How I Make My Home a Peaceful Sanctuary *

What are the things that I do to make my home a more peaceful sanctuary? The first and most important thing I do is to make my bed each morning. That may sound silly but it starts my day off on the right foot. My bedroom is tidy and makes me feel ready for a new day!

I didn’t always make my bed. The old saying “you’re never to old to learn” is something I really believe. One of my fabulous nieces came to stay with us for a month while she was waiting for her first “big girl” apartment to be ready. She made her bed every morning. While she was a wonderful house guest, it wasn’t something she was doing to please me. She told me that she always made her bed and it gave her a sense of right with the world. I thought maybe she was on to something. She is a “glass is 7/8 full kind of a gal! I gave it a try and I have only missed a few mornings since then.

I can’t believe how many days of my life I missed have this fabulous feeling. Little secret (it also makes your sheets feel like they are crisp and clean for a bit longer).

It is also very important to me that my home is tidy. I get anxious when things are a mess. You can imagine the anxiety levels I’ve had given that so many projects have happened in this house. There are only a few things that are original to this house that I moved into in 1993. When the kiddos were little it was much harder to keep everything in its place and I made my peace with that. Now that they are grown, it tends to be easier to keep things were they belong. I also treat myself to cleaning help. I say cleaning help because no one cleans the way I do and I do quite a bit of cleaning in between my every other week – cleaning help!

For me a home isn’t home without fresh flowers and I treat myself to them at least once a week. My favorite place to buy flowers is Trader Joe’s. I also love candles and my diffusers! What is the sense of a clean house if you don’t treat it to flowers and a great scent!

On these cold, still winter days, especially when its cloudy and dreary I love a crackling fire in the fireplace. So to paint the picture; it’s a Saturday evening in February. My bed was made this morning and the house was cleaned yesterday. I have some awesome flowers in just the right vase. There are several candles burning and there’s a roaring fire in the fireplace. I wrap myself in a comfy throw after I’ve poured myself a glass of wine. I’m snuggle up with a good book while handy watches a western he’s seen a million times. All is right with my world!