9 Things I Love About My Home Sanctuary

It has been almost a year since I took the super scary step of moving in with my boyfriend. Luckily for me (and him!), it has been relatively smooth sailing and best of all, I love the home that we have created together.

Before every Konmari consultation, I ask my clients to share what they love about their home, so I thought it was about time I shared with you what I love about mine. Here goes…

1. We can leave the car behind

Or in other words, we are within walking distance of everything we love. Melbourne’s famous Gertrude Street is just a two minute walk away, offering all the breakfast hangouts, designer stores, organic food stores and all the wine bars I could ever need.

2. It has an ‘entrance cupboard’

Those of you who live in apartments will understand this one; put simply, entrance hall cupboards are hard to come by. The joy of being able to walk straight in, hang up my coat, slip off my shoes and return them to their rightful home before taking more than a few steps is a luxury. Call me a crazy tidy lady, but I love it!

3. I can do balcony compost

I know! Perhaps not quite what you were imagining as one of the top nine things I might love about my home. Composting, however, is one of the best things you can do for the environment, and when I saw the size of the balcony I jumped for joy and bought a Bokashi compost bin secondhand from Gumtree. I love knowing that even in a small space I can take steps to reduce our waste. It makes me very happy.

Even in a small space I can reduce our waste

4. It’s great for morning meditation

I’m not always a great sleeper. I sometimes wake early, and toss and turn thinking about a million trivial things until my alarm goes off and I roll groggily out of bed. Well actually that was me – until three years ago when I made a pact with myself that if I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep I would get up and meditate. My home has the perfect morning meditation light – I can slip upstairs, light some incense, snuggle into a cushion, tune in and wake up slowly with the day. Very early morning meditation always feels like a little secret and it is my favourite way to rise.

5. It is Home Sanctuary HQ

We moved in right when the business was taking off and I needed a dedicated ‘head office’. Ideally away from the rest of the home, but not too distant, because you know, I love my home. My desk is set up in a sun-filled corner of the upper level, decorated with only a few motivational books (The Minimalist Home, Spark Joy and Project 333), a simple laptop stand, hand cream and a watercolour I bought in Yosemite – it’s my work anchor, and I love it.

Yosemite watercolour

6. It has a bathtub

There is nothing better than a bubble bath, a glass of wine and a good book to relax and wash off the day. I haven’t lived in a home with a bathtub for ten years, apart from a sharehouse in London and you couldn’t have paid me to bathe in that thing! This bath, on the other hand, while not straight out of Vogue Living , is just what we need. I just light a candle and pop on some music and I am content for hours.

7. It has space for my plants

Give me an extra square metre and I will grow another plant, and with two floors and an open balcony, my plant babies are loving life. Right now, my snow peas are starting to flower and I am so proud of them. Caring for plants helps me ground and connect, and it’s an important part of my morning ritual.

My plant babies are loving life

8. We can hear rain on the roof

Everyone loves the sound of rain on the roof, but for a gal who has lived in small city apartments for years, it’s a true luxury. We even have a skylight upstairs that enhances the sound beautifully.

9. We have friendly neighbours

Now more than ever, neighbours are so important, and we are lucky to live next door to a great couple. We water each other’s plants, and share lovely chats from our respective balconies, including a couple of socially distant balcony drinks last month during lockdown.

So there you have it – those are the things I love best about my home. If you have never written down or even shared out loud why you love your home, I highly recommend doing so. 

And if you’re struggling to put into words what you love about your home, you might benefit from some guidance about how to make the most of your space as part of your very own Konmari consultation. We use a mindful approach to help you connect with yourself and your home environment. Both in-home and virtual consults are available and can be tailored to your unique needs, so please do not hesitate to get in touch with us to book or to ask any questions you have.

Meet Sally  or learn how to find peace in isolation,  7 Way You Can Embrace Your Home Sanctuary  through lockdown.