REJUVENATE YOUR HOME
At the start of the year I make a mood board, a picture that reflects what I want my life to look like. Be it pictures of flowers, colour schemes, furniture, activities, challenges, things I want to achieve. For example, this year I chose the purple daisy to add colour to my home. As part of the sunflower family, the purple daisy symbolises ‘pure thoughts’ and ‘dedication’ which I am inviting into my life.
Inviting positive change is about creating order. So, we look at areas in our lives that are unruly, dusty or stale and gently mobilise and refresh. If you don’t know where to start, your physical surrounds, i.e. your home is an easy place to receive a makeover. Especially if you are feeling stuck in your life, moving things around in the home is a powerful way to get your life flowing again.
Here are my 5 best ways to rejuvenate your home as part of creating a sacred space in your life.
FILL A CHARITY BAG
It’s the classic way to de-clutter your home and refresh your living space. Going through your wardrobe and removing ‘stuff’ you haven’t touched in a year is super cleansing in itself. And at the same time you can combine it with a fun social activity, such as a clothes swap party. I recently attended one myself, and together with ten friends we collected two bags of clothes and shoes each, and the remains (over 50kgs of clothing) went to charity. In fact, I want to make this a seasonal activity and donate for a cause in the future.
DUST OFF YOUR LIVING SPACE
While you may like to leave this to your cleaner, if you’re lucky enough to have one (or like me ‘your partner’), you can embrace the rebirth of a new month by wiping that dust and dirt off the inside of your cupboards, under your bed and in your kitchen drawers. You won’t believe how deep-cleaning your fridge will make you feel incredible. You will not only remove stagnation, but also open the energy channels in your living space.
REARRANGE A KEY PIECE OF FURNITURE
I mean your bed or your sofa, a piece of furniture that will give your room a completely new perspective. This may mean rearranging other items as well to make it all work. Draw up a plan first and check what other efforts may be necessary. When I changed my bedroom setup the other day, I noticed a spot behind the cupboard that hadn’t been painted properly, so I ended up repainting the entire wall to match the colour. A bit more work than planned, but I believe it improved the energy flow in the house, and I swear it has had an impact on the quality of my sleep.
BREATHE LIFE INTO YOUR HOME
Decorate your walls, tables, benches, corners with statement pieces. Following a style and colour scheme. Think plain and mix textures rather than going too bold. Paintings are not the only way we can decorate a wall – how about a beautifully framed mirror, or perhaps a vintage coat rack? Plants bring life to your space. A big palm or a fern basket arrangement looks great and adds warmth to a plain set-up. Small pot plants on the tables polish it off.
PRACTICE MATERIALISTIC DETACHMENT
Yes, it may be hard to get rid of the vase you bought on your holiday in Egypt back in 1997, but does it really add to the comfort of your living room or has it somewhat become a dust collector? Over the course of our lives we collect tons of memorabilia, we could fill our entire house with. But things are just things, and the more things we display, the more clutter and disarrangement we will see. Whereas the more items we remove from our living area, the more physical and intellectual space we’ll enjoy. This means being absolutely ruthless about letting go of things. We have so much, and we use so little. Let go of what you don’t use. If you don’t want to throw it out, put it away and see if you still remember it in a year’s time. If not, add it to that charity bag.
