***Do You Have a Harmonious Home?

What is a harmonious home?

It’s where you go to take off your tight belt, your pinching shoes, your happy face, and your tired psyche. You leave the grime and grit of the outside world behind – including the co-worker who heats up fish and broccoli in the microwave and talks to you through the cubicle walls . . . throughout the day.

When you walk up to your door and enter, that’s it--your sanctuary. Your harmonious home. Everything is just as you like it–the color of the walls, the furnishings and accessories, there’s not too much or too little, you can easily find everything you need. Your systems are streamlined and appealing bringing balance and health into your everyday life. You can sit down to relax without seeing unfinished projects everywhere you look. Your home feels comfortable and lived in, but it doesn’t feel inhabited - as in taken over by an outside force (children, a thrift store obsession, varmints). Your family, if you have one, is respectful to you and to each other. They contribute equally to bring harmony into your shared living spaces.

Does this describe your home? If not, it could. My place used to be cluttered, disorganized, and quite frankly embarrassing. I decided years ago that it was important for me to create a sanctuary, so I did. And you can too.

Your home is the starting place for everything that happens in your life. It’s the foundation. It’s the backbone of a regular healthy eating and fitness routine. It’s at the heart of your rest and relaxation. It is your wellness environment – or could be.

One of the most important elements when creating a harmonious home is getting clear on your vision for your space. Know your style and what you want to achieve. Everyone’s vision is different. Mine is beauty and efficiency. What’s your vision? Do you want to feel expansive and vibrant when you get home? Or would you rather have a calm and quiet retreat? Do you prefer open spaces or complex highly decorated ones? Do you like bright and clear colors or natural and muted ones? Do you want to welcome many visitors or keep the blinds closed? Do you like everything in sight or everything put away behind closed doors and drawers? Do you want one theme for your décor or do you prefer eclectic?

Another key element is to know what benefits you are trying to achieve when creating or enhancing your harmonious home. A clean, organized home can bring you clarity, peace, and confidence to name just a few benefits. Have you thought about how the improvements you make will benefit you in ways that you really value? Here’s an example. If you continuously leave unfinished projects in clear view to remind you to do them, you may not be aware of the negative impact of this well-meaning habit. It’s a fact--I’ve proved it to myself-- unfinished projects are a bummer to look at when you come home tired at the end of the day. They make you feel overwhelmed and maybe even lazy because you have continued to let them slide. Fact is, you’re probably not lazy at all. You’re just tired and a bit unclear about your home management priorities.

You also must keep in mind what costs you're paying for NOT investing your time and energy in creating a harmonious home. Here’s a little exercise that will help you get in touch with the price you are paying for keeping things as they are. Soften your gaze as you walk to the entrance of one of your rooms. Now sharpen your focus and look at the room as if for the first time. Pretend that you’re company. Take a mental snap shot. Or get out your camera and take a real photo.

With this clear focus you’ll see all the little things about the room that rob your peace of mind. You’ll see the ugly painting over the fireplace that you never really liked. You’ll see the stack of unread books leaning precariously on the coffee table. You’ll see piles of clothes or mail or newspapers. And of course there are the unpacked boxes from your move four years ago. There may even be some dirty dishes mixed in just to make you feel really cruddy. And there’s almost always a gift that you dislike but display so you don’t hurt somebody’s feelings. Or worse, there are relics from past relationships that continually remind you of your big and little failures. That’s bad Feng Shui, not harmonious home!

If you’re shocked by what you see when you look at your home with fresh eyes, don’t be. It’s really easy to get so comfortable in our surroundings that we stop seeing them. Maybe it’s time to switch things up and create a cleaner, neater, more harmonious home.

This isn't a course in miracle working. You have to clear the decks and make time. Just like any transformation, a harmonious home takes forethought and a bit of planning. Invite a friend to help you revision your place. Set aside time either in big blocks or a few minutes every day to start chipping away at the things that don’t belong in your sanctuary. And remove those items as quickly as possible. I call this clearing off the first layer of excess.

The harmonious home already lives in your space – you just have to carve away everything that isn’t harmonious. You may need just a small chisel, or you may need a jack hammer. Either way, just start. What’s one thing you could do right now to make your home more harmonious? Do it now!

If you’re unsure how to proceed and want step-by-step guidance, visit www.cherylmillerville.com/harmonioushome for help. I’ll show you how to clean up, organize, and streamline the three most important rooms in your home: the bedroom, the bathroom, and the kitchen.