11 Small Practices for Daily Joy [Joie De Vivre]
Sharing 11 small practices for daily joy to bring into your every day life at home that will help enhance the every day.
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The pursuit of happiness is an inside job as most of us already know and there are aspects of your life that can be changed to further enhance your experience. Positive affirmations, a good book, allowing yourself quiet time and learning how to deal with negative emotions are all but a few. However, I am not talking about the sort of inner work we all must do as human beings at some point in our lives. I am talking about small things that can enhance the everyday life experience.
I spend quite a lot of time thinking up ways to make our day feel more pleasurable within our home. Probably more so than most. Many of you know my upbringing was to say at the very least, uncomfortable. Now, I do my very best to bring a little of what the French would call, joie de vivre or a joy for life, to everyday situations.
It is my belief that truly joyful people seek happiness, they take the time for little moments to express gratitude and to appreciate simple pleasures in their every day lives. The good news is, you can start today to build little joy practices into your daily life.
Todays list only touches on but a few simple pleasures you can take part in your days. My hope is that these open your eyes up to new possibilities that will bring more joy into your days.
Hand Soap
First, let us take a closer look at the idea of quality. Quality is defined as the standard of something as measured against other things of a similar kind. Ensuring that the everyday items we use are of quality so that when in use, it creates a tiny act of joy around the use of them. This can be done with something as simple as quality hand soap.
We wash our hands many times a day, and during those times, we can ensure enjoyment. Wash with a great scent and a soap that makes your skin feel good after use. It’s not just important to be cleaned, but it’s also important to take care of our hands. So why not swap out your ordinary hand soap and create a sublime experience with quality hand soap?
If you like to make your own soaps or keep things natural check out this Natural Foaming Hand Soap. It is one of my favorites.
Good Coffee
If you are not a coffee drinker than this one you can skip altogether. But if you are. Then you know how much you look forward to that first sip of your morning coffee. It’s a happiness level that is hard to beat. Ensuring that it is a good quality cup of coffee takes it up a notch. I enjoy rich, bold coffee and thought it would be nice to have a fancy espresso maker.
I am not about to buy one currently. However, these Italian Moka Pots are excellent at making a deliciously brewed cup of coffee in the morning. For under $20, you really can’t beat it. I also ensure that I am stocked up on my favorite coffee grounds.
Sleepwear
Believe it or not, what we sleep in matters. Throwing on old ripped-up sweats and climbing into bed at night is something we have probably all done at some point in our lives. But believe me; there truly is a difference in the way it makes you feel: old sloppy sweats or a nice nightgown. By wearing a nice nightgown, that, again, does not have to be expensive. It makes me feel good, and doing my night routine somehow feels more elegant and enjoyable. I know you, too, can benefit from this same experience. So invest the 20 dollars or so and get yourself something that makes you feel pretty.
Daily Water
Daily water intake. Your thoughts might be on just how anyone can enhance this very simple and necessary thing that all of us do each day. But therein lays the key thing, we all need to have our water each day. Why not slice a lemon in the morning and have wedges or slices to use all day for your water? Or, going even further, drinking your water out of a pretty glass.
Trust me, it is enjoyable to drink from a lovely cup of water and have that zesty lemon wedge or slice in it. Think of this, why is it that when we dine out, many restaurants add that lemon wedge to the rim of our glasses? Because it takes an ordinary glass of water and enhances not just the flavor of the water but the presentation of it.
Household Items
Yes, household items. If we could make something as mundane as cleaning on an average day somehow more enjoyable, then why not do it? From the broom, dish towels, dish soaps, dish scrubbers, and so on. All of these things can easily be swapped out for more aesthetically pleasing ones that are much more durable than those used a couple of times and tossed items we tend to grab in the grocery store.
If it is within your budget, invest in a nice quality broom. One that you can hang on the wall and have to look beautiful but also be crafted to last for years. Or perhaps make a nice-smelling homemade dish soap that you can purchase a beautiful glass bottle for to keep on refiling over whenever you run out.
Food Presentation
I am sorry, but I have to go here. I know I have mentioned this several times over on YouTube and here on the blog, but seriously, what we eat on and with matters! Truly, I can’t stress this enough. Being handed a paper plate to have a meal on takes me to flashes of a hot day at the beach. Having sandy sandwiches and slapping flies away while I grasp my paper plate. I understand the concept of saving dishes ok. I am with you.
But hear me out on this, we go through cooking a meal. The chopping, simmering, and sautéing. Then when ready we present it on a paper plate. This doesn’t seem right. It’s not to say that we can’t enjoy the food, of course, we can and do. However, consider the difference we feel when eating at an upscale restaurant versus a fast food place.
The way food is presented in a beautiful display atop a bright white plate. There is an experience all its own in seeing and enjoying this meal just in the way it was presented to us. The cloth napkin lay across our laps, and the pretty goblet of water to drink from.
For me, I want this at home on a Tuesday with a standard turkey sandwich. Because why not? I don’t care to save this sort of enjoyment for seldom times. The same goes for those that use good China for special occasions. I say take it out of the hutch for dinner and celebrate the occasion of being alive.
Cleaning Your Purse
You might not think of a clean purse as anything relevant to leading a happier life but its one of those intentional practices that help create better habits. Admittedly, this one is still a struggle for me to do on a regular basis. Daily our purses are filled with a myriad of things. Receipts, head bands, even the mail. I can’t tell you how many times I have opened my bag up at the checkout counter only to have a stack of receipts burying my wallet.
Not only is it frustrating and a tad embarrassing. But it is just like having a clean closet versus a dirty one. There is something almost therapeutic about walking into a clean closet to select your outfit for a day. A good clean out once a week, will have you enjoying the use of your purse again.
Al Fresco Dining
It’s true, that spending time outdoors especially on a daily basis can help us feel uplifted. I find combining meal time with this is the ultimate way to bring joy into the day. We eat at home most days, and I do my very best to make mealtime special. Small touches like lighting a candle and setting the table properly create a nice touch. However, to shake things up, I sometimes do a backyard picnic for lunch, or we eat outside on the back patio. I don’t have anything elaborate for an outdoor setting by any means.
A few chairs and an umbrella to protect ourselves from the sun will suffice. When we do this, I do ensure there is a nice tablecloth and that I take the same care to set the table just the same as I do inside. Being able to sit among the singing birds and in the breeze while enjoying a meal. Whether you have a garden to sit next to or just a few potted plants near your table, it is worth creating a lovely sitting area outdoors for your al fresco dining experience.
Making Your Bed
An easy way to create a positive attitude at the start of the day is to make your bed. Some of the most successful people in the world have made mention of this simple daily task as part of their everyday morning routines. There is a good reason for it too. Making your bed each morning is one of the very first accomplished tasks of the day.
One that pays off throughout the entire day. Think about this each time you walk into your room throughout a given day. You can either be greeted by a messy sight of an unmade bed or one that makes you feel a small ting of joy each time you enter. No matter how the day is going elsewhere, making your bed creates a sense of accomplishment. The feeling of climbing into a made bed each evening has its joys.
Afternoon Tea
A part of our daily routine on most days is to enjoy a cup of tea in the afternoon. I don’t do the whole setting of an afternoon tea. Although, from time to time, enjoying a lovely afternoon tea spread is a great way to create memories and joy in our days. I find just carving out 10 minutes to enjoy a nice cup of tea in the afternoon to be the best way for me to slow down and enjoy the present moment.
Taking a few moments to take the day in and look through a book or something that sparks inspiration allows us to slow down and refresh ourselves, even if tea is not your thing. Enjoying a glass of whatever you do love while sitting and enjoying those 10 minutes helps maintain a sense of well-being that results in overall joy.
Hotel Towels
Stepping out of the shower and grabbing a bright white, soft hotel-style towel is a bit of at-home luxury worth investing in. After coming home from a short trip this past year where we stayed at an airbnb; my daughter kept mentioning the giant hotel towels the lady had in the bathroom for us to use during our stay. I had to admit; it did enhance the experience of that particular stay. I hadn’t given it much thought before this. We had been using the same regular bath towels just fine.
But after realizing how enjoyable it was to use those fluffy white large towels, I thought, why not have this same experience at home? Surely, I do my best to create an environment of comfort and joy. Why not enhance an everyday experience with a small investment of a few hotel towels? It just makes sense!
Final Thoughts
Finding joy in each day by incorporating little things can help spark greater happiness and enjoyment. If you are feeling a loss of joy, I hope these simple ways of creating it can help reignite it for you. I feel it is always a good time to check in with ourselves and make improvements where we can. Life is much more joyous when we make our own joy a priority. Trying new things, creating new experiences or just simply choosing to slow down for a bit are all ways to care for ourselves and lead a life filled with joie de vivre.
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