I have a quick exercise for you today that will help set the tone for your home in the coming year—choosing a “word of the year” for your home.
Have you ever chosen a word of the year before?
It’s an exercise I love, but I’ve always found it difficult to have one word that covers all areas of my life. So this year I am allowing myself to choose a word of the year for myself, for my business, and for my home.
For 2016 my word of the year for my home is ALIVE.
UPDATE: I choose a guiding word for my home every year. Read on to see what I chose in 2016. Then, check out my guiding word for 2018 and see how I’m displaying it in my home.
Before I tell you more about the meaning of my word and how I came up with it, I want to explain why I think choosing a word of the year for your home is so important.
If I were to sum up my entire decorating philosophy into a short and sweet motto, it would be…
Focus on the feeling.
How your home feels is paramount. Being intentional about how you want your home to feel can make decorating and housekeeping easier by giving you focus.
The easiest way to set your intention for your home is to choose just one word to focus on. The best words are emotionally charged and directly address how you want to feel in your home.
My word is ALIVE.
It took some thought to narrow it down to this word, but I kept coming back to these three questions:
- What does my ideal day at home look like?
- What do I admire most in other people’s homes?
- When I’m at my best, my home is…?
The answer to those three questions led me to my word.
What does my ideal day look like at home?
We love to spend time hanging out at home. But the best days are full of laughter, cooking, listening to music, and playing together. No one ever says they’re bored. We feel inspired and energized. We enjoy each other’s company. My ideal day at home is full of life.
What do I admire most in other people’s homes?
Over the holidays I took special note of the elements that made me feel welcome and comfortable in other people’s homes. Two that really stood out to me were music playing in the background and lit candles or a roaring fire. Each time I heard music or saw dancing flames, I thought to myself I should light candles more often or put music on in the background. I want my home to feel like this.
When I’m at my best, my home is…
Clean, but lived in. There’s a stack of books on the kitchen table, but the counters are clean and the floors are swept.
Healthy. The fridge is stocked with our favorite foods so we can eat in every day and grab a healthy snack anytime.
Calm, but not too quiet. There’s kid giggles, music, and the patter of puppy paws in the background.
The word that best sums up my ideal day at home, what I want my home to feel more like, and how my home feels when I’m at my best is ALIVE.
What’s Your Word of the Year for Your Home?
I created a free workbook including the three questions above, plus five more questions to help you choose your guiding word. At the end, there is space to brainstorm possible words.
To find the right word, you’re going to need to make a list of many words. Some of the first words you come up with are going to be a given, like comfortable or safe. We all want that in our homes, but those particular words don’t do much to inspire improvement.
Keep brainstorming, and you’re certain to come up with some more impactful words that describe the way you want to feel in your home. You might see a pattern forming in the words you use to answer the questions. For example, if you repeat words like inviting, warm, and welcoming, those words might be pointing you to something with deeper meaning like togetherness. See how that word has more power and summarizes all the other words?
You’ll know you’ve found the right word when you’re excited about the potential for that word to come to life in your home.
Your ideal word will honor the strengths your home already has while inspiring improvements, so your home supports you better.
How to Start Using Your Word as a Guide Right Now
The last page of the workbook is my favorite. It gives you a spot to write your word and then space to reflect on how you’ll focus on that word in your home this year. What will you do more of and what will you do less of?
For me, to make my home come ALIVE, I will slow down to light the candles and put the music on. I will make the activities my kids love the most (coloring, writing) easier for them to initiate on their own. I will get more organized about grocery shopping, so we have a well-stocked, nourishing kitchen. I will try new recipes (for meals, shakes, and coffee) with my husband.
To embrace a home that is ALIVE, I will stop rushing through the day from one activity to the next. I will disconnect from my devices more, so I can better connect with my family. I will stop trying to hush the house and instead enjoy the melody of activity in our home.
The feeling you want to create for your home is the most important decorating decision you can make. It’s the starting point for everything else. If you know what feeling you’re after and what evokes that feeling for you, then all the other decisions in your home become instantly easier. Don’t do anything in your home that doesn’t support your word of the year.
Share Your Word Below
It’s time to find your word. Download the worksheet below and get started. Then come back here and tell me your word of the year for your home in the comments below.
I loved the workbook, great questions. I thought it would be so hard for me to decide on a word but the writing and ideas just flew to mind.
My word for my home for 2016 is HEART
I know, I know….home is where the heart is but that’s not why I chose this word. I have 2 large teen boys now in my home and my house is *that* house. Where boys come to eat, play, laugh, eat, swim, hang, eat…it’s always been that way. My husband is a busy guy with a lot of volunteering, friends and family and he adores entertaining so our home is the hub of that as well. We are always the one couple that ends up throwing the party! I have a great network and circle of amazing women in my life and we meet often in my home to cook together, have drinks, laugh and I am always coming up with new theme nights for girly get-togethers :)
So for me HEART represents our home being the heart of our loving friendships and family bonds, the place that is the core of our lives where the people we love gather.
My home is the HEART that will beat and bring back my boys to a safe place as they grow and stretch into the men they will become, leaving, moving on and going on their very own adventures.
I also like to think I can put more HEART into keeping a tidier home, making more meals with HEART instead of being under-the-gun and winging it.
I want my home to feel like a heartbeat….constant, always there, ready for love.
I adored this exercize, thanks. I am going to paint the word HEART on our kitchen wall. It is the heart of our home (3 men +++++ more lol) but I want the reminder and I’m crazy like that. Plus when people ask why, they can feel honoured in that they were the inspiration for how I want my home to feel everyday of this year.
Cheers – Dharma
Dharma,
Yes! What an awesome word. You had me tearing up when you said, “I want my home to feel like a heartbeat….constant, always there, ready for love.” Your boys and your husband are very lucky men to have you in their life. Have fun painting your word of the year!
Jackie,
Thanks for the beautiful workbook. It is a unique way to add to our goal setting and planning for the year. I felt like it allowed me to pull back and look at things from a higher vantage point.
My word is Fulfilling.
I realized through the questions that I’m most at peace with the world when I know I’ve ‘looked well to the ways of my home’ – when it is clean enough and tidy, the next few meals are under control, the laundry is caught up, nothing is going to waste or ruin.
That feeling really allows me to settle into the project or work in front of me.
We are in a major transition this year. One daughter getting married and our other four kids in some type of transition so the house will be in some state of ‘fruit basket’ upset or taken over by a major project most of the year. Family and friends will be coming and going all year. It’s a happy time, but potentially chaotic.
I want to remember that all of this is activity is the best part of life – the dust will settle and if I can keep at the front of my mind that people are more important than being clutter free – while at the same time being a good manager I will find all our activities fulfilling and not view it as interruption.
The word Fulfilling reminds me to settle in and live in the present.
Cheri
Cheri, That is a beautiful word. I hope you have a fulfilling year and that your home supports and fulfills you in this time of transition. I feel like you could use your word as a mantra when life feels crazy…just repeat, “I am fulfilled.”
That was so fun Jackie and it reinforced what I’ve known for a long time, but haven’t wanted to deal with. My 2016 word for our home is DECLUTTER. I wish it was more fun like Decorate or Entertain, but that darn clutter is bringing us down. I feel sooo much lighter after we clean up, usually for guests. Unfortunately, it doesn’t last long. I think that if we could get a handle on clutter we could focus on the fun stuff more often. I’d like to blame my husband and son, but a lot of it is my doing with books, magazines, paper, etc.
So, thanks again Jackie for the nudge I needed to get the party started.
Lisa
Lisa, I love the intention behind your word, but I want to push you to turn it into a positive feeling word. So decluttering might be the action you take, but in aim of what feeling? How will you feel when your home is clutter-free? Light…open…unburdened…free?
The first word that came to me is serene. Life is often stressful at work and otherwise. To me, serenity is about calmness that comes from knowing that all will be well in spite of current circumstances.
Home needs to be comfortable and exude a sense of peace and quiet and a certain understated elegance.
Jean, That’s a beautiful word to focus on in your home this year. How can you make your home more serene? I would start by thinking about the spaces in your home that already feel the most serene to you. What makes those spaces serene? How can you repeat those elements in other areas of the house?
I liked the worksheet. I did it. I had already begun writing this year a bit each day on Journey of Joy. But what was my word of the year?? I’d never waited so long. I’d kept up 2014’s. It’s a now you just had to be young in the 70’s to know when I say my word art of CREATE was so funky I was leaving it up as art!! But this year. I knew I was exploring joy in the midst of hard times. Not based on circumstances. And I’ve written about the journey. And when I combined it with family dynamics and our house, after using your worksheet –journey–is my word of the year. In my home, we will take a journey away from some older elements into some unusual found elements incorporated into our decor. It means that my mid 1980’s part of all the pieces wall bookcase needs the inside painted with chalk paint. It’s faux wood! The outside I like. It’s taking mini steps for we are on a budget!! Eliminating so many tiny pots of flowers when we will continue water rationing though our reservoirs are full again. They feel like clutter. So the journey of doing a few minor projects around our home. Being content on this new journey where family gathers are no more a regular thing. Where I live most days inside four walls but adapting to this too –not fighting it–looking for joy–for we are told to daily have joy and to do it over and over (rejoice). So I’m ready!!! To take this journey in 2016. (A bit afraid but “Fear not for I am with you. I will never leave you nor forsake you.”Comes to mind!)
Nd your brass letters?? I remember when you got them! They’ve been such a great investment you’ve used in so many ways!!
Gwen, I love your focus and embracing the journey. I would encourage you to choose a word for your home with a more emotional side that captures how you want to feel on the journey or when the transition is over. Maybe it’s joy? Or content? Then you can focus on home changes that will make you joyful or content for the journey ahead.
Hi Jackie!
I absolutely loved this article. It caught my attention straight away! I’ve picked the word ‘CONTENT’ for my home this year. The past year has been a struggle for me in terms of work and at home and I found it difficult to find the satisfaction I wanted in life. I’ve made some big changes this year and I look forward for my home to reflect the same positive energy I intend to fill 2016 with. It’s a little scary so wish me luck!
Maria, Content is a great word. I think we all have to continually work on contentment. I’m curious, what do you plan to do more of and less of to feel more content at home?
Jackie,
To be more content I want to do less of complaining and look less for the flaws in my home. I am a perfectionist and that’s make it really difficult for me. I want to learn to let go a little.
I want to host more dinners and social gatherings at my place and get things done on time (however trivial the matter) to feel more content!
My word is “grounded.” For a while I’ve sought to have a home that is tidy and more simple (more organized and pared down). I’ve sought (and sometimes failed) to have a home that inspires playtime and art time with my kids, and serves as a launching pad for us to get outside (to walk, hike, camp, etc.). And for 2016, I also want my house to be an ideal spot for me to recharge (do yoga, meditate, etc.). When I think about other homes I like, they have space for living/entertaining/gathering, and fewer, carefully chosen furnishings/items, yet also seem cozy, soft, and comfortable – they’ve got what’s essential but haven’t gone overboard. I want my house to feel calm, but also grounded. I want the energy here to feel neither too serene nor too hyper. I want to remember that home is just a place, and that it’s the people that live and visit here who are important, as well as the things we do – play, exercise, recharge, and relax. I want a house that enhances my life, rather than one that drains my energy due to too many things and too many upkeep requirements – I want a home that is easy to care for (low maintenance).
Jess, Grounded is wonderful. I especially love the part about easy upkeep and not having a home that drains your energy. I feel like that sometimes and had to totally revamp my cleaning routine to make it feel more manageable. I think I also need to focus on eliminating draining activities to honor my word too.
My word is ENJOY. Such a great idea to have a word for 2016! I had a great few days over the holidays where I was really able to ENJOY my home and my family and I would love to replicate that into the rest of the year. The key for me is to let go of the to-do list and relax with my family. However, I find it is very difficult to do that if the house feels disorderly. When things are tidy (but lived in – not perfect) – I am at ease and can relax.
My word is “RESTORING”. I discovered by doing the worksheets that our work is all about hard work and serving others, so we need home to be a place we can rest and relax to be restored. Our home is also a place to entertain, but I am hoping to use my word to inspire myself to find ways to make that entertaining time feel free, easy and “restoring” to our family and guests as well. We are working on moving to a new home that will need a total renovation, so my word can help guide me to the easy-care finishes that will support the restful, relaxed home I’m aiming toward.