You are your child’s sense of home. There’s a reason the saying “Home is where your mom is” is plastered all over tea towels and coffee mugs. You absolutely carry a sense of home in you just by being a mother.

Good on you for taking steps to then create that sense of home outside yourself, too, for making it tangible with meals and comfortable spaces. Do you feel that sense of home within yourself? Write about it…the pressure, the pride, the responsibility, and the emotions surrounding all of it.

Write about how screens—our phones, tvs, and computers—can keep you inside your house or even keep you from taking care of your house and the people in it. Does this happen to you? How often?

We live in a world where many people are addicted to their screens. Take a look at your screen time and do an honest evaluation of yourself as it relates to your sense of home. Do your screens keep you inside more? Do they keep you from cleaning your home? Does your computer sit out on the table and call you to work? Could you set your phone down more to focus on creating a sense of home? Could you turn them off and enjoy your home more? What kind of screen use are you modeling for your children? It’s uncomfortable for some, but an important question we should ask ourselves often. Do a self-check and write about it. Create goals as needed.

Motherhood involves toys. It just does. It’s important we think about and get comfortable with that idea. What season of toys are you in? Infant? Toddler? Legos? Books? Video games? Phones? How do you feel about your current toy situation? Are you happy with it? Could you pass some toys along? Clean out closets? Acquire the next developmental level up? Make some more available or visible? Put some away? Rotate them out? Throw them all out and start over? (Just kidding…kind of…depending on the day). Toys are supposed to be fun. Write about what you can do to keep the toy situation fun and manageable in your home.

Today we’re going to get a bit poetic. How do sounds and smells play into your sense of home? Do you love certain scents? How would you describe the smell of your home? What fragrance, oils, or cleaners do you use that create your family’s unique smell of home? Write about them.

What about the sounds of your home? What does your home sound like? Is it filled with the pitter patter of small feet? The squeals and squabbles of siblings? Dogs? Birds? The ocean? The city? What sounds make up the unique orchestra of your home.

What is your home style now? Can you identify the design and style you’re drawn to when shopping, pinning, or browsing? Is it what you want it to be? Have you been thinking about changing your color scheme or vision? Write about what styles, eras, color, designs, etc. you’re drawn to most. Dream big on this one and write about what your ideal home looks like.

How much of your sense of home is bought? Do you find yourself buying “things” to fill your home in the hopes of creating a sense of comfort? Do those objects do that? Do the items in your home bring you joy? When you go to the store, do you think about how items do or don’t create a sense of home? What inspires you to buy household décor? Are you comfortable with your relationship with your interior design choices? How much of that do you feel is cultural? How much is it a trend? Are there items in your house that you’d like to get rid of? Start by answering the questions and then make lists, if you feel so inspired.

Do you have a sacred space in your home? A space that holds meaningful objects or photos that you cherish or that motivate you? If you have one, write about what it looks like, what you love about it, what you could do to enhance it, or look to it more often. If you don’t, have you considered creating a space in your home that holds spiritual meaning for you or inspiration? Write about the what, where, feelings, etc. that this idea brings up for you.

You’ve thought about it, wrote about it, talked about it. Make today the day your goals and plans go into effect (if you haven’t already)! If you want to eat less sugar, today is the day you start buying less sugar. If you want to sit down to the table for more meals together, set the table with plates and flowers and sit down together. If you want to share more of your grandma’s recipes with your children, buy the ingredients & choose a day to make it. Set yourself up for success. Write what your mealtime goals are and what you can do to see them through.