Found this list on apartmenttherapy.com and was inspired! Hopefully it will inspire you t00!
1. Make your bed.
The book The Happiness Project, explains that this three minute task is one of the simplest habits you can adopt to positively impact your happiness.
2. Bring every room back to “ready.”
I learned this trick from Marilyn Paul’s clever book, It’s Hard to Make a Difference When You Can’t Find Your Keys. It’s a known fact: Clutter causes stress; order creates a haven from it. This mood-boosting routine is simple: Take about three minutes to bring each room back to “ready” before you depart it. (Unless you have a toddler, or a partner who likes to simulate earthquakes, three minutes should be sufficient.)
3. Display sentimental items around your home.
One reason that experiences (and memories of those experiences) make us happier than material things is due to the entire cycle of enjoyment that experiences provide: planning the experience, looking forward to the experience, enjoying the experience, and then remembering the experience. Make your home a gallery of positive memories.
4. Start a one-line-a-day gratitude journal.
Before bed, simply jot down one happy memory from that day. (If you have kids, you can ask them, “What was the best part of today?”) Reflection is an important part of happiness, and pausing to reflect on a positive event from each day cultivates gratitude. (An added bonus: Later, when your memory is defunct, you will already have all of your meaningful adventures recorded!) If you have trouble getting started with journaling, consider buying a book to guide you. Simple Abundance, by Sarah Ban Breathnach, is a great one.
5. If you can’t get out of it, get into it.
This tip comes from The Happiness Project. I love the message: The dishes are not going to clean themselves, so you will do it, and you will like it! (Unless, of course, you can outsource this job, in which case I say: Nice work!) Otherwise, get into doing the dishes. Feel the soothing warm water on your hands. Enjoy the tickle of the tiny bubbles. Crank your favorite album at an unusually loud volume, do a couple fist-pumps while shouting “Can I get a hell yeah for the dishes? Hell! Yeah!” and pretend you love it.
6. Before you get up each morning, set an intent for the day.
In The Art of Happiness, the Dali Lama says “”Every day, think as you wake up: today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it.” Wow. What a wise man. I tend to wake up with a strong visceral reaction that says, “Attention human beings: Be afraid of me before coffee. Be very afraid!” Setting a daily intent makes a huge difference. Your daily intent could be something like “be productive” or “enjoy today’s delicious moments” or it could be something more specific like “say thank you to my loved ones today.” But it should not be another “to do” item on your list.
7. Do small favors for your housemates, expecting nothing in return (not even a thank you!).
(That’s right, I said it: nothing!) Mow the lawn for your husband, but don’t expect him to pat you on the back. Make the bed for your wife, but don’t try to get bonus points for it. Take the trash out for your roommate, just because. The ability to cultivate strong, healthy relationships is one of the biggest contributors to health and happiness, but when you start to keep score, the benefit is lost. (No! It’s YOUR turn to clean up the dog poop!) It’s a well-known fact: When you do good, you feel good.
8. Call at least one friend or family member a day.
You can do this while you clean, while you make the bed, or while you walk the dog. Texts and emails do not count! Make an actual phone call to a loved one, just to chat and catch up. We humans are social beings and studies show that even when we don’t feel like it, even if we are naturally introverted, socializing with our loved ones makes us feel better.
9. Spend money on things that cultivate experiences at home.
Save money for a new grill for parties or a new DVD for family movie night — something that will encourage you to have people over and entertain. Plan a summer barbeque, invite your closest friends, kick back and relax. (And don’t forget to print out the pictures to remember the good times.)
10. Spend a few minutes each day connecting with something greater than yourself.
Whatever your spiritual beliefs — or non-beliefs — may be, studies show that connecting to a high power is correlated with happiness. Just stepping back to realize that we are part of an enormous universe can put some perspective on your annoyance with the those-are-definitely-not-mine-and-they-are-abso-fricking-lutely-repulsive socks under the coffee table. Before bed, spend just a few minutes contemplating something larger than yourself. Take a walk in nature. Write in a journal. Create a sacred space in your home. (Or if spirituality is really not your thing, create a home spa: light some candles, soak in a hot bath, delve into a good book… are you feeling better yet?)
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I have heard a lot about of good things about the book The Happiness Project. I think maybe I should pick it up!
from: Apartment Therapy
Tana
/ January 22, 2013Does anyone have any idea where the curtains in the picture are from? OMG! They’re so beautiful! Thanks!
Guest
/ February 22, 2013Kid interiør.
The picture is from: lindevegen.no
Gabbi @ Retro Ranch Reno
/ January 26, 2013I love this! It’s so simple and true. What a great reminder…thanks for sharing!
jcasey4566
/ February 3, 2013I love these tips
Making my bed always makes me feel better
pamelann18
/ May 10, 2013Yeah, my boyfriend never understands why im so cranky until my bed is.fixed.
skylerkate
/ February 6, 2013This is beautiful! My favorite part is the Dalai Lama saying. I need to say it every morning!
http://www.design-espionage.com
GigiP
/ February 16, 2013I’m sorry, I went to the site and couldn’t find the dalai lama saying you mentioned. Would you be kind enough to put it here?
peach33
/ March 4, 2013“”Every day, think as you wake up: today I am fortunate to be alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it.”
N. garcia
/ February 8, 2013Moving to another state in a month, looking for a less stress free life… I love your list and will pin and put into action a soon as I unpack at our new home. I already do some of the things on the list but need to start on others.
like calling one person a day, I hate phones. Lol
Cori
/ February 9, 2013I love reminders which encourage me to nest in my home.
kari88ann
/ February 11, 2013I think these are all wonderful tips. Thank you so much for taking the time to share them. I find it fascinating that many of these suggestions resonate quite strongly with ancient yogic self-observance principles, the Yamas and Niyamas. For instance, when seen from a Yogic perspective the first two tips about keeping our homes tidy are about practicing, Soucha, or cleanliness; When we are free from clutter, we are also free from many of the distractions that can keep us from accessing and acting from our highest, most pure, and productive selves. Tip number four, the gratitude journal, is an exercise in helping us to cultivate Samtosa — contentment in all things, for everything we will ever need we already have. The trick is, we must practice gratitude and contentment in order to experience this fullness — the suggestion of keeping the journal in this tip can help us to do just that! Tip number 5 is about “getting into” evening the most tedious of tasks. While this is not so much a self-observance principle, this tip is much like one of the eight limbs of yoga, Samadhi, or complete absorption into the present focus of the mind. We all know that feeling when time stops and we feel fully alive and integrated into whatever it we we are doing. Why not live life like this all time, even if we are just doing dishes!? Finally, The last tip, spending time to cultivate a relationship with a higher power, is remarkably similar to the principle of Īśvara-pranidhāna, or dedication and surrender to spirit. When we recognize that our participation in the world is well connected and integrated into a larger, evolutionary human path, our lives take on a sense of significance that represents an awe-some blend of confident wisdom without ego, and compassionate humility without self-doubt. By taking time to connect with this idea, we can direct our actions in a way that is most productive for others, and rewarding for ourselves. Just some thoughts from a CrossFitting Yogi. Read more ideas at HolisticFitnessProject.com
kari88ann
/ February 11, 2013Reblogged this on The Holistic Fitness Project and commented:
I came across this inspiring post about bringing happiness into our homes while taking a Facebook break this afternoon. I was struck by how many similarities there were between the tips provided and ancient Yogic principles. It seems more and more that conventional wisdom and even scientific discoveries are providing evidence for the truths that the Yogis understood intuitively eons ago. Reading through these tips was a helpful reminder to integrate the attitudes, habits, and efforts we cultivate in Yoga to our everyday lives.
Many of the the tips found in this blog resonated strongly with the Yamas and Niyamas, or Yogic self-observance principles. For instance, when seen from a Yogic perspective, the first two tips about keeping our homes tidy are about practicing, Soucha, or cleanliness; When we are free from clutter, we are also free from many of the distractions that can keep us from accessing and acting from our highest, most pure, and productive selves.
Tip number four, the gratitude journal, is an exercise in helping us to cultivate Samtosa — contentment in all things, for everything we will ever need we already have. The trick is, we must practice gratitude and contentment in order to experience this fullness — the suggestion of keeping the journal in this tip can help us to do just that!
Tip number 5 is about “getting into” even the most tedious of tasks. While this is not so much a self-observance principle, this tip is much like one of the eight limbs of yoga, Samadhi, or complete absorption into the present focus of the mind. We all know that feeling when time stops and we feel fully alive and integrated into whatever it we we are doing. Why not live life like this all time, even if we are just doing dishes!?
Finally, The last tip, spending time to cultivate a relationship with a higher power, is remarkably similar to the principle of Īśvara-pranidhāna, or dedication and surrender to spirit. When we recognize that our participation in the world is well connected and integrated into a larger, evolutionary human path (which does not necessarily require a belief in spirit), our lives take on a sense of significance that represents an awe-some blend of confident wisdom without ego, and compassionate humility without self-doubt. By taking time to connect with this idea, we can direct our actions in a way that is most productive for others, and rewarding for ourselves.
Just some thoughts from a CrossFitting Yogi. Hope you enjoy HeadedSomwhere’s post, and my reflections upon it!
Kari
eatreadloveexercise
/ February 19, 2013Wow. It was just what I needed to read. Love these tips. Thank you so much for sharing. I am going to buy this book
Lavonne
/ March 10, 2013Great tips! As I became confined from illness and couldn’t do even the slightest chore, my thoughts overflowed into the financial achievements I still had not acquired and probably never would. My future became grim as I recognized I would never complete an addition to our house and purchase the vacation property we dreamed of, nor would I be able to save enough money to afford us the kind of retirement we hoped to have. The reality was that I may never hold a job again. Then as clearly as if someone was standing behind me, I heard a voice say: “…but you have everything you want. It is just on a smaller scale.” (No, I am not schizophrenic.) I don’t know who/what spoke to me as I was spiraling downward in self doubt. He/she gave me the reason to question whether having more is necessarily better, especially in a market-driven world that puts all value in accumulating things. i do know that the voice I heard took me off guard, causing me stop, step back and evaluate the part of my life I had become too busy to think about. It made me wonder why I was blown so far off course of treasuring my family’s happiness first. When did I start placing so much stock in financial achievements and acquiring things when, in fact, I had more than enough tangible things than I would ever need to sustain us. With reflection, I realize that I never really stopped nurturing my spiritual assets: I have a wonderful, hard-working faithful husband that I love more than I did when I married him 38 years and two daughters ago. I am proud of my daughters and the men they married to share in every aspect of their lives. I always thought gaining anything above the health and happiness of my family was merely incidental. But how easily we can get caught up in the whirlwind of life and all that entails. I want to read the Happiness Book, for everyone needs to enrich themselves spiritually. It is rare for anyone to feel they are truly happy these days, but if anyone achieves happiness, I want it for myself and I want it for my family. Thank you for this blog to remind me that even happiness takes work. And for those who think it shouldn’t, well…I think they need some quiet time. Perhaps their inner spirit will speak to them.
headedsomewhere
/ March 11, 2013I am so in love with this comment; I sent it to my family tonight for a little uplift. Thank you so much for your beautiful honesty. I appreciate it more than you know.
Janis Fisher
/ March 22, 2013I loved this. It was so true and reassuring. Put me in perspective.
Ms. Parkerazzi
/ March 12, 2013Reblogged this on Ms. Parkerazzi and commented:
I did enjoy this article. Very great points on how to be happier and spread happiness. I need to get the Happiness Project.
a day in the life of an adventuresome couple; not your average AARP Seniors
/ March 18, 2013Reblogged this on Letters from Marseille and commented:
Be HAPPIER in your HOME……I just had to re-blog
elliekayba
/ March 22, 2013Reblogged this on The Adventurous Me and commented:
When I read this I couldn’t help but share it. These tips are increbile and I am going to start incorporating them into my life every day. We only get one life in this world and I want mine to be as happy as it can be.
The Rented Home
/ March 24, 2013Beautifully written! I love your post and easy for even the most unorganized to hopefully get order in their life. We live a life very similar to the one you have written about, but while reading I am noting that it is easy to sway away and I thank you for getting me back on track and remembering how life can become crazy and chaotic if we let it or so simple and blissful we just have to take a deep breath and just breathe.
Mary
/ March 25, 2013We just moved from our “home” into a temporary, much larger home…even though we longed for more space,now I can’t seem to get myself to unpack…thanks for these tips! It’s not about where the home is but who is in it…and I have plenty to surround myself with!
Roberta
/ April 9, 2013I like these tips and having a relationship with God makes # 10 even better! In fact He makes everything better!
The Rented Home
/ May 1, 2013Reblogged this on The Rented Home and commented:
The Happiness Project – 10 ways to be happier in your home.
I hope this will inspire you and help make your home a happier home.
The Rented Home