Little Things You Can Do At Home To Lift The Mood
During Lockdown 1, I wrote a couple of pieces on the blog about our suddenly-changed circumstances, How To Make The Most Of Your Space During Lock-down and Working From Home With A Young Family - What I've Learned Three Years In.
We all found ourselves home with our families, or alone, and were still expected to put in a days’ work, and for some of us, whilst homeschooling too. The pressure is enormous. This time around it feels heavier, the weather here in the UK is mostly grey and cold and even going out for a walk sometimes feels like a chore. So I’ve been thinking of small some things we can do around the home to lift our mood whilst we are once again required to stay home.
Here is our short list of small changes that will hopefully bring a tiny bit of joy.
ADD OR UPDATE ARTWORK
If, like most of us, you’ve been collecting prints or taking photos on holidays over the years, and never got round to framing or printing them, now might be the time. Put up those photos that bring back lovely holiday memories, or prints that remind you of a gallery or museum visit with a friend. At the moment, that can only be a good thing!
GET THE PAINT OUT
For the quickest transformation, it has to be paint. Whether you’re craving something bright and vibrant to to cheer things up, or something calm-inducing, a day or two and a tin of paint and you can create a space that will bring a sense of achievement and some lockdown joy.
GET ORGANISED
At home we tackled this messy toy corner with a simple cabinet hack. you can read the full blog post here
For me, one of the things I find most stressful is the daily chaos and clutter of toys, books and exercise equipment. At the end of the day, I want to quickly and easily put everything back in its place and enjoy some calm evening time. If you’re finding the same, why not try organising one room or area at a time, clear out what you don’t need or use and plan really good storage for what is left.
ALLOCATE A HOBBY AREA
If you have a hobby, try to carve out some time, and space for it during this challenging time. It’s easy to start work, or even do a ‘quick email check’ at the weekend and lose track of time, realising hours later that you haven’t even taken a short break.
On a recent project we finished, the clients dedicated a large kitchen drawer solely to baking, it held everything from the magimix to sprinkles, making it easy to access everything for epic weekend baking sessions with their young daughter.
Whatever it is - music, drawing or knitting, refer to Get Organised above, and dedicate some time to creating a little corner of your home that has your vinyls, pencils or knitting needles organised and easily accessible.
BRING IN THE PLANTS
It’s proven that greenery improves our mood, so surround yourself with some houseplants. I love using green in interiors, whether it’s the colour on the walls or the sofa, or even the real thing, it is an incredibly calming colour to have around.
