How to Create a Balanced Living Space

By: Natalie

I have been running around like crazy these past few weeks. Spring is such a busy time of year, and oftentimes it can feel like there is not an end to all of the extra stress. So when I finally come home after a busy day, I want it to provide a calming sense of balance and serenity. 

However, at least for me, when my living space feels messy or cluttered, I immediately turn to cleaning, organizing, and detoxifying until I rid my room of any unwanted stress. It gives me a sense of control, as if I’m able to organize my home into a complete sense of calm for my life.

After a recent late night frenzy with a broom in one hand and a duster in other, I knew that there had to be an easier, more consistent way to introduce balance and peace into my living spaces. With that in mind, I started looking into holistic home practices to combine my cleaning efforts with other goals, such as practicing mindfulness and finding inner peace. 

What makes a holistic home?

A holistic home is space that brings feelings of relaxation, comfort, and tranquility. By using natural practices and bringing a little bit of earth into your living environment, it can boost productivity, improve your mood, and make you feel closer to your inner goals and dreams.

Below, we have a list of simple tips, tricks, and activities that will help to bring serenity, love, and balance into every room in your home. (I use the term “house” throughout the list, but feel free to implement these steps into wherever home is to you.)

If you have been feeling stressed and exhausted, you are not alone! These tips and tricks can help you create a living space that allows for healing and relaxation, so leave your stress and worry at the door!

Holistic Home Practices

Use feng shui to find balance

Feng shui is all about creating the best flow of energy and balance based on the arrangement of a space. While there are several different forms and methodologies of feng shui, all with their own, unique rules and guidelines, at the root of it all they are about creating the best placement for you and your home.

Think about a room in your house where you spend a lot of time. How can you arrange the space to make it easier for you to use the entire floor plan? What objects get in the way or how can you make your space more inviting to guests?

Starting with these questions, create a list of possible changes and then create a game-plan to move and orient your furniture in the best way possible. Consider making a few sketches before, during, and after the process so that you can edit where necessary. Feng shui is about change and flow over time, so feel free to start the process all over again in a few months to fit what’s right for you and your family.

Smudge your home to promote positive energy

Smudging is an ancient practice that can bring positive energy into all spaces of your home. To complete the ritual, you will need a match, a smudging stick, and a bowl to catch any ashes that may drop throughout the process. Smudging sticks can be comprised of different herbs such as lavender, cedar, and sage, though our favorite is a combination of lavender and sage, which is known to create peaceful and balanced energies.

To start the ritual, clear your head and recite your intentions for your home. What are your wishes and dreams for your house and family? Take some time to meditate and think what you need to remove from your home and what you’d like to bring into your home in its place. Next, open all of you doors and cabinets to allow the smoke from your smudging stick to sneak into all of those places that may be full of stagnant energy, such as within those upper corners of your closet or lower corners of your kitchen cabinets. Begin your ceremony at the front door to your living space. Light the top edge of your smudging stick and begin to walk around your house in a clockwise pattern in a way that allows the smoke to touch all the nooks and crannies of your home – we typically start in the back of a room, lower corners, moving upwards. If you have multiple floors in your house, be sure to smudge the upstairs and basement levels as well.

As you move throughout your house, use meditation and mindfulness to keep your intentions at the forefront of your thoughts. We will sometimes even recite our intentions as a mantra, prayer, or incantation so that we stay focused throughout this process.

When you finish moving around your space, recite your last mantra or restate your intentions and then place your smudging stick upside down in the of sand to snuff out the smoke. As you conclude your ceremony, think positive thoughts and imagine the beautiful energy that fills your home.

Of course, this is a very quick description of the process, so if you’d like to learn more, click here for a full description.

Bring natural greenery inside

Bringing nature into your home encourages a clean state of mind. Plants can harbor different super powers that can change a space in an instant!

I love to have simple, small succulents all over my home because they are easy to care for and they represent endurance, balance, and adaptability. Growing succulents has taught me to be patient and gentle. Echeveria succulents (a circular rose-shaped plant) is extremely adaptable and easy to care for, which means that even those with a busy schedule will succeed. Planting a few of them in pots indoors or in a larger planter outside is a great way to add greenery to your living spaces without having to do too much work.

Snake plants and aloe vera bring clean oxygen, Boston ferns remove toxins from the air, peace lily promotes humidity, lavender is a natural remedy for sleep and relaxation, and orchids increase internal healing. Each plant has a different super power! Consider adding a few plant friends to your bedroom, living room, or kitchen to bring their natural energies into your home.

Work towards simplicity to remove unwanted stress 

Minimalism is not easy, but it can make a space feel more welcoming and inviting, even if only for yourself. Rather than filling up our homes with clutter, we can fill them with people and memories.

The best way to work towards simplicity is to set aside a few minutes each day to declutter your environment of paper, unworn clothes, and unnecessary objects. I tend to work in small sections and then tackle bigger problem areas. 

I recently started using the infamous Marie Kondo method of only keeping things that spark joy. She also has a ritual on how to greet your home- which is all about intentional thinking. Minimalism can be a tough task, but by starting small, you can get on track to having a house full of things that make you feel happy!

Experiment with aromatherapy to facilitate well-being

Different scents can trigger your brain receptors to send messages that affect your emotions and mood. Aromatherapy can be used to ease stress, make you feel happier, and improve sleep. Lavender and chamomile are great to use in a bedroom to bring feelings of relaxation, peace, and tranquility. Rosemary can be used in an office space to boost productivity and stimulate your mind. Peppermint would be perfect for a living room or kitchen space to promote liveliness, concentration, and clarity.

 An essential oil diffuser is a wonderful start to the world of aromatherapy (we love this one specifically), but other options include room sprays or candles. Consider trying different scents to find out what makes you feel your best!

Mindfulness in the home

Holistic home practices are about creating mindfulness in your living space. Nothing is better than coming home to a relaxing, peaceful, and tranquil environment. I just started implementing some of these tools into my life, and I’m excited to keep implementing and learning through this process. In general, the beauty of holistic practices is that you can try and use whatever brings you the most inner peace.

Holistic home practices do not have to take a long time, but they can become part of your daily life and ritual. Consider adding mindfulness into your home and making these practices your own!