Homespiration

When your life is based in the home, you might as well make it the most wonderful place on earth. There are certain elements that make home life different than anything else. Some things that change the over all look and atmosphere of the home are surprisingly simple and only require a few cents and a little bit of effort.

*Use all your senses--touch, smell and taste, sight, and sound, and get an over-all feeling for your home. Use a combination of old and new, handmade and purchased items to give it that homey feeling.

*Use colors in the house that make you like best and feel happiest around.

*Make the most of light. Don't block windows where there is a pleasant view to certain spots of your yard around your house. Arrange furniture in such a way that it takes advantage of the daylight, or the sunset.

*Line up books according to their subject and size, or for a change, try putting them in color categories, according to the color of the binding.

*Add interesting touches to your house cleaning: a photo in a shelf of books, or a left over gift-wrap inside of a drawer. The number of things you can do to make things beautiful while putting things in order, is limitless.

*Clean up the living room on your way to retire at night. When you get up in the morning, your mood will not go down immediately, as it often does when we wake up to piles of disorganization.

*While reaching into a space such as a cabinet or refrigerator to get something, take a second to neaten and discard empty containers.

*Think about breakfast the night before, so that it can be planned to be more leisurely even if you have a time limit. Set the table and prepare what you can ahead of time to be retreived easily from the fridge.

*If you'll allow yourself time in the morning to prepare your appearance for anything (company, being called suddenly outside the home), you will set your mood on the upside in the very beginning of the day. If possible, dress to compliment your home. Home sewing is a great advantage, in that the sewer can sew clothing for inspiration as well as use.


*When you change your bedding, engage the help of someone to turn the mattress around so that it has equal wear and tear all around it. Make a decorative pillow to add to the newly made bed. I used to make these pillows whenever my husband had to go on a trip, and now I enjoy quite a number of them on the beds, from a birdcage shaped cushion to a large pink pig, and satin heart-shapes with ruffles for the guest room.

*If you haven't pruned your apple tree, you can cut down the shoots just when the buds appear on them, bring them into the house and perch them in a large tin vase on a table, to watch them unfold into those enchanting pink apple blossoms.

*The dollar store has a scented cleaning product that doesn't seem as toxic as commercial products, which comes in lime, berry, vanilla or other scents, which you can put on a cloth to wipe your sinks, cabinests, floors,or just about anything except wood, in the kitchen or bathroom. Get one in the color that goes with your decor, and it helps make cleaning pleasant.

*If you don't like to burn candles for light and scent, there are now battery opperated candles from www.victoriantradingcompany.com and some electric ones with scented bulbs from www.thecountryhouse.com

* If you have small trash cans in different rooms, always line them with a plastic bag. It is very unsanitary to put trash directly into a container, which collects mold and mildew and requires cleaning. You can purchase scented trash bags or use plastic grocery sacks which you can scent yourself by placing those "free" perfume strips on cards that you often get in the mail or in promotional sales flyers in the mail. Emily Barnes suggests you add a paper doily to the edge and fold the bag over the container, tying it down with a wired ribbon.

*Keep a basket or atrractive container by the front door to collect items that must be returned or delivered somewhere else. If you have a stairs, keep a container to collect items to go upstairs in one trip.

*Have an assortment of "house ingredients" to make your house complete: books, lamps, pillows, wrought iron, shiny metal, lighting (lamps, candles, etc), wood, rugs and floor coverings, crystal and glass, ceramics, and cloth items. Everyone has some of these things, and they can be combined to make your surroundings comforting and bright.

*If you have children, they need to grow up in the most cheerful atmosphere possible. YOU can do it better than anyone else. Create a decor that will having meaning to them. Take them on a house tour of your own dwelling, pointing out the reason that things are being used or placed where they are, where they came from, and why they were chosen. This "house appreciation" tour will increase their love for their home and family.

*Keep a house journal, with pictures of progress you have made. Include a pocket to keep purchase papers and care instructions, receipts and paperwor. Write dates that things were done, such as painting projects, furniture rearranging and replacements. This will be an inspiration later on. I know one woman who has a photograph scrapbook journal where she kept a running log of her husband's work on their house. She has photographs of all the things he made in his wood-working shop--shelves, a quilt rack, a table, etc., and his yard work from start to finish. This may not be feasible for everyone, but it is not too late to photograph a finished room and see how it looks, put it in a book, and enjoy it later.

*Plan to host something in your home at least once a season, whether it be a celebration, or a teaching opportunity of art, sewing or crafts, or a friend for tea. These kinds of things increase the meaning and purpose of home living and motivate the homemaker to maintain it make it attractive so that others can learn from her example and be comforted by her hospitality.

*Besides keeping a daily list of things to do, and a daily routine, set out work reminders or work stations in various rooms that will beg to be done. For example, put your peat pots and seeds beside the kitchen sink when you have finished cleaning the kitchen. This will remind you to get that job done sometime during the day. Put a pile of unfolded towels from the dryer in the bathroom. That will remind you to fold them the next time you are in the bathroom. Set out a sewing project in a neat basket, or letter writing materials on the desk with the letters you need to answer. Put hooks and decorations that need to be hung, in the room that they need to go, so that it will jolt your memory as you walk through.

*The most neglected rooms in the house seem to be the bedrooms, laundry room, pantry, porches, offices and spare rooms. We think that no one will see these rooms so we may not pay particular attention to their organization or decor. However, they will have an effect on your mind and your mood. Cleaning them and arranging them will add to a sense of well-being in the home.

I'm not an expert on home organization and still have a long way to go to get caught up after the children have grown. I am just learning many of these techniques as I've been able to take a more critical look at my house. When you are home most of the time, you might as well make it as pleasant as possible, and if possible, better than anywhere else you've ever been. If you can look at work as an opportunity to improve your home and your own stamina, it will increase your willingness to do it.




photo from www.bhg.com