Create a Stress-free Home

1. Give yourself a peaceful space. It doesn’t necessarily need to be a full room. Create a dedicated corner with a comfortable chair with a journal, book, drawing pad/sketchbook, coloring book, incense or an oil diffuser, pillows, yoga mat, music, or pictures of things or places you enjoy and find peaceful. Tell the other people living with you that when you’re in that special space, you’d like to enjoy some quiet time alone.

2. Declutter! Sometimes it can be daunting to strive to declutter an entire room, let alone a whole house, so start smaller: commit to getting rid of one item each day or week for a month or two.

3. Add real or artificial plants, or even a picture/painting of a natural environment.

4. Wipe down the kitchen before bed and make your bed every morning. Add decorative pillows to your bed to make the room look more organized and inviting.

5. Increase natural lighting by removing heavy and sun-blocking drapes in rooms where you don’t sleep and replace them with sheer curtains to allow in more sunlight.

6. Paint key rooms. While it can be expensive, an interior paint job with calming colors (light blues, muted greens, whites), can make a world of a difference.

7. Get a fish! It does not have to be a huge aquarium; just watching a single goldfish or a betta fish in a bowl can have calming effects. You could even include it in your peaceful space.

8. Cleaner air can help reduce allergies and sickness—invest in a HEPA air purifier for your bedroom.

9. A small white noise machine that can help you get a better-quality night’s sleep by masking disruptive noises. Not only can the machine help you stay asleep, but it can also help ‘train’ your brain to know it’s time to get to sleep. The white noise isn’t just for sleep: it can also help you relax by giving you a sound to focus on.