Home as Haven - Part I

Your home has been through a lot in the last little while and so have you; baking, cleaning, cooking, entertaining, crafting, wrapping. Entranceways spilling over with snow covered boots, mitts, hats that melt into puddles. Christmas trees, decorations and cards that now look tired and tacky, gifts lingering under the tree or in a corner waiting to find a permanent home. Are there heaps of extra laundry, sheets, towels and linens from out-of-town guests?

Maybe your home, like mine, is suffering from indigestion; groaning as it were from all of the excess. Perhaps the first order of the New Year isn't leaping into a new exercise regime or swearing off sweets (or whatever your vice is); instead what if you were to focus or refocus on your living space, your home?

We can sometimes become so accustomed to our abodes that we no longer see them for what they are. Oh sure, maybe we keep moving the furniture around and painting the walls but do we ever take time to stop and really "feel" our home environments? They are often a reflection of what is going on inside of us, or inside of the relationships within their walls.

Have you ever entered a home and felt uneasy and yet couldn't really put a finger on why? Are there homes or rooms that you feel at peace in, relaxed, supported and nurtured? There is more going on than meets our eye. I know a woman whose visitors often comment on how "good" her living room feels. "You know," she confides, "It is where I sit early in the morning and pray." Ah yes, that explains a lot.

 

 

Take some time and really assess your home.

·  While it may be Better Homes & Gardens beautiful, does it feel welcoming when you walk through the door?

·  Do you feel relaxed, safe, inspired?

·  Does it truly reflect your personality or only the latest trend?

·  Are there spaces where you can relax and read or write?

·  Has clutter taken control?

·  Are you hiding decades of useless possessions in closets and storage areas?

·  Maybe you're hanging on to possessions that belong to children who have moved out, relatives who have passed away or artwork that (you never loved) and received as a wedding gift.

While it is difficult to hold ourselves and our homes under the light of scrutiny, our goal is to create a home that is a haven, a refuge from the world, an oasis that welcomes us every time we cross the threshold, a place where our personalities are reflected and where we can be truly ourselves.

While it is possible that you may need to acquire something, say a comfy reading chair or a loveseat for two to curl up in; my guess is that you may actually need to excavate - get rid of some of the excess that your home is drowning in so that you both you and your home can breathe again, a sigh of relief and contentment.

Thank you for stopping by My Turquoise Kettle Life today.

Wishing you a peaceful day,

Sandra