Written by contributing blogger, Daniela Forte. 

Loving yourself is a big part of finding love in general, but I have found that part of loving yourself is also surrounding yourself with love.  I am not just talking about the people you surround yourself with, but in your home as well.

One of the compliments I got when I first moved out into my own place was how cozy my place was. While I wasn’t sure what I was trying to achieve with the overall ambiance of the apartment, I knew what I liked and didn’t like. I took my time in finding things that added to the cozy feel, but also exemplified who I was as a person.

Someone who walks into my apartment will immediately be greeted with a large D on one of the shelves in my apartment given to me by a friend of mine when I moved out. I also make every attempt to celebrate each holiday with assorted dish towels and knick knacks. While I have lived here for three years now, I still feel there is more I can do to add to this relatively small space to add to the love.

There are a variety of ways to bring love into your home that I personally have done myself and haven’t done yet that I hope to in the near future.

Lots of Candles: I think anyone who has come into my apartment will see a ton of candles everywhere, I realized this not too long ago, because it got to a point where I was saying, “Oh gosh, where am I going to put this one?” I am a very spiritual person, so candles for me present a calm in my apartment, they signify peace and warmth on cold winter nights. I recommend bringing candles into your home, or adding more if you don’t have that many at the moment. The peace and calm is a form of love I believe that will set the mood whether you’re by yourself or entertaining others.

Keeping it Clean: Keeping your apartment clean is definitely inviting love into your home. Taking the time to brush away the dust, to mop the floors, vacuum the carpeting is simply showing how much you care about the place you live in.

Making Space: For you single people out there, I read once that if you make space in your closets and drawers enough for another person to potentially live with you one day, you are setting the intention of bringing love into your life. I haven’t done this yet, but I do purge stuff every now and again and it does feel like I am making room for something to enter my life each time.

Host a Dinner Party: If you’re single like me, it’s always a good idea to invite other single friends or your coupled friends over for dinner. Food is nourishment and getting together with those you love is definitely inviting love into your home.

Give Your Home a Gift: Your home is your sanctuary, it is where you celebrate events, it’s where you find peace after a long day. Ever since I moved into my apartment, each year on the anniversary of my moving in, I have bought my apartment a little gift. Whether it is a candle, or a figurine I have found ways to celebrate it. My apartment has brought me so much joy, so in kind I would like to return the favor.

Cook Yourself Good Food: Food is another way to bring love into your home. Have you ever cooked something you love and just feel pure joy and warmth from the aroma of the food? That is love. When I was a child, every Sunday coming to my grandmother’s house and smelling fresh tomato sauce and pasta cooking felt like love. You always could rely that on Sundays this was going to be what you would have when walking into my grandmother’s house. I can still smell it today.

#radiatedaily

image source – pixabay