Here are some ideas to improve your wellness practices from the comfort of your home and get you feeling your best!
1. Declutter your home.
While clutter makes finding things difficult, it also affects your ability to focus and anxiety levels. Remember how unproductive you feel with so much clutter in your office or working space? The same thing happens when you are living in a cluttered space. A study even found out that women living in cluttered homes had higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol and more depressed mood throughout the day than those with more restorative homes.
This only shows that clutter can affect both a person’s physical and emotional well-being. Personal habits do contribute to stress and anxiety.
The good thing is tidying up your home can help improve your state of mind. Putting things in their places or getting rid of them can be part of your self-care routine. How?
When you declutter, you feel a renewed sense of control over your space. It makes you feel more efficient and competent. Other benefits are:
- You get better focus as there’s no distracting visual clutter.
- There’s a decreased risk of allergies and asthma in your home as decluttering helps avoid dust build up, as well as the growth of moulds and mildew.
- Better lifestyle. Isn’t it more encouraging to prepare healthy meals in a clean and organised kitchen?
- Improved mood and wellbeing (i.e. When your bed is tidy, you sleep better).
- You can enjoy your house more. Doesn't it feel great when you have a clean working space and you know where your things are?
But how do you declutter?
For you to enjoy the mental health benefits of decluttering, you need to do it using a low-stress process. You can start small, and it’s totally okay. Start with a small cabinet or drawer. As you see things getting more organised, you’ll be encouraged to do more. Also, don’t try to do it perfectly; you’ll feel more stressed if you compare your space to those of others.
You may also have heard or seen KonMari method of decluttering. This has been attracting a lot of people and is said to be transforming lives. The main principle is to declutter by category, not by location. The approach is to keep only those that spark joy and get rid of those that don’t. It’s a simple method that may be worth trying, right?
2. Use non-toxic household stuff.
If cleaning is part of your daily routine, do you know that you may be unsafe with the products you’re using? The common household cleaners may do the job quickly, but many of them contain hazardous chemicals and toxins that are dangerous for you and your family’s health, as well as your pets. While you’re using them to ‘clean’, they are making your indoor air quality poor and your health condition worse. So, consider letting them go. Switch to safe, non-toxic, natural cleaning products.
Using non-toxic household products means having clean air at home. These products are also skin-friendly, allergy-free, environmentally friendly, less expensive and safe around children. There’s a long list of benefits actually. But how do you switch to using these non-toxic products? Here are some ways:
- Use natural air fresheners like coffee, essential oils, potpourri, natural candles, and even baking soda.
- Replace your toxin-containing beauty and personal products with natural ones. You can now find a variety of plant-based or fragrance-free soaps, shampoos, deodorants and even toothpastes!
- Stop using toxic dishwasher soap and laundry detergent.
- Use vinegar and hydrogen peroxide as clothing stain remover.
- Get some houseplants to help reduce the odour and even remove toxins from your home.
These are just some of the many ways you can switch to non-toxic household products. When you decide to use these products, you’ll find yourself researching and finding more and more natural methods and products that you’ll be thankful for.
3. Develop a bedtime routine.
Sleep deprivation can mess up your body big time. From your immune system to your skin, appetite and cardiovascular health, the lack of sleep can negatively affect your system. This makes a bedtime routine and adequate sleep so important. A few sleep habits you can follow aree the following:
- Reduce your screen time before going to bed.
- Use a soft and smooth but supportive bedding.
- Avoid alcoholic or caffeinated drinks before sleeping and try chamomile or lavender tea instead
- Support your sleep by using relaxing essential oils like lavender and cedarwood.
At Wellness and Self-care, we encourage the use of essential oils to support a healthier bedtime routine. Simply roll on our sleep essential oil blend on your wrist, chest and toes before going to bed. Another way is to soak in a relaxing bath, this will ease muscle tension and assist your body to get ready for sleep.
4. Give time for relaxation and self-care.
Although you may be too busy in life, give time for yourself. Make self-care a priority, not a luxury. You can do it by putting aside a little time every day for you to do what you enjoy. Once it becomes a part of your daily routine, it will become a lifestyle.
Here are some self-care ideas for you to try:
- Go for a walk.
- Play with your pet.
- Listen to relaxing music.
- Read your favorite books.
- Treat yourself to a spa
- Pamper yourself with a relaxing bath using natural bath soak and bath bomb
- Do something fun and creative!
5. Gardening
Increasing evidence shows that exposure to green space and plants is good for your physical and mental health. Gardening works wonders when you are under pressure or stressed. Simply looking at a green space helps you feel calm and even reduces the symptoms of depression and anxiety.
A garden at home, no matter how small, is a space where you can clear your mind. Have you noticed how a small plant on your desk can help you think more clearly? Other benefits of planting flowers or vegetables are the following:
- Makes you happy
- A boost of vitamin D
- Improved self-esteem
- Cardiovascular benefits
- Increased hand strength.
So, whether it’s a vegetable or flower garden, start caring for a plant now. Not only will you reap delicious harvests and beautiful bouquets, but you will also enjoy a lot of surprising health benefits.
Remember that wellness is largely about how you feel about yourself and your life. You can’t completely get rid of stress and other factors that affect your wellbeing, but small changes at home can make a big difference. May these simple steps help you feel, look and function better.
If you have other suggestions, we’d love to hear from you! Share to us how you practice wellness at home in the comment below. Cheers!
Words by Rheyn Altoveros
Rheyn is a wife and a mum to a bubbly two-year old girl. After giving birth, she became more aware of her need to be wellness conscious and make time for herself even with a busy schedule. Currently, she is completing her master's degree in Horticulture and works as a freelance writer.