3 Ways to Make a New Home Feel Yours

Hello World! Welcome Friends! As if shifting houses wasn’t hard enough, one must also deal with the emotional repercussions of the move. It takes a while for a different property to feel like your home. The mechanical, clinical vibe of freshly painted houses with stacked boxes can be off-putting.

You know you must start unpacking to settle down into the house slowly. However, boxes can be many, and energy can be limited. Does that mean that until unpacking is complete, you must endure the alienating vibes of a place you’ve never lived in before?

Presenting three simple but powerful ways to make an all-new space feel like your own without unpacking everything and breaking into a sweat.

#1 Start with a Familiar, Comforting Smell

Have you noticed how certain odors remind you of past experiences, bringing joy and laughter in tough times? Harvard Medicine notes that smell can trigger a deep emotional response, evoking memories and affecting physical well-being. The power of odors is what candle makers and perfumeries capitalize on for their customers.

Use this power to make a new house smell like yours. You can get your diffuser started with your favorite oil inside. You can choose scents that were a staple in your old house, say, lemongrass or chamomile. Or you can pick something like bergamot orange. It is known to relieve anxiety and create calm.

It is even more important to establish calm if your move was inspired by a quest for peace. Many people in the US move to smaller, quieter cities like Germantown and Vermont to build a work-life balance. These locations offer a high quality of life and plenty of green spaces minus the constant chaos of DC or New York. It can be disorienting to arrive at a new property and feel it doesn’t resonate with what you wanted.

Trusting scent to work its magic is a dependable approach. For example, when moving to Maryland or thereabouts, you can ask movers in Germantown to pack your diffuser kit separately. They can also label it to make it easy to find. You can also bundle other odor-based things, like scented candles and potpourri. You’ll also need a shower bomb to smell fresh after all that work!

#2 Sit Down for a Floor Meal

Nothing makes a place feel your own more than fresh, hot food shared with the family.

Your new house may not have any furniture set up yet. But that shouldn’t stop you from ordering pizza or hotdogs and enjoying them on your new floors. Perhaps your friendly neighbors from the old place gave you a packed lunch for the first day? Some families turn to meals of granola bars and fresh fruits on that crazy move-in day.

A beautiful CBC feature shares how sitting on the ground to eat can be a humbling, unifying experience. Some families see it as a tradition to express gratitude for food. What’s more, it inspires storytelling. People feel more connected as everyone passes around makeshift plates – or pizza boxes. This simple act can bring everyone together in new environments, even the teenage children fretting about attending a stodgy high school.

You should also work towards having the kitchen ready as early as possible. The kitchen is called the heart of the home, its aromas inviting family members and neighbors to come together and chat. So, when you start unpacking those boxes, you can begin with kitchen supplies. Keep the first few days after shifting focused on simple, throw-things-together meals like salads and cold sandwiches.

The kitchen will need your handy equipment and appliances, like the dishwasher and the oven, to come into its own. As per 495 Movers, clients must confirm that equipment and appliance moving are included in the charges. It can be unpleasant to make extra payments when swamped with settling-down chores.

#3 Recreate Background Sounds

If you used to live near a train station or a busy farmer’s market, it will take time to get used to the newfound silence. However, like smell, sound is another precious way to warm up to your new space.

Science News Explores reports that the auditory network connects to emotions and empathy. No wonder some music makes us so emotional it causes goosebumps or brings unexpected tears. Besides music, familiar sounds in the background can help our brains develop comfort and belonging. They can also trigger dopamine, a neurotransmitter that is often called the happy hormone.

You can begin by playing your favorite songs in the new house. You don’t need to set up the entertainment system yet; a phone can suffice. Pets can help immensely, adding their adorable mews and ruffs to the house, like always.

When you unpack, prioritize the box with the cuckoo clock or the windchimes you used to hang on the balcony. Bring back the kitchen timer that dings when the eggs get done. Your new house will soon sound just like home is supposed to.

Life is a journey, they say. Finding that forever home where you settle down for good is tricky. Until then, moving may be a fixture every couple of years for work, school, or family reasons. Let’s embrace the change and try to make new spots our own. Human beings are nothing if not resilient.

Click the links below for any posts you have missed:

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The Complete Guide to Installing Wall Panelling Yourself

5 Ways to Add Natural Light to Your Home

5 Innovative Tips to Turn Your Home into a Kid-Friendly Haven

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