Environmental Health
When most people think of health what usually comes to mind is diet and exercise. What is rarely considered is the environment in which we live and work. Our home and place of work (or indeed anywhere we spend a great deal of time) can have a profound effect on our overall health. Being in a place you love has a positive effect not only on your mood but has been clinically proven to boost your immune system.
Choose with intention
If you have the luxury of choosing a home you may want to give some thought to
aspect - north-facing homes tend to be lighter and promote passive solar heating in winter (this is true for the southern hemisphere, invert for the northern hemisphere where a south-facing home is king), windows or a deck to the west are hot in summer
location - whether you prefer city or country, or the suburbs as well as proximity to services you value including shops, cafes, public transport as well as noise generated from same
construction materials - concrete or rock/stone flooring provide thermal mass and act to regulate the temperature inside; the glues used for carpets have been known to leach chemicals plus the fibres tend to act as collectors for dust and therefore breeding grounds for dust mites; natural timber that is treated with linseed oil minimises off-gassing
ventilation - do doors/windows align to facilitate a through-breeze
dwelling type - apartment, semidetached, standalone
layout - open plan, split level, double story
your needs - number of bedrooms, bathrooms, off-street parking, storage
Decorate to taste
When thinking about the space itself, while preferences differ things to consider include the use of natural light and, where this is lacking, the use of light fittings, lamps and candles can create the right mood for the space. Colours (of walls, fixtures and fittings) can profoundly impact mood. Placement and choice of art or images and photos of family or friends further accentuate the feeling you want to portray. The use of plants (either indoor or outdoor but visible from the inside) can help create a tranquil environment and aid in air purification. Comfortable furniture and appealing furnishings complete the look.
Making changes to your home and large furnishings can be costly. If finances prevent you from replacing your home or furniture then perhaps there is an opportunity to work within a budget to change the artwork or perhaps add a plant or two.
Declutter
One thing that is able to be changed by most if not all of us, is the way we keep our home. Clutter is known to increase anxiety, affect sleep quality, reduce our ability to focus, make us less productive and can trigger coping and avoidance strategies that can lead to snacking (people with extremely cluttered homes are 77% more likely to be overweight) and binge-watching TV.
Keeping a home that is free of clutter creates a sense of calm. Our brains are hard-wired to prefer order so keeping our homes visually free of clutter can increase working memory and reduce cognitive overload.
I tried a number of things before I was successful in creating a home that brings me joy. It wasn't until I stumbled across Marie Kondo's technique of tidying that I nailed it. Kondo professes the theory that you should only surround yourself with things that bring you joy. A radical notion, Kondo bases her theory on sound logic - if you surround yourself with things that bring you joy you will not only take care of them but by merely possessing them, you bring joy to your life.
While Kondo has her own theory on the order in which you should tackle organising your home. My take on Kondo's theory is to start with the things you love the most. For me, that's my family, exercise, tea and reading. When considering my home space using Kondo's philosophy of tidying, I prioritised these things first. I ordered prints of my wedding and while I waited for them to arrive in the post so I could hang them in a frame on my wall, I organised my exercise gear drawers. I stripped them of anything that was worn or that I did not like. I then painstakingly rolled every item and displayed them in colour groupings.
I then pulled every book off the bookshelf and reorganised it, also in colour order and descending height. I interspersed the books at intervals with some of our most treasured trinkets. I'm not one for clutter and I am not usually a fan of ornaments but there are a few that made it through the joy test and these now take prime real estate.
I scoured the shops for what felt like months until I found a tea canister (in Ikea of all places) to simultaneously display and keep fresh my organic tea collection (plus sugar and coffee for my mum and sister).
I then methodically worked through every cupboard in the house employing the same technique - assessing every item to see whether it brought me joy and only putting back into the cupboard things that met that criterion.
Through this exercise, I found that my home (that I have always loved and look forward to spending time in) has become a place I am also really proud of. There is now literally nothing in my home that I don't love. This process has also made me very discerning about new purchases. I assess every item I buy (from groceries to clothing to umbrellas and deodorant) to ensure it is worthy of occupying space in my home. Nothing comes through the front door that is not a deliberate, conscious choice. And the result is a home I love and possessions that bring me immense joy.
All that’s left, is to sit back and relax!
