Click here to access and print the 4-week Happiness at Home Challenge
During the Challenge you will access resources from the employee well-being portal in the Wellness Initiatives
Home is a sanctuary where you can rest, recharge, and enjoy your household relationships. Small adjustments at home can help you restore your sanctuary and increase your happiness at home.
Happiness at home practices include:
-
Decluttering
-
Making space for rest, recreation, and hobbies
-
Designating a place for exercise
-
Improving household relationships
-
Managing technology use at home
With focus you can rediscover joy at home.
Week 1: Organization
“Out of the clutter, find simplicity.” Albert Einstein
Keeping your life organized and optimizing the amount of stuff in your home will give you time and space to enjoy life’s treasures and pleasures.
Whether you live in a small studio or a spacious home, you probably have too much stuff. In recent years, houses have gotten bigger, families are smaller, and 1 out of every 11 households pay for offsite storage. According to Vanessa Hayes from Organizing, the average home has over 300,000 items in it.
Some easy ways to de-clutter include:
-
Designate one spot or pile for incoming papers.
-
Pick up 5 things, and find places for them.
-
Pull everything out of a drawer or closet and sort into 4 piles: Stay, Move, Discard, Donate.
-
Create a Maybe box if you are unsure and put a note on your calendar to look in the box in 3 months.
-
Try the Hanger Project and the 12.12.12. Challenge.
-
Organize your sleep environment to promote restful sleep.
The Happiness at Home Challenge encourages you to organize your home, nurture household relationships, create home-based recreation spaces, and manage technology so you can rediscover joy at home. Small adjustments in these areas will help you rediscover joy at home. You can focus on one area each week or incorporate small changes in all 4 areas at once. A happy home supports your physical and mental well-being, and allows you to enjoy your personal time and relationships. Use your Challenge Sheet to record your efforts in these areas to enjoy Happiness at Home.
“Simplifized = life simplified and organized.” Anonymous
Week 2: Relationships
“Happiness is home-made!” Anonymous
Staying connected to those in your household requires nurturing these key relationships.
Actions to Improve Relationships at Home:
-
Prepare healthy meals together on a regular basis.
-
Replace pronouns “I” and “you” with “we” and “let’s”:
-
“We can plant the garden before it rains”
-
“Let’s take the dog for a walk”
-
-
Show up to support each other’s events and interests.
-
Create a master Home Calendar to manage schedules and expectations.
-
Have regular “household” meetings to get in sync and talk through issues.
-
Invite a household member to take a walk, work on a puzzle, play a game, or plant a garden with you.
-
Go on a local geocaching or disc golfing activity with entire household.
The Happiness at Home Challenge encourages you to organize your home, nurture household relationships, create home-based recreation spaces, and manage technology so you can rediscover joy at home. Small adjustments in these areas will help you rediscover joy at home. You can focus on one area each week or incorporate small changes in all 4 areas at once. A happy home supports your physical and mental well-being, and allows you to enjoy your personal time and relationships. Use your Challenge Sheet to record your efforts in these areas to enjoy Happiness at Home.
“A house is made of walls and beams; a home is made with love and dreams.”
Anonymous
Week 3: Recreation
“There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.” Jane Austen
There are many home-based recreational activities and relaxation techniques that can help you recharge. Creating space for hobbies, exercise, games, a garden, or reading are examples of creating a physical environment to relax and enjoy your home.
It is important to create time and space for activities that you enjoy and help you relax in your home. It’s practicing self-compassion and it helps you be good to others by being good to yourself.
Actions to Create Recreation at Home:
-
Designate a space for stretching, exercise, yoga.
-
Create a reading nook or a place to write in your journal.
-
Pay attention to the lighting
-
Add items of comfort like pillows, blankets, or candles
-
- Create a hobby space and storage area*
-
Playing a musical instrument, crafting, building models, painting, doing household projects can enrich your home life.
-
-
Plant a vegetable, herb, or flower garden.
-
Schedule time on your calendar and set an alarm to remind you to spend time in activities that you enjoy at home.
-
Add joy to your home life by making room in your schedule and space in your home for a pet.
*Bonus: Creating space for an activity and its storage is also decluttering strategy.
The Happiness at Home Challenge encourages you to organize your home, nurture household relationships, create home-based recreation spaces, and manage technology so you can rediscover joy at home. Small adjustments in these areas will help you rediscover joy at home. You can focus on one area each week or incorporate small changes in all 4 areas at once. A happy home supports your physical and mental well-being, and allows you to enjoy your personal time and relationships. Use your Challenge Sheet to record your efforts in these areas to enjoy Happiness at Home.
“I do not understand how anyone can live without one small place of enchantment to turn to.”
Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Week 4: Managing the Technology Beast
“Your cell phone has already replaced your camera, your calendar, your alarm clock… Don’t let it replace your family.” Anonymous
Technology and screen time has become a central part of our lives because it meets so many of our needs. The challenge is to find the right balance of screen time and not let it interfere with home life. Technology use is highly addictive and staying connected 24-7 is intrusive, distracting, and detrimental to your well-being.
Negative Consequences of Too Much Screen Time Include:
-
Deteriorating relationships
-
Reduction in school or work performance
-
Increased likelihood of experiencing or worsening mental health disorders
-
Extensive amounts of time wasted
-
Weakened social abilities when communicating face-to-face
-
Poor sleep
-
Technology addiction
-
Distraction while driving
Manage Technology to Stay Engaged at Home By:
-
Creating “screen-free zones” at home
-
Turning off devices during meals and household activities
-
Creating set times to check email and texts
-
Minimizing multitasking
The Happiness at Home Challenge encourages you to organize your home, nurture household relationships, create home-based recreation spaces, and manage technology so you can rediscover joy at home. Small adjustments in these areas will help you rediscover joy at home. You can focus on one area each week or incorporate small changes in all 4 areas at once. A happy home supports your physical and mental well-being, and allows you to enjoy your personal time and relationships. Use your Challenge Sheet to record your efforts in these areas to enjoy Happiness at Home.
“Connection is the energy that is created between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued.” Brene Brown
Congratulations!
You have discovered new ways find Happiness at Home. You’ve tried different strategies to get organized at home, nurture household relationships, enjoy home-based recreation, and manage technology use at home. We hope that you have learned from the Virtual Exhibit, examined your habits, read the articles and watched the videos from the employee well-being portal, and found ways to enjoy Happiness at Home. Keep up the momentum by continuing to use the Challenge Sheet to make your new habits part of everyday living.
“Home is where one starts from.” T.S. Eliot
Click here to access and print the 4-week Happiness at Home Challenge.