I moved into my apartment during my senior year of college after spending a year and a half constantly at home (thanks to the lockdown). Being reintroduced to normal campus life was stressful, especially since Iâm socially awkward. Throughout the year, I came up with a few ways to make my new home feel like a relaxing retreat from my day to day college life. Â
Making your apartment a relaxing place to be isnât just about decorating it a certain way; it’s also about switching up how you use the living space.
1. Organize
Living in a cluttered space can make you feel even more stressed. Itâs especially annoying if youâve been meaning to organize, but havenât had the time. If a day off is hard to come by, then I understand that you donât want to spend it cleaning.
Thatâs why you should spend up to 15 minutes a day organizing a specific section of your home. If itâs possible to multitask while you tidy up, then take the opportunity. You could be talking over the phone, listening to an assigned video, practicing a speech, etc. as long as one task doesnât impede the other. Walking into a freshly organized apartment can help shave some stress off of the day youâve had.
2. Decorate The Space How You (And Your Roommate) Like It
Another way to make your apartment more relaxing is by making it look like itâs yours (and your roommateâs if you have one)! A part of what makes a place feel like home is bringing it to life with fun decor that fits your tastes. Also, it doesnât have to fit a specific aesthetic. Donât feel rushed to make the whole place look professionally interior decorated either. Take the time to let lovely decor flow into your home as you spot it in thrift stores, receive it as a gift, craft it yourself, etc.
3. Make A Cozy Nook
A relaxation station is a comforting place to run to at the end of a hard work day, or any work day for that matter. This ânookâ doesnât have to look like the typical, academia, rich personâs reading quarters that comes to mind when you read that word either. However, if thatâs exactly your vibe, go ahead and make it happen! For the rest of you, make it look any way that you want, as long as the sight and feel of it helps you shake off some stress. In general, most of them have some kind of seating, a task light, and a small table to sit your things on.
4. Put Away Everything That Reminds You Of Your Job Or School
Have you ever heard the phrase âdonât take work home with youâ? Well, whoever said it made a great point. Wherever possible, you should find ways to hide visual queues that remind you of work and school. This will not only help you physically leave the office, but mentally too. I understand that this isnât completely possible for everyone, especially if you do your job from home. However, you should find an area to store your work laptop, put away your bag, hide your uniform, etc. This will help you relax when you get back to your apartment.
5. Block Out Loud Outdoor Noises
If you have an apartment near the busy streets of New York, then you might be dealing with some frustrating noises. You donât even have to be in a big city; maybe you have neighbors who are party animals or love very loud karaoke. Whatever the cause of the noise, finding a way to block it out can help make your apartment a more relaxing place. If you can afford to, grab a pair of noise canceling headphones to put on when you get home. If thatâs not in the budget, get some earplugs instead. You could also use a regular pair of earbuds and play your own music to block out the world.
6. Create Your Own Cozy Lighting Rather Than Using The Pre-Installed Ones
When I lived in my second apartment during my senior year of college, we had some bright, cold lighting coming from the kitchen that also lit the living room. It was so boring and impossible to relax with. As a solution, my roommate and I bought some fairy lights and placed them in multiple spots in the apartment. She lined the ceilings with some white lighting to replace the overhead one. I used blue ones to make the tv pop, white ones to decorate the console, and Christmas ones to provide hallway lighting. My roommate also bought a lamp to provide task lighting when the ambient kind wasnât bright enough. After coming home from class I looked forward to switching on all of those lights to create that end of the day ambiance.
7. Open Your Windows For Sunshine And Air Circulation
As I was writing this, I, coincidentally, felt so pent up indoors that I needed to take my laptop outside to continue this conversation with you in the sunshine. This is, as we speak, helping me shake off some of the bottled up stress that was accumulating in my head. If youâre also in need of stress relief, but you donât feel like going outdoors, open all your windows! Let the sunshine radiate in your apartment and, while youâre at it, ventilate your home! The air in a small living space can get stuffy quickly, so you should give it a refresh by opening your windows for 15 minutes a day.
8. Get Both Sheer And Blackout Curtains
Even though the sunshine has its benefits, I feel like we all have a love/hate relationship with it. You may love it at the beach, but hate it when it wakes you up in the morning. To establish some boundaries in this relationship, I suggest that you get strategic with your curtain placement. In your bedroom, you can hang some blackout ones so that your room isnât flooded with light while youâre trying to sleep in. In your living room, you can hang some sheer curtains to give yourself a bit of privacy while filling your home with natural light.
9. Make The Air Smell Nice
An easy way to make your apartment feel more relaxing is by making it smell inviting. You can do this through candles, an oil diffuser, a plug-in air freshener, some scent reeds, a spray and other ways! You can have fun with this too! Switch up the home scents based on the seasons and holidays.
10. Create Privacy If You Have Roommates
If you live with one or more other people, then relaxation might not be a luxury that you partake in often. Or maybe youâre a total extrovert who can only feel at ease around other people. Either way, itâs healthy to get some personal space or full-on alone time here and there. A few ways to do this is by using room dividers, locking your bedroom door, setting up a personal workstation or finding out when your roommates will be out and about.
11. Play A Soundscape On Your Tv
We talked a bit about how stimulating other senses, like sight and smell, can make your place more relaxing. Now itâs time to mention sound. If you pull up Youtube and type in âsoundscapeâ not only are there 10-hour long videos available, but they come with visuals too! Itâs getting easier and easier to turn your home into a spa. Anyways, give this a try and see if it helps you feel some serenity after work/school.
12. Buy Entertainment Other Than Electronics
Since weâre in 2024 (or later if youâre reading this from the future), a lot of us spend most of our time in front of screens. Since theyâre so ingrained in our daily lives, itâs important to step away from them sometimes. A part of relaxation is escaping the patterns of everyday stress and responsibilities; setting aside something youâre in front of 24/7 can help you immerse in that escapism. Take a trip to the store and pick up a novel, an adult coloring book (Target has some cool oneâs hereâs mine. I’m not done yet):
A puzzle, a craft project, etc. The cozy nook I mentioned in tip #3 might be the perfect place to put this into practice.
13. Place Pictures Of Family, Friends, And Happy Life Moments Around The Place
This piece of advice is especially helpful if youâre living on your own for the first time. Being homesick is completely normal, so filling your new space with memories of home can be very comforting. Taking time to reminisce on the good times you had with your friends and family can help shake the stress off of a hard work or school day.
14. Invite People Over
Speaking of friends and family, if yours are nearby and you havenât seen them in a while, invite them over! Sometimes thereâs nothing more relaxing than a cozy movie or game night with your friends. Throughout my senior year in college, I would invite one of my close friendâs over often for a little Invincible watch party. Having that to look forward to and enjoy in the moment helped melt away some of the stress that piles of schoolwork brought.
15. Have A Cleaning Schedule (And Make It Enjoyable)
Just like having a cluttered home can induce stress, having a messy one can have the same effect. Unless you can afford to hire someone to tidy the place for you, youâll have to carve out time to do the chores. Setting a schedule for yourself can help you keep track of what needs to be done and when. It can also be used to hold yourself accountable.
We all know that cleaning sucks, unless you love it, but you can make it suck less. Turn on your tv and play your favorite podcast, Youtuber, Twitch streamer, tv show or movie in the background. You could also pop in headphones and jam out. Or, call a friend on the phone and catch up. If you have a roommate, splitting chores should make the tasks feel more doable too.
16. Switch Up The Decor Seasonally
Having the same decorations in your home year in and year out can become boring. To breathe life back into your apartment, and make it a more enjoyable place to be, switch it up! This doesnât mean that you have to put pumpkins everywhere when fall rolls around. As the new seasons arrive, you can change your decor any way that you want. You also donât have to go out and buy new stuff, just rearrange what you already have! Seeing something new and aesthetically pleasing when you walk through the door can make your home feel refreshed and relaxing.
17. Find Ways To Appreciate Different Places In Your Home
When I was in my apartment during my senior year of college, I would make simple changes to how I used my living room. For example, instead of using the couch and tv to watch anime, I sometimes laid a blanket and a throw pillow on the floor and watched it on my laptop instead. Like I said, it was a tiny change of scenery, but it made a difference for me mentally.
I would do something similar when I played video games too. Iâd sit on the floor instead of the couch, use the ottoman as a seat for my laptop, throw my cozy socks on and unwind with some Yakuza 7. I would also turn off all the lights except the fairy ones to really get the vibe going. Build a pillow fort in your bedroom and read in it, rearrange the couch and accent chairs to set the vibe for movie night, have a picnic in your living room, etc.. Find different ways to appreciate the space you live in!
18. Have A Dance Party (Without Making Too Much Noise)
This was something I did basically every other day during my sophomore and senior year in college. If you donât live on the bottom floor of your complex, then the dance moves you can pull off are limited, but still doable. Also, if you play music out loud, be mindful of the volume. You could also opt for headphones to really drown out the world. Either way, take some time to lose yourself in your favorite songs, reenergize, and let go of stress. These parties donât have to be alone by the way; if you know someone whoâs in need of a quiet dance party, like your roommate, invite them to join in!
19. Set A Mood Based On What Youâre Doing
Itâs easy to get caught in a cycle of doing the same routine for a surprisingly long time. I know that, when I fall into this, I donât even notice until I literally start to feel trapped. I just feel like I need to change something, anything. This often leads people to make impulsive decisions. Instead of resorting to that, try breaking out of the cycle by switching up how you complete your daily responsibilities.
For example, showers are already relaxing, but you could make it even better. Grab a bunch of fake or real candles and use them as mood lighting. You could also play some music while you’re there. On those days where you have to take work home with you, prepare a delicious snack, dessert or hot coco to sip on while you get it done. Like I mentioned in tip #15, when you have to clean, play music in the background. Find ways to make the things you hate a little less stressful, and the things you love even more enjoyable.
20. Cook For Yourself
When I was in college, I would spend every other Friday evening cooking both mine and my roommateâs dinner for the week and it helped me relax. I would even enjoy bumping my favorite music as I took the trip to the grocery store. Also, even though I probably shouldnât have, I popped in my headphones and jammed out as I browsed the aisles.
The point is, I used this as a time to relax and release the stress of the week. Even if you prefer to buy your food rather than cook it, you can set aside a little time every now and then to chef it up. You donât need to choose complicated recipes; heck, you can even make popsicles! Even better, make popsicles with your roommate or friends to get in some relaxing bonding time!
21.Get Furniture Thatâs The Right Size For Your Place
When furnishing your place, make sure to pick out furniture that fits comfortably in the space. If you get some thatâs too big, youâll feel claustrophobic. If itâs too small, the place might feel empty. Get items that allow you to comfortably move around the space and look like they belong there.
22. Create A Relaxation Routine
Lastly, something that you can do to make your apartment more relaxing is creating a relaxation routine. For example, when I was in my senior year of college, I had a few things I did after homework was finished. First, I would grab a snack and unwind while watching some youtube videos. After I finished eating, Iâd turn off the apartment lights so that only my fairy lights were visible. Then, Iâd sit on the floor, put my laptop on the ottoman next to me to hear twitch streams, and immerse myself in video games for a while.
When I was a sophomore, I would always set up mood lighting, play some music and use my shower time as a solo karaoke sesh. Maybe your routine can be jamming out to a Spotify playlist you made specifically for doing your hair. After that, you can watch your favorite Netflix show on your phone while you do your skincare routine. Find ways to incorporate things that you enjoy into your daily tasks.
