cozy: (adjective) giving a feeling of comfort, warmth, and relaxation.

Ideally, a home is a safe and cozy place to live in or consistently return to. It may not always look or feel that way depending on your circumstances or season, but whatever the case, there are some steps we can take to create a lighter – more cozy setting in the place we live.

Many things require effort and maintenance, but that doesn’t have to be overwhelming even when some steps are on repeat. When those steps are a part of what inspires deep grateful breaths, we can choose to not perceive them as tedious chores but more so necessary activities that have bright, enjoyable results. Making a point of setting aside daily quiet time, keeping up with laundry, going on a refreshing walk, following-through with a skin-or hair care routine, sticking to a meal plan or getting movement in – all take energy but give back so much more than the effort it takes to gain momentum to do them.

Whether you spend most of your time at home or it’s the place you return to after being in the office or on the road, it’s either a daily nest to tend to or the place where you get precious rest each gifted day. Making the place we spend our most vulnerable moments warm and welcoming is worth doing.

Make your home inviting to you and close loved ones, not only when guests come around. If you live with a set of people who have a different vibe or style from you then decorate your room (or a part of it) to suit.

1. Ambience

2. Sound

3. Fragrance

Taking one step in each of these 3 areas can significantly add some ‘cozy’ to your life at home. 

Ambience 

• De-clutter and clean
• Add houseplants, decorate your kitchen sill with herbs/flowers, set out some cushions, or start a garden you can handle with care
• Books and blankets
• Designate, decorate and make use of a no-phone zone

If you consider yourself environmentally conscious, the place we live counts too.

5 Quiet Time Ideas For Busy-Bodies Seeking Refreshment

Sound 

• Rest and refresh your ears
• Play peaceful and uplifting music (that includes instrumentals.) Breathe, enjoy or hum/sing along
• Listen to birdsongs and leaf-dances more 
• Less screen time, tv or news playing in the background and especially when you’re not in the same room (if that’s a thing for you.) 

Sound (literally) is vibration. What we listen to influences our thought life, perceptions and conversations.

Fragrance 

• Make and sip your favourite hot drink regularly
• Add sweet aromas (like lemon or orange peel with vanilla, cinnamon and spice) simmering in the pot
• Apply a few drops of your favourite fragrant scent to your pillow
• Included a calming savour to your hair moisturizer 
• Start cooking with spices and seasonings (more) and be conscious of the aromas as they fill each room 
• Make a point of gently squeezing and smelling the scent of any rosemary, thyme, basil, mint or scented flowers you have growing at home or you walk by

Just like ‘smelling salts’ can jumpstart someone who’s ‘out cold,’ the aromas we inhale affect our mood in real-time.

The smell of a delicious meal being made, an organic perfume in the air, tea or coffee brewing, fresh bread getting baked or sweet scents on the stove can inspire genuinely uplifting feelings and a cozy kind of content. Not sure? Ever drove behind or walked past a garbage truck? What’s your typical reaction when that happens and how is it different from when you smell your favorite flower or food being made?

Aromas matter and our olfactory system (a.k.a sense of smell) responds to them by sending signals to our brain which passes the message onto our mind that shapes our mood. Kinda like a relay race.

Having a cozy home doesn’t necessarily mean whoever lives in it or passes through it will have a grateful heart, but since you’ve read this post this far you’re likely to make the most of refreshing the ambience at home. Being proactive about our peace is important in and beyond these times, and even a few purposeful steps at home can make a big difference for the better in our state of mind, how we interact with others and how we greet each gifted day.The steps in these posts are topical, like oil on skin…but when applied, we resonate the essence of what’s within. The most important ingredient to keep a home cozy is LOVE. Might sound corny but it’s true. If our mood is set to cold, no amount of cute cushions or flowery flavours can override that. A warm heart is a good start.

Which step in what zone is the most inviting to you to cozy-up your home? I’m doing the simmering scents on the stove one next.

P.S: Dear sister, if you’re in a situation where you’re not in a position to adjust the physical setting where you live, a loving reminder that the mind is a kind of home too; it’s where thoughts live, memories can linger, dreams spring from and promises reside. We can be just as vigilant and diligent about de-cluttering, cleaning, re-decorating, refreshing and renewing our minds the same way at the same time. 

Related post: Setting Aside A Cozy Quiet Space In Your Home | No-Phone Zone

Lessons from Laundry | gratitude prompt