Add Some Ambiance

We've covered sight, smell, taste and touch. Sound is the final sense I wanted to add more of to put a little heart into our home. Now, my kids already add plenty of their own sounds, but I was thinking more along the lines of calm and soothing sounds. So I went in search of a water feature. I found one like this at a local store (got it for $5 on clearance!! But you can usually pick them up for around $20)

I put it on my bedside table. I gotta say, I was worried the sound of trickling water would be sending me back and forth to the bathroom most of the night, but so far it hasn't. :) It's so relaxing and this one's lighted so that it looks like flickering candles. When I brought it home and set it up, my husband came home, caught sight of the flickering "flames" and went sprinting upstairs because he thought the bedroom was on fire! I was, of course, laughing my head off very concerned that I had needlessly scared him. So, you can see this is a great way to add some "spark" to your bedroom!

Pillow Talk

Texture and fabric can add so much to our homes. I love pillows and they combine both of these elements. Pillows instantly add a level of "homey-ness" and comfort to a room. I was shocked though at some of the prices I saw when I went out pillow shopping recently! It was nothing to see decorative "throw" pillows going for $30 or more. I'll tell you one thing, if I pay that much for a pillow, I'm sure not going to be throwing it or letting anyone lay, lounge, sleep, sit or wallow on it!

So, I settled for my old standby; decorative pillow covers. I've made decorative pillow covers in the past and they're great because they're removable so you can put them in the wash and they don't get all "smushed" like regular pillows. You can slip them over cheap pillow forms from a fabric store or update your look by covering your old existing pillows. Plus they are super easy to make.

I'll work on posting a tutorial on how to make these easy pillow covers and post it soon. Darn...might have to make some more so I can get some good pictures during the process!

Super Fruit Bowl

We've talked about how appealing to the 5 senses can help you add heart to your home. It's not that hard to figure out how to incorporate sight, touch, scent and even sound into our decor. But, taste is something we don't always think about adding into our home decorating scheme. I spent some time thinking about this and decided that even the simple act of placing a bowl of fruit (or even some tempting chocolates) on a nearby table is enough to bring some sense of "taste" into our homes. It seems to add this casual "help yourself" atmosphere to our spaces.

I recently added a bowl of fruit to our kitchen table. Instead of keeping the fruit in an out-of-the-way spot on the counter, having it displayed not only looks nice, it prompts the kids to want to snack more healthy. See, I told ya we don't always eat like this! The kids have been at the fruit all week. These left over bananas will end up in a loaf of banana-nut bread in a couple days and I'll try rotating the types of fruit we add to keep them from getting bored.

If you put some thought into it, there's a way to add a little heart into your home in any room with even the simplest of things. How do you added that special touch to make your home more comforting and inviting to your family and friends? Feel free to share your comments and posts here!

Give Away

As you've probably (hopefully) read, I've declared February "Put Your Heart Into It" month. I've been busy bringing warmth and comfort into my home to ward off the cold, dreary weather outside. Well, as part of the month long celebration, I promised some give-aways. And seeing how it's nearly the end of the month (gesh!) I thought I better get my act together!

So, here's the first one: it's a book from Hallmark called Keeping Life Simple: 7 Guiding Principals, 500 Tips & Ideas by Karen Levine. Now, this book was originally published in 1996 (gee, was the reference to pay phones a clue?) but much of the information is very timeless in ideas for bringing simplicity to our homes and surroundings.

So, here's the deal. Leave me a comment here about something you've done to put some heart in your home this month with your blog link or your email. You can put your email address in this format: soandso[at]thisandthat[dot]com so the spammers don't pick up on it. I'll figure it out! I'll choose a winner this Friday and post the update here. Good luck!

Finding Sancutary

I found this great blog by Rachel Anne at Home Sanctuary. She shares small things we can do each day to create sanctuary in our homes. This was the perfect site for me to get some great ideas to add some heart into my own home this month. I'm sure Rachel Anne won't mind if we borrow some of her ideas! She makes it so easy with small, manageable projects each day. Thanks Rachel Anne!

You Light Up My Life

One thing I know for sure, when you want to really add warmth to your home, you have to appeal to the five senses. Candles hit two of those; sight and smell. Candles just seem to bring an ambiance to a room and instantly makes a place feel "homey".

I went shopping today and found some really pretty new candles that have a spicy, oriental scent to them. I don't really care for the perfumed, flowery scents, but give me a candle or room freshener that's woodsy or food related and I'm a happy camper!

I rearranged my shelf in my living room to make room for the candles. An added bonus, this shelf's up high enough so little hands aren't going to be doing any exploring.

Take a look around your home and see what you can do this month to "put your heart into it". We'd love to see what you came up with! Post your link and comment here and share your story!

Put Your Heart Into It

In honor of Valentine's Day, and to pass the time during these dreary winter months (Another 6 weeks! Are you KIDDING me?!?! What does a groundhog know anyway?) I'm declaring February "Put Your Heart Into It" month. Yep, I'm just making up my own month-long holiday. I'm the Organizing Muse...so I can do that, right? Don't us muses have some special authorities or something?

Anyway...I'm going to while away the winter hours (like I don't have anything else to do) bringing calm and serinity to my home. I know you're thinking "With kids? Yeah, right." But I contend that it can be done. Even if only a tiny part of my home is able to be carved into a peaceful retreat, I will have my sanctuary I tell you!!

I'll add a Mr. Linky to the posts so you can join in if you want to and show everyone the ways you've added a little heart into your home. All I ask in return is that you link back here so your readers can find out more about Organizational Enlightenment.