6 Home Organization Tips for Stress Relief

It’s important to maintain regular stress management practices in your life, to help you manage stress as it comes. Sometimes home organization that creates a space for a certain activity can make it easier to cement these activities as habit. While none of the following are absolute musts for a peaceful home, they’re all great home organization ideas for promoting stress-managing practices. Consider dedicating a room corner, or nook of your home to one or more of the following.

Meditation is a powerhouse of a stress management technique: it brings many benefits, both physical and emotional, and can even improve your ability to cope with stressors you face in the future. Having a special space for meditation can make it easier to practice regularly; even many very experienced practitioners of meditation find it more challenging in a physically cluttered environment. Living in a peaceful place can help you maintain peace on the inside.

Exercise is another wonderful stress relief technique that also brings far-reaching benefits for overall wellness. Going to a gym isn’t for everyone, however: the cost is prohibitive for some, the time it takes to drive down, find parking, etc. can be a deterrent for others. Exercising outside isn’t an option for many people who live in climates that have pronounced seasons (something even us Californians sometimes experience!) Having an environment that allows at-home exercise can be a real bonus, and can sometimes make the difference between a lifestyle that includes regular workouts and one that does not.

Maintaining strong relationships is a wonderful way to relieve stress. In addition to numerous research studies that demonstrate the many benefits of strong relationships on stress management and overall wellness, keeping relationships strong through regular correspondence, whether through snail mail, email or Facebook, can also help you to stay in touch with yourself; putting your thoughts and ideas to words can bring some of the benefits of journaling. And while we’re on that topic...

Having a spot to write in a journal or sort through your thoughts can be very centering. It’s great to have a home office or room for reflection, but even a desk that’s just yours, or a comfortable chair to curl up in, can serve as a home base and help you to relieve stress.

Getting in touch with nature can be an effective way to relieve stress; many people find that being in nature regularly, or even having a bit of nature in your home (houseplants, for instance) can have a soothing effect. That’s why it’s a good idea to create beautiful, natural views in your home: hang plants outside of your windows, have a zen garden in your yard (or miniature version on your desk), or nurture a toxin-fighting plant in any room of the house.

Keeping clutter to a minimum can be another great way to manage stress in your home in general. While expecting your home to be perfectly clear of clutter at all times can lead to perfectionism stress, there are many reasons and way to find a comfortable balance of cleanliness and easygoingness when it comes to clutter. Here's why clutter can create stress. You can even make cleaning a form of stress relief.