Few are immune to life’s daily stressors, so we at Beyond Storage have put together 6 achievable ways to calm the feelings of chaos and support mental wellbeing when the cacophony reaches fever pitch.

1. Recharge

We’re so busy in the daytime with work, being parents, running errands, doing chores, being well-rounded, functioning adults – the list goes on. Introduce calm to your day, even if it’s just for an hour, by creating a new evening routine that allows you to reconnect with yourself and what really matters.

This time can be just for you, shared with your partner or with your children, or even your pets – whatever works to make you feel settled.

If you’re not sure where to start, here are a few ideas to get you inspired:

  • Enjoy a hot drink in your favourite mug
  • Put your comfies on
  • Write a sentence summarising your thoughts for the day in a notebook or journal
  • Read a book
  • Enjoy the fresh, evening air – weather permitting!
  • Light candles
  • Connect with your loved ones
  • Listen to a podcast

However you decide to unwind, try and stick roughly to the same times every evening. Continue the calm into the nighttime with our 5 simple tips for a better bedtime.

Hot drink in mug in the evening

 

2. De-stress in fresh & functional spaces

We can get complacent with our rooms and spaces – “that’s how it’s always been!” But that doesn’t mean the current layout is functional or makes the best use of the space, both of which are key to ensuring a room is a conduit for calm.

Be invigorated by a new perspective and rearrange an area of your home in a way that really works for you.

Depending on the quantity and size of your furniture, it can double up as a decent bit of exercise, too. Winner!

Tape measures and dusters at the ready.

 

3. Negate the niggle

Whether it’s in the forefront or back of your mind, it’s brain space worth freeing up! So do that one thing you’ve been putting off for a little or long while to kickstart the calm and boost your mental wellbeing.

And no matter how small it is, it’s another thing to tick off your to-do list at the end of the day – so satisfying!

Tip!
Be kind to yourself. Whether it’s a pat on your own back, something nice for dinner or a long bath, don’t let small victories go unrewarded.

Organised space with to-do list

 

4. Happy scrolling

For better or worse, we spend a lot of time on social media.

Given that it takes up so much room in our minds every single day, it’s important to remove it from the list of daily stressors and ensure that our social media feeds are balanced, of value to us and make us feel good.

Take a hard, honest look at your social media feeds. Are you inspired? Do you feel empowered and confident? Are you learning something new? Do they make you laugh? If you’re unable to answer yes to some of these questions, it might be time for a social media deep clean.

And that’s not to say that we should banish all content that challenges us and encourages us to think outside the box or our comfort zone: find a good balance and follow accounts consciously to omit the social media feed from the daily chaos instigators.

 

5. Declutter to destress

While we can all attest to the benefits of a tidy, well organised space on our mental wellbeing, you’d be forgiven for breaking into a sweat on hearing the word “declutter”: our minds throw us back to the last time we thought a declutter was a good idea but found ourselves standing amongst more mess and madness than there had been previously and wondering why we’d ever started.

But hear us out – this is calming, sans-skip, small-scale decluttering!

Focus on one area at a time, be it a cupboard, a corner, a shelf, any little bit of your home that you haven’t had a good rummage in for a while. You’ll be surprised by how much you own that you don’t need, want or even like, and once you’re rid of it, just how much it weighed you down.

If you need a helping hand or some general principles to abide by when decluttering, take a look at our blog post about Marie Kondo and the life changing magic of tidying up. If you want to make an even bigger dent in your clutter, why not try our Marie Kondo-inspired 30 Day Room Declutter Challenge?

Remember!
Where possible, avoid the bins skips and tips: recycle, sell, rehome or gift!

 

6. Reconnect

One of the most important things to remember when things start to feel a bit much is that we all have these moments. Take the time to reconnect with a friend or family member that you haven’t spoken to in a while, not just to check in with them, but to check in with yourself.

It’s amazing how grounding a few kind words and shared laughs can be!

Catch-up with friends for mental wellbeing

 

For more great ways to encourage daily mental wellness, take a look at Beyond’s 30 self-care methods.