We each have a unique idea of what the feeling of home looks like for us; both on an aesthetic basis and on an emotional level. There’s a huge difference between walking into a “home” that feels like home, rather than a “house” and this is different for everyone. For some people, a home is simply not a home without a dog running up to you at the end of each day to welcome you home from work; though a lot of this feeling comes down to the finer details of one’s interior such as having freshly cut flowers, cosy soft furnishings, and warm lighting.
However, behind the scenes, there’s an equal amount of things to be taken care of to ensure a consistent feeling of “home sweet home” – as niggly things that at first detract a little from this feeling of settledness can quickly cascade into a snowball of stress.
This article looks at how to ensure a consistent feeling of “home sweet home” by taking care of some of the less glamorous aspects of creating a happy home life.
- STAY ON TOP OF THE BILLS
Keeping up with household bills can be stressful if money is tight; particularly in winter when the cold weather hits. With this increased energy consumption (i.e. need for heat) comes a significant increase in your energy bill. You may wish to consider paying in equal monthly installments that cover the average energy consumption, throughout the year, rather than a big hike in winter. You want your home to be your castle – a sanctuary free from stress – not a situation where each time you go the mailbox, you dread seeing a bill.
- BEHIND THE SCENES
There’s nothing worse than having to face the horrors of a cold shower in winter or a boiling hot house in the middle of summer. Your plumbing, heating, and air are vital components of creating a feeling of home sweet home. You want to be comfortable in your home and these matters are essential to ensuring your comfort. The other thing is you want to ensure the safety of your home as it’s important you feel protected in your house.
- GARDENING
If you come home each day to an overgrown garden, paint peeling off the fences, and rubble in the yard – it creates a feeling of chaos and things being out of control. Agreed, you don’t need a white picket fence with begonias growing in the garden, but a garden that feels “well kept” will help you feel calm and like your life is in order.
You can also consider making some bigger long-term changes to your garden, to help ensure that you are doing all you can to make it as homely as possible. For instance, it might be worth looking into having an >exterior light installation carried out so that you can make sure you are going to be able to see when you are spending time out there. This is the kind of thing that can really make a considerable difference.
- NEIGHBORS
No matter how hard you try, not everyone is getting to get on with you, and some people are just plain difficult. However, if you can get on with your neighbors to the point there’s a sense of warmth and community between you, this will pay dividends on facilitating the feeling of “home” you crave.
- CLEAN & TIDY
Keeping your home clean and tidy sounds simple enough, but often, this can snowball out of control when left for a few days, becoming such a chaotic mess, that you don’t know where to begin. The trick here is to either employ a cleaner that undertakes a moderately deep clean, each week, or for you to do it yourself, little and often.
