Imagine a room in your home where you and your family can relax. What would it look like? What items would “live” there? How would you make it relaxing? How would you keep it that way with a family always going in and out? Having a living room where you can relax has health benefits, such as reduced stress. Creating a relaxing retreat will take dreaming, planning, implementing, and maintenance and result in less stress.

Personal Story

When I finish my work, I enjoy putting lavender essential oil in my diffuser. Then I grab my water bottle or a cup of herbal tea and sit in my living room. I love to put my feet up and read a chapter of the book I am currently reading. I take a few deep breaths and can feel the tension begin to fall away. Relaxing is very important to good health and worth the time to pursue.

Dream

To create a living room to relax in, start to dream and brainstorm ideas with your family. What does each person want to do in your living room?  Yes, I know it is the room where your family watches their favorite television programs, but so much more can take place in this room. Each person probably has their own opinion. Getting everyone’s ideas will help them find their own reasons why to stock and organize the room for enjoyment. Buy-in will also help in keep the room maintained. Here are some questions to start your discussions:

• Does your daughter practice piano or another instrument in the living room?
• Does your son play board games with a friend there?
• Do you want your toddler to have some toys to play with?
• Do you and your husband enjoy putting together puzzles while you visit?
• Do you enjoy reading books?
• Does music have a part in your relaxation room?

Having a family meeting to discover your dreams will reap the benefits of family togetherness and a great living room.

Plan

Plan by thinking about how the room is now, compared to what your dream for the room is.

• Why do you want to organize the living room?
• What is working?
• What is not working?
• What things are important to each person and which can be removed during the de-cluttering process?
• What are problem areas to address?

Create zones in the living room for each core activity.

• piano, guitar, or another instrument
• games
• young children’s toys
• reading
• music/audio book listening
• television watching
• napping
• hobbies: puzzles, photo albums, scrapbooking, knitting, etc.
• entertaining

Figure out what storage conta-ners you have in your living room that already works for your family.

• bookshelf to hold your DVDs, books, library books, toys, games, etc.
• baskets for toys
• storage ottoman for blankets
• guitar stand

What storage items do you want to purchase?

Look for functional and stylish ways to containerize your belongings.

Implement the Plan

Schedule some time blocks to group like items, de-clutter, buy storage containers, and arrange your living room.

Maintain

Schedule daily, weekly, and semi-annual times for picking up, cleaning, and organizing your living room. Enlist the family to help so no one bears the load.

Action

Take some time to dream and plan for a relaxing living room. Work toward your goal of creating a space that is functional and beautiful, a place where you can lose the stress of the day.

May God bless your healthful endeavors!

Joni

P.S. How do you arrange your living room for relaxation? Please leave a comment.