Home sanctuary: How to Make Your Home Your Personal Sanctuary

Today’s post is all about how to create a home sanctuary in your home. About how you can create a home that feels like your own personal sanctuary, oasis and retreat!

For most of us, life is often fast-paced, busy and often stressful. It’s wonderful when you can take intentional action to counteract that at home. Creating a home that feels like a sanctuary. A place where you can truly rest, relax and recharge at the end of a long, stressful or just busy day.

Taking steps to turn your home into a place where you truly enjoy spending your time. Which is important considering most of us spent quite a bit of time in our homes!

Does your home feel like a sanctuary?

However, many times your home doesn’t feel like a sanctuary. Especially if it’s cluttered, messy, overwhelming or continually adding more stress to your life.

But if your home feels more like another source of stress in your life rather than a sanctuary, it doesn’t have to be that way.

In today’s post, I’m sharing 7 things you can do to transform your home into your sanctuary.

Making your home a place you enjoy spending time in and look forward to returning to whenever you’re away.

Not a home that feels cluttered, overwhelming or stressful. Or like there’s a never-ending list of things you need to do, keep up with, catch up on, etc.

We face enough stress in the world as it is. Your home shouldn’t be another thing adding stress to your life. Your home should be the antidote to the stress you face in the outside world. A place that feels like your own personal sanctuary.

And that’s exactly what the tips in today’s post will help you create!

How to turn your home into a sanctuary

1. Clear the clutter

Clutter not only makes your home more time and labour-intensive to care for. But it also can increase the stress you feel at home too.

Clutter is always sending messages to you that there’s more to do, take care of, manage, etc. Leaving you feeling like your work is never done. Less visible clutter (and hidden clutter too!) gives your brain a chance to truly rest and relax when you’re at home.

Not only is a clutter-free home easier and less work to manage, maintain and take care of. But it also feels a lot calmer and more peaceful too.

2. Make managing your home easier

Having less stuff to manage and take care of is an important first step. Next, work on building strong routines and habits to manage and take care of your home. Making it easier for your home to feel like a sanctuary.

Strong routines and habits make it easier to keep up with and stay on top of the tasks required to maintain your home. And when you can stay on top of the basics to keep your home tidy, clean and functioning well, you’re not faced with mess, undone tasks, chores and clutter every time you come home.

For example, when you have solid habits in place to stay on top of the dishes, you’re not waking up to yesterday’s dirty dishes each morning. Or walking into a kitchen full of dirty dishes at the end of the day. Especially when you’re already hungry and tired.

Further, get in the habit of resetting your spaces after you’re done using them. That way they’ll always be ready for the next time you want to use the space.

When you leave a space without resetting it, there will likely be jobs to do before you can even start using or enjoying the space the next time you want to use it.

But when you build the habit of resetting each space after you’re done using it, there will be nothing you’ll need to do before you can rest, relax or enjoy the space the next time you want to use it.

3. Highlight the meaningful

Making your home feel personal, unique and special to you is a wonderful way to make your home feel like your own personal sanctuary.

And a great way to do that is by highlighting meaningful elements you love in your spaces.

Rather than adding generic décor or items that don’t hold meaning to you – and will likely eventually end up as clutter – try decorating your home with meaningful items instead. Things that tell your story, are meaningful to you and make your home feel like you.

Allow the items that fill your spaces to reflect what matters most to you.

Even if you have fewer items in your home or it takes longer to fill your spaces with meaningful items, they will help your home feel more like you than quickly filling it with generic décor.

There are so many ways to incorporate meaningful items that are also useful and/or beautiful in your home. Try using photos, art and décor that show people you love, reflect places you’ve been or hold important meaning to you. Use useful items like a quilt that belonged to your grandma or a cozy blanket your mom knit. Even using scents or candles that evoke wonderful feelings or memories for you is a great way to make your home feel meaningful and feel like you!

4. Selectively add cozy, comfortable elements

Another great way to make your home feel like a sanctuary where you can rest, relax and enjoy your time is by adding cozy, comfortable elements.

Things like a cozy blanket, a comfortable place to sit, soothing colours, cozy bedding, soft towels, etc. These are all simple ways to make your home feel comfortable, luxurious and like a retreat for you.

Just be mindful of going overboard! Too much of a good thing can quickly become clutter, making your home more time and labour-intensive to manage.

Add cozy, comfortable touches without adding clutter or more than you can comfortably manage to your space. For example, a cozy blanket is lovely, but 10 cozy blankets become a lot to manage, store and take care of. Make your spaces cozy and comfortable, without being cluttered!

The great thing about choosing to own and buy less is because you’re buying fewer items, you might be able to buy a more luxurious version of some things.

For example, you might be able to justify buying higher thread count, more luxurious sheets for your bed because you’ll only own one set of sheets. Instead of buying 3 or 4 sets of sheets, you might only buy one set of sheets, but be able to splurge on it a little bit!

5. Be intentional with lighting

Another great way to make your home feel like a sanctuary is with lighting.

Lighting can completely change the feel of a space. And using layers of lighting is a great way to let you adjust the type and brightness of the light in your home to match the mood and atmosphere you’re looking for.

Opening the blinds and curtains during the day is a wonderful way to let natural light into your home and make spaces feel bright, fresh and energized.

In the evenings, having softer lighting can help your body relax, unwind and feel more at rest. And this is where layers of lighting options can help.

Lamp light is usually softer than overhead lighting. But you can also add additional layers of lighting using things like candles, twinkle lights, dimmer switches, soft accent lamps, salt lamps, etc.

It’s worth considering how you want to use and feel in each space in your home at various times throughout the day. Then giving yourself lighting options that will match each of those moods and activities.

6. Add tiny delights to your days

Another great way to make your home feel like a space you enjoy spending your time is by adding opportunities to enjoy your time at home more. Even if it’s just in little ways.

This is something I call adding tiny delights to your days. Tiny delights are any little thing you can do at home that feels lovely, delightful, extra special or enjoyable to you.

For example, maybe it’s using a lotion you love after doing the dishes. Lighting a candle you love at the end of each day. Making yourself a delicious latte to enjoy in the morning rather than gulping your coffee down on your way out the door. Using the fancy dishes you love for every meal, not just the special ones.

Adding tiny delights is more about your frame of mind than anything else. Intentionally looking for little ways to make the tasks you’re likely already doing feel a little more delightful and enjoyable.

When you fill your day with tiny delights, you’ll enjoy your time more wherever you are. But especially when you’re able to add tiny delights to your time at home. You’ll quickly start associating your home with these wonderful tiny delights you sprinkle throughout your day!

7. Create space to do what you love

And finally, if you want your home to feel like a personal sanctuary, a space where you enjoy spending your time, try making space in your home for the things you enjoy.

Clear the clutter and make space for the things, people and activities you love most!

For example, if you love reading, try creating a cozy reading nook where you can enjoy your books. If you love movies, create a space where you can’t wait to settle in and watch a movie. If you love to do yoga or exercise, create a space in your home where you can do those activities and look forward to your time there.

You might love to cook or bake and would love to have a clutter-free kitchen with space to work with ease. Or maybe you want to start painting, but never have the space you need. Clear the clutter and make it easy to get out your painting supplies and get to work.

The key is clearing out what you don’t use, need or love so you can create the space in your home for the activities you love and value most.

Design your house so you can use the space in the ways that work best for you. In the ways that make your home feel like a place you love spending time in because it’s uniquely suited to you!

Transform your home into your own personal sanctuary

You don’t need a lot of stuff to turn your home into your own personal sanctuary. Start by clearing the clutter, simplifying the space and highlighting the meaningful items you already have. Add a few cozy, yet simple elements. And start finding ways to make your time at home as enjoyable as possible!

What do you think? Are there things you could do to make your home feel more like your own personal sanctuary? Leave a comment and let me know!