Enjoy Your Home and Garden
This past couple of years or so has resulted in many of us spending more time in our homes.
Being unable to do much else, we’ve committed to updating them, doing those improvements we always intended to do, sorting out the gardens, investing in our homes as best we can.
It’s become important to make our homes more comfortable and even treat our gardens as an extra room, an extension of our homes.
Many of us have expressed a new found appreciation for our homes and gardens, enjoying what we have, whilst also valuing some special time outdoors. Spending time in nature has become more important, as we’ve discovered the joy of walking, running and riding our bikes, activities that motivate us to extend our healthy time outside in the fresh air.
With so many people working from home it’s become important for those people to escape their computers and look to find joy in the time they spend at home in comfort, also enjoying their gardens and nature.
Our homes have had extra love invested, with us taking time to declutter and look after them. Introducing bright colours, prints, fabrics and textures has made them welcoming havens. As has displaying children’s artwork and creations, all personal touches that make a house more homely.
Even though shopping online for essentials has continued as an option for many, the use of home delivery for food, clothes and all manner of goods has lessened. As spring and summer start to arrive, people are gradually moving away from spending as much time indoors. They want to continue enjoying their gardens, nature and their time outdoors.
Some who don’t have a garden have cultivated their balconies and window boxes, perhaps tending a few flowers, herbs or vegetables. Allotments have increased in popularity. Home grown tomatoes are a treat and watering them, watching them grow can bring hours of satisfaction, plus they smell and taste amazing.
It’s important to remember that time outdoors delivers many important health benefits. We’re able to top up our vitamin D levels, breathe clean fresh air, maybe get some physical exercise weeding, mowing and generally maintaining our gardens, so increasing our fitness and wellbeing. Remember that the darker autumn and winter months encourage hibernation, where we make more melatonin, causing us to feel sleepier.
It’s good to increase our serotonin levels by getting outdoors in the daylight, so consequently feeling brighter. Plus, it’s important to rest our eyes and refocus away from computer screens by enjoying distant views in nature. A regular routine brings structure to our lives and starting the day with some yoga, stretching, or a walk or run outdoors can be a positive way to wake up well.
Quiet alone time can bring peace and calm to each new day. But, so too can enjoying quality activities with family or friends, taking opportunities to invest time and love into your home, building memories by sharing, catching up on each other’s news and enhancing your relationships. Also, inviting people round can be an inexpensive way to enhance your social life, use your home well and be a good motivator to tidy the place up!
Smells and sounds can be enjoyed both in your home and garden. Music, fresh flowers, scented candles, diffusers can be lovely additions. It’s possible to attract many different birds to your garden by planting wild flowers, having a bird table and bath and maybe nesting boxes.
It’s good to have a different pace of life at home, a pace that doesn’t typically require a watch or clock. Then we can detach from our daily stresses and pressures for a time, especially beneficial for those who have ongoing worries and uncertainties to contend with.
Turning off your devices is important. Detaching from a busy life and turning off external noise and stimulus allows your time at home and in your garden to be a calming, peaceful experience. Having a place where you’re able to return and relax, unwind and destress can make a significant contribution to your improved health and wellbeing, becoming a very special part of your day!
At times we may have significant issues that need to be discussed, dealt with and resolved. Why not set aside a specific time to talk things through, so that they don’t become an all-consuming matter of concern. Whilst there may not always be a resolution, doing this at least allows those involved to have dedicated time when they feel listened to and respected.
Taking a break in your home and garden can be done without spending too much money. You could go for a walk, and if the weather’s bad, why not wrap up warm and come home to steaming mugs of hot chocolate, a warm bath or perhaps a meal that’s been slowly cooking whilst you’ve been out. Or do something together as a family, getting out the board games, chatting, sharing a meal. Or, have some personal time on your own to enjoy reading, relaxing, disconnecting from your daily life and clearing your mind.
Being flexible enables you to discover the many ways you can spend time in your home and garden, so finding it a valuable and rewarding experience.
Susan Leigh, Counsellor & Hypnotherapist lifestyletherapy.net
