Just simply live: Making your house a home

Sunday, March 2, 2008

Making your house a home

The theme of this years MOPS is "Dwell Well". We have talked about how we make our house a welcoming home and this is what has inspired this blog. As I have stated before, I believe many mom's stress about having a "perfect" home and this is not necessary. Here are a few things I do to make my house feel like a home.

Fruit bowl! I always have a fruit bowl of banana's and apples on the counter in our kitchen. We received MANY bowls when we got married, so I figured I would put them to good use.
My kitchen counters are usually clean (notice I said usually). If the rest of the house is a disaster, start with the kitchen. It always seems to make the whole house feel "clean" and I tend to relax once this is done. I am not saying I scrub the sink down and mop the floors!!! I just wipe the counters down and clear the cludder!
Pictures! Many of you know I am a picture freak. There are pictures all over my house of my kiddos. For one, I love to look at pictures at other peoples houses and feel welcomed into their family history by looking at them. I want others to see how my family has progressed and how CUTE my kiddos are;o)
I will most likely have a candle burning when people are coming over. I love a good smelling house, so I try to always have one lit. I am in love with Mia Belle candles right now because they put out A LOT of smell very quickly and are soy!

These are just a few ideas of THINGS you can do. Another way I try to make my home welcoming is by not STRESSING! This is a huge struggle of mine and I tend to go into "psycho cleaning mode" right before people come over. But lets be realistic, when was the last time someone came over and said, "Oh my gosh, your floor is covered in crushed cheerios". So I have decided for both my sanity and my families, I will calm down and relax before others come over.
I always welcome new ideas, so let me know if you have any tricks! Oh and I need to add a bribe picture...