How to Fall in Love with Your Home

Do you ever just feel really stressed out about your home?  I do…especially when things have just gotten really out of control, and they're a bit of a mess.  It can just start to feel so overwhelming that I don't even know where to start!  If you want to know how to get out of a rut and start loving your home again, check out my best tips below or watch the video here!  For even more tips, you can sign up to be notified of our big “Fall Back in Love with Your Home” sale coming in February!  SO MUCH stuff will be on sale, and it's a great time to get a little extra help getting your home back in order!

Make a list of all the things that are bothering you about your home.

Get out a notebook and set a timer for ten minutes.  Quickly write down EVERYTHING that is stressing you out about your home.  This isn't time to edit your thoughts.  The things bothering you could be big or small.

It's so helpful to just get it out on paper.  I always feel that once it's on paper like this, it can stop floating around in my mind using mental energy and space!  Maybe there are huge tasks like fixing the deck or remodeling a kitchen.  There should also be small things like cleaning out a junk drawer or straightening some crooked pictures on the wall.

Choose 3 things from the list that take less than an hour and DO them!

You can choose any three things, but you must be able to accomplish them (or accomplish significant progress!) on them in under an hour.  Try to choose things that will give you some meaningful relief, too.

Accomplishing three things will give you so much momentum that it usually helps keep you going on the rest of the list, too.  Even if you stop at three things, hopefully you'll feel a lot more at peace in your home.

Often it helps me to actually schedule time in my calendar to complete the items.  If it's on my calendar, it will actually get done, LOL!  It doesn't have to take an hour, either.  It could be taking ten minutes to clean the dishwasher filter.  Just think about what's bugging you and what you could actually accomplish this week.  Don't overthink!

Do a one-box declutter!

This really is as easy as it sounds!  Take one box and fill it with items to get rid of.  Pop it in your car, and drop it off at the donation center the next time you leave the house.

Identify the task you're most dreading.

Go back to that master list.  Read through it again and figure out what item on that list is causing you the most dread.  Sometimes it's a big project, but sometimes it's smaller, and you just hate doing the task for some reason.

Then (as long as it's reasonable!), either do the task or get started on it.  Sometimes the task might not be possible.  If you want to remodel your kitchen, you might not have the money saved up to do it.  But maybe it's been planned, and you're ready to go but just dreading it because it's overwhelming.  In that case, maybe you could start interviewing contractors.

Getting started on “the dreaded thing” is usually the hardest part.  If it's cleaning the basement, choose one corner to start on, and set a timer for an hour.  Just commit to one hour of work.  You'll feel so much better after that first part that even if you don't actually finish, you should be feeling some relief afterward.

Add something to your space that you really enjoy.

Do you love fresh flowers?  A new plant?  A scented candle?  Find something that brings you joy, and put it in your space.  I used to really struggle with this.  In our last home, I was so afraid to decorate “wrong” that I just didn't do anything.  In fact, for two years there was literally nothing on our walls– no pictures at all!  People would come over and think we had just moved in.

I had to get over this, and even though I don't like the most modern styles, I've started to decorate in ways that make me and my family happy.  I also started to decorate seasonally, which is something I NEVER thought I'd do, given that I dislike clutter so much!  But it's something our whole family enjoys!  So now for each holiday or season, I swap out some decor items, and it makes our home feel happy and fresh!

Maybe you're not into seasonal decor, but what can you do that would make you smile when you walk in the door?  If you want even more ideas for how to start loving your home again, don't forget to sign up for our Fall Back In Love With Your Home sale notification here.  You won't want to miss all the great deals coming!