Forty Ways to Boost Joy in the Home
Ever feel like you could use a pick-me-up during the day? My answer is yes – every day. Being a stay at home mom is the most important, rewarding, and exhausting job I’ve ever done. And since the way I feel affects everyone around me, I’m intentional about working hard to keep my “joy levels” up during the day. My “go to” for boosting joy and lowering stress? The five senses.
Here are 40 simple ways to use your five senses to bring more joy, calm, and presence into your day.
Taste
1. Have a good meal.
2. Drink your favorite herbal tea or hot chocolate (I love Celestial Seasonings Cinnamon & Cardamon Organic Herbal Tea. Bonus: leaving the tea bag in the mug makes the room smell amazing for hours after you drink the tea).
3. Treat yourself to a dessert (Lily’s Chocolate Bars have no added sugar if you’re looking to avoid sugar and are okay with stevia).
4. Put whipped cream on your coffee.
5. Suck on a piece of peppermint candy (Yum Earth Organic Wild Peppermint Hard Candy are amazing and have peppermint essential oils in them).
6. Chew your favorite gum (We chew Glee Gum to avoid aspartame, which can turn into formaldehyde in your brain. No bueno).
7. Get a bit of special food you don’t usually spend the money on, like fresh squeezed orange juice.
8. Really taste the food you eat; eat one thing mindfully.
Vision
1. Buy one beautiful flower for your kitchen table.
2. Make a space in your home beautiful.
3. Light a candle and watch the flame.
4. Set a pretty place at the table, using your best things, for a meal. (Drink hot tea from China tea cups or smoothies from wine glasses).
5. Step outside and watch the nature around you.
6. Get up early (or stay up late) and watch the stars.
7. Fix your nails so they look pretty.
8. Look at the beautiful pictures in a book or old photographs.
Hearing
1. Listen to beautiful or soothing music, or to invigorating and exciting music. (Make a “happy music” playlist or do a YouTube search for “happy music”).
2. Pay attention to sounds of nature (birds, rainfall, rustling leaves).
3. Sing to your favorite song (My current go-to is “How do I live” by LeAnn Rimes because my four year old likes it and is easily redirected by it. Plus, the lyrics spark gratitude in me. Lauren Daigle’s version of “In Christ Alone” is another great, grounding song).
4. Hum a soothing tune.
5. Learn to play an instrument.
6. Call up a friend and listen.
7. Call up an elderly family member (or elderly friend) and listen.
8. Wear ear plugs and welcome the quiet (when multiple children are upset and loud at home, I pop in earplugs and find I am instantly calmer when helping them).
Smell
1. Use your favorite perfume or lotion, or try them on in a store. (We love to test lotions at Sprouts before grocery shopping).
2. Diffuse an essential oil or light a scented candle.
3. Boil cinnamon.
4. Bake cookies, cake, or bread.
5. Cook bacon with your meal.
6. Smell a flower.
7. Step outside and mindfully breathe in the smells of nature.
8. Put a drop of essential oil on you hand, cup them around your nose, and breathe deeply.
Touch
1. Take a bubble bath.
2. Put clean sheets on the bed.
3. Pet your dog or cat (or visit the neighbor’s pets).
4. Soak your feet (use essential oils if possible).
5. Put creamy lotion on your whole body.
6. Wet a wash cloth with warm water, put a drop of essential oils on it, and rub it over your body (use peppermint for a big time pick-me-up).
7. Sink into a really comfortable chair in your home.
8. Hug someone (hold the hug for at least 6 seconds for oxytocin’s ”relaxing effect” to kick in.)
What a refreshing read! Can’t wait to get started on some of these ideas.