For many of us, our favorite childhood memories were made around the kitchen table.
You don’t have to have Martha Stewart’s talent to bring the comforting warmth of the kitchen into your home. What brings you happiness may not be the same thing other people need for theirs.
But there are a few typical adjustments that you can make to bring in joy and take out stress in your kitchen.
When you redesign your kitchen to support your daily routine, you become naturally happier.
If your kitchen is closed off from the rest of the house or dark and drab, it’s no wonder that no one wants to be in the room. To make your kitchen happier, you need to take a few steps to make it appealing and inviting.
With just a few tweaks to what you already have, you can make your kitchen a place where everyone feels comfortable hanging out together.
A dim kitchen makes it difficult to work in, and people will subconsciously avoid it in favor of brighter rooms.
To brighten your kitchen without making renovations or breaking your bank, try under-the-cabinet lighting (no installation necessary), brighter, natural light bulbs in place of your dimmer ones, and opening up the windows and natural lighting in your home.
It’s easy to find multi-colored appliances now, so let your Keurig and toaster add splashes of color in your kitchen.
Your kitchen towels, pot holders, and other accessories can also add happiness in the room through vibrant colors and patterns that show off your personality and interests.
It’s easy to add pops of color! Be careful not to go overboard, though. You want the kitchen to be inviting, not overwhelming.
Adjust your seating arrangements so that your family members and guests have comfortable places to sit. Situate them facing into the kitchen area so that social interaction is encouraged.
It’s a research-backed fact: clutter is dangerous to your happiness.
When clutter takes over your kitchen and other areas of your life, it becomes a time-waster. You sift through junk to find what you’re looking for. You’re distracted by something in the clutter when you’re supposed to be focused.
The costs go beyond wasted time, too.
If you aren’t careful, clutter can cost you financially. Bills may be overlooked, shoved into the clutter, costing you late fees. Coupons you wanted to use could expire.
Overall, clutter causes mental and physical stress. A room with so much visual stimulation overwhelms your brain.
And because it does the same thing to the others in your home, it keeps them from engaging in social interaction in the kitchen area.
In an average home, the room most laden with germs is your kitchen.
Keeping this room clean and organized not only improves your health, but it also increases your overall happiness.
An hour of heavy cleaning now, followed by a few minutes a day of maintenance in the future, will get you a clean kitchen that’s easy to keep up.
If you’re moving into your home, this is a great opportunity to set up the room strategically while you unpack. If you’ve lived there a while, this is the perfect time to revamp your system and decide what works and what doesn’t.
Climb on a stepladder to empty all of your cupboards and get rid of things you haven’t used in years. Empty your refrigerator shelf by shelf and toss what is expired or looks like a science experiment (unless it really is).
Decide what needs to be better organized and work those areas. For instance, would you have more room in your cupboards with a few space savers? Do you need better system for your kitchen drawers to improve efficiency?
In-the-moment clean up is not always practical for the busy individual. But taking five minutes every night before bed to clean up after the day is an easy habit to implement.
Wipe down your counters with a germ-killing multi-surface cleaner, wash dishes, and do a general cleanse. This quick clean will prevent the buildup of dangerous germs and clutter.
You work hard to make your home a happy one, and you deserve to reward yourself occasionally. Your kitchen should be inviting to others, but also a place you enjoy being.
Go ahead and gift yourself with some upgrades when you can. Consider what you use the most and allow yourself to splurge occasionally.
A newer Keurig, that new KitchenAid cake mixer in your favorite color, or a new set of dishes or cutlery can improve your mood immensely.
Having the latest and greatest kitchen appliances and accessories doesn’t help if you don’t know how to use them correctly.
Learn the proper ways to clean and disinfect your garbage disposal (as well as what should and shouldn’t go down it!) and read up on your dishwasher’s capabilities to ensure you’re using all that it offers.
Music is another great way to increase your kitchen happiness. Pipe in some tunes from your Bluetooth speakers or splurge on surround sound to rock out while you’re cooking.
Whatever you do, curb the urge to watch TV from the kitchen if you’re trying to encourage socialization. Even YouTube on your phone distracts you and your loved ones from engaging in conversation in real-time.
Keep the kitchen a no-electronics zone (besides music) if you are looking for the ultimate happy space.
Upgrading your kitchen to the ultimate happy room isn’t expensive, but not doing it could prove to be quite costly to your overall lifestyle.
Decide what you need to do to make your kitchen a place you want to be and then make it happen!
Carynes Gitler maintains daily contact with every property that the company manages and plays a pivotal role in overseeing Onshore Daytona’s office structure and staffing.
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