Healthy Home
Does your home feel overwhelming? If so, here are a few simple, quick things you can do to make your home feel better right now!
by Katie Bennett, Contributing Writer
Running a home has not always come naturally to me.
At first it wasn’t so bad. When I got married, I moved into an apartment with my new husband. He and I both had jobs outside the home and shared household tasks. We only had ourselves and 900 square feet to take care of.
Eventually roles shifted. I quit my job, we bought a fixer-upper, and one by one our kids were born. It became increasingly clear that I was not approaching my homemaking effectively.
My journey as a homemaker has been long (and painful at times!) as I’ve slowly learned self-discipline and effective strategy. However, I’m happy to say, I have learned quite a lot about running my home well, even in the midst of a life that feels crazy with three little kids at home!
I worked hard to learn new ways of thinking.
I’ve learned that part of being effective is understanding the easy, simple things I can do right now to make my home feel better–more under control. More manageable.
The power of our feeling about our homes as homemakers must not be underestimated! It’s not that everything is perfect (far from it!), it’s that we allow ourselves to experience bits of satisfaction along the way; little victories that bring us peace and move the needle.
4 Ways to Make Your Home Feel Better Right Now
1. Clear off the outside of the refrigerator.
This is one of the most under-utilized strategies to make a home feel better! Most of us love our refrigerator clutter. After all, it’s often artwork or photos of loved ones, so we don’t even consider what it might mean to clear it away.
I hesitated for years. Finally, at my husband’s prompting, I tried it. Everything went away. I figured I could get things back out if I missed them.
We filed away the photos or put them in frames, moved our shopping lists and other notes to a nearby drawer, and even cleared away our magnets.
I instantly loved it. This one easy task totally changed the atmosphere of the kitchen, which affected the atmosphere of all the connected living spaces! It felt more fresh, spacious and clean with minimal effort and we have not looked back!
2. Sweep the floors.
I don’t know about you, but crumbs and dust on the floors are a subconscious irritation for me. It always amazes me how much better my home feels after sweeping, no matter if there are other messes still needing to be dealt with.
Note from Erin:
The author of this post, Katie Bennett, is also the author of a fantastic devotional for moms–Heavenly-Minded Mom: A 90-Day Journey to Embracing What Matters Most. Check out her devotional here.
A good sweeping is good for my soul.
3. Declutter the kitchen counters.
A couple of years ago I published a post here at The Humbled Homemaker entitled 3 Things I Leave Out on My Kitchen Counters (and 3 Things I Don’t). It must’ve struck a chord because it has been shared on social media over 73,000 times to date!
Clearing off kitchen counters brings peace and functionality into the home. It meets a felt need for space and order, which may explain the popularity of that post.
When we let our counters accumulate too much stuff, simple daily tasks are met with needless resistance.
4. Make the beds.
Making the beds has a great return on the time invested! It only takes me all of about 45 seconds to make my bed, and the result on the rest of my day is one of peace and order.
My bed is one of the few things around my home that will actually stay put-together throughout the day, which gives me the satisfaction of true forward progress. This sense of order provides a gratifying spring board for other household tasks.
Making my bed lifts a visual and mental burden. Practically speaking, it gives me a place to perch throughout the day or to lay out clothes as I fold them, etc, and the sheets feel fresh when we get into bed in the evening!
Do you need help changing the way you approach homemaking?
The process of creating real change in my life has taken diligence and hard work, but I’ve stuck with it Through trial and error, and lots of careful study of the amazing homemakers in my life, I’ve figured out where to put my efforts for maximum results.
I have experienced many breakthroughs and discovered philosophies and daily habits that have changed my feeling about myself as a homemaker entirely!
I am excited about what I’ve learned on this journey, and I want you to have the same breakthroughs! This is why I spent the past many months developing the Help for the Hopeless Homemaker Online Course.
When our efforts are well-directed, we can experience success and forge lasting change in ourselves.
Let me me help you gain control of your home for God’s glory!
What quick things make a big difference in how your home feels?
How will you work to create a sense of sanctuary in your home this week? In which of these areas do you most need to grow?
Hi! I’m Katie. I’m a stay-at-home mom of four, and I live a life devoted to Jesus. I love to write, and I focus my energy on living simply and well. You may enjoy my devotional, Heavenly-Minded Mom: A 90-Day Journey to Embrace What Matters Most. I’m fairly new to the blogging world, recently launching a blog called Embracing a Simpler Life where I write about eternal perspective, being a wife and mama for the glory of God, and simple, intentional living. Come check it out!
Sheila
YES! All 4 of theses habits are so important! I try to all of them each day, or at least 2 of the most pressing is I don’t have time(while raising 3 kiddos(boys)).
But when I do them, our household does wonderfully and everyone notices!
Try to implement one change over 30 days. A habit is in place after about 28 days and you will have this as part of you life forever! Then add in the next change!!
All the best!
Aimee
I relate to this so much! When I quit my job and we bought a fixer-upper it was a reality check. Thanks for sharing!
Sarah@TheOrthodoxMama
I definitely agree! I have to make beds each day or the house feels out of control. 🙂 I also make sure that I clean the counters and run the dishwasher each night. If I wake up to a messy kitchen I already feel behind.
Flicka Johnson
I was raised in a cluttered dirty home. I wasn’t allowed to bring friends to my home. When I married I lived near a woman that came into my rental home and made this statement that changed homemaking for me. She said, “The woman that use to live here had it so homey.” Enough said! When we bought our own home it became a very cozy place. So much so that when we sold it we didn’t even advertise it. We prayed. The first woman to come in said she wanted it. She has had it for several years now. I miss it but it is too big for me to handle. Being an artist I share with some people how the home is our palette and what kind of picture do we want it to show.
karen
Wonderful analogy!
Karen
The Jessie K
Wonderful tips! I recently took everything off of our fridge and it’s amazing the difference it makes! I never feel like I’m ready for the day until our bed is made. If it’s not made early, I set myself up for being lazy the rest of the day.
Another thing I’ve found is to have some sort of inviting smell into your home. Even if we have some clutter out, I set the mood with diffusing some calm and uplifting essential oils in the living room and it instantly makes me feel better, and sometimes inspires me to actually clean more! 😉
Mother of 3
I can not stand clutter or mess so I naturally do most of these anyway; except surprisingly enough for number 1; it’s the one place I don’t seem to mind the clutter. Probably because it’s filled with my kids artwork and since I don’t hang them up anywhere else it’s nice to see their work and enjoy. I know it won’t be long before it’s clean, white and empty.
Sarah
Same with me. Our fridge features artwork from our children and our magnets from our travels and day trips. We love it, and people love to come over, and check out the new magnets. It’s our story…in miniature.
Lisa @ This Pilgrim Life
I completely agree! I try to do these three things everyday. Having clutter around our two main areas drives me crazy, so picking up those things makes a huge difference. Vacuuming (instead of sweeping) also really helps things to look more in order (and helps me to feel more in order 😉 ).
Eliza
Vacuuming is a huge one for me, as I like to walk barefoot and the ‘crumbs’ underfoot leave me feeling ‘crumby’. I also like a clean kitchen counter, but that is one of the hardest things for me to stay on top of!
Holly
I have honestly never thought of clearing my refrigerator and mine is central in my open concept house. I’m doing it tomorrow!
Sandy
Did you end up doing this? How did it make you feel? Is the fridge still clear? 😉
Brandy lee
A cleared dining room table is a must especially if the dining and living rooms are opened