Ease and Flow at Home (Part 1)

​Did a parent or someone who you grew up around ever say to you that life is going to be hard, that you had to work tirelessly for what you want, or that nothing in life is free? Or maybe you repeatedly heard some other “character-building” statement that formed the basis of who you would become?

I sure did. 

Some belief systems need to be kiboshed!

​Although days certainly can present their challenges, life doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, life can be deliciously sweet.  

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“If light is in your heart, you will find your way home.” ~ Rumi

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​My home is my sanctuary.

I feel that anyone who steps through my door should have an experience of peace, and find a place to recharge, rejuvenate, reconnect, and build up resources to tackle the outside world.  

Honestly, I didn't always think this way, though. My childhood was nomadic and dysfunctional, so it took time to learn what the word "home" meant. 

​As a young adult, I raised a passel of kids and learned to run a pretty tight ship based on efficiency first.  Although we had a fairly comfortable existence, I wouldn't say that our house was particularly cozy back then.  

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I’d like to share with you a few things I’ve picked up along the way to maybe help make things move with more consciousness, ease, and flow for you in your home, too:
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AS A PART OF YOUR DAILY ROUTINE:

• Try a bullet journal ("BuJo") for keeping yourself motivated and organized, while also feeding your creative vitality. You’ll be surprised at how fun it is to play with pages such as a health tracker, a monthly maintenance list, a place to write down what you are grateful for or the highlight of your day.  

​I sometimes feel like a kid when I get into my BuJo and put a little star next to a completed task! My BuJo is the first thing I go to in the morning to sketch out what my day might look like and the last thing I look at before I go to bed.  ​

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• Take a few minutes the night before to get things together to make going out the door easier in the morning. I have what I call a to/from bag near the stairs that I put everything I need into to run errands.  Keep your keys in the same place all the time! 
• Make your bed every day.  In a 2014 speech that went viral, Admiral William H. Craven shared with the graduating class at the University of Texas at Austin the following: 

“If you make your bed every morning you will have accomplished the first task of the day. It will give you a small sense of pride, and it will encourage you to do another task and another and another. By the end of the day, that one task completed will have turned into many tasks completed. 

Making your bed will also reinforce the fact that little things in life matter. If you can't do the little things right, you will never do the big things right. 

And, if by chance you have a miserable day, you will come home to a bed that is made — that you made — and a made bed gives you encouragement that tomorrow will be better.”

HOUSEHOLD CHORES: 
Educate and empower each person to create a fair division of labor. If you’ve lived in the same location for five years and your partner doesn’t know where the laundry soap is kept or what day the trash and recycles go out to the curb, something has got to change! Living together is a team approach.  

• My husband and I share a common grocery list on a reminder app on our phones. If one of us can make it to the store first, that’s great, and it gets marked off the shared list. It's even possible to add something to the list at the last minute. That way there aren’t 583 cans of petite cut diced tomatoes and 5 pounds of peanut butter in the cupboard – but we’re out of toilet paper in the master bathroom.  

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• Everything in its place.  Return items to where you got them after use so everyone in the house knows where things are at.  The time spent looking for something you need is wasted time that could be better used doing something you enjoy.  My husband jokes with me that I have some ancient knowledge based on me always saying “that’s where it goes​." I’m the Queen of Goes.  
• Have backup toiletries.  There’s nothing worse than climbing into the shower and finding out you’re completely out of shampoo.  I have a nice-looking big wooden cigar box where I keep samples.  It’s also convenient to be able to pull the box out when company comes over in case they have forgotten something.  

My next blog post is a continuation of "Ease and Flow at Home."  Part 2 will focus on the kitchen and mealtime.  

Please comment with your own helpful hints on creating the efficient and peaceful environment you've created with your children, at home, work, or when traveling!