Thanks to the lockdowns and quarantines associated with this global pandemic, you are likely spending a significant amount of time at home. Most of us are. All of this time at home, in the same environment every single day, can start to feel a bit…much. Which is why it’s more important than ever for you to not only understand the connection between your physical surroundings and your energy levels, but also that you know what steps you can take for improvement.
I’m referring to what I call the Home-Energy Connection. Simply put, the condition of your home environment plays a key factor in determining your mood and energy. Intuitively speaking, we know this to be true. Walking into a brightly lit store with well displayed items makes us feel intrigued, excited. But walking into our master closet that has piles of clothes in every corner, no organization whatsoever, and looks as though a small tornado had recently touched down makes us feel anxious, confused and overwhelmed. Sometimes we’d rather shut the door and ignore the room altogether rather than deal with the emotions that are stirred up. This ignoring solves the problem temporarily but doing over time can be exhausting. Pandemic fatigue is becoming more widespread as time goes on.
If you’ve already tried “all the things” – like drinking more water and getting more sunlight – but you are still feeling a sense of fatigue and overwhelm that you can’t quite explain – it may be time to shift your focus outward to your home environment.
To determine your current Home-Energy Connection levels, simply observe each room in your house with a fresh perspective. Using a 1-5 scale ask yourself – how does this space make me feel? Am I feeling overwhelmed and exhausted (1), or am I feeling motivated and inspired (5)?
Low Home-Energy Levels are usually caused by one of two things:
1. Your space is cluttered or untidy.
You can quickly improve the energy of any space by decluttering items that are no longer serving you. Decluttering doesn’t have to be time consuming or overly-complicated. Here are some ways to get started easily:
- Start with small areas such as drawers or closets. Focusing on an entire room can quickly become overwhelming.
- Start with items that don’t have high sentimental value because they require a lot of emotional energy. Save the piles of old photographs and baby items for later.
- Empty every space you decide to declutter entirely. Wipe down the walls/shelves when they are empty. Throw away items that are expired, empty, broken, stained, etc. You can then group items by size, type, color, or how frequently you use them.
2. The space lacks clarity of purpose.
If the space doesn’t have clutter but still doesn’t feel inspiring and motivating, make sure it has a clear purpose. There are 5 possible purposes that every space in your home could have. They are: Storage, Productivity, Inspiration, Comfort, or Entertainment.
Every space should have at least one purpose; sometimes it will have two (a main purpose and a sub-purpose) but it should never have 3 or more.
Determining the purpose(s) will help you decide what to remove from the space and what should be kept. As an example, if the purpose of your office area is productivity, anything causing distractions should be removed. You can also add items aligned with your purpose to evoke different senses. In a productive space you may add scents that aid concentration (rosemary, peppermint), or incorporate colors that increase alterness (red, yellow, orange.)
Improving your Home-Energy Connection level with these simple tips can help create a space that feels more cohesive and inspirational. Besides, if we have to spend so much time at home anyway, we might as well make sure it’s adding value to our lives. Curate a home that serves you.
What’s your Home-Energy Connection Level?