Make Your Home a Safe Haven

The world is harsh. The news reports little but sad and horrific stories. People are stressed as we're feeling pushed to our maximum output. We run just to keep up. Costs are always rising. One can feel defeated and depressed easily.

But don't! Don't even go there. Each bill you receive in the mail, each cold weather blast, car accident, broken pipe, is 'just a thing'. These 'things' will repeatedly happen in our lives and we can't be devastated by each and every one. We must look beyond each crisis to the clearing ahead. Things will clear, they always do. You can look back on your life right now and remember times that were hard. Gosh, I have personally let some things take me down! I wasn't strong enough to know that all I had to do was realize these 'things' were just 'things'. They weren't ME. I WAS FINE.
One way to live in this calm zone is to create an atmosphere of serenity and calmness. Our homes should be our havens. They should be a safe environment in which we reside. They should express what we need them to so that we can face the world regenerated and refreshed. Decorate your home with colors and items that bring you peace. Place your furniture where you like and want it: NOT where everyone else has theirs. If you want your couch in front of your dining room picture window, by all means, move your dining room table somewhere else and place it there! Who made the rules? Make your home what you need it to be for YOUR happiness and enjoyment.

Create space, lighting, sounds, views, etc., that speak to you-- that soothe your soul. Hang pictures at your own eye level, use your fine china every day, be weird and eclectic and creative. If you don't know what you like, borrow or buy magazines on decorating. Peruse the internet. Make a scrap book of what you love. It might be beads hanging in an entry way, or stenciled hallways. Whatever you love, create it! Display it! Surround yourself with all the beauty you can. Bring it into your home and let it shine forth for you and to you. Let what you love permeate comfort and serenity into the soul of your four walls. No one should ever look around her home and feel unhappy and unsatisfied. Sure, you may want new counter-tops and new floors (ME) but do what you can to make the existing ones something you can live with until you get those things.

Here are some ideas:

~Do 10 minutes clean ups regularly. (if you don't have time to wash the dog spit off the window, put the Windex on the counter with a paper towel to remind yourself when you have a second) ( More on this at a later date).
~Think outside the box when decorating (recently saw a cute idea for bookshelves made from discarded pallets
~String little lights up as they seem to bring cheer and comfort (or hang on a large indoor plant)
~Clear clutter by putting everyday items in baskets
~Display books in stacks (they make great tables and add interest to your decor!)
~Bring in some pine cones, pussy willows or other free items of nature
~Cover your table with a fresh table cloth (sometimes I use one panel of a curtain)
~Set your table in the morning for dinner (use charger plates, pretty napkins, candles, etc.)


Ladies, life is hard and not so sweet at times. If we don't generate our own sweetness, it'll never happen. If you are out of ideas or feeling dull, try this: with a notebook in hand go into a room with the eyes of a home decorator. Now, look around the room and write down ideas that can and should be done. Does it need to be hoed out? Could a comfy chair and lamp be placed in the corner? What if that desk was replaced with a bookshelf? Could this room use a round rug in the center? Any idea is fine! Just jot it down and begin changing what is around you to reflect and support who you are and the incredible life you want to live!



Take Good Care Today.