The importance of contentment, and practical ways to be more content with your home RIGHT NOW!
Being Content is a heart issue
Before trying these practical tips to be content with your home, you must realise that contentment is a heart issue.
” Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
Philippians 4:11
Paul wrote this in prison and because his faith was strong he was content. True contentment is only found in the Lord.
Learning to be content is a command from God which must be applied to every aspect of our lives. We must have contentment in our family life, work life and with our homes.
What Practical Lessons can I learn from Paul on being Content?
- Paul had a grateful heart – “But i rejoiced in the Lord greatly” {Phil 4:10}
- Paul’s strength was in the Lord – “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” {Phil 4:13}
- Paul knew God would provide his need – “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” {Phil 4:19} Learning from Paul’s example, we can learn to be content by having a grateful heart, leaning on the Lord’s strength and trusting God to provide our every need.
6 Practical Tips to be Content with your Home RIGHT NOW:
We don’t all have the money or time to completely renovate our homes in an instant. Or maybe you are renting and there are very little changes you can make. So whether you are saving up to renovate or are renting a home, here are some practical things you can do to learn to be content with your home right now.
1. Don’t compare your home to those on social media
Our home isn’t a new build, and we knew it would require some work (as most houses do.) We have made progress but there are still rooms which need to be renovated and others that need freshened up.
Over on instagram, I choose which spaces to share. There are certain rooms which don’t feature yet, simply because they need work.
I love the process of decorating but it’s easy to become discouraged when you see the beautiful homes online and instantly compare theirs to yours.
We get the impression that every square inch of their home is flawless and immediately think ‘I wish mine could look like that’. It’s important to remember that people will usually only share the best bits on social media. It’s very rare to see someones piled dishes in the sink, or their old, grubby bathroom suite pre renovation. We like to see the end product, don’t we?
Don’t get me wrong, I love to share and look at beautiful images – I love a themed, consistent instagram feed, but how is social media influencing you? Does it inspire and motivate you? Or, are you growing discontent with your own circumstances and finding a spirit of bitterness and jealousy growing within?
If you are growing discontent from social media, have a break from it. Step away and ask the Lord to help you. Surround yourself with only the things that will positively impact your life and journey towards Christlikeness.
2. Keep a clean and tidy home
It’s a sure thing that a clean and tidy home will always look better than a filthy, untidy one. In an ideal world our homes would be 100% clean and 100% tidy, 100% of the time. However, is this attainable? Probably not. But they also don’t need to be a pigsty.
If you are unhappy with a space in your home, look around and see if there is anything you can do to spruce it up. When there is an inch of dust on the shelves, it will definitely look better when dusted. When there are crumbs and footprints on the tile, it will look better when it’s been swept and mopped. You get the idea!
Cleaning Products – clean to be content with your home
In our house, there are two of us and so my cleaning routine will be different than that of a larger family. Each of us are in different stages of life – another reason not to compare yourself to others. Find and learn what works for you!
If you read my blog, you’ll know that I love paint! A coat of paint on the walls, or a piece of furniture can TRANSFORM a space!! It won’t break the bank and is an easy way to freshen up a room which may have left you feeling a little discontent. If you are renting and not allowed to paint, how about painting a piece of furniture or even touching up the current paint if it’s looking dingy.
So the first practical step to be content with your home right now is to get cleaning! A fresh space will always feel better than an unclean one.
3. Keep clutter to a minimum
Dealing with clutter can also help to freshen up a space. I have been enjoying decorating simply as it means less things to clean around but also, feels brighter and cleaner for Spring.
Clutter has an effect on your mood. Have you ever experienced a day when your house is topsy turvy? You come in from work and there are baskets of washing to trip over on your way in. You try to set down your bag but there isn’t a spare inch on the counter to do so. It’s not exactly a welcoming and relaxing space to enter, is it?
We want our homes to be a haven. Reducing clutter is not only practical but is easier on our eyes as well. If there is a room that you are not content with, then focus on one area at a time. See if there are items you can remove, or put away in a cupboard. Find a home for everything so you’ll never have to guess where something should go.
So when your room is clean and tidy, then tackle the clutter to be content with your home right now!
4. Make your everyday home products beautiful
Maybe you wish your home was bigger, you aren’t happy with the storage available to you. I touched on this in my kitchen transformation post but, making your everyday products beautiful is a great way to help with this issue.
Having practical items which also act as decor can help eliminate clutter in a space. If your dish soap and brushes are pretty then have them out on the counter in place of other decor items. They look beautiful when out and also saves your cupboard space for any less beautiful items.
If you don’t have a pantry and cupboard space is tight, then invest in glass jars for your dried goods and display them on a shelf as practical decor. You can find them reasonably priced at Ikea. We aren’t aiming for Pinterest perfection here but if you are discontent with a space, sometimes the small things can make the biggest impact.
Maybe display cotton buds in a pretty jar in the bathroom or have a wicker basket for toilet roll or towels.
These are just a couple of suggestions on how practical decor can help to reduce clutter, increase visual appeal and help you to be content with your home right now.
5. Rearrange and reorganise your Home
This will be a short and sweet point. Sometimes I find myself discontent with a room, but it’s because I need a change. When you can’t spend money on new furniture or decor, try moving things around. Rearrange your furniture and swap decor from different rooms for a fresh look. Sometimes I find that’s all I need to feel content with a space again.
6. Appeal to the senses to be content with your home
For me, having a home that is aesthetically pleasing is important. My home is not always perfectly tidy and orderly but I definitely prefer it that way. However even if you aren’t happy with the flooring, the wall colour, the furniture or the decor you currently have, there are other things which can help to make you content with your home, aside from how it looks.
Smell:
The scent of your home can have a major impact on how you feel about it. I do like the glow of a candle but my preferred way to scent my home is using a diffuser and essential oils! These help me to have a fresh home without the risk of headaches from heavily scented products.
There are so many different oil blends you can use to scent your home. Fresh scents for Spring and cosy spiced scents for Winter – just search ‘essential oil blends’ on Pinterest and you will find hundreds of combinations to try.
Sound:
You can add a homely feel to your home by the music you play. I love to put on a classical playlist or movie soundtrack to create a cosy feel to the home. Hearing a relaxing sound can help create the cosy home you crave.
Having a little portable bluetooth speaker is a great way to listen to music while you work around the house!
Touch:
If a room feels stuffy then open the windows! Even on a rainy day there is something so refreshing about letting the fresh air blow through the rooms, and seeing the curtains waft gently with the breeze. Feeling a fresh breeze come through the window can help you appreciate your home.
By appealing to the other senses aside from just sight, there are little things we can do to increase our contentment with our homes, without changing how they look at all.
Final Thoughts on being Content:
So those are some practical ways you can try, to learn to be content with your home even if it doesn’t look exactly how you want it to right now. The bible teaches us that contentment is a thing to be learnt. It doesn’t come naturally to us.
So if you struggle with discontentment, lay your need before the Lord and seek His help to fight against it. Then you can apply these practical tips and hopefully they will encourage you to enjoy your home, whatever stage it’s in.
Thank you for taking the time to read. I hope this post was helpful for you! You can find more faith related topics here.
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