Here at Lennar, we’ve always believed that a happy home makes for a happy homeowner. But sometimes, keeping your home happy and healthy takes some extra effort, or some extra time that you can’t afford to give up from your busy schedule. This article from BrightNest offers nine ideas that can help.
According to a study by European Journal of Social Psychology, it takes about 66 days to ingrain a new habit into your routine. It’s a good idea to start now, so you’ll reap the benefits all year. Here are nine ideas that’ll lead to a happier, healthy home.
Leaving the blinds open, or switching heavier curtain fabrics for sheer curtains, will help you can wake up earlier, and more naturally. When the sun hits your sleeping body, it causes it to stop producing melatonin and start producing adrenalin, which means you’ll be halfway awake before your alarm goes off.
Even if you’re just pulling up your comforter and adjusting your pillows, making your bed in the morning sets the intention for your day and gets you in a productive mindset. Plus, there’s an easy way to do it in under five minutes. Making your bed in the morning is considered a keystone habit, meaning it leads to other productive morning behaviors like exercising or making a healthy breakfast. Basically, if you add this habit to your routine, adding any or all of the others will become a lot easier.
Get in the habit of cleaning 20 minutes or so every weekday so that you have the weekends all to yourself. By cleaning in little segments, you’ll avoid that terrible feeling of a home that’s so messy you don’t even know where to begin. You’ll also free up your Sunday to do something fun, instead of feeling sad and depressed about the impending Monday.
All it takes is skipping one day of dish duty for dishes to start to pile up. Tackle the mountain in the kitchen sink by running your dishwasher every night, and emptying it every morning before you head out to work. This will make your evening routine a little bit simpler, which will help you stay more relaxed as your winding down for the night.
They say never go to bed angry, but “never go to bed with a dirty kitchen” is a more practical proverb. Make a point to always do a quick food cleanup and countertop wipe down before you call it quits. Keeping your most-used room organized will make a huge difference in the overall “put together” feeling of your home. It’ll also make it easier to cook breakfast in the morning!
