The Sunday Home

The Sunday home is something that my husband and I started doing without intention about a year ago and ever since, it has grown into a conscious effort each week. It’s the way our home looks and feels come Sunday evening. It is typically (not always, but typically…) tidy, organized, calm and comforting and we realized a while back that it helped us ease into the week ahead with a more relaxed state of mind and attitude. So now we spend a nice piece of our Sunday making our “Sunday home.” It isn’t perfect. Far from it. But it’s just good enough to leave us feeling accomplished, organized and relaxed as we make our way into a new week. Here are the key elements:

A tidy space. Toys are tucked away, the kitchen counter is cleared and magazines are stacked. I also do the sheets and laundry so everyone is starting out the week with lots of clean options in their drawers. The whole house doesn’t have to be “clean” per se, but making our space feel tidy – even if it’s superficial – is a big component of the Sunday home. It lets you relax and unwind properly, without a lot of clutter in your physical – and more importantly, mental – space.

Happy details. Fresh flowers don’t have to be a luxury, even an inexpensive bunch from Trader Joe’s can add a little happy to your home so we get some every week. I also like to have a seasonal candle at the ready for Sunday evening to add a little warmth, and we’ve recently started diffusing relaxation oils for a spa-like atmosphere at home. Finally, I typically bake something on Sunday afternoon that can be enjoyed on Monday morning – because an empty cake stand is no way to start a new week.

Meal planning. As many of you know, I am a huge proponent of meal planning (here are my tips for how to get started) and on Sunday evenings when the fridge is stocked for the week, something has been baked for Monday morning breakfast and I know – for the most part – what our menu will be for the week ahead, it takes a lot of stress out of life. And  I always factor in at least one random night for take out and real life, which takes the pressure off in case we all need a break. I highly recommend it.

To-do lists. I like to make a list – mental or physical, whatever works – for the week ahead on Sunday. What meetings are on the calendar, what school obligations lay ahead, and what are the must-dos for the week? It helps to go into it with some sort of action plan in place, even if it changes as you go along. I also go into my daughter’s school “planner” to add in important notes for her and her teacher, as needed (i.e. she has play practice this day, she’s ordering lunch this day, she has pajama day this day) so she has a sense of what’s to come and I don’t have to worry as much about last-minute mind lapses…which happen more than I would like to admit.

Unplugged. This is one element of the Sunday home that we are admittedly still working on, but when we do successfully unplug on Sunday evenings from our phones and internet, we give ourselves a much-needed mental break to decompress before the busy week ahead and we definitely see its impact. When the house is quiet, the kids are in bed, the candle is burning and the to-do lists are made, Sunday is in its element: relaxing, recharging and renewing. And it makes the Monday home much easier to embrace.

Have a great Sunday. xx