How to Implement Slow Living at Home
The biggest leap I made towards achieving slow living was actually a mindset shift. This shift involved making the decision to love my home, exactly the way it is now, with all its perfections and imperfections. I decided I wanted to focus on making it beautiful, not by changing the structure or buying new things, or redoing the kitchen to be Instagram perfect, but by using what we already had and appreciating it. By doing this I stopped getting frustrated over carrying out the ‘little’ or ‘pointless’ tasks.
Below are a few ways we try to implement slow living within our homes, hopefully they can help you on your journey.
Eat at the table
Sit down to eat. At a table. Every time you eat. Every time!
I’m terribly bad at sitting on the sofa and eating lunch there while the children are napping or I’m on my own. But honestly, making that time to nourish your body can have a huge impact on you; you tend to eat better food, you feel like you’ve had a proper break and for family meals, you elevate the experience. Family members notice this and the effort you have put into the meal and feel special and loved because of it and in turn, you do too.
Enjoy the mundane
By finding ways to enjoy the mundane tasks you do every day you realise these are the things that add beauty to your home. Keeping it tidy, keeping it decluttered and/or adding beautiful elements means that you appreciate your space and also have more time to then focus on being present with your family as you aren’t stressing over the ‘chores’ or trying to find ‘stuff’.
Decorate your table
Use the good plates and glasses, fill up a glass jug with water, add a bouquet of flowers, a fruit bowl or a table cloth, whatever you have to make the table look beautiful and elevate the food and dining experience.
P.S. I also notice that the more effort I put into the food and the more beautiful I make the table, the more my toddlers eat!
Focus on smells
The smell of our home is important to me and super important to our children as they really pick up on smells. If you happen to be baking fresh bread or cookies then you are all set in the scent department but if not then I like to throw open all of the windows in the Spring and Summer as you really can’t beat fresh air! In the colder months, I like to use candles, incense or essential oil defusers.
Ditch the tech
Less screen time and definitely less social media. Turn off the noise; especially the apps that allow you to compare what you are doing or (not) buying compared to others. Turn off the instant gratification at least once a week (to start with, with practice you’ll notice it gets easier over time). Instead, turn to books or board games, play music, draw or paint. Whatever that old hobby is that you don’t have time for anymore, you’ll find the time again once the screens and scrolling are gone.
Take things one step at a time
Slowly start to make each area in your home beautiful to you. This doesn’t mean paint the place white and get rid of everything you own (unless that’s what you find beautiful of course!) It could be a bouquet of flowers, fairy lights, stacks of books, old family photos, lots of cushions, etc. Each area will have different requirements and each individual will differ on what they find beautiful, and that’s okay.
I hope this has given you some ideas for how to add slow living to your home. It’s something we as a family have been working towards for over four years and it has really had a positive and calming impact on our lives.
If you have any advice or things that you do to create slow living in your home please do share them in the comments or over on our Instagram page @foxandlockes, we are always looking for inspiration from like-minded friends.
Livvy and Summer
