One of my favorite home therapy rituals is a little activity I call puttering. No matter what my schedule looks like, I make time for puttering because it makes such a difference in how I feel at home!
Do you do this too? (or perhaps you call it something else?)
Puttering is to occupy yourself in an unhurried pleasant manner on a number of small tasks, while not concentrating on anything particular.
I am an “idea” person. My mind is often bursting with ideas faster than I can make them reality! Sometimes, I have so many ideas or things to do that I feel paralyzed by what to do next. Other times, I can tell my creative batteries need a bit of a recharge, but I don’t necessarily have enough time or energy to tackle much.
Regardless of which mode I’m in, it never fails to serve me well when I slow down and putter for a bit. :)
Puttering is relaxing, but still feels rewarding and productive! It gives me a chance to reconnect to my home, to think about how I feel in a space, a way to be spontaneously creative with ideas.
The Goal of Puttering:
The goal of puttering is not to complete an ‘extreme home makeover.’ It’s about slowing down and tending to your home, and then feeling that love come back to you!
It’s not really puttering if you make a step by step plan and have too many expectations for how it will go.
The results of your puttering don’t have to be groundbreaking, they don’t even have to be permanent! What matters is that you took some time to be present in your home and show it a little love.
Puttering is about enjoying little things more. Maybe you are inspired to swap pillow covers, or to move a chair to a new location just to see how it feels. You can change what’s on your mantel, declutter a surface, or decide to repot a plant…there are endless puttering possibilities!
Puttering could begin in one room and end up in every room, or it could just be focused on one corner!
Puttering is like a home therapy session.
Maybe you’re not feeling the love for your home right now, or you just are in a bit of a slump? Perhaps you tend to put off what you could do today because you think maybe another day you’ll have more time or be more inspired? I understand those feelings, that’s why I like puttering!
Puttering is like offering yourself a home therapy session. It’s good for you, and your home. It takes away the expectations and overwhelm of making a decision, but gives you a bit of focused time so you can enjoy caring for your surroundings.
Often I will make myself a hot drink, turn on some tunes, and then just follow my whims to see what inspires and transpires!
Puttering is a morale booster! A quick tidy of a nightstand, a dusting of a tabletop, or even a few handpicked flowers in a vase can bring a small but much needed mood boost.
Every day the ordinary can be more beautiful and inspiring if we want it to be. Yes, creating beauty in our home is a choice we can make, even if we don’t feel inspired! I’ve used puttering to get myself out of a slump in my home when I wasn’t feeling it a zillion times over the years!
Give puttering a try and see how you feel.
Do you want to make progress on your home this year alongside an encouraging community? I’d LOVE to have you a part of our new HomeBody Gathering Place!
You are invited to a comfy corner of the internet for people who want to turn their home into their sanctuary.
As a member of the (all new!) HomeBody Gathering Place, we will offer daily routines, seasonal rhythms, and printables to help you make progress with your own goals and visions for your home. You’ll be able to take part in fun home challenges, ask questions and offer ideas, and we can talk about all of the practical and enjoyable ways to create a sanctuary in every season.
We’ll share relevant ideas, topics and motivational challenges to help each of us reach our own unique sanctuary goals. Best of all we’ll be on this journey together. You’ll be able to slow down, find the encouragement you need and be inspired by like-minded friends who are also passionate about creating a sanctuary.
Registration is now officially open for a limited time!
If you would enjoy a community like this, we hope you’ll join us! Invite your sisters, friends, neighbors, moms or daughters, and let’s do this together!
More inspiration on The Inspired Room:
How to Decorate: A Slow Process to a Style You’ll Love
My decorating and homemaking books, including NYT Bestseller Love the Home You Have
Excellent way of putting it! I, too, am an idea person and love to putter around the house. Puttering allows you to see what you need to do/want to do around your house in a very relaxed manner. Thank you for your article, it was very welcomed! And I absolutely love you home and your beautiful dog!
Thank you Karenann! I appreciate the comment! I love that we can share a love of these simple pleasures at home.
I love to putt! Especially in the winter when cooped up! Swap curtains, rugs, pillows and art work from room to room. Paint, visit Home Goods, buy plants. In the NE, keeps me sane until summer!
I’m 88 yrs. young and I swear by “ puttsing”….doesn’t have to be more than putting some new books on a table or putting a birds nest next to a bowl! Keeps me happy..and you know ,happy wife happy life….
I so agree with you, Gloria! Puttering is such a a happy experience! It’s definitely the simplest things like you described that bring the most joy.
Love this! I always call it “piddling” and swear it’s better when I have someone to just be present while I do it.. usually one of my sisters on FaceTime.
Piddling makes me laugh, I love that! How fun to hang out together as you do this, too!
Putter is so fun. I love the easy pace of puttering and the quietness of it as well. Totally agree that it is free home therapy!! Can’t wait to do some Monday when I have a day off!
YAY! Enjoy!
Love this post and it’s definitely something I need to do more of! Recently I have been in decluttering mode which has been very productive, so I think following that with some puttering to make little changes to spruce things up would be perfect! Also, I just love your home, neighborhood, and amazing view!
I think that sounds fabulous!! Enjoy! And thank you so much, we love our new home and neighborhood!
We call it pottering here in Australia. It’s such a fun thing to do and freshens a space without spending a fortune! 😊
Oh, pottering, I like that Lesley! It really is soo rewarding to be able to refresh a space (and our spirits) with very little stress and money. It’s fun to think of us all enjoying this practice, in different parts of the world, with our own word to describe it. :-)
We had sun today in the Willamette Valley so I puttered in the yard. A little bed clean up, rose pruning, and raking. Rain tomorrow so after reading your blog I know it’s okay to put away some of the winter decor because I have kept it out because I thought I “should”. Thank you!!
Sounds like a delightful way to spend a sunny day! And I’m glad you’re inspired! I think it makes a significant impact when we just do what inspires us, regardless of what the calendar or designer rules or neighbors say! 🌷 Enjoy the rainy day!
I call it pottering and I also love that you ‘shop your house’ to change things around instead of always buying new. It has been bitterly cold in England this week, but with some sunshine and I can see some tiny green shoots of bulbs coming up in our garden.
My husband is always laughing about how I love to putter around and I do. I feel I am very creative when I am doing this, tweaking here and there brings me great joy and it’s relaxing to me.
Loved your article and glad to hear there are more of us!!!!
Great post, Melinda!
Puttering is a lost art. While we were quarantined, I styled a “Putter Basket”.
After reading your post and the lovely comments here, I am now inspired to style one for outside and garden.
I love your concept of puttering and have coined it as one of my favorite hobbies!
I confess. I would rather redecorate my house than clean it. But puttering is my warm-up exercise. As I tweak the decorations, getting ready for a visit from friends or family, the desire to present a clean and pretty home turns into an almost enjoyable cleaning session. I love my home and I love enjoying the results of puttering now and then.
I never really knew what to call it, but I love puttering! The act of taking it slower while working on a few different things. It’s relaxing. The feeling of not being rushed is wonderful in todays world.
I love to “putter”. It is relaxing and I enjoy seeing a little change. I might buy one or two new items to refresh a seasonal display. I am trying not to add to my decor, and trying to declutter so I really try to ‘shop my home’. I like to change items on top of tables, chests, etc. Big furniture item rarely change.
Glad to know others do this also!
I’ve always called it “house fluffing”, though I’m not sure why, haha! It is really such a great stress or boredom reliever, as well as a spirit lifting activity. I think we tend to stop seeing our things if we don’t move them around every once in a while. Fluffing keeps me from spending money on trinkets I don’t need, because more often than not I find something I forgot I had!
SO TRUE, it offers so many benefits!
Melissa, puttering really does make a difference! I love to putter around my house. It always makes me feel grounded again and is guaranteed to put me into a great mood. Nice to know I am not the only one. Such a great post! You have a beautiful and cosy home.-Meagan
Thank you Meagan!