How To Improve Your Environment

Have you ever had days where you just feel BLAH and don't want to get out of bed? Me too. It usually happens on days when the dishes are piled up (we don't have a dishwasher), the bed isn't made, and the house feels dirty. It's hard to feel motivated to do anything productive when your environment is sucking energy out of you! Surprisingly, environment has a bigger impact on people than most would imagine. Most psychologists agree that when your house is messy, your head is messy. Have you ever heard the expression "Messy bed, messy head." It's true! Getting your house/bedroom/environment in order can help greatly with your productivity and your overall happiness. Your world is malleable - and what you make of it can change your motivation greatly.

There are several key areas in life. They are:

• Relationships
• Health
• Career
• Finances
• Spirituality
• Environment

As you can see, environment is 1 of only 6! If everything else is running perfectly (and who are we kidding, those aren't perfect) your environment is missing out on 15% productivity. That missed productivity will translate into more stress which will spill over into your career, your family, your friendships, everything!

So, now that you're (hopefully) convinced of the importance of a good environment here are some of my fail-proof tips for when I'm feeling blah.

Start with the basics:
1. If the bed isn't made, make it!
2. Do any dishes that need to be done
3. Do a 10 minute tidy for the general areas of the house, clear clutter, etc

More detailed:
1. Get plants! You should have at least 3-5 natural & real plants in your house depending on your home size
2. Clean it! Dust, mop, vaccume, you know the drill! I know it's not exciting, or any fun at all, but this will make you feel 10x better when you're finished! Spending just an hour cleaning will give you hours back in productivity.

Do you have any money for the home?
1. Paint! Depending on how much time and budget you have available to you, my favourite thing to do to spruce up a sad spirit is to paint! Nothing looks better than a fresh coat of stylish paint, and this is the cheapest, fastest way to make an EXTREME difference in your home.
2. Get some cute accents! Have you heard of HomeGoods? It's a DREAMLAND! It's basically the cutest stuff possible for your home but at a great price! Imagine a clearance sale at designer stores and all under ONE ROOF! Try getting some fake orchids, some decorative pieces (think chrome elephants, picture frames, decor boxes etc.) $100 will go a LONG way there and you won't regret any of the special pieces you find.

Notice the accent pieces? Imagine that same room without the throw blanket, the roses on the coffee table, and NO basket of wood by the fireplace. It wouldn't be the same would it?

The little details in your home will give it such a facelift! Set a small budget and you'll be amazed at how much better you feel in your home. PS aren't those living rooms to die for?!?!?