If your home feels more like a stress zone than a sanctuary, it might be time to look at what you’re doing—or more importantly, what you need to stop doing.
From overcommitting to clinging to clutter, these small habits steal your peace without you even realizing it. Let’s clear the mental and physical noise so you can breathe easier, live lighter, and finally feel at home in your own space.
“The measure of success is happiness and peace of mind.” – Bobby Davro
10 Things That Are Crushing Your Peace of Mind
1. Cramming Your Schedule
Saying yes to too much leads to burnout and exhaustion. Protect your time! Create space for rest and connecting with your family. After all, your kids won’t be around forever.
At the very least, block out times of the year when your family has more breathing room in the schedule. For example, I had to say no to extra kids activities in the summer. It’s the only way my family gets the mental health break we need.
2. Letting Clutter Pile Up
Clutter causes stress. Research shows that cluttered environments increase stress hormone levels, difficulty focusing, and even impact emotional well-being.
Stop letting things pile up. Spend an afternoon making a “home” for your belongings – particularly small tricky things. Then, set a 5-minute timer each day or a bigger 10-15 minute timer once a week to stay on top of the clutter.
Need more? Try the 7 Day Declutter Challenge or go for a 30 Day Challenge. Less stuff means you’ll have less to tidy each day. If it’s not useful or loved, it’s weighing you down.
3. Skipping Routines
A predictable morning and evening routine can calm a lot of family chaos. Stop winging it! Instead, start planning simple rhythms that make you feel centered.
Check out:
4. Ignoring Your Budget
Money stress steals peace. In fact, multiple studies show that between 70% and 90% of Americans report feeling stressed about money.
Stop running in place, doing the same old thing.
- Create a simple budget that reflects your priorities and stick to it.
- Tackle debt if you need to. This tends to be the biggest stressor.
- Talk to a financial advisor or someone you admire. Often, they can help you explore ideas you haven’t considered.
Once you get your financial house in order, you’ll find peace of mind visits you far more often.
5. Trying to Do It All Yourself
Let go of the superhero mentality. You don’t need to be everything for everyone.
Instead, delegate chores and involve your whole family.
One of the best moves I’ve made as a mom is helping my kids become more independent. Showing them how to do their laundry and do simple chores is small (and sometimes hard at first), but they SAVE your sanity later.
6. Comparing Your Home to Others
Scrolling Pinterest or Instagram for hours can feed discontent. Suddenly, your family looks like slobs, you feel boring, and your home isn’t good enough.
Stop comparing and start appreciating all the good in your life. Set boundaries on your social media time and get out into nature or journal what you’re grateful for instead. You’ll notice a massive mental health lift in just days.
7. Saying “Yes” Out of Guilt
Women fall into this trap so much! But people-pleasing drains your energy. Start honoring your boundaries and say “no” without apology or explanation.
Great advice I heard once – if it’s not a “heck yes” then it should be a hard no. Your time and energy are important. Treat them that way!
Related: 9 Family Calendar Hacks to Know
8. Letting the Matrix Take Over
Constant notifications and screen time fragment your peace (as well as your focus). And this goes beyond social media! Turn off your phone at night and give yourself at least one day of the week when you aren’t constantly plugged in.
You’ll soon see the difference between how you feel and the life you want to be living.
9. Not Asking For Outside Help
People with the top health, happiness, and impact, also usually have the most help. Read that again.
Asking for help is not a weakness. It’s a strength.
Why? Because getting help frees up your time for what’s most important to you. It also adds a layer of expert advice and accountability to crush your goals.
You don’t need to spend a million dollars to get help. But you shouldn’t feel guilty when you ask someone to babysit for an hour either. Consider it an investment in creating a beautiful life – one with 10x more peace of mind.
10. Waiting for the Weekend to Rest
I recently confessed in the newsletter that my worst mental health weeks are the ones when I neglect rest at the beginning of the week. By Wednesday, I’m flailing hard.
Stop postponing rest. Build in small moments of calm every day. Even if it’s just 20 minutes to lay down or to take a quick bath. Peace isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity. Every single day. Your mental health will thank you.
What’s Next?
Of this list, what do you need to stop doing for peace of mind? Get started today!
