22 Things To Do For A Happier And Healthier Home In 2022

Whether you’re into making New Year’s Resolutions or just want a few goals for your next year around the sun, here is a list of 22 actionable things to do in 2022 for a happier and healthier home and family.

Resolutions vs. Goals

I’ve never been a New Year’s resolution kind of person. It just feels like something that’s created to be broken. I mean really, who actually sticks with their New Year’s resolutions?

Now a goal on the other hand, that feels like something to work toward until you achieve it. In business, you set goals to get to where you want to be. You start with yearly goals {or longer} and break it down into quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily goals in order to achieve the big goal at hand.

Having a happier and healthier home is a big goal, but absolutely possible with some small actionable steps that, when applied daily, make big changes over time.

Better Habits For Happiness

There’s a saying, If you do the same thing you’ve always done, you’ll get the same thing you’ve always gotten.

Do you feel like everyone in your house is constantly going in different directions? Do you feel like your family lacks closeness and quality time?

Do you feel like life is just this game of going through the motions? Like one day you’ll wake up to find that you’re old and wonder what you actually did with your life?

Those are the exact feelings I’ve had that have catapulted me into setting and working towards these goals for our family. Many of them are things we’ve already implemented and some are things that I’m adding in for 2022.

Whether you implement 3 or 22 of the goals from the list below, choose some, stick to them, and watch how they set into motion major changes for your home and family!

Habits For A Healthier And Happier Home

1. Put Down The Phone

Our society has gotten so attached to our smartphones that they’re nearly always either in our hands or pocket. We’ve become so connected to the internet, while losing the most important connections, which are with the people around us.

A very convicting thought for me is that I don’t want my children growing up seeing the back of my phone. I want them to see me. To see my smiles. Nothing that I spend time looking at on my phone is more important than the people in front of me!

2. Exercise

Start exercising even if it’s only 10 minutes a day. A little bit every day over the course of a year will add up to big changes in your health and body!

If you’ve “tried” exercising in the past and always quit after a little while, try to change the way you think about exercise. Instead of looking for certain physical things like a lower number on the scale, that can be very slow in coming and extremely discouraging when you’re working so hard, make it your goal to be strong.

Do it for the future you who wants to be healthy for your kids and grandkids. That’s my motivation for exercising! I want to be a strong grandma!

3. Drink More Water

It may be a bold statement, but I’d be willing to bet that at least 80% of people don’t drink enough water on a daily basis. Adequate water intake is vital for every function of your body.

The recommended water intake is 125 oz(3.7L) for men and 91 oz(2.7L) for women. (source)And that doesn’t take into account things like working in the heat, exercise, or breastfeeding which all increase your hydration needs.

I never realized that I was chronically dehydrated until I made it my goal to drink a gallon of water a day. I don’t always reach that goal but now I can immediately tell when I start getting dehydrated by how my body starts to feel not up to par!

One thing about drinking so much water is that you want it to be healthy & clean. If you’re in the market for a filter, you can see why I chose a Berkey in my review where I talk about all of their pros and cons.

4. Detox Your Home

We spend so much time in our home. If you’re like me, you want your home to be a comforting and nourishing place to raise your family. A safe haven to come home to.

Unfortunately, our homes can be quite the opposite of nourishing. Start doing some research into the ingredients in the products that you use daily and you’ll be shocked to find that so many of them are hormone disrupters, endocrine disrupters, carcinogenic and the list goes on.

One of the biggest toxic loads in our homes is in the form of our cleaners. I personally picked Thieves cleaner to use because not only is it non-toxic and plant based, it’s also concentrated and super economical! It’s multi-purpose, too. It’s so easy having one cleaner for the whole house!

This is a bundle of my favorite Thieves products {these are the ones we use everyday} to remove a huge portion of the everyday toxins from your home in one easy step.

5. Less Processed Food – More Real Food

Following the previous thought, if you don’t cook from scratch, learning to do so is a very worthy goal to set! Processed and packaged foods are loaded with preservatives, dyes, chemicals, imitation flavorings, tons of sodium, etc.

If time is one of the reasons that you find yourself reaching for packaged food and takeout, invest in a good crockpot! There are so many delicious meals from scratch that can be made in a crockpot hands-off while you’re going about your day.

6. Plan & Schedule Fun Days

It’s so easy to slip into the habit of working all the time. Especially if you live on a small homestead, have kids, and a side gig. Ask me how I know!

The thing is, once your time is spent, you can’t get it back. Spend it wisely. Have fun. Make memories.

Need some ideas to get out of your work/life routine and have some fun?

• go on a picnic
• make a slip n slide
• go fishing
• take a trip to the zoo
• go hiking

7. Seriously Cut Back On Sugar

I don’t think there’s any argument that excess sugar is bad for your health. It can lead to cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance, and so many more health issues.

It’s so easy to over-consume sugar, especially if you eat lots of processed foods because sugar is added to so much.

8. Turn Off The TV

Similar to the point above about spending less time glued to a smartphone, the tv is another form of entertainment that is easily abused.

I love sitting down for a good movie just like the next person, but so many times the television becomes a replacement for conversation and family time. When you’re focused on the TV, you’re missing out on opportunities for valuable personal connection.

9. Bring Back Family Meal Times

If you only take away 1 or 2 things to try for your family in 2022, I would highly encourage you to make one of them be family meal time!

Sitting down as a family to share a meal, with NO PHONES, is such a special and underrated thing in homes today. I strongly believe that it leads to deeper connections and a healthier family dynamic.

Implementing a set supper time where we all sit around the table together as a family to thank God for his blessings and share a meal has been one of the most impactful things that we’ve done for our family!

10. Don’t Wait Until Things Are Perfect

So many times, we find ourselves putting things off until we have more money. Or a bigger house. Until we’re not so busy. Or any number of excuses we can think of.

Stop with the excuses and just do the thing! Almost a year ago to the day, our son nearly died. That was one of the most impactful events of my whole life. It made me want to live each day to the fullest because you never know which one will be your last.

Don’t wait. Say I love you. Cherish each moment. Live like you’re dying!

11. Grow A Garden

Gardening is something I’ve really gotten into in the last few years. My patient husband just keeps adding me more garden space when I fill up what we have.

Is seed buying addiction a thing? Because if so, I definitely have it! There is something so immensely satisfying about planting a seed, watering and tending to it, transplanting it to the ground, and then eventually harvesting a vegetable that you grew from start to finish.

Even if you live in a subdivision with a teeny tiny back yard, buy a few pots and plant some tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers. You just might end up being the crazy seed lady like me!

12. Ditch Toxic Candles And Air Fresheners

Speaking of toxins in our homes, candles and air fresheners are some of the worst! And also most common.

If you love having your house smell lovely, but want to do it without the harmful toxins, you NEED to invest in essential oils and a diffuser! Not only do they smell amazing, they have so many health benefits ranging from boosting mood to immune support and everything in between.

But not all essential oils are created equal!

I know a lot of people are skeptical when you start talking about essential oils and their benefits, but here’s the thing: all of the medicines we have today are either made from or based off of medicinal plants. And guess what essential oils are made of? Medicinal plants!

If you’re interested in learning more about the healing power of essential oils, click here to sign up for my free essential oil masterclass.

13. Declutter

Less stuff = less stress = happier home

We tend to accumulate stuff in our homes without even realizing its happening. If you’re not intentional about removing items as you bring new items in, you’ll wake up one day and feel like you’re living in a storage unit. Anyone else?

So many of the things we accumulate don’t even get used. They sit in cabinets and closets, taking up valuable storage space and collecting dust.

When you’re working on decluttering, an easy place to start is this: if you don’t use it, don’t keep it. If you need some help jump starting your decluttering check out 14 Easy Things To Start Decluttering When You Feel Overwhelmed With All The Stuff.

14. Get More Sleep

Getting adequate sleep is vital for being able to function at your full potential. Sleep deprivation will leave you feeling sluggish, discouraged, and unmotivated. It makes it hard to remember things and think clearly. And I don’t know about you, but lack of sleep severely lessens my patience, which isn’t a good thing!

Start prioritizing better sleep and see how much better it makes you feel! Not sure where to start?

• Take a relaxing bath to wind down.
• Turn off bright lights in the evening.
• Limit screen time as that can interfere with your ability to fall asleep.
• Set a bedtime and stick with it to help your body get into a better nighttime routine.

If you need extra help with sleep, it’s one of the things that essential oils are excellent at helping! This is a bundle of my favorite oils for sleep.

15. Take Control Of Your Thoughts

Have you ever known anyone who could convince themselves they were on the verge of death from something they heard on tv or read on the internet? That’s how my grandma is. She’ll be convinced she’s got some major health crisis. Then when the doctor tells her that everything looks great, she bounces out of the office saying how great she feels!

The mind is such a powerful thing! Our thoughts are so powerful that they directly influence and drive our feelings.

Just think about it…you can think about something coming up that you’re looking forward to and you feel excited. You think about a happy memory and you feel happy. If all you ever do is sit and listen to all of the bad things on the news that’s what you think about and pretty soon you’ll start to feel hopeless and depressed.

So this year, resolve to not be a slave to your thoughts and feelings, but to instead take every thought captive! We’ve been given a wonderful gift in the ability to choose what we think about.

16. Learn Something New

We live in one of the easiest times in all of history to learn things. Between videos on YouTube, online college courses, online classes and tutors, and an endless number of blogs and websites, you can even learn new skills while sitting on the couch in your pajamas!

Whether its a new skill like photography, sewing, or mastering sourdough to learning a new language or how to play an instrument, don’t wait until “some day” to learn something you’ve always wanted to do!

17. Get Out In The Sunshine Every Day

Vitamin D is super important for two areas that many of us struggle with: energy and mood. Not only that, but a study found that over 40% of the population was deficient in vitamin D.

That may not seem like a big deal, but considering that vitamin D deficiency can be linked to risk factors for two leading causes of death in the US, cardiovascular disease and cancer, it’s worth being intentional to get adequate amounts of vitamin D.

There are many food sources of vitamin D, as well as supplements. One of the easiest ways to soak up some vitamin D is good old fashioned sunshine! And you don’t have to get burnt to a crisp to get it either. Even 15-20 minutes in the sun each day can have a beneficial impact on your D.

You can move around, do some gardening, give the kids a chance to run off some energy and benefit your health and mind all at the same time!

18. Figure Out What’s Most Important In This Season And Let Go Of The Rest

Priorities. The older I get, the more I realize that life is all about priorities. Sometimes it feels like a circus act trying to balance all of the plates that are spinning in your life. Eventually, we all get to a place were we have to set a few plates down or risk them all crashing down to the floor.

It’s not a bad thing to have to set some things aside for a season. Whether it’s perfectly folded laundry, using disposable diapers instead of cloth, or eating supper on paper plates, it’s worth your sanity to be ok with everything not being perfect.

19. By The Dirty Dozen In Organic

This is a new one for me this year, after reading a French study on the effects of eating organic vs. conventional food on our health.

According to the study, people who consume mostly organic foods had a much lower risk of getting cancer.

We grow a large garden, but can’t afford to buy all of the remainders of our groceries organic. In addition to what we can grow in our garden, eggs from our chickens, meat from our cows, and hopefully milk from our cow once she calves again, I’ll be buying “the dirty dozen” in organic as much as possible.

Is that a new phrase to you? It’s a list put together by the Environmental Working Group of the 12 most heavily…polluted, for lack of a better word, produce.

The top 12 are:

1. Strawberries
2. Spinach
3. Kale, Collards, and Mustard Greens
4. Nectarines
5. Apples
6. Grapes
7. Cherries
8. Peaches
9. Pears
10. Bell and Hot Peppers
11. Celery
12. Tomatoes

20. Eat As Much Fresh Food As Possible

This is kind of a trending theme for me, but the more fresh, local, and in-season food you can get into your family, the better! Fresh, in-season fruits and vegetables are packed with way more nutrients than much of the grocery store produce that is picked before it’s ripe and shipped across the country or even from a different country!

If you’re not able to grow much of your own fresh food, think about places like road-side stands and produce stands. You may even be able to find a local gardener that would be willing to share or sell some of their bounty!

21. Family Game Night

We know a family who does a family game night on Friday nights where they stay up late and play games all together as a family. I’ve been able to join them a few times and it was so much fun!!!

Even though our kids are still too young for most games, we play things like Jenga {which the 3 year old is surprisingly good at} and the matching game, which she also wins at. I’m really looking forward to adding in more fun games as they get older.

Do you have any favorite games that we should try? I’d love to add some new ones to the list!

22. Cultivate An Attitude Of Thankfulness And Savor The Season You’re In

No matter what’s going on in the world at any given time, we have so much to be thankful for! Most of us have a comfortable home to live in, air conditioners and heaters to keep us comfortable, running water, indoor plumbing, and the list goes on and on.

Here’s the thing…there is always going to be something. Some natural disaster, some war, some tragic accident, some sickness. No matter what we do in this life, there will always be some tragedy happening somewhere. And those things are so much more in your face due to social media.

You can either choose to allow those things to run your thoughts and feelings or you can choose instead to have an attitude of thankfulness for all of the many blessings in your life, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem.

Even in difficult seasons of life, there are so many blessings. A difficult season doesn’t mean it’s a bad season. It means it’s a season of challenge, and with that challenge comes growth.

Small, Practical Changes For A Happier Life

Sometimes making changes in our lives can feel impossible, but it doesn’t have to be! Even by changing just one or two small habits in your life, you can create massive changes over time!

Even if you have to re-start your new habit every single week, changing your life for the better is worth working hard for! A happier and healthier family is possible!

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