Positive Environment at Home: Tips from the Experts

We live in challenging times, and the ease with which so many of us can access information only increases our sense of anxiety. Because of this, it is essential that we create a place where we can gather our wits and take a break from the chaos that surrounds us.

Many people find solace and peace by traveling elsewhere as a temporary fix. Whether or not we have a bad day at work, we should be able to get some shut-eye every day. Exercising control over your environment and creating a safe, orderly environment can positively affect your physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Sometimes, the most effective place to begin making changes is at home, where you have greater control and authority.

Decorating your home with positivity in mind can help create a more uplifting and welcoming environment. Here are some tips for incorporating positive decor into your home:

1. Choose colors that evoke positive emotions: Colors such as yellow, green, and blue are often associated with happiness, calmness, and tranquility.
2. Display uplifting messages: Incorporate decor items with positive affirmations, motivational quotes, or encouraging phrases. This can be in the form of wall art, throw pillows, or even a chalkboard with daily affirmations.
3. Bring in natural elements: Adding natural elements, such as plants or a water feature, can bring a sense of calmness and relaxation to your home.
4. Create a cozy and inviting space: Use soft textures and warm lighting to create a comfortable and inviting atmosphere.
5. Display cherished memories: Displaying photos of happy memories with family and friends can bring joy and positivity into your home.
6. Keep it simple and clutter-free: A cluttered and disorganized space can create feelings of stress and anxiety. Keep your decor simple and intentional.

Hiring a handyman can be a great way to get small household repairs and maintenance tasks completed efficiently and professionally. Remember, positive decor can have a powerful impact on your mood and mindset. By incorporating these tips, you can create a space that fosters positivity and happiness. We reach out to the experts to get some advice on how we can create a more peaceful, positive, and mindful environment at home, read on to check out everything they had to share.

Tips to inspire mindful home design

A mindful design has the power of turning your home from a random cluttered space to your own sanctuary: a place to reconnect with your true self while feeling both at peace and inspired. 

To achieve it, I recommend getting rid of any superfluous furniture pieces or decorative items. Instead, focus only on those that are either functional or that have a special purpose or place in your heart. You definitely want to welcome nature inside your home too, from plants to textures and an abundance of natural light that you can amplify by relying on white walls.

I also encourage you to experiment with details that can help you create a relaxing and inspiring sensorial experience. This should go beyond the look of your home: you want it to feel mindful, too. For example, you could choose the right natural candles or incense to have a different scent waiting to welcome you into each room. That way, it’ll be easier to feel a specific mood as soon as you walk through that door, whether that’s a productive one in your home office or a Zen ambiance in your curated meditation corner. As for the sound side of things, strive for a calm environment, perhaps by designating some tech-free areas. But I’d like to invite you to take this further: how about a gentle water feature that contributes to creating a peaceful atmosphere in your living or meditation room?

Caroline Patterson (Interior Designer) at Foter Magazine

5 Simple ways to create a peaceful home environment

Using your five senses intelligently, you can easily turn your home into a serene and peaceful environment. Here’s how:

• Vision: What pleases the eye makes the heart happy. Identify the things you love the most, and find a way to bring them – or a touch of them – to your home.
• Touch: The fabrics of your furniture, the texture of the linen, the forms and shapes of the objects in your home, and even the feel of the clothes you wear, all have the power to bring more peace and serenity, not just in your home, but your mind and heart as well.
• Hearing: You can bring peace and serenity to your home environment through the beautiful sound of music, the healing sounds of nature, or simply through the power of quietness, stillness, and silence.
• Smell: Essential oils, scented candles, the refreshing smell of flowers, fresh air… Just think about the smells you love and bring them to your home in one form or another.
• Taste: Turn your kitchen into your favorite restaurant by trying new recipes and by preparing delicious meals for you and the ones you love. Use your creativity to bring peace and joy to your home through the art of great cooking.
  
  And always remember: Home is not just a place. Home is a sacred space, a safe haven where you go to – each day to find refuge and peace from the loud noise and chaos of the outside world. Home is a sacred space where all your masks and false pretenses fall off and you can freely be yourself. So why not make the best of it by turning your home into a peaceful and serene environment with these 5 simple yet powerful tips.

Luminita Saviuc at Purpose Fairy

How your home environment can affect or improve your happiness? 

Home is where the heart is. The heart is the symbol and center of love, connection, care, and compassion. Your home is the outer representation of your heart. It is the window dressing of what is inside you. What this means is not that you should rush to change your abode. There is no formula for a home environment that expresses love, invites connection, nurtures care, and supports compassion because you are unique. A home where your heart begins with how you feel about yourself. 

Happiness researchers have found many ways to understand happiness. Satisfaction with life is used by the World Happiness Reports, which tells us that Finland is the happiest country in the world. Assessing how happy a person feels in different environments is how researchers determined people are happiest in nature. But perhaps the most important way to understand a person’s true happiness is their psychological wellbeing. 

Psychological wellbeing includes loving yourself; feeling that you are a worthy person, no matter what you do or do not do; having a sense of purpose and meaning in life, and feeling optimistic about your future. If you take the Happiness Index, you will see how happiness is measured along with these and other dimensions of happiness. In the end, you will get your own assessment of your happiness and wellbeing, which gives you a peek into the state of your inner heart’s home. 

How you think about yourself is your inner home. If you truly want to positively affect and improve your happiness, begin with your relationship with yourself. Learning to love yourself, connect with your inner feelings, take good care of yourself physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually is not always easy, particularly if you did not have a good model in childhood, which researchers have found is the case for upwards of 40% of people. 

Loving-kindness and other mindfulness practices; gratitude lists, journals or letters, and helping others have been proven to improve your relationship with yourself and make you happier. However, to make these practices stick, it usually takes a therapeutic relationship with someone – a therapist, sponsor, or other people – who listen without judgment and genuinely likes you, and a whole lot of talking about your hurts and sorrows before you can lastingly learn to have compassion for yourself, tenderly care for yourself, and come to understand that you are a worthy being. In this sense, the path to happiness, and a home environment for your happiness is taking the time to fully grieve, and the way to do this is by talking about your memories, feelings, and thoughts with someone who listens. The combination of talking openly and honestly about and being heard sends you a message that you are valued, and you learn to value and care for yourself. Then, when you come to love yourself, you naturally find ways to make your home a place where you thrive in happiness.

Laura Musikanski at Happiness Alliance & Clinton Bliss

Do our wall colors and home smell affect our positivity?

Positivity is a complex thing. What is positivity? Feeling better? For some people, peace is an improvement of feeling while for others, it’s what they try to escape from in emotions like excitement. For others, excitement is too much, they look for peace.

We can define positivity as raising the individual’s levels of energy to a level that’s higher, but not too high, compared to the base level of the individual. Positivity always goes up toward expansion, abundance, and love, but “up” is not the same for everyone. Positivity is very subjective but there are factors that can influence it. Colors and smells have a huge effect on our energy.

How can we improve our home environment by using these 2?

Each color is a vibration of light and each vibration has less or more energy. We evolved to be attracted to certain smells and to be repulsed by others because they are associated with sickness, toxins, and death. Knowing this, we can play with colors and smells to raise the energy of our environment, and that will have an impact on our energy in return.

In general, lighter colors are better than dark dimmy ones. Pleasant smells of flowers, like lavender, are soothing. For your living room, aim for emotions of peace and tranquility. Lots of nature, flowers, pastel colors, fresh air, and smell. If you have an office try to bring an emotion of focus and clarity. Blue in combination with brown can help here.

Aim for the emotion of peace and tranquility in your home. If you want excitement you can always go to a club!

Dejan Davchevski at Life Coach Code

Do vision boards promote a positive home environment?

Vision boards in the home, ideally provide us with motivation, positive encouragement, and a simple reminder of the goals we find that excite us the most. 

While the intention of creating a vision board and placing it in our home is to provide a positive environment, it doesn’t always work that way. As humans, we have deep tenancies to get caught up in the minutia of life rather than create the necessary focus to actually reach our goals.

This is unfortunate because we are well-meaning. It’s one thing to create a vision board but it’s a whole other thing to follow through on the goals.

You’ll want to put some effort into making it beautiful since it’ll be hanging on your wall in your home. It never hurts to add a bit of flair to it so that it draws your eye and helps you to dream.

 Let’s talk about how to create one first. To make your vision board promote a positive environment, follow these steps. 

• Step one: Purchase a frame that compliments the décor of the space you’ve chosen for your home. I like to go to a craft store and buy a wooden frame to add a little fung shway.
• Step two: Have your photos professionally printed. You can have this done affordably for only pennies for each print. You won’t regret it because it adds so much color and looks more high-end.
• Step three: Compliment your vision board by using artistic stencils from the craft store. I bought some that reminded me of my goals like things you’d find at a beach since one of the things on my vision board is living on the beach.
• Step four: Hang it in a place where you’ll always see it so when you pass by, you’ll daydream about possibilities and become energized. Bedrooms and home offices are ideal for hanging your new vision board since you spend more time there.

Now that you have a beautiful work of art that represents your hopes and dreams and you’ve hung it where you can see it, now it’s time to take action. The vision board is meaningless if you don’t work daily to take the action.

Being intentional about the creation of your vision board as well as where you hang it will no doubt add a positive environment to your home help you to feel energized and eager to take action on your goals.

Sharon Lee at Fearless Pursuits

How to create the perfect meditation environment at home?

I am a big fan of using analogies as a way for us to understand and visualize things.

One of my favorite analogies that describes what meditation can do for us if we persevere with it long enough comes from a Buddhist monk in the book Buddhism for Busy People: Finding Happiness in an Uncertain World:

‘If you allow a glass of murky stormwater to stand, eventually the dirt settles and you are left with only clear water. It’s the same with meditation…Eventually we discover that the true nature of our mind is nothing except pure clarity, awareness–and bliss.‘

Continuing with meditation analogies, I too have an analogy I use to explain meditation.  Being a workout junkie, I explain meditation as a great workout that you can do in just 10 minutes a day. Not only will meditation help you build muscle, but it will also help you focus better and help you remove a ton of clutter from your life. And here is the kicker, all that without breaking a sweat!

If you are wondering how you can build muscle without sweating, that’s because the muscle you build with meditation is the one between our ears.

Okay, okay, I am getting to the question I was asked to answer… 🙂

…now just as you need a good environment for a physical workout (be that at a gym or wherever), having a good environment for meditation at home is equally important yet really not that complicated.

Here are a few tips you may find useful for creating your ideal meditation environment:

• Make it Quiet – some people like complete silence, some like calming music – you do you!
• Be Comfortable – whether you are sitting on the floor, on a cushion, or in your favorite chair, find a comfortable place to sit.
• Ensure It Is Free of Distraction – if you live with others, it may be a good idea to let them know you are going to meditate for however long and not to disturb you!
• Ditch the Phone – we are all on our phones enough as it is, so unless you are using a meditation app like Calm or Headspace – leave your phone somewhere else!

At the end of the day, the perfect meditation environment is one where you will practice it EVERY DAY because the key to reaping the benefits of meditation (or working out for that matter) is consistency!!!

On that note…it is time for my daily meditation session – which way to the beach?!?!?

Rick Melnyck at Prime Your Pump

Benefits of doing yoga for holistic health at home 

Yoga or the form of exercises advocated by ancient Indian practitioners promotes good holistic health, both physical and mental. According to renowned yoga practitioner Sri Ananda, yoga exercises “ensure agility, balance, endurance, great vitality and defense against illness”. There are different forms of yoga, but they all aim at holistic health. Each of the five basic parts or techniques contributes to this: movements of the joints, specific postures, deep breathing, relaxation, and meditation. It tones up all parts of the body, calms the mind, and leads to harmony between the body and mind. It can be practiced as part of the daily routine, and regularity reaps rich benefits. Introducing a meditation practice along the physical part will also increase all the health benefits.

All Yoga Training

4 tips to design a home office environment to boost mindfulness and creativity

Where and how should someone use positive affirmations around the house?

Positive affirmations are positive statements that you repeat to yourself. They can help change your feelings and beliefs. They are powerful statements that you say to yourself in order to achieve a specific goal. They are usually short, simple, and to the point. For example, some people might use the affirmation “I am healthy and fit” in order to lose weight or “I am wealthy and prosperous” in order to attract more money into their lives.

How to cleanse energy at home?

Here’s my go-to list for cleansing your energy at home:

• Feel your feelings. Our feelings are important, and releasing them can clear our energy. So often we feel that when we are depressed, sad, or anxious, there is something wrong with us. But this is in fact just part of life. The denser emotions are the energy sources that can give us clarity and help us learn more about ourselves.
• Sage. You can create a sacred energetic space by setting an intention for peace and harmony and smudging a room or your whole house with birch bark, sage, or essential oil spray. Rituals like sage burning or incense, also known as smudging, are a powerful way to cleanse energy inside. Sage is derived from the Latin word salvere, which means “to heal.” Aside from the metaphysical uses of smudging, research has shown that sage can also be used to benefit physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing. Note from a high-vibrational standpoint, you want to make sure all the ingredients are sourced as sustainably and respectfully as possible. The rise in popularity of smudging white sage, in particular, is threatening supply, so you can always consider a smudge spray or an essential oil diffuser instead, which is what I use.
• Move the body. We often hold negative feelings in our bodies, so dancing, walking, and exercising are all great ways to release that energy. Moving your body is an important part of releasing stuck energy.
• Essential oils. Lemongrass, lavender, and sage oils are all-powerful healing oils to help calm the mind and relax the spirit. You can use a diffuser, inhale them, or apply them topically. I also put them in my bath for added relaxation and instant ahh.

Shannon Kaiser at Play with the World

How to build confidence and self-control from home?

Confidence and self-control are two things that can help you achieve your goals in life. Getting better at both of them requires some practice, mainly if you are used to indulging too much in things that might be bad for you or not participating in something you think you will not excel at doing or are afraid of trying. Building up your confidence and self-control can start at your home. You don’t need to go out in public immediately and show others how confident and disciplined you are when doing things. Instead, you can do something in your house that can serve as reasonable training grounds for developing confidence and self-control.

If you happen to live with any family members or relatives in your house, there may be an assignment of chores regarding who does what particular task. For example, your mother or wife might be the one who always does the cooking. Maybe you suck at cooking, and that’s why the task is delegated to somebody else. How about trying to cook for your family and challenging yourself to give them a pleasurable eating experience? You will learn how to cook better, but you can also be more confident in doing something you usually don’t.

Your house is also a good training ground for self-control, especially if you live alone. Distractions are everywhere, and they are all waiting for you to indulge. It can be a nightmare if you work remotely and don’t know how to discipline yourself. One can improve their self-control by learning how to utilize time effectively. Know how much time you need to spend to finish something important and try to set a deadline for yourself when you should complete a particular task. Dedicate a separate time for hobbies and passions, and don’t do them in the middle of your tasks unless you need to take a break. Make plans and prioritize which tasks should be finished first. If possible, ask others not to disturb you if you need to finish something urgent.

JB Glossinger Founder at Morning Coach

Easy Feng Shui tips/principles we can apply to bring good vibes to our home? 

Tip #1: Increase airflow

According to traditional Chinese Feng Shui, Qi, which means “air” in Chinese, is crucial to both the place we live and our bodies. 

Take Qi Gong, for example. It’s an exercise that enhances the flow of the human body, which helps improve health and balance.

For a house, the air is equally important. A home with air flowing around smoothly is better than those with limited air circulation. In Feng Shui, the air is a carrier of energy. It helps dissipate bad vibes and maintain the good ones.

To improve airflow and air quality in the house, you can start by opening the windows and the doors more often. If your home is less open, a fan or a ventilator will help. And don’t forget to declutter regularly because clutter blocks the flow of air. You can also add some green plants to spruce up the indoor vibes.

Tips #2: Create barriers between the door and balcony

The next tip is to create a more secluded living room. Spacious, open living space is great. But not so great if the balcony faces straight to the door. According to traditional Feng Shui studies, such a layout will prevent good energies and abundant vibes from settling in the house. 

Imagine your house as a bowl. You will want the bad energies to go away and the good ones to stay. While good airflow takes care of the latter, a proper living room layout helps you with the first. 

When the door and the balcony face each other with no barriers in between, the good energies coming from the door will exit through the balcony right away.

If that’s the case in your house, you can solve the problem by placing a small sofa, a decorative cabinet, or a large plant somewhere between the door and the balcony. Or you can close the curtain from time to time. In this way, you create a space where energies can gather and settle, thus bringing abundance and good vibes to the house.

Emma Xu mindfulness blogger and a Feng Shui expert at Our Mindful Life

What are the benefits of creating a mindful space at home? 

It can impact your own wellbeing

Creating a mindful space at home is one of the simplest ways to establish your own, ongoing mindfulness practice. Countless studies demonstrate that practicing mindfulness can positively impact your overall well-being. Those benefits include both mental and physical well-being and signal improvements in:

• Stress management
• Psychological distress
• Ruminating thoughts
• Emotion-regulation
• Self-regulation
• Sleep
• Resiliency and coping skills
• Social and relational skills
• Social-emotional competence

It can impact everyone in the home

Creating a mindful space at home can have a profound impact on the entire household along with anyone that visits. Whether it’s a dedicated space for your own formal mindfulness practice or small reminders throughout your entire home, creating a mindful culture within your home can be the catalyst that inspires other people to create their own practice. From parents to those that enjoy entertaining, it makes for an empowering conversation around how we can better support ourselves and each other in prioritizing our mental health wellbeing.

It can create daily reminders

Sometimes knowing how to practice mindfulness, doesn’t always translate to having an ongoing mindfulness practice. For many of us, busy schedules and daily distractions vying for our attention, are increasing. If it’s out of sight, it’s likely out of mind. One of the many benefits of creating a mindful space at home is that it can help foster daily reminders and invite you to not only practice mindfulness, but do it in your own dedicated space that is safe, reliable, and comfortable. Some simple reminders to help you cultivate an informal or formal mindfulness practice could be:

• Keeping a mindful chime in your line of sight for an informal Mindful Moment
• Designate your favorite cup for a formal Mindful Eating/Drinking practice, with your favorite beverage to start your day.

Hayfa Alsabagh at Mindfulness First

Top 3 habits to practice at home to promote positive aging

Incorporate more movement! It’s true, if you don’t use it, you can lose it AND you can also train to regain and enhance movement.

Some activity is better than no activity.  If you have a chronic condition, begin by doing what you can, and then incorporate a little more as you become more comfortable in your strong body. Honestly listen to yourself and you will know how much (or how little) to do.  And, of course, if you need help, partner with an Active Aging Specialist.

The movement comes in many forms. Household chores like lifting laundry baskets, vacuuming, reorganizing shelves, dusting, gardening, or mowing the lawn count as physical activity.  You can incorporate exercise to get your heart pumping, like dancing, resistance training or bodyweight high-intensity interval training too!

Stand up and breathe! If you are not in the habit of purposefully breathing, you are missing out!  Re-learning to stand up and breathe deeply can shift your whole perspective.

Try standing in front of a mirror, what do you see (besides an incredible person)? Be brave and look closely at yourself.  Can you feel the ground below you?  Notice how you use your strong legs to support your whole body. Check how your torso stacks over your hips. What do you notice about your overall comfort as you stand? Now, notice your breath.  Do you use your chest or your belly? Is your breath slow and easy, or is it forced and sharp? Do you breathe with an open or closed mouth? Take time to notice.

Place your hands gently around your rib cage to bring awareness to how it moves as you breathe.  At first, you may only notice your hands at the front of your ribs move.  What happens when you shift your focus to fill up the back of your lungs, so your back ribs expand and contract too? 

Be Kind to Yourself. Talk to yourself like you would a dear friend.  You are doing the best that you can, and you are more than enough.  And you are loved.

Nicole Vienneau active aging specialist at Blue Monarch Health, PLLC

What are your top 10 positive affirmations for a relaxing night’s sleep and how can we create a positive environment in our bedroom?

Many of us fall into bed taking all our worries and stress with us. Not surprisingly, this results in tossing and turning, overthinking, and often leads to poor quality sleep. So if you are looking to improve your sleep it could be time to turn your bedroom into a more restful space. According to Feng Shui, our bedroom reflects our inner world, so put any clothes away, clear out clutter from under the bed, and move the workout equipment out into another room.

Next, we need to dim the lighting. I love Himalayan Salt salt lamps as they give off a warm orange glow, similar to the ones found in a campfire. This is a very soothing night light and doesn’t negatively affect our sleep. Then, check the temperature of the bedroom as according to the Sleep Council, the ideal temperature for sleep is between 16 -18 degrees.

Being too hot or too cold may negatively impact our sleep. We also need to think about the natural light coming into our bedroom. Our bodies are programmed to sleep when it’s dark, so try using blackout blinds, dark curtains, or an eye mask to encourage the body’s natural circadian rhythm.

Finally,

Climb into bed and try to transform any negative thoughts into positive ones with these sleep affirmations. Thinking positive thoughts before falling asleep helps us to access a deeper quality of sleep while decreasing our chances of having nightmares, being restless, or waking up in the middle of the night.

1. I am relaxed and calm
2. My mind is still
3. I have done my best today
4. I forgive myself for my past and I concentrate on my future
5. Sleep comes easily to me
6. I am grateful for ………..
7. I can fall asleep whenever I want
8. Tomorrow I will wake up feeling refreshed and energized
9. I have the power to make positive changes in my Life
10.  My body feels relaxed and calm

Natalie Shirlaw at Does It Work

What is positive aging? 

We hear the term Positive Aging but what does it actually mean?  To me, it means taking the focus off aging and a number.  It’s about finding the balance to live life my way and not worrying about what others might think or say. It’s about making the most of each day. It’s about staying healthy in mind, body, and spirit, by exercising daily, eating healthy food choices (most of the time), and taking time out to nurture my spirit and body through self-care and meditation. 

Our mental well-being and living with purpose is the key to living a fulfilled life.  Staying connected with others and ensuring your home environment provides a haven for relaxation and enjoyment also encourages positive aging. 

The Danish term ‘hygge’ is a concept of coziness and comfort and is often associated with interior design.  Embracing this attitude in your home by using soft furnishings and items that bring joy is good for the soul and creates a positive atmosphere.                                                                                                                                           

A positive relaxing home environment should include:

• A calming and welcoming atmosphere.  Avoiding clutter will bring a feeling of spaciousness and helps to calm your mind.  How do you feel when you walk into a room that is cluttered and there is no room to move or relax?
• Bringing nature indoors.  Studies have shown that Indoor plants have many health benefits. They reduce stress, bring calm, purify the air, and some such as aloe vera have healing properties.
• Creating a personal retreat – an area or room that is your special place.  Include relaxing items such as a diffuser, yoga mat, comfortable chair and throw for reading, your favorite music, a journal to reflect your thoughts, or anything that is special to you and makes you feel good.  

Sue Loncaric at Women Living Well After 50

Tips for creating a positive environment in a kid’s bedroom

A positive environment in a kid’s bedroom consists of the physical setting and encompasses how the child feels or responds to the setting. I will share some of my personal tips for creating an uplifting environment for a kid’s bedroom.

Be sure your child’s bed is in a commanding position. This means that, in bed, you’re facing the door while not directly in line with the door. Place your headboard against a solid wall, with space available on the other three sides of the bed (left, right, and foot).

A headboard represents stability and support.

Clean and declutter their room. Get them to help you so that they take ownership and ultimately take responsibility for their mess.

Everyone feels more stressed in a messy, cluttered space, so help put an end to it by tidying up part of the daily routine and creating a place for everything.

NBC socio-economist Randall Bell, Ph.D., has been studying high achieving people for over 25 years to find out what they all have in common. One common key factor was making their bed every morning.

According to Dr. Bell, making your bed each morning puts your mind into a productive mindset and can spark other productive tasks throughout the day.

Tips for creating a positive environment in a kid’s bedroom

• A space that reflects their interests.
• No electronic devices in the bedroom or during the hour before bed.
• A Cozy, soft, enveloping texture creates that nest-like feeling that will help your little one fall asleep so invest in natural fiber sheets.
• Blackout curtains for better rest. Light signifies to the brain that it’s time to be awake.
• You can use color to create soothing spaces with mellow tones or uplifting ones using vibrant yellows, greens, and oranges.
• Have kids make their beds every morning.
• Add Plants to your kids’ bedroom. Plants can boost mood, add vibrant life energy, and filter the air simultaneously.
• Open the curtains during the day and let natural sunlight into your kid’s bedroom.
• Use Feng Shui techniques to balance the energetic flow of their bedroom.
• Try burning incense in your kid’s room under supervision, or use a diffuser to increase good feeling brain chemicals. Fruity smells like orange or grapefruit will do the job.

Justin Mazza at Mazzastick.com

Home office tips for creating a positive environment

Set yourself up for success

Let’s face it, working from home can be tricky. Staying focused, energized, and clear is a key component for peak performance-it also makes it easier to steer clear of those household chores that may be “calling” you from the other room.  Curating your environment to create the best opportunities for success allows you to “crush” those daily goals. 

I have had a home office for over 20 years. One of the most empowering habits I have is to dress, and do my hair and makeup as I would if I were physically going into an office. It anchors my energy and intention to be wholly focused on my multi-faceted workday managing a team, multiple businesses, and writing a new book. 

Try a standing desk. This was revolutionary for me. I was feeling tired, and foggy and could tell my circulation was really suffering from the long days in front of the computer. Now, I spend 80 percent of my day standing now which feels great. I love taking meetings, and interviews in this position of empowerment. It increases my focus and productivity and reminds me to dance once in a while throughout the day. 

Integrate elements of nature

Connecting to the natural world soothes and engages us simultaneously. Adding natural elements to our workspace supports our own natural rhythm and flow. You can add plants, a small foundation, seashells, crystals, and aromatherapy. 

My go-to essential oils blend to either increase energy and productivity, lift my mood when stress gets high or calm me back to center when overwhelming sets in (about 12 times a day). 

Inhalation is the most immediate way to experience the effects and benefits of essential oils.  

Weekly cleansing

Every Friday or Saturday morning, I take everything off my desk to clean, reorganize and reset the energy. I cleanse the crystals, dust all the nooks and crannies, and then clear the space with Clear Alignment with white sage and palo santo to purify the energy and keep the vibrations high. 

Monday morning before I start meetings, I invite in an intention for the week. I take my Energy Elixir and visualize a week of miracles, quantum flow, and delightful surprises of abundant opportunities from the universe. I believe we have a far greater capacity for creativity, clarity, and ultimate success when we invite in all pathways of benevolence-even and especially ones that are beyond our limited thinking. 

Natural light 

Natural light invigorates, inspires, and engages our senses. It is a reminder to think beyond the confines of not only our minds but our spaces as well. If you do not have access to natural light, I recommend a sun lamp for a healthy brain and mood balance. This is also a great investment for those of us that experience (seasonal affective disorder) and SAD and notices changes in mood, energy, and concentration in the winter months. 

Clear clutter daily

At the end of each day, clear any clutter so you can start the next day on a fresh slate. Keep personal items to a minimum but do have a few special tokens that bring you joy when you gaze upon them. Change them out every once in a while to keep the energy in your environment fresh. Just like having a clean kitchen in the morning invites you to start the day off right, coming to a clutter-free space in your home office immediately sets the stage for clear thinking, magnificent masterminding, and cosmic creativity to steer the day ahead. 

Adora Winquist at Adora Modern Alchemist

How does a positive environment at home affect you emotionally?

A positive home environment can be a psychological anchor that keeps you grounded through life’s challenges. It gives you the freedom to be yourself, explore your possibilities, develop your own identity, make mistakes and learn from them, become confident in your strengths, and discover your purpose in life.  A positive environment at home creates a safe haven for you and gives you the strength to face the world each day with hope.

A positive environment at home offers a sense of belonging, of being part of something greater than yourself.  It’s a place where you feel connected with others in deep meaningful relationships that support and nurture you emotionally. A positive environment at home is also where there is respect for individual differences – everyone is unique.  There is room for each person to express their needs, wants, dreams, and hopes without fear or judgment.

My Top 5 tips for creating a positive environment at home:

1. Practice healthy conflict resolution. Disagreements aren’t always a bad thing, how you handle them might be. Using silent treatment, yelling, or calling one another names will crush the emotional health of any home.
2. People need to be heard, valued, and secure. When it comes to meaningful conversations, listen first and talk later. If you must interrupt a conversation, wait for a natural pause.
3. The home should be a haven of peace, hygiene, and well-being. A tidy house inspires contentment. Keeping the home clean creates a more positive environment.
4. Decorate your home with mementos that evoke happy memories and get rid of items that bring up unpleasant feelings. Add more things that make you and your family smile, to nurture positive emotions.
5. You need to stop taking yourself too seriously and laugh more. None of us are perfect and mistakes are bound to happen. Learn from them and laugh when you mess up. Embrace your imperfections.

Nancy Mulligan at My Everyday Challenges

Top 3 houseplants that are best for your mental well-being

1) Aloe Vera: Aloe plant considers a medicinal plant. The gel of this plant has a number of healing properties.

• This plant monitors the air quality in your home and works as a purifier.
• The gel of the aloe plant soothes skin burns and cuts + and it makes your skin beautiful naturally.

2) Snake plant: Snake plant is best for a clean-air boost bedroom. Snake plants don’t need much light or water to survive. So it’s quite easy to add this plant to your house.

3) Golden Pothos: You can add this plant to your kitchen or living room. If you want to bring a long-lasting indoor plant for clean air, there is nothing better than Golden Pothos.

Sweety Joshi at That Grateful Soul

5 Tips to live in a happier environment at home

For me, happiness at home involves engaging all my senses.

1. Sense of sight

• I like to make sure that my house gets enough light, especially during the winter season when the days are shorter. I’ll keep my window treatments open so that the light comes in even on gloomy days.
• Everything needs light: people, pets, and plants. If your home doesn’t get much natural sunlight, try adding full-spectrum light bulbs to your lamps and light fixtures.
• I like to add them to lighting sources in the rooms I spend a lot of time in like the kitchen, office, and living room. They’re a great artificial substitute if natural sunlight isn’t possible. They work great in powder rooms without windows, dark basements, or attic spaces with limited natural light.

2. Sense of sound

• Engage your sense of sound by bringing in a water feature. A small USB-powered fountain creates movement and calming noise. I have a small fountain in my office and I turn it on while I work. The gentle splashing helps me focus and stay on task.
• Sometimes I also like to open the Pandora app on my phone and select natural sounds.
• I find these to be super calming. I’ll often select gentle music mixed with sounds of nature. Give either of these a try and notice how relaxed and happy you’ll feel after.

3. Sense of touch

• If you want to feel happier at home, make sure you don’t ignore your sense of touch.
• Think about the rooms you spend the most time in and create new ways to make those spaces feel better.
• Get a soft, plush rug. Nothing feels better underfoot than a soft rug. It’s like walking on a cloud. Tip: Get a thick rug pad to go under your rug if it doesn’t feel soft enough. Rug pads also extend the life of your rug by reducing wear.
• Invest in soft pillows in a texture that you love. I love using accent pillows to reinforce colors or patterns in my designs, but you can also add a super soft accent pillow or two to enhance the comfort on the sofa. A soft pillow can be heaven to prop behind you while reading or watching TV. Just the simple act of touching a texture that you love can bring a lot of happiness to you.
  

4. Sense of smell

• I’m a big fan of essential oil diffusers. I like them better than candles because I can have one going in any room unattended. I wouldn’t do that with candles. You can shake a few drops of your favorite essential oil in each diffuser and just let the gentle mist permeate the room.
• Tip: I’ll put a few drops of essential oil in my mop water on cleaning days. After I mop, I’ll turn my diffusers on and that gorgeous fragrance usually lasts a few days. That makes me so happy!
  

5. Sense of taste

• I’m a firm believer that true happiness comes from simple things and that we should indulge in the things that make us happy. For me, I find great happiness by eating my favorite meals, sipping my favorite wine, and finding new treats that tickle my taste buds.
• Over this last winter, I discovered gourmet hot cocoa and I made a date with myself each weekend to indulge in this favorite new treat. For sure my waistline expanded a tiny bit, but I was so happy to have this treat that it canceled out the “guilt “ for me.
• If you want to feel happier at home, don’t deprive yourself of a taste that makes you happy. Indulge in moderation and notice how happy you feel.

Tips to become centered at home

Centering brings a host of untold benefits including peace of mind, increased clarity, a broader view, and an amplified ability to focus and apply one’s intentions.

Jin Nua, acclaimed speaker and author of the Centerlife Book Series, shows that while most focus on the classic techniques of yoga and meditation, there are in fact many alternative means to center yourself in the confines of your own home.

Give the following practices a try on the way to a more focused, happier, and more peaceful life.

1. Focus on the little things

Begin refining your centering skills at home through simply focusing your full attention on the task at hand before you. Whether paying the bills, playing with your children, sweeping the floor, or doing the dishes; turn off your electronics, reduce distractions, and direct your utmost attention to the space and time before you. You will find yourself closer to the moment, others, and your inner being.

2. Rest in a pool of water

Take 10-15 minutes a week to lay in a pool or tub to help you focus your attention. Start by laying on your back with your ears immersed in the water. Close your eyes or focus on an object or simply upon the sky above. Listen to your breath and gather your attention inward. You’ll find this is a great technique to center yourself into the here and now, focus, and get in closer proximity to the true essence at the core of your being. Note: Try to float as freely as you can (i.e. without touching anything); however where not possible use some flotation devices or towels to make yourself as comfortable, and as freely floating, as possible.

3. Exercise regularly

The repetitive rhythm of exercise provides a natural means to center one’s mind. The chemical cocktails it releases also serve to clear our minds allowing one to be more focused and intentional. I personally like focusing on a single subject when exercising (a creative project or otherwise) or listening to a captivating presentation by a spiritual or scientific intellect such as Chopra, Beckman, Frank Wilczek, etc. all of which help root me and bring me to higher levels of understanding.

4. Center, repeat; center, repeat; center, repeat…

Hymns, chants, praying, and mantra’s are all designed to center our thoughts on a core word, sound/tone, or theme. Because the item of focus is usually of meaningful and divine intent, this effective centering practice also brings more goodness and holiness into one’s life.

5. Take up a centering hobby

Take up a hobby that naturally focuses your mind and thereby sharpen your centering skills. Some of my favorites are nature-focused activities you can take up in your home or backyard such as rock balancing, sand art, gardening, and the art of Bonsai. More conventional hobbies such as model and puzzle building, sketching and painting, taking up an instrument, and origami are also great ways to center your mind!

Jin Nua at Jin Nua´s Blog

Top 3 self-care practices you can do at home for mindfulness:

1. Establish a daily routine. Daily routines help us feel emotionally safe because we know what to expect. Creating predictable scenarios through habits allows your mind to alleviate anxiety over the unknown. A daily routine doesn’t have to be big, it can be as simple as beginning each day with three deep breaths. Before you check your phone or even get out of bed, take three slow inhales and exhales. Slowing down your breath teaches the parasympathetic nervous system to activate, which restores the body to a state of calm. Daily routines like meditation or journaling help us sort through the mental clutter and release emotional stress.
2. Take inventory of the items you love, and get rid of the items you don’t. It is self-care to fill your home with only the things that really inspire and delight you.  Tidy, organized spaces support us in feeling calm, centered, and balanced, and can provide a necessary refuge from stressful environments and experiences we experience throughout our day.  Having a decluttered home helps you manage thoughts and regulate emotions. It also helps you get clarity on what sparks joy in your life and what is needed to support your feeling fulfilled.
3. Give yourself permission to do things with ease. If you find yourself getting overwhelmed with tasks or projects around the house, ask for help. If you find yourself struggling to multitask, take some things off your plate. As much as you can, infuse each day with moments of stillness. Create spaces in your home that encourage and support rest. Having a restful, peaceful external environment supports being restful and peaceful within.

Jamila Reddy at Jamila Reddy

Our home is where we spend the majority of our time: it is the location of our most treasured memories and the place where we find comfort. However, for your home to be a happy place, it is necessary to keep negative energy at bay and maintain a peaceful living environment. To create a relaxed home environment, you must first transform your home into a space that exudes and promotes positive energy, allowing you to de-stress from the stresses of everyday life and relax. We hope that these tips can help you live positively in your home.