Most of our days we´re "on". Serving people either as employees or volunteers. Spending endless hours commuting, organizing and evaluating. If you want to live such a life and stay healthy for the long haul, you got to have a home that allows you to get some rest and regain energy.
Years ago I had this conversation. I mentioned that I preferred to hang out in cafés rather than staying at home. I didn´t really feel at home in our flat. The response I got: "Then you need to move!" - A few months later my wife and I did just that (of course we moved for other reasons too!).
The flat we moved in brought a whole new dimension into our lives: We enjoy being at home. We really did!
In the Bible Jesus challenges us to love our neighbor and ourself (Matthew 22:39). Loving ourself should never become the main thing in our lives. On the other hand this verse means to me that I´m allowed to spoil myself without a bad conscious.
You don´t necessarily need to move in order to enjoy your home while living your everyday life. Some adjustments in one of these areas can already make a difference:
Eating plays a big role when it comes to functioning in any area of responsibility on a daily and weekly basis. Therefore we should enjoy using places like the kitchen and eating space.
Right before our summer vacation I finally put up our new lamp above the dining table. Call us crazy but it really increased our anticipation to come back home. Last week we spontaneously changed the kids chairs. Now we have more space and our youngest daughter sits way better at the table. What a difference for our family meals!?
Maybe it´s time to fix the thing that has been broken for a long time. Maybe it´s time to buy the kitchen machine or the furniture you have been dreaming of for such a long time. - Do whatever it takes to enjoy the preparation of meals and drinks at home a lot more.
Relaxation is another part, that we should´t underestimate. Despite the fact that I work from home from time to time, I try to get into the habit of ending my workday at latest at the front door. Somebody said...
"You shouldn´t want to be with your family when at work and you shouldn't want to be at work when with your family."
That can take doing a phone call on my way home. Just to be done with that as well when I arrive. Or adding things to my To-do list instead of turning on my computer at night. There´re always exceptions but rarely is something that important that it can´t wait till the next day.
What kind of habits do you need to develop in order to have more time at home to relax?
Efficiency probably isn't a word you associate with the place you live. However, optimizing a few things can make a huge difference.
For example: Building up stocks puts you in the position that you doesn't need to do grocery shopping every day. A couple of years ago I found some tips concerning this in a cookbook. Since then I try to avoid spending too much time in supermarkets.
Packing my bag or preparing my meals the night before is another thing that helps a lot. It enables me to have more time in the morning and to leave home more relaxed.
Thinking of your everyday life: Where can you simplify or optimize things?
What is most important to you concerning your home? I´m looking forward to reading your comment.
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