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Last updated on April 10th, 2022 at 03:55 pm
One thing I’ve noticed by reading responses from my community is that we’re all putting a lot of pressure on ourselves to create the “perfect” home. But the “perfect” home does not equal a peaceful home, which is what so many of us actually want.
I’m not immune to this either …I lament because my home isn’t Instagram or Pinterest worthy: I have ugly carpet and even uglier tile. My couches and furniture are mostly brown.
Yet, when people come into my home, they tell me how cozy and comfortable they feel. And more importantly, my family feels comfortable, happy, and loved.
Which makes me wonder …if my home was perfectly styled and organized, would I feel at home? Probably not.
Instead of feeling at war with my home, I’ve made several mindset shifts so I can actually feel at peace.
Make these 3 mindset shifts so you can create a peaceful home for yourself as well.
Mindset Shift #1: You don’t have to “finish” your to-do list
We make huge to-do lists that we can’t possibly finish. And when we only check off one or two things, we feel like failures.
Here’s what I learned: Guided by a vision, values, or mission, we can choose just one, most important thing to accomplish each day.
It’s great if I can get a lot of stuff done, but I’m ok if I just choose one thing, even if that one thing is getting the laundry done.
The thing about to-do lists is that they’re never done. There’s always something more to do, and I’ve NEVER finished everything on the list in one day.
Instead, I choose one thing to accomplish so I actually feel like I did something.
Here’s a post that can help you choose just one thing.
Mindset Shift #2: You don’t have to do it all yourself
Be ok with handing off chores to others. Give your kids chores to complete. It’s good for them! They’ll learn discipline, humility, and life skills by doing chores.
If possible, outsource tasks like dry cleaning, grocery delivery, get a robot vacuum, or hire a housecleaner to come once a month or to deep clean once every few months.
If outsourcing isn’t possible, be ok with not doing some tasks all the time. You might have a long list of things to clean every week. Decide which tasks you can live without doing every single week and do them once in a while instead.
There are no cleaning police. No one will judge you for not cleaning your oven weekly. Do the minimum of what you need to do to make your house clean “enough.”
Mindset Shift #3: It doesn’t have to be perfect
If you lived in a “perfect” house that you see on Instagram or Pinterest, would you actually feel comfortable and like you could live there? Would you be ok with making messes for the sake of joy and fun? Or would you be constantly stressed out about not having a perfect house?
This is what so many of us are striving for, which is what’s making us so unhappy at home! We want perfect, uncluttered, mess-free homes which is simply impossible to achieve all the time.
Comedian Brian Regan told a joke about one of his kids flinging spaghetti on the walls. He said, “Don’t you see the paint on the walls is more important than the joy in your heart?!”
…Which makes me stop and realize I need to be ok with making messes. There will always be something to clean up, but spending time with my kids at the age they are right now is fleeting.
I won’t lie …these mindset shifts can be HARD. It’s something I work at all the time but it’s worth working at it.
To help you on your mission for creating a peaceful home, here’s a free 10-Minute Daily Organizing Checklist. Use it to choose which chores you’ll prioritize to make your home a bit more peaceful. Download it here.
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