31 Days to Bless Your Home: Easy Tips for the Domestically Challenged
Week 1- The Sensual Home: Learning to Appeal to All Five Senses to Create Beauty in Your Home
These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands. Then they will not bring shame on the word of God. Titus 2:4-5 NLT
This week’s challenge: Choose one new idea from each of the five senses to enhance the atmosphere of your home.
Today’s challenge: Choose a signature fragrance for your home and your favorite method of delivery, and infuse your home with the warmth and beauty of fragrance.
I am really excited to begin this fun fall home challenge with you all! For weeks, I have had a blast compiling ideas and tips to share with all of you. This has been on my heart for awhile because I love to give my own home some extra TLC in the fall in preparation for the upcoming holidays. As I was making my own plans, I thought it would be fun to share my ideas with others. And, yes this really is a ton of fun for me!
My how events have turned since I began working on this challenge! This is crazy! We have been in the process of buying a new home, and we did not expect it to close until at least the end of October. Guess what! We got a call a few days ago, and we are closing on our new house TODAY! AAAaaaahhhhhhh!!!! I can’t believe it! On this very day, we now own a new home, and I have not even begun packing up the old one! Oy! This ought to make our home challenge very interesting indeed!
My primary motivation for writing this is that I have often felt intimidated when reading other people’s ideas or visiting friend’s homes that seem so perfect. I am not a gifted decorator or hostess, and I do not have a lot of money to make my home look like the pages I have often drooled over in Better Homes and Gardens magazines. If any of you have ever felt the same way, this challenge will be a huge help for you.
In the past, when I entertained friends, I would work myself into a hideous sweat trying to make everything perfect, and I was unable to enjoy myself because of being so uptight about all of the minute details. I became insecure with my homemaking abilities because I was focusing on all of the wrong things. We will talk about the things that really do matter as we proceed through the next few weeks. I believe this will set a lot of domestically imprisoned women free!
When I adjusted my perspective, I was set free, and I experienced sweet peace. I was finally able to flourish as a homemaker. I found joy and satisfaction in taking care of my home and family like never before, and I want you all to experience the same pleasure!
I began by consulting the master, my mom, aka June Cleaver. She gave me a simple tip that has completely transformed my style. She said that if you want to make your home feel especially homey for your family and guests, the trick is to do something special that appeals to each of the five senses. It is really that simple! That is how I create the atmosphere in my home now, and I no longer worry about all the things I wish I had or could do.
Are you ready to create a sensual home? Here goes…
Week 1, Day 1 – Infuse your home with the warmth and beauty of fragrance.
For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 2 Corinthians 2:15 NIV
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| My favorite way to fill my home with fragrance |
We are beginning with the sense of smell because fragrance is one of the most powerful mood and emotion enhancers. Think about some of your favorite smells and notice how merely thinking about them makes you feel – coffee, cinnamon, apple pie, chili, Sunday’s pot roast, flowers, fruit, pine from a real Christmas tree, the beach, spices, apple cider, freshly baked bread…
Why reserve those wonderful feelings only for special occasions? Why not make every day in your home a special occasion for your loved ones?
Fragrance also enhances memory, and it can trigger certain feelings and associations.. Think about your family suddenly having sweet memories when they smell the familiar aromas of home.
It has also been known to reduce anxiety and help one to relax. As much stress as we encounter on a daily basis, fragrance is a simple way to make our homes a respite from daily pressures.
Aromatherapy relies on scent from essential oils found in plants to enhance health, healing, and peace of mind. While not all claims are proven, what is known is that fragrance does have an effect on the mind and body. Click on the link for more info.
Fragrance can also stimulate productivity. I often light candles whenever I do Bible studies and blog because not only do I enjoy the fragrance and mood so much, but I also believe that it stimulates creativity and feelings of well-being. I feel like I am able to think more clearly and get more accomplished. For more information, click here.
Subtly is key with fragrance. You do not want to choke your family with “too much of a good thing.” Rather, choose a favorite fragrance and spread it lightly all around. Also, be careful about not combining scents that do not complement each other, such as spiced pumpkin and cucumber or passion fruit and hazelnut. Ewwww!!!
Consider fragrance delivery. The simplest way to spread sweet aroma throughout your home is to light candles, but if you have children or pets, you may want to opt for a safer alternative. Choose from oils, fresh flowers, excellent quality sprays, diffusers, potpourri – dry or liquid, sachets, plug ins, and even real food cooking. The thing to remember is that we typically get what we pay for. Yankee candles may cost more, but they produce many times the concentrated fragrance as Glade candles, for example. Better Homes and Gardens candles are much better than they used to be, and they are rather inexpensive. I light candles every afternoon before everyone settles in for the evening, and I keep them lit for hours.
Here are some tips for choosing your home’s signature fragrance:
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For This Mood
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Try These Scents
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Relaxing
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Chamomile, Thyme, French Lavender
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Sensual
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Clove, Musk, Merlot, Fig, Tuberose, Honey
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Revitalizing
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Pomegranate-Citrus, Peppermint, Tangerine
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Fresh
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Cucumber-Mint, Linen, Cranberry, Lime-Basil
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Tropical
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Pineapple-Ginger, Bamboo-Hibiscus, Coconut
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Inviting
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Cappuccino-Nutmeg, pumpkin, Rhubarb-Vanilla
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*Chart from Change Your Home; Change Your Life, by Moll Anderson, p. 114
There are so many more! Choose what makes you and your family feel great. I use apple, spiced pumpkin, and cinnamon often. I love fall and Christmas fragrances especially! Experiment and try something new!
Don’t forget to use fabric softener too. When your family buries their faces in their clothes or towels to smell that inviting aroma, they are storing up memories of the care you put into their laundry. It may not be a conscious thought, but they are accumulating feel-good-feelings nonetheless.
Well, that is it for today! Give today’s challenge a try. It is such a simple way to transform the atmosphere of our homes.
Come back tomorrow for valuable tips on creating visual appeal in your home. This one is so full of ideas that it will have to be more bullet pointed, but you are sure to find some ideas you can use.
Check here for remaining themes for the month: http://www.pearlsforliving.net/2013/09/announcing-fun-fall-home-challenge.html. I’ll be including a video and some recipes later this week too! If you enjoy these, please help spread the word! Follow www.pearlsforliving.net ; like and share on Facebook; and follow me on Twitter.
Thank you, and God bless you and your home!
Shari Lewis
