Without going into personal detail, there have been some life blows thrown at us lately that have left us feeling stressed and frazzled. I’m a huge advocate for slowing down and enjoying the life that the Lord has blessed us with, but somehow we found ourselves with full calendars, big decisions to make, and spread way too thin.
You all know as well as I do that kind of lifestyle can suck the joy out of life quicker than you can blink an eye. While we are in the process of taking back our calendar and time commitments, I have been trying to find simple ways to add joy back to my day to combat the stress and mundane while we are in a season that we can’t quite control. Here are five simple things adding joy to my day.
Opening curtains
This has become one of my favorite parts of the day and really starts my morning off well. There’s just something about natural light flooding my room that wakes me up and really gets me going. We sleep with our curtains drawn at night because I love sleeping in total darkness. Even the smallest bit of light that comes through the curtains is an inconvenience. I keep thinking about looking for other Window treatments, like blinds or shades, to see if this would help to make a difference to how much light is let in during the night time. I just haven’t got around to it, plus the curtains seem to work well for the most part. However, my neighbor has suggested that I should invest in some window shutters for even more of a sense of privacy. What do you think? I am very tempted. In the past, there used to be many days when I would keep the curtains closed and just turn the lights on. Artificial light just doesn’t cut it. Natural light lifts my mood and makes the house just feel happy. That’s why I’ve been considering getting some Internal Glazed doors installed in my house. My friend told me that they allow sunlight to flow all through the house, meaning that your home would be much brighter and happier. That is not all though. To be honest, it is about time that we invested in some new windows. Our windows are quite old now and I am convinced that some of them are letting in a draught. An old colleague of mine has just had some renovation work done on her home and she told us that if you are looking for replacement windows kansas city has a huge variety of home improvement specialists on hand. I must remember to do some research to find out what my options are.
Daily tea
I’m not a coffee person. I know I know. That’s unbelievable to many of you. I just haven’t ever gotten into the idea of coffee. Tea, however, has become part of my daily routine. In the morning, I boil my water and steep my feminine balance tea. It forces me to sit in leisure and sip my warm drink, while hopefully balancing my hormones at the same time. That daily tea time is my cozy happy place of the day.
Fresh flowers
In the spring and summer, I love cutting fresh peonies and hydrangeas from my yard and placing them in my kitchen. They greet me every day with a cheery hello and I find myself smiling each time I pass them. As the seasons turn I lament that my fresh flowers are gone, so I decided to start buying a fresh bouquet at Trader Joes every couple of weeks. By spending an extra $5.00, I have a simple punch of color that adds a beautiful touch of joy to my day.
Reading
When my kids were born, I lost myself a bit and hobbies slipped to the wayside. This year I made the commitment to invest in myself again with an emphasis on reading for leisure. I set the goal to read a book a month. Some months I have read more than one book and some months I haven’t quite reached my goal, but the point is, I’m reading again and loving it. Instead of my defaulting to Facebook or my iPhone when there is downtime, I’ve been picking up a good book instead. I’ve also been reading more of my Bible on a daily basis. Not that I didn’t read my Bible before, but making it a habit on a daily basis sure makes the day turn around and brings so much more joy.
Dressing well
I’m a homeschooling, work at home mama, so all too often yoga pants and a t-shirt would be my uniform of choice. As comfortable as it is, I was left feeling frumpy and honestly a bit lazy. I got a low maintenance angled bob hair cut, streamlined my wardrobe to just items that I love, refined my style, and decided to get dressed every single day. When I take a shower at night, I can be ready to go in just fifteen minutes in the morning. If I have to take a shower, it takes thirty minutes, but I have found that a simple pair of jeans, a cute top, and a pair of flats takes no longer to put on than yoga pants and a t-shirt. I can’t tell you how much better I feel about myself and ready to tackle my duties at home as a job instead of always feeling ten steps behind.
I would love to hear from you! Do you have a special way to breathe a little more joy back into your day?
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