some fun with it; make it as clean, cozy, and wonderful as you wish. I promise you will show up better in other areas of your life by doing just this little thing.
Happy living!
Xo
Wendy
Beautifully written. Bravo.
[…] few years ago, I wrote a post about decluttering your home; and while I feel like a decluttering of our physical homes is something to be mindful of, […]