Is Your Home’s Interior Adding To Your Stress?
It’s no surprise that we hear a great deal about stress lately. Researchers have linked stress to everything from high blood pressure to a reduced lifespan. However, most of us live in stress every day. Deadlines at work, green card renewal forms, family problems, and a busy social life can all contribute to a hectic pace of life that makes it hard to relax and recharge. However, while there may be things that you cannot do much about – such as illness or a stressful job – there are things that you can change in order to reduce your stress levels.
Your home’s interior, for example, is a great place to start. The interior of your home can actually be adding to your stress, especially if your home is cluttered, messy, and not designed to be relaxing. For most of us, home has not become a refuge or haven. It’s become just another place with a long to-do list. I have a friend who is currently applying to change her immigration status to citizenship status. Whenever she walks into her house, the first thing she sees is a pile of USCIS forms, waiting to be filled out. Is it any wonder that she is stressed out? We do need to be careful about the types of stress that our home might be adding to an already hectic life. Here are some common culprits:
1) Reminders of unpleasant things. Just like my friend’s USCIS immigration forms, many of us keep unpleasant reminders around the house. Maybe we keep an old sofa that reminds us of an ex-spouse. Maybe we have an entire workplace right in our living room overflowing with papers and work that needs to be handled. It’s important to make sure that your home is relaxing and comfortable. If you do need to have tax forms, work, and other such potential stressors in your home, tuck them away where they are not clearly visible. That way, the first impression your home will give is that of a haven.
2) Clutter. Clutter makes it hard to concentrate, reminds you that you still have tons of cleaning to do, and makes your home an unpleasant place to live. Try to set aside 20 minutes a day to tidy up your home of major clutter. You can even play your favorite music while you tidy. It’ll make a big difference to your comfort level.
3) Lack of little luxurious details. You don’t have to have a meditation room or fancy designer accessories in your home, but a few affordable touches can really make a big difference. Adding the sound of running water with a small fountain, adding some luxurious scented candles, and adding plenty of fluffy pillows to couches, sofas, and beds, can transform your living space from a house into a cozy home that makes you feel relaxed.
