A feather on your path - Change up your environment

Change up your environment - switch up your mood

The What -

Change just one thing in your environment today. It can be something very minor and easy to do but something that's a real change to what's usual for your surroundings. It can be as simple as making your bed today, if that's not something you usually do. Tisk tisk ;)

Or what about getting a house plant or tidying up your work space? If you want to go bigger in changing your environment then you could re-arrange your living room furniture, re-organise your kitchen cupboards or even re-decorate a room.

The Why -

Even a small change in your environment can help shift your mindset. It acts like a refresh button to your eyes when you're stuck in a loop of 'sameyness'.

The thing is, when we know we want to change our lives or just better our mood, we can get pretty overwhelmed with all the things we feel we need to change super fast. So then if you're like me, it all gets too much and you can find yourself back in your unmade bed, feeling like it's all a bit hopeless.

A cactus is for life, not just for Christmas?!

So if you're feeling totally overwhelmed, just go with the little change like getting yourself a houseplant to brighten up your bedroom. If you're not good with houseplants, get a cactus or an air plant. If even those feel like too much, get a nice picture or just put that pile of clothes on the floor back in your wardrobe. There, task done for today. Environment changed and improved like magic. 

Keeping it real moment - Houseplants seem to go into cardiac arrest when they see me. Yep, I've even killed an air plant and a cactus just by having them in my general vicinity. So no shame here hun. If you're a plant killer too, I get it. Just get yourself a pretty picture or a nice lamp instead.

If you're doing ok but feeling life has got a bit 'samey' and you want to mix it up a bit more, then go for a bigger change like a furniture switch around, getting your car cleaned or tidying up your garden.

If you're feeling super energised and you want to let the universe know that you're making big changes and nothing is going to stop you, then you could even go as far as re-decorating a room, planting a veg plot or working in a totally different place.

Switch it up, just a little

But you don't need to make big changes to your environment unless you really want to. Just the addition of your new cactus friend can bring about a change in your mindset.

We would all like to think we are totally in control of our thoughts and feels but the truth is that our environment can have a pretty big effect on us. So take control of the environment you're in by switching it up a little.

Even changing the amount of light in a room, the colour on the walls and the music you listen to can change up your whole mindset. For this reason, it's worth paying attention to how you feel in different spaces to identify what to change. Also bear in mind that a change that affects any of your senses counts. So a nice smelling bunch of flowers or a cosy blanket for a feeling of comfort can absolutely have an impact.

Some super easy changes you can make to your environment to change up your mindset include;

• Add feel good photos to your phone/laptop/TV screensavers.

• Wash and change all your towels around your house and use plenty of fabric softener for a nice smell around your home - bath towels, hand towels, tea towels. Freshen them all up.

• Buy scented toilet roll - it makes your bathroom smell so nice! There's a pretty cheap one that's coconut scented called Floralys Coconut oil, sold in Lidl's.

• Take some old clothes to the charity shop - declutter and do good.

• Swap a picture that doesn't give you the good feels with a photo collage. Print and cut out all your fave pics and frame them.

• Store all your winter coats, shoes, scarves etc. in vac bags or in the loft during the summer. Do the same for summer stuff in the winter. Decluttering your hallway so it's clearer when you walk in, is something you will really appreciate after those long days.

• Create an 'ideas wall' - you just need a pack of post-it notes and some spare wall space. Use it to plan, brain dump, set goals and dream.

• More light and air - open the blinds and curtains and a window if it's not too cold. Add mirrors to reflect the light from windows. There are even mirror balls you can add to plant borders to reflect more light around shaded areas in your garden.

• Add life to your environment - if you're not a plant killer, get a plant. If you are, just buy a bunch of flowers or those herb plants at the supermarket to use when you cook. They don't last long but will give some life and the nice smell of herbs to your kitchen for a few days. You can even get a 'live forever' bunch of dried flowers that you can't kill.

• Wherever your most relaxed space is in your home, make sure you've got a clean blanket there and something warming like a hot water bottle or a heated wheat bag for when you need comfort.

• Put nice messages, affirmations or whatever makes you feel good in places only you will generally see them. Like inside your bedside drawer, or your wardrobe door or the lid of that hot chocolate that only you tend to drink. Again, post-notes are a girl's best friend here. Then next time you open that drawer or make a hot choccy, you will give your mind a little change up when you see the note. Think of it as cheating your way to a better mood. I mean why do something the hard way when you don't have to? ;)

So there you go - tons of super easy ways to change up your environment today. I bet you can manage at least one of these this week. I'm not saying the addition of an air plant will change your life but then again, i'm not saying it won't! So try changing up your environment this week and see if it can switch up your mindset.

The Who -

When panic mode sets in, I always want to move house. Actually I want to move to another country all together and I convince myself that this is the key to fixing my problems. But spoiler alert - it's really not and the problems just follow. So instead of going on the run to avoid a work meeting or a difficult conversation, I change up my environment. It helps to switch my mindset and almost feels like a new beginning and a re-set with a fresh perspective.

Panic mode sets in fairly often for me so this 'changing it up' approach has cost the world a fair few houseplants, sadly. So departed houseplants, I dedicate this feather to you and I thank you for your service to my mental health during your short lives in my home.

Lou @ Feathered Paths Xx