10 Ways to Feel Like You’re Home

Photo courtesy Emily May

Creating a home is more than just moving all of your stuff into an apartment or house--it's a feeling you get when you walk through the door after a long day, the people you're with and the memories you create there. What are some things you can do to create that feeling of "home?" Apartment Therapy offers these tips:

Do This:
Change the lighting. We say it all the time: if you want your home to have a golden glow, good lighting is the easiest and fastest way to get there. Each room needs at least three separate lighting sources (and that ceiling monstrosity doesn't count). Here are some of our lighting tips to get you started.

Get a plant. Bringing a living thing into your space will help the whole place (and you) feel fresher and more alive.

Clean the windows. You'll be amazed at how much brighter (literally) your outlook on the world will be if you're not looking at it through a layer of grime.

Decorate with something sentimental. This is a great way to feel connected to your home. Adding some family history or travel souvenir with memories attached will give even a cold, impersonal space instant personality.

Buy a little treat. Something new (make it bright!) will give you a little lift and punch up your space. Treat yo'self.

Feel This:
Focus on one thing you love. Every room has something you love in it. Make a conscious effort to train your eye to go to that thing the moment you walk into the room. Those positive feelings will start to add up over time, really!

Relax and restart. Bursting through the door after a rough day doesn't start your evening in a good mental place. Don't take your bad mood out on your house! Rest, grab a shower, get yourself a snack, whatever you need to reset your attitude and begin the next portion of your day on the right foot.

Ignore the decor. There's so much more going on at home than simply pillows and paintings. No matter the state of your space, the people and pets will always be up to par. Hang out with them for a while and forget your house woes.

Get grateful. You have a lot to be grateful for so write it down. Seriously, get out a pen right now and write down one thing you're grateful for in your home (even if it's just that you have a home!).

Do something fun. Making memories is key to feeling connected and at home in your space. Like game nights? Go for it. More the quiet type? Curl up with a book and get cozy.

What other tips would you add to this list? What things make you think of "home?" Share your thoughts below!

Furniture Arranging 101

Photo courtesy Emily May

Have you ever arranged a room (and strained your back) to find that something about it just doesn’t flow? If you want to make a change in the feel of a room or want to switch things up for the current season, moving furniture around is a completely free way to do so. Consider these tips from Apartment Therapy as you rearrange your space.

Dining Room:

• Distance between the walls and the dining room table: Ideally, provide at least 36" between the dining table and any walls or other furniture on all sides to allow seats to slide out easily.

• Distance between a dining table and an entrance: Provide around 48" between the table and an entrance to allow people to enter and exit the room with ease.

• Vertical space between a dining chair and dining table: Chairs and chair arms should be able to slide under the table with ease. Leave about 7" between the chair arm and apron of the table.

• Distance between chandelier and dining table: This is one of the more flexible topics. Low hanging lighting sets a more modern tone, but even so, it should never interfere with the ability to make conversation— no need to duck your face down to the table just to see your dinner guests. However, a light hung too high will detract from the cohesive feel of a room as well. A good rule is to hang lighting between 24"-32" from the table.

• Area rug and dining table: A rug should span about 36" wider on all sides of a dining table to allow chairs to pull out easily without catching.

• Space between dining chairs: Ideally provide about 24" between chairs to prevent hitting elbows and to allow people to slide chairs in and out without any collisions or bruised knuckles.

Living Room:

• Distance between a sofa and coffee table: Allow around 18" between the table and sofa edge to give enough leg room but to be able to set down drinks or reach appetizers without straining. Coffee table heights vary greatly, but a good rule is to keep the table height and seat height within 4 inches of each other.

• Distance between seating furniture: Aim to provide between 3.5' and 10' between seating options to help conversation flow without crowding a room.

• Side table and sofa height: In general, an end table should be approximately the same height as the arm of your sofa or chair. This allows guests to set down or reach for drinks without straining, and it also lends a more cohesive feel to the room.

• Distance between tv and sofa: There should be about 7' between the tv and seating options.

• Area rugs and furniture: Too often area rugs end up feeling like bath mats. To keep your area rug from feeling random, at least the front two legs of a sofa or chair should rest on the rug.

• Distance between room-size rugs to walls: Allow about 24" between the wall and room-size rug in a large room, and between 12"- 18" in a smaller room.

Increase Your Productivity Today

Photo courtesy David Wall

We all have those days where we just don’t feel like working or going to the gym, let alone getting out of bed. For those times when you need a little extra motivation, keep these tips from The Young Professional Times in mind.

1. Define 3 outcomes you want to get out of this week. Not to-dos; outcomes. The rule of 3 is one of my favorite productivity rituals, and its power lies in its simplicity. Define three outcomes you want to make happen this week. Not things you have to do–actual results you want to get done. This will get you thinking about what you want to get out of the week. Don’t create more than three outcomes. A good tip: ask yourself, if today were Friday, what three things do you want to have accomplished?

2. Define 3 outcomes for every day this week. Many of these will contribute to your three weekly outcomes, but they don’t have to. It helps to define these outcomes at the beginning of the week, particularly if you can predict your schedule of ahead of time. Again, keep it to only three outcomes every day.

3. Say ‘no’ to three things. Here’s a challenge for you: this week say ‘no’ to three commitments that might zap you of your energy, time, or motivation. One of the easiest ways to get more time, energy, and motivation is to say no to to commitments that weigh you down.

4. Find one activity that gives you more energy, and schedule doing it. This one seems almost too obvious to put on the list, but no one takes the time to do it. Are there certain people that provide you a ton of energy and motivation after you talk to them? Schedule a lunch with them. Are there certain things you do that give you a ton of energy, like hitting the gym before work, meditating, or spending time with your kids? Schedule time for that too.

5. Work on Pomodoro time. The Pomodoro Technique is a simple time management technique that breaks your time down into chunks. For 25 minutes you turn off all possible distractions, and then work on only one thing for that time. After your first “pomodoro”, you take a five-minute break, then wash, rinse, and repeat two more times. After that, you work for another 25 minutes and take a 15-minute (or longer) break. This technique reduces the ugly, ambiguous tasks on your to-do list down into something you do in a series of easy-to-manage, 25-minute chunks of time.

6. Take more breaks. It might sound counterintuitive, but taking more breaks is one of my favorite ways to become more productive. Breaks prevent you from becoming fatigued and tired, and they help you slow down, step back from your work, reflect, and come up with better ideas.

7. Drink 16oz of water every morning, right after you wake up. One of my favorite habits is drinking 16oz (.5L) of water after I wake up. Water hydrates you after you wake up (you just went 8 hours without drinking a single drop), gives you more energy, fires up your metabolism, helps you focus, and will even help you eat less. Flavor it if you have to, but drink water every morning.

8. Capture all of the open loops you have floating around in your head. I recently interviewed 
David Allen, the originator of the GTD productivity system, and he continually stressed the importance of emptying your head of all of the open loops you have floating around in it. Take out a notepad, and begin to empty your head of all of your to-dos, things you’re waiting on, and other ideas, commitments, or open loops that are weighing you down. Once you get them out of your head, you’ll be free to think about bigger and better things.

9. Do 60 seconds of intense exercise, right now. The more you think about this one, the less likely you are to do it. Right now, sit up and do a minute of jumping jacks, push ups, lunges, or simply walk up and down a nearby staircase. You can do pretty much anything for 60 seconds.