Daily stress affects everyone and can lead to chronic stress and even stress disorders such as anxiety attacks and panic attacks. After taking several college courses relating to health and wellness, I’ve gathered so many valuable tricks and tools to help keep stress down and maintain overall wellness. The most important tool for wellness is to keep stress levels low, so if there is stress in your life, these are great ways to manage and help reduce it. I still struggle from time to time, but I’ve began to incorporate simple routines into my everyday life that help bring balance and ease where there used to be chaos and disorganization.
1. Organize Your Paper Pile in a more simplified way. If you’re looking at clutter, your mind will feel cluttered. I was so sick of looking at my pile of unsorted paperwork and unsorted receipts that I purchased a photo box for the pile of receipts, and a new file folder box, with hanging folders and manila folders but in a more modern design, and I absolutely love them. I completely re-did our family’s “dump station” so there’s no more black hole of paperwork, and this really helped get that stress out of sight and out of mind. I now have: One folder for important documents, things that need to be handled that week. One folder of stuff that can be filed, such as paid bills. One box for receipts that I haven’t entered into my expense sheets/filed. Below are some of the items I bought and a few other useful products
2. Encourage Financial Wellness. Each week I sort away, file and pay the bills within a 1 hour time frame, all at once, and then I don’t worry about it until the next week. It also helps to get an App or program to help track stuff, this way you can put the data into the App or program and then get rid of about 99% of the receipts afterward. Mint is a fantastic App, you can have it on your personal computer, iPad, Laptop, and even on your iPhone or Android, and it keeps everything in one place, even syncing with your bills and bank accounts, making accounting for your income and expenses and budgeting much easier. I also love that it’s owned by Intuit, the people who make QuickBooks and Quikken, so you know it’s secure. There are several other apps out there, but I use Mint and love it.
3. Balance and Re-Energize Your Home. I’m not saying you you have to sign up with an essential oil company, but diffusing a little citrus in the morning, or some lavender at bedtime can really help! I’ve purchased several diffusers and love how easy it is to just put in a little bit of water, a few drops of this and that, and then push the button. Not only does the house smell better, but it has really improved my overall mood. Every essential oil has a different function, not only in terms of warming/cooling, but in terms of uplifting, clarifying, soothing, grounding. A few of my go-to essential oils are Rosemary or Lemongrass for memory and focus, Lavender for calming, soothing, or sleeping, Citrus for uplifting, and for balancing I use any fir, spruce, cedar or pine. I love to mix 2-3 fragrances so there are high and low notes in the air. I also use Frankincense incense a few times a week, it’s commonly known for it’s clearing, grounding, and balancing properties, and is available in an essential oil or its original form which is the tree sap resin tears. There’s lots of research and hype about Frankincense being able to do some pretty incredible things! I use this Frankincense that can be purchased through Etsy from SunMadeHerbals for about $10 a bag, and it is always high quality, pure and lasts a long time!
4. Visually Spruce up Your Bedroom and Storage Areas by adding some shelves, storage bins or organizational pieces. Do you have one pile that is just always there? I think we can all agree that you can never be organized enough. I have 2 young kids and the dual dressers weren’t cutting it, so I opted for a Cubed Storage Shelf and Fabric Storage Totes, and am SO relieved at the help it has been. There are more sections for each child’s items, and they each have their own color for their storage totes, so they know exactly what is there. I also adopted the same system for their toys and it makes organizing toy sets and cleaning them up so much easier. I also love the fabric storage bins because rather than have a shelf full of stuff, you have a nice clean and neat looking area. Shelves are a great addition to a space, and they help add that finishing touch that helps make your house a home. I love shelves that also have small hooks so that I can get a little extra storage out of them. Adding a shelf to the top of my dresser really helped the visual aspect of the top of my dresser and gave me a sectioned area to store my personal items. I also revamped the decorations and went for more relaxing and boho inspired looks and waking up to that is so much more enjoyable. Below are some ideas for products that I love!
5. Re-think the Word Diet. A diet isn’t something we go on, it’s what we put into our body. Re-think the word, because your diet is simply just what you eat. Many people see the word diet, and think that it’s a specific way of eating that goes on for a measured time. There’s also a lot of negativity and dread that then comes with the concept of dieting, but if you re-frame your thinking, you can rethink your diet by doing simple things like setting up a few weeks of meal plans and trying to stick to them. Another important factor in maintaining proper health is to make sure you’re eating at the right times. Really think about and plan for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and you will notice a change in your energy levels and your ability to manage situations and stress are greatly helped when you make sure to eat well at breakfast and lunch. Also save by shopping the perimeter of the grocery store first. All of the processed foods and junk are down the aisles, but if you first shop the outer area of the grocery store, you will find produce, bakery, dairy, veggies, and fruits, and isn’t that just about all that you need?
6. Evaluate Your Hobbies and Take Time Out for Yourself. How many hours in your day are you living unplugged? What areas in your life are you spending too much time? If you cut back and engage in some of your lost talents, or take some time to discover new ones, you will benefit from the inside out. Maybe even buy some seeds and try to take some time doing gardening. Evaluate your personal hobbies and think about how you can manage your time better to allow for you to take some time out to work on a project or do something you’re interested in. Taking time out is important not just in hobbies, but taking time out for ourselves, to do what needs to be done for self-care as well. To decompress from our busy lifestyles, it’s important to take time each week to go on a walk, or schedule that appointment you’ve been putting off, even scheduling a haircut you haven’t made time for or a facial or massage appointment can really bring up your spirits.
7. Exercise and Meditation are so important not only for working our muscles, but for healing our bodies. I highly suggest trying creative visualization and meditation if you are suffering from chronic stress. Chronic stress means that you have dealt with and are dealing with constant reoccurring stress, such as with a job, difficult partner, financial stress, etc. It has been common knowledge for thousands of years that meditation and visualization have profound effects on our bodies. Meditation allows our mind and body to synchronize in ways that bring our bodies into deep states of relaxation and seemingly melt away stress. Exercise is commonly thought of as physical activity, but it’s equally important to exercise our minds as well as our bodies. Using the principles of the Law of Attraction, you can practice using positive thought and creative visualization and meditation to help bring the things you want into your life, financially, emotionally, and physically. It’s important to be physically active everyday, and if you aren’t chasing toddlers, you may want to consider a hiking spot, a pool, or even a yoga class to help you get active at least 2 times a week. Physical exercise has also been linked to a reduction in stress, anxiety and depression. Comment below and let me know what you do to find zen, bring peace, and de-stress!
Remember while you’re on your journey, that nothing worth doing is ever easy, but by mindfully making choices to usher in positive change you can easily take small steps each day toward achieving your goals. Whether you are looking to achieve emotional, spiritual, physical or financial wellness, making small decisions each day will have a ripple effect on your life and can bring you to your goal without having to drastically change anything overnight. Check out SunMadeHerbals on Etsy where there are products geared toward health and wellness and comment below to share what inspires you!
