LETTING GO OF the idea of a perfect home ONCE A YEAR

If you can let go of the idea of perfection, you don’t only invite the possibility of life and flow into your home, you also allow yourself to enjoy what you have and can find happiness in your home and life.

If you think that this is a mindset shift you could benefit from, I invite you to move from thinking that we need to live in a certain way to be happy – to recognizing that happiness can only come from ourselves and from ourselves it can be brought to where we live – instead of coming to us from a certain place, or through certain things which we think we might need for it.

We’ll explore why this is so, how to get there and more in the CREATRIX School, so join us!

LETTING GO OF WHAT we DON’T NEED Any more ONCE A YEAR

We all know how much easier things become when we do them regularly. So going through every room and giving away, exchanging or selling all the things you’ve not used over the course of the last year is a great place to start cleaning up our lives and something that makes our lives lighter and happier right away.

I’ve created the CREATRIX School to guide you through all the necessary steps we need to look at over the course of a year, so they become natural processes and, with that, not a big deal.

Plus, it’s more fun to do these things together and consciously.

In the HOME chapter, I suggest a few options on how to do this in a conscious and sustainable way because it’s not just about getting rid of things we don’t need any more, it’s also about valuing them and making sure they can still be used, by those who appreciate them.

Deep Cleaning the House ONCE A YEAR

And while we are going through our closets and the boxes under our beds, we can use this time to do some deep cleaning as well. Are there curtains that need to be washed? Or carpets? Could you use some new storage boxes? How long has it been since you dusted here?

You know best where you need to go today and where you’re not cleaning on a regular basis. Do it now and then enjoy for the foreseeable future.

Redecorating ONCE A YEAR

And while we are in conversation with the people we live with, maybe there are other things that we would like to try this year. Maybe you’d like to start growing some vegetables, or composting. Perhaps one of your children will need a new bed and that might be a good opportunity to redecorate their whole room.

Perhaps you’d like to build a shed or redesign the kitchen area? Whatever it is, make a plan, and think about when in the year would be a good time for it, so everyone can be on board.

Consciously open your house ONCE A YEAR

In the CREATRIX School, we look at the different ways in which our homes come alive. Having guests over and inviting people into our homes is definitely a way to fill our homes with life and create loving and lively memories.

If this is something that you’re not so comfortable and familiar with, think about ways you could be and then how to create them, and then try it out.

You will only become more comfortable by being OK with being uncomfortable for a while.

If you frequently do this anyway, think about the most magical moments in the last year and what made them special. How can you create even more of that magic this year?

Compare electricity bills ONCE A YEAR

We all have to become more conscious of the energy that we use. Do you want to join in on a fun game? Let’s try to use less energy in our homes each year. Check your energy bills from the last year and see how much energy you’ve used.

How could you save some energy? Are there lightbulbs that could be replaced by LEDs? Maybe you can get one of these devices that tells you exactly how much energy each device in your house uses, and see how you can reduce what. Do you have things running on stand-by?

The first step is always to bring awareness to the fact, that you have the power to change things. Simply bring this awareness to your home and then get into a natural flow of reducing the energy you use in your home. Switch off lights, don’t boil more water than you need, you can notice whatever is possible in the moment, and then just do the right thing. ❤️

And then come back next year and see how much energy you’ve saved. And tell me about it! I’d love to hear from you!

ECO-PROOF your home ONCE A YEAR

Are there other things you can do to make your home more sustainable? Can you add insulation or shades to require less energy to keep your home at a comfortable temperature? Can you wear more clothes to require less heating? Or fewer clothes for less air-conditioning? Or get solar-panels?

What are other things you are happy to do to protect our earth?

I believe that the most important thing is to make conscious choices, to know why you are making them, and to be happy about your decision.

In the HOME chapter of the CREATRIX School, we look at the (un)conscious meaning that we give to things. Our happiness never comes from the things, but only from our associations and the meaning that we give them.

So, if we connect an over excessive use of energy (Air Conditioning or heating in all rooms at all times) with a sense of well-being or success, then it will be difficult to give these things up.

But we can also recognize that there might be more important things in the world and that true happiness can only be found in ourselves and in the connections that we make and not in things or status symbols.

Bring awareness to attachments ONCE A YEAR

Are there things that you feel like you need them to be a certain way for you to be happy? This is definitely part of the more advanced practice.

It’s a bit funny too, no? We try to bring in new routines to make our lives easier and more conscious, and then in the next step I’m asking you to not get attached to those new routines either.

Life’s a dance and one we’re meant to enjoy.

So, if you notice that there are certain things that you start to depend on, change them. Bring your awareness back to the fact, that life is impermanent and you are only free if you don’t need for things to be in certain ways. Instead, find a variety of ways for you to enjoy them!

Recognizing that we don’t need things once a year

When we’re done with the practical steps, it’s time to remind ourselves of our powers. While certain practices help us to feel empowered and make the changes we can create visible, they always start with an idea within ourselves.

If you find that unhappiness creeps in again, you can always redo the exercises we did in the course.

Nothing visible or material will bring us happiness, only we can. What thought patterns are limiting you from seeing your full potential, from seeing opportunity, from being happy?

Deciding for ourselves not for others always

Isn’t it wonderful that we get to decide how we want to live? Some people live with their families, others live by themselves or with chosen families.

Some live with pets, others without them, some live on boats others in houses, some in the city and some in the countryside.

How we live is always our choice. There is no right or wrong. The biggest freedom we find comes from not judging others for their choices, and by becoming very conscious of the fact that we have very limited knowledge and experience and can only see things from where we are standing.

What works for us does not have to work for others. We might not even understand why other people are doing things the way they do.

Each of us is always doing the best they can. And we all have the right to change our minds and start doing things differently, not the obligation.

Whatever works, works, until it doesn’t any more and then we change it. Each in our own time.

Do what makes you happy, not what others do always

There are certain conventions that we’re used to. Can you check in with yourself to see if they make you happy? One easy example for me is Christmas lights.

I love the dark time of the year about as much as I love lighting it up. Not over the top blinking lights everywhere, but in a tasteful and warm way.

The convention where I live is not to decorate and put up lights before the first of December. I always put my lights up in early November and every morning, when everything is still dark and most of my neighbourhood is still asleep when I wake up, it brings me a lot of joy.

What is it that brings you joy?

Do more of what makes you happy always

For me, the most important part of my home is the garden. While it’s difficult to spend my time there in the winter, I do whatever I can outside in the summer.

Last year was the first year that I grew my own vegetables, which made me very happy. Because I know how much joy it gives me, I also arranged my work schedule so that I could get my work done and have enough time to be outside during the day as well.

What gives you joy, and how can you make it a priority to integrate it into your days?

Nothing is ever perfect, yet we decide what we focus on always

Wherever we are, there are things that might bother us.

If we find ourselves being bothered by something we can check if we can change the situation so that whatever it is that bothers us will go away, or if it’s just there for a short period of time anyway, or if we have to change how we think about it because we can’t change the thing itself.

Whenever something comes up that bothers you but that you can’t change, can you focus on something else that you really love about your situation instead?

We decide how much power and attention we give to a situation and we are responsible for our moods. What can you do about yours?

APPLY THE TWO-MINUTE RULE Every DAY

I have written an article about some useful new routines you can begin to create more ease and calm in your home immediately. One of them is the 2-minute rule, a simple tool we can apply any time we wonder if we should do something now or later.

This could be picking up some clothes and putting them where they belong, doing the dishes or watering the flowers. If it takes less than two minutes, your answer from now on can always be: do it now.

Makes life so much easier.

Don’t leave things for the next day every day

I have written about this in the same article, and like the two-minute rule, it saves so much time and energy and brings a sense of calm and well-being into your home right away.

Before you leave a space, the table you were sitting or working at, the kitchen, the bathroom, always make sure that everything is back where it belongs.

I quite like the idea of monsters coming out where there’s chaos to create even more, but also I find it incredibly pleasing to enter a room or an area in the house and be welcomed by peace – that I have created and left behind when I was last there.

What you leave behind you find again, so we should always leave the places with the energy that we will be looking for, when we want to use them again.

smudging whenever you feel like it

Using smoke to clear a room or your home is a wonderful thing to do. Personally, I really love the act of doing it. It feels like I’m connecting to something so deeply human, like I’m connecting to my ancestors over all the centuries.

Make sure to always open a window, so that the bad energies that you are trying to get out of the house with the smoke also have an exit through which to leave.

Using sounds in your home whenever you feel like it

What do you hear when you enter a room and what do you like to hear? Are the sounds in your home pleasant? Do you choose what you hear?

Can you put on some relaxing music now and then? Or loud music and sing and dance? Can you hear the birds?

Become aware of the sounds around you and bring in more of what you enjoy!

Choosing the colours of your home ONCE A YEAR

Colours can really help us to balance the energy in our homes. I bet you, too, know which colours make you feel more calm and that warm colours can make us feel more welcome, and that we can consciously use this to create the feelings in our home that we like.

So, check the colours in your home and see where you need a change, or can add something to give it a warmer or more peaceful touch.

If you know your Wheel of Colours, it can be super helpful to use the colours of the areas you want to emphasize or strengthen in your life in your home as well.

Or you might need to do the opposite and remove some things that have colours which represent the energies you already have too much of in your life right now.

Or you might have to remove some of the objects that make your home seem loud, or grab too much of your attention, and with that keep you from feeling calm in your space.

Make a plan for the year ONCE A YEAR

What are the things you would like to do in your home once a year? I’ve already pointed out some things at the beginning of this page, but I’m sure you might find a few more things that you’d want to add that are specific to you and your situation.

If you live in a house not a flat, you might have to clean the gutters or cut back branches, plant new things, or clean the leaves in certain areas of your garden.

I often notice people getting very upset about some of these tasks and complain about them a lot.

How can you make peace with these tasks? Can you find a way to enjoy them?

Didn’t you consciously choose to live where you live and to have what you have? Isn’t it a privilege to have such beautiful trees and a house, and to be allowed to take care of what you have and what brings you joy the best way you possibly can?

You’ll have to do it anyway, it’s up to you to decide how you feel about it when the time comes.

Make a plan for each month ONCE A YEAR

What are the things that need to get done in your home once a month? Are there are bills to get paid? Is there recycling that needs to be returned, other maintenance things?

See what you can automate or find a rule for so that it doesn’t have to go on a to-do list but can become an almost natural process, that doesn’t require brain or will-power.

Make a plan for each week ONCE A YEAR

Same as above. What do you have to do every week? What can you automate? Flowers every Saturday after breakfast? Vacuuming every Friday so that the house looks nice for the weekend?

Think of what joyful things to add that you would like to do every week from now on as well. A quick dance session when everybody else is out on Thursday night? Drawing for at least an hour every weekend?

Create designated spaces ONCE A YEAR

Bringing in new routines into our lives is much easier when we have a space where we feel good, and not in the way or like it’s a burden to someone else, when we do them.

I’ll share an example: Over the summer I worked out in my studio almost every morning, but as it got colder my body started to say no and it became almost impossible for me to continue with my routine because it was just too cold.

So, I moved my matt to the living room, but it just didn’t click. I felt no joy, it was uncomfortable, I didn’t get into the same flow I used to in my studio.

Until I turned the matt around, right next to the heater, facing the same direction I did in my studio. Now everything is perfect, no objections from my body or my dogs, and I don’t even know if I’m going to switch back in the summer ;).

Create visual reminders of your power ONCE A YEAR

This might be obvious for some, but it wasn’t for me. Of course, my parents put up some of my achievements when I was a child, but somehow as I grew older, I neglected that.

I do believe it’s essential though to be reminded of one’s achievements and what we are able to do.

So, find a place to hang up your certificates, things you’ve created and are proud of, or pictures of moments where you did something that was important to you. Go you! You have all the reasons to be proud of yourself!

Bring in memories ONCE A YEAR

What places have you been to in the last year? What events have you participated in that were meaningful?

Do you have pictures or other souvenirs that you can place in different areas of your home to remind yourself of those moments and integrate them into your life?

How did you feel on that last holiday? Can you bring that feeling back, really feel it in your body, smell the smells, taste the fresh air or food? Remind yourself and feel that aliveness.

Start your future now! ONCE A YEAR

If you know that the place you live in is a temporal space and you have other plans in the future, can you put up pictures of where you want to be?

What does it look like there? What does it feel like? What do you need to already feel like you live the way you would like to live?

Speak with your plants every day

Just the other day, I saw pictures of the results of the rice they studied with to find out about the power of words. Do you know about this? They put the same amount of rice and water in the exact same containers and kept it under the same conditions – the only difference being the way they talked to the rice.

One cup of rice was spoken to nicely, one harshly, and one was completely ignored.

The one that was ignored was in the worst state after the trial period!

So, even if you don’t have anything nice to say to your plants, it’s still better if you say something mean to them, than nothing at all.

Thank them for being in your presence and that they bring so much joy into your life. It will make their day and it might make yours too!