30 Habits to Maintain a Stress-Free Home in September (#11-20)

30 Habits to Maintain a
Stress-Free Home in September (#11-20)

Welcome back to read more about the 30 habits you can create to maintain a stress-free home! If you haven’t read habits 1-10, you can find those HERE.

Having a stress-free home is a goal for all of us I’m sure. I have compiled a list of 30 habits you can incorporate into your life to help you maintain a stress-free home. This is part two of three which includes habits 11-20. Enjoy. 😊

11. Keep a running to-do list.

Keeping a running to-do list or priority list that you check daily can help you maintain a stress-free home.

As homeowners we know that random mishaps happen within our homes at the most inopportune times it seems. Often times we see all of the things around us that need done and get overwhelmed with the sheer volume of to-dos. If we create a running to-do list and work toward checking off these items, it can help us remain less-stressed.

Your kiddo decided to take sharpie to your walls? Add it to your list. Then, plan to clean it up. Let’s schedule it on a day that you have an extra 30 minutes to spare.

You see that the windows need cleaned. Don’t stress about it now. Write it down and come back to your list when you have time.

You had someone cancel plans? Silent YAY! Check your running to-do list and pick something to work on.

Let go of that mental list that all of us women have and write it down. Then come back to it with the intention of completing some of the tasks.

12. Send pictures to your spouse.

Not that kind of picture (but if that’s what you get from this, you do you boo). I’m talking about when you come across items you think you can declutter, snap a quick pic and send it to your spouse to ask their thoughts about it.

When it comes to decluttering our homes, make sure you respect the decisions of everyone in your household.

Sending pictures of these items and asking them throughout the day while you’re decluttering can aid in the decluttering process. It can help speed up the decluttering process so you don’t have items sitting in “wait” for them when they get home. You then can get them in their appropriate location to leave your house whether that’s trash, donate, or sell. Sometimes having more than one item that your spouse has to evaluate when they get home can be overwhelming to them and they may not be taking the time to think about whether they truly want or need the item in question. By sending them pictures it can alleviate some of the decision-making pressure.

13. Practice gratitude.

How can practicing gratitude help maintain a stress-free home? By practicing gratitude and seeing value in the way things are in the present moment, it can reduce the pressure we feel to make our homes Pinterest-worthy or perfect.

Sometimes we can feel stressed out by the fact that our belongings aren’t trendy or feel the pressure from external factors telling us what our homes SHOULD look like.

An example can be: “I’m feeling stressed out that our kitchen cabinets are from the 70’s. They aren’t aesthetically pleasing and honestly need replaced. We are having company over for the first time and I hate this kitchen!”

Practicing gratitude can help you see the value in your space as it is right now. Will it change the fact that your kitchen needs updated? No. However, it may enable you to see the positives a little more regularly. You have functioning cabinets that hold your dinnerware. You have a space to host people you care about or love. You have a clean, tidy home which can have a welcoming feeling if you allow it to. It can help bring you back to reality that our value isn’t in the appearance of our material things.

14. Set the tone.

Setting the tone in your house with soft, relaxing music can create a soft, relaxing feel. You can do the same with positive or upbeat music to match your mood. Music has a direct impact on our moods and can reduce stress levels. A little background music has never been harmful to my knowledge and can help you maintain a stress-free home.

15. Surround yourself with your favorite things.

Surrounding yourself with some of your favorite things can help maintain a stress-free environment.

Do you have pictures displayed that make you smile? Can you grab a soft blanket and cuddle up with your pet for a few minutes a day? By placing our favorite things around us, it can elevate our moods and help us enjoy our homes.

16. Decorate your home with calm colors.

Moods are easily impacted by our surroundings, including the colors around us. Yellow can boost happiness, while red can increase hunger cues. Our environments impact us, whether we realize it or not.

By decorating our homes with calm or comforting colors, it can create a calm or comforting feeling. If you don’t have calming wall colors in your house, you can start by adding a touch of calming colors in your decorations.

How about a touch of soothing green, calming blue, or pale yellow to increase your comfort? While these colors may calm me, maybe a soft orange or lavender purple are better suited for your personal taste. Once you know what colors reduce your stress, incorporate them into your space.

17. Re-arrange your rooms.

I get such an invigorating energy when it comes to re-arranging rooms and spaces. It is rejuvenating, refreshing, and rids the house of stale energy as I like to call it.

If your space isn’t serving you or providing you with the vibe you need; change it up!

Have fun with this and set your rooms up in ways that serve you.

18. Re-organize your children's toys.

Having an easy system to clean up your children’s toys can truly alleviate so much pressure and stress off us as moms. Having your toys organized is invaluable. Having enough storage space for their toys and having it accessible for them is crucial.

When you think of an abundance of toys, you think STRESS. Make is super easy and convenient for your kids to put their toys away to help maintain a stress-free home.

19. Create a calming corner.

Can you create a calming corner in your house? Adopting my daughter with autism came with one imperative thing; a space to calm down and relax if we are over-stimulated or stressed. Why can’t this be a normal thing for neuro-typical children and adults too? These calming areas throughout our home helps keep my husband and me grounded as well.

We put items in these areas throughout our home that help bring us back to reality if we are overstimulated. In one area, we have a sensory swing that we can gently swing back and forth on to calm our minds. In our daughters room specifically, we have a soft rug and soft chair she can lay on or sit in.

In these areas we have reduced visual clutter and a lot of open space. We also have reduced noise or calming sounds (we have a noise machine in her room). Try creating a calming corner to reduce the stress levels in your home.

20. Rotate your children's toys.

I have found that rotating my daughters’ toys has had a huge and immediate impact on her behavior and the way I was feeling in my home. Having less toys in your space can reduce overstimulation for you and your children.

Children can be impacted by our environments too and it’s important to keep that in mind. My daughter is not being neglected in any way, shape, or form by me rotating her toys out. Neither are yours; let go of that guilt mama.

I have found that by rotating her toys she actually is more engaged with them when they’re out. Imagine as a kid, opening a new tote every few weeks of toys you haven’t seen in awhile. It’s exciting!! She enjoys when I bring new toys out and she doesn’t show signs of missing the ones packed away (except for wanting her stuffed bunny ONCE, which I went into the basement and got for her).

From my personal experience, rotating your children’s toys can help you maintain a stress-free home.

Conclusion

Creating and maintaining a stress-free home is work. Creating the environment we want in our homes takes energy and consistency with building habits and figuring out what works for your household. Working on building one or more of these habits into your life can help you create and maintain a stress-free home. Come back on September 30th for habits 21-30.

Do you already follow any of these? I’d be interested to know; drop a comment below!

If not, do you plan to implement any from the above list? As always, thank you for reading and come back for more.