Home, Health, Happiness: How Your Living Space Impacts Your Well-Being
Your home should be a space you feel the most comfortable and can be yourself. But sometimes, a home could set you up for failure if it’s not set up right. Your living space most definitely impacts your well-being, both physically and mentally.
To look and feel your best, you must know how to maximize your space for optimal health.
Why Your Living Space Matters to Your Mental Health
Your home is likely where you spend the most time. If it’s disorganized, cluttered, and frustrating, it can lead to feelings of depression and anxiety. You may feel less productive or motivated, which can spill over into other areas of your life.
Your living space is the one thing you can control in your life that will help you look and feel your best. If you’ve neglected it, it’s time to regain control.
10 Ways to Make your Living Space Help your Well-Being
No two people will have the same needs in their homes, but these ten tips can help make your living space a happy, healthy space for you. Customize these tips to fit your needs and see how much better you feel!
1. Declutter your Spaces
Clutter can cause chaos, which leads to anxiety. When you can’t think straight because of the clutter around you, it’s impossible to feel relaxed and able to make important life decisions. So, one of the best things you can do for yourself is declutter.
If you’ve let your house go and clutter is everywhere, take one small step at a time. A popular trend is the ‘ten minutes matter’ thought. You set the timer for 10 minutes, and whatever you can get done within that time is great. Then you don’t feel bad if you only decluttered a small area or achieved one small goal. Instead, you feel great about what you did accomplish in such a short time. This also tricks the mind so you don’t feel so overwhelmed when you have large tasks, like tackling an entire room.
If you’re wondering where to even start, pick a corner, drawer, or cabinet. Focus on one SMALL area of the room, no matter how much there is to declutter. Narrowing your focus ensures you don’t get in over your head and think you can’t do it.
It may also help to create a list of the rooms and things within each room you want to declutter. As you tackle even one small area, cross it off your list. As you see progress, you’ll feel great about yourself and more motivated.
2. Clean Your Space
After decluttering, consider cleaning your space so you have bright, shiny surfaces and feel clean. It’s a great way to enhance your mental health because you can’t help but feel good in a clutter-free and clean room.
Vacuum the floors, dust the surfaces, and wash the floors. Use scents that bring you happiness, and even consider implementing essential oils to give the room a pleasant smell.
3. Choose the Right Furniture for the Space
Furniture can be cluttering. Think minimalistically as you furnish your rooms. Consider how many people the room will hold on average and what types of furniture you need. Don’t clutter a room with furniture just because it feels empty.
Consider functional furniture that can do multiple things instead of having multiple pieces of furniture. This helps you save money and space. It also keeps the room more open, leaving less room for jumbled and chaotic thoughts.
4. Create Separate Working and Relaxing Spaces
If you work from home or have kids that do a lot of schoolwork, have separate working and relaxing spaces. This helps your brain relax when it should and not always feel ‘on.’ For example, don’t use the kitchen table as your work desk. Every time you sit there, your mind won’t be able to help but think about work.
Instead, dedicate space to work and other spaces for relaxation. This way, it’s like leaving work at work. Don’t go in that room unless it’s during your normal work hours so you can ‘leave work at work’ and relax where you should.
5. Use Natural Light
Artificial light is necessary when the sun is down, but take advantage of natural light whenever you can – your body needs it. Natural light helps your body’s circadian rhythm, which is responsible for helping you go to sleep at night and wake up feeling refreshed in the morning.
Natural light is also a natural mood booster; it can make you happy just from the exposure. Incorporate window treatments that allow you to let natural light in during the day and close them at night. This can help you feel less tired, allowing you to accomplish more during the day.
6. Invest in House Plants
House plants may feel like another chore, but they can help improve your mood and mental health. They are natural mood boosters and add to the beauty of a room, which can naturally make you feel better.
If you aren’t a green thumb, choose plants that require little care but still provide amazing health benefits. As added benefits, plants may even help boost your memory, make you more productive, and add some color to your room!
7. Test your Air Quality
The air you breathe has a tremendous role in how you feel. Consider adding an air purifier to the house or the rooms you spend the most time in. If you don’t feel good when you are in your house but feel okay outside of it, consider having a professional air quality test to ensure the air is safe to breathe in your home and doesn’t have any toxins or molds that should be removed.
8. Personalize your Space
It’s easy to feel lost or lonely in your own home when you don’t make it feel like yours. After ensuring the structure and environment are safe, personalize them as much as possible. Use personal pictures and mementos that make you happy. Add décor that means something to you and makes it feel like a home, not just a house.
9. Choose Bright and Happy Colors
Consider using your favorite colors to decorate the walls and choose décor. Try sticking with ‘happier colors,’ Shades of pink, yellow, green, teal, and blue are all great options. Of course, choose colors that match your décor and make sense in a house, but focus on colors that spark joy versus those that are ‘dark’ or ‘dreary.’
10. Stay Organized
No matter how much work you put into making your house feel happy, organization is the key! Clutter creates chaos, which can quickly cause anxiety and depression. Ensure you have plenty of areas for organization and that everything has its own place. Consider living like a minimalist, only owning the items you absolutely need and getting rid of those without a use.
Other Ways to Incorporate Health and Happiness in Your Home
What you surround yourself with in your home plays a vital role in the health and happiness felt in your house, but there are other ways to encourage health and happiness.
Learn How to Communicate
Have open lines of communication with your family members. If something is bothering you at home, be sure you can talk about it. Discuss problem-solving measures with your family members and ensure everyone is on the same page. You never know when someone else may be dealing with the same issues.
Learn to Give Space
Try giving everyone their ‘own space’ in your house. While there should be plenty of room for gatherings and socializing, everyone needs alone time. Ensure there is plenty of space for everyone to relax and unwind, having time away from others. This could be a bedroom or another room in the house meant for relaxation and unwinding.
Take Care of Yourself
Your house could be in the best shape possible, but you won’t feel your best if you don’t care for yourself and your health. Take the time to eat right, exercise, socialize, and see the doctor. Do whatever is necessary to look and feel your best. By taking care of yourself and your house, you’ll be able to improve your well-being.
Final Thoughts
Your home plays a big role in your health and happiness! A safe home is one thing, but a home that exudes happiness helps you look and feel your best. Your mental health starts at home, and it requires you to take care of everything around you.
Surround yourself with the things that make you happy in an organized way, and you’ll find that you have higher levels of health and happiness because of where you live!
