If you have a busy schedule like I do this fall, you probably crave more peace, order and serenity in your home. As important as it is to make visual statements in your home (the ta da! moments we all seem to strive for) it is also very important to create places of calm to counteract the chaos of life. The more you have going on in your life, the more this will resonate with you.
Having a home that reflects serenity can truly give you a sense of peace. In today’s world, that is more important than ever.
I am really craving that serenity right now (yes, I even feel like chanting “serenity now, serenity now!”). So to kick off the busy week ahead in a positive direction, I’m thinking of ways to bring more calm to my life and to create a peaceful haven at home. Here are some suggestions:
1. CLEAR THE CLUTTER
The best way to create serenity is to clear the clutter and visual chaos. When your home is filled with stuff, be it clutter, piles of papers, dirty laundry, projects, or even too many accessories or an abundance of furnishings, your eye has no peaceful place to land. You want to allow breathing room for your own sanity!
Most of us could do with about half as much stuff in our house and things would feel a lot calmer. If you are overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, grab some grocery bags and run around the house filling them with clutter. You can attack each bag later, and enjoy a calmer home right now.
2. ESTABLISH ROUTINES
If you struggle with disorder, or just general chaos in your life, routines can be the key to bringing calm to your life! Start with a morning routine, a cleaning routine, or a bedtime routine, and build from there. Once you have a few basic routines established, you’ll feel more in control of your life and the disorder of life will not feel as overwhelming.
3. SIMPLIFY YOUR DECOR
In your decor, you can do a number of things to create a more visually serene environment. Including getting rid of excess stuff, you can fill your home with soothing color palettes and and soft textures. It is amazing what a difference a color scheme and lots of cozy fabrics can make in how a room feels, so be sure to consider this if you are looking for a more peaceful environment.
4. CREATE A SPA BATHROOM
Some people find their bathrooms are a calm destination during the storms of life. While most of us can’t justify a regular trip to a spa, we can “get the feeling” of one in our home. Creating a spa-like environment to shower, bathe, or pamper yourself as you get ready each day or evening can make a real difference in your attitude!
I love having a luxurious faucet, a big bowl of fragrant soaps, jars filled with bath salts, and fluffy towels ready for after a bubble bath.
5. PRACTICE DAILY SOLITUDE
Give yourself permission to enjoy peace & quiet every day! If you take care of yourself you will be better equipped to face the day’s challenges. I’ve had a couple of times in my life where I let myself get so busy, I got stressed out and didn’t take care of myself emotionally, spiritually or physically. Having time to rejuvenate yourself is part of setting a healthy tone for your home.
Create a small corner where you can think (preferably in a locked room if you have children!). Put in a comfy chair, soft lighting, a candle, and have your favorite books or magazines at the ready for some quiet time. Spend a little time every morning in solitude and you’ll be much more equipped to face the day. In fact, just seeing your quiet corner can lower your stress level during the day!
The outside world can be a stressful place, but with a little attention to our home and how we live in it, we really can find that sanctuary we all need at the end of the day!
If you have not yet taken the time to join the You.Propelled Community over at Divine Caroline, I encourage you to spend some time there. You’ll find articles and forums that encourage positive changes in your life and a community that promotes well-being, health and balanced living. Take a little break for yourself and check it out, I know you’ll find some inspiring ideas and information!
Thanks to Propel for sponsoring The Inspired Room! I’m proud to be working with Propel on the You.Propelled project this fall.
photo inspiration: House Beautiful
Hi, I'm Melissa. This is where I share inspiration for creating a simple, authentic and beautiful home.
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{ 34 comments… read them below or add one }
Love this, love you. I have been craving serenity and although I love the clearing the clutter parts, the routine parts, and the simplifying the decor and even my new spa like bathroom, the best part is the daily solitude.
Emily@remodelingthislife´s last blog ..Watching For Beauty
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Great post.
Serenity now – isn’t that a Seinfeld quote!!
I crave Serenity!!!
Alison
Alison Gibbs´s last blog ..WATERSIDE WEDNESDAY 16th September
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I feel like clearing clutter now. Thanks Melissa!
Puna´s last blog ..September 20, September Mornin’
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ok, I’m sorely lacking this week in number of those areas…but at least I know it.
Jen@Balancing Beauty and Bedlam´s last blog ..Are coupons worth it?
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I always feel more stressed when I look around and all I see is “stuff”! I have to get organized! #1 I do walk around with the grocery bag and it surprises me how much is trash! With mail and school papers, I need to look at it once and get rid of what I really don’t need…Now on to #2-5!
~Nancy
Nancy´s last blog ..Mock Canopy
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Serenity…what a perfect word for what we wish our homes to reflect.
Now, to achieve it!
Having a place for everything is my biggest challenge.
Things keep coming into my house but older things don’t leave at the same pace…
I’m working on that.
Becky K.
Becky K.´s last blog ..I am a Winner!
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LOVE this post! I am also screaming for some serenity. This weekend, I made a pledge to organize/declutter just one little area each day. Otherwise I get overwhelmed that I can’t do the entire house all at once.
Sue @ Laundry for Six´s last blog ..obama and me
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Hi Melissa,
This is a great post. I was chuckling because I have actually done the “throw the stuff in the bags” thing. I know that when my home is too cluttered, my mind is cluttered. I definitely like to create a peaceful, warm environment for me and my family and that is exactly what I have been working on these past few weeks.
Now if I could just get better at doing laundry in a more timely fashion…oh ya and ironing too!! Have a blessed day.
LeAnn:)
LeAnn´s last blog ..Our new sofa
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What great advice. I find that all of these are very true, especially having a little quiet time every day and having a routine. I seem to be lacking on these lately and I can feel it. It is the perfect time to start doing these things, though, now that it’s winding down to fall and soon we will be stuck indoors.
Sarah @ In A Dream´s last blog ..Inspiration Everywhere I Look
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This is great! I have been reminding myself daily with “serenity now” (in my Jerry Seinfeld act) but this is dead on! What a difference peace and gratitude can make in a life.
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Well, I am at least getting one room organized this week–the playroom…although can’t imagine much serenity in there. EVER.
Keelie´s last blog ..Let’s Party!
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Love this!
Thank you for sharing.
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Yep…, serenity now is a Steinfeld quote! My house is as serene and clutter free as it can be…, but in drawers and behind closet doors, chaos rules…, I got to reflect upon that! Or better yet, clean up.
Maya@Completely-Coastal´s last blog ..Smitten by Mr. & Mrs. Smith
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Our lives have definitely been chaotic lately. Even though well decorated displays look nice, when I’m sitting at home, I like spacious counters and table tops. It gives me plenty of places to rest my eyes without constantly looking to see if something is out of place.
songbirdtiff´s last blog ..Raw Apple Cake (+giveaway announcement!)
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Great tips Melissa!
I work at home and like my surroundings to be colorful and stimulating but more and more I’m seeing the value of having at least one space that’s visually calmer and quieter. My master bed and bath are undergoing a makeover and the bright colors of the rest of my home will be really dialed back in there… I’m so looking forawrd to that!
Tracy´s last blog ..And we lived happily ever after…
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How on earth did you read my mind so perfectly???? This is sooooo where I am at in my life right now. Love your photos…Besides scaling down , I am determined to go neutral in my color schemes throughout the house. No more in your face color palettes for this stage of my life. Been there done that..if you know what I mean. Great post…thanks
janet metzger´s last blog ..Rockabilly Summers Eve Rib Tee Dress with Free Shipping
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I like the wallpaper in the blue & white bathroom that looks so fresh and clean. Sweet.
Your post reminds me that I need to practice the art of letting go.
Charlotte´s last blog ..Innovation
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Great post!
I especially find the routine part to hold true for us!
Alyshia
Alyshia´s last blog ..Pretty Spooky Halloween Decor
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So true. so true! I need to re-establish some of these things in my life. My life is pretty up and down and all around these days.
Hope all is well. How are things at the new Church?
teresa´s last blog ..September fools day-
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Those are great tips! In the 2 short years since we built this house, I have gone through it so many times with bags to clear the clutter! Then the bags were taken up to the 3rd floor never to be seen again. Finally, I have the nerve to clean out the 3rd floor and get that livable space back. Hubby has hauled off 3.5 Sequoia truckloads full of stuff to Goodwill – and I STILL have much work to do!
My home office also needs a LOT of help! Augh…it is the worst room right now, and I spend so much time in it!
Thanks for the inspiration! =-)
Amber´s last blog ..Goodbye Summer! Goodbye Corn!
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Oh yes…cleaning out the clutter certainly helps me personally!
Muthering Heights´s last blog ..Once Bitten
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This is all so true. Ridding the clutter does free up the soul. Thanks for these wonderfully serene pictures and the great advice!
Jean´s last blog ..Simple Woman’s Daybook
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Melissa, Thanks for a beautiful and inspiring post (as always!)
Just what I needed. Yes, Serenity NOW! With a little work that is.
~ Violet
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Love this! My bedroom had really become a mess while I was updating my master bath, and it gave me a stomach ache to even walk in there. I just redid my bedroom and made a point of fully decluttering, accessorizing sparingly, and not letting anything re-enter the room unless it served a purpose and helped to maintain the room’s clutter-free serene feeling. I can’t tell you what a difference that one little room has made in my sense of well being. Amazing…
Thanks again!
AnNicole@OurSuburbanCottage´s last blog ..Dear Pottery Barn People: I Accept Large Bills
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I really need to work on giving myself some relaxation time in the morning before work. It would be great to enjoy my mug of coffee while reading the Bible. Or, taking some time to write down ideas for an upcoming sewing project.
That would be bliss
GUSSY
GUSSY´s last blog ..{GUSSY this week…}
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LOVED this post.
Wonderful tips! I say “Serenity Now” so often (or think it, at least) that I used it for my blog’s title. 
Gotta love the Seinfeld. 
Amanda @ Serenity Now´s last blog ..Move Over, Judy Garland!
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What great reminders! I can’t help but think of one of the great preacher’s (like maybe John Wesley?) mother who would lift up her apron over her face and pray-her children knew what that meant and would steer clear! We all need times of solitude and quiet, even more so when life is busy. I’m all for going without sleep for those quiet moments because I know they contribute to my sanity!
Gina´s last blog ..Adding Touches of Fall
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As usual I sooo agree with you.
While we are in the serenity place we choose, the challenge isnt to sit there and review the “crazy”… but to really focus on how we put out the positives in our lives, so that more positive will revisit us.
What we put out there really does come full circle… remember to be thankful for the challenges, as there is something there to learn from and be thank FULL for.
Have a fantastic FALL week! If you get a chance I would love for you to stop by and say hi.
TTFN~~Claudia ♥ ♥
Claudia @ DipityRoad´s last blog ..Autumn Wreath
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I spend my days helping people declutter their lives and no one ever gets to the end of the process and says, “oh, I miss all that mess”. My word to ponder for this week’s blog was from Francis de Sales, “In everything, love simplicity”.
Joan´s last blog ..What comes in that must go out?
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Thanks for the great ideas…”serenity now”
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I have to say most of my house is clutter free but I have to do something about this “office” of mine. It is a MULTI purpose room, so I have little room, actually a SMALL computer desk and LOTS of papers etc. Thanks for inspiring me to go get a grocery bag and PURGE:):):) Pinky
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Seems that I am continually decluttering my home. We are pretty busy, and things can pile up pretty fast. To help, I made it a rule a long time ago that if I bring something new into a room, I have to get rid of at least one thing in its place.
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Aloha
Simply submerged into your thoughts of Serenity…enjoyed it..Mahalo
Brandi A. Williams´s last blog ..Awesome Sunday in Paradise…
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Love the idea of serenity in my surroundings! I’ve been trying to get rid of my clutter for years! Its easy to clear it away, but its hard not to clutter the space up again!
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