Small habits that add whimsy and joy to your day

I have fond memories of a particular college semester when I decided to listen to Sherlock Holmes while I got ready in the mornings. Not a podcast about Sherlock Holmes, not a summary; I was listening to the actual short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. As I did my hair, put on some makeup and brewed my coffee, my brain was picturing the fog rolling into Baker Street and the suspicious characters passing by it. This little and uncomplicated habit changed nothing about my schedule and everything about my mornings. In a sense nothing changed about my day, I was still a busy student running slightly late everywhere I went. But I thoroughly enjoyed being a busy student running slightly late inside a Victorian mystery, and that turned out to make all the difference.

Changing seasons

I've been thinking about that semester as a new season comes into view and with it a change in routines and schedules; because as we face the changes, it is worthwhile to think of order and optimization but also the joy and whimsy we foster in our own lives. There are always chores and errands, so we understandably reach for systems that help us keep it together, but our days should be shaped by more than alarms, tighter routines, and color-coded everything. A perfectly run household can still feel cold and sterile when efficiency eliminates all enchantment. 

Use this budding new season to introduce a bit more whimsy and joy in each ordinary day. Here are three small habits that won’t save you a single minute, but will add to your minutes.

1. Listen

Listen to classic audiobooks while doing menial tasks. The mornings were my ideal time, but others enjoy silence in the morning. Find a time for listening, whether it is at breakfast, in the car, during a long walk, or while cooking or cleaning. Choose a classic like Alice in Wonderland, Anne of Green Gables, the Sherlock stories, Treasure Island or something to match your mood. 

This is also an easy way to expose the entire family to excellent literature. Children absorb language the way they absorb everything, sideways and without trying, and there is no easier way to fold great writing into a day than to let it play while ordinary life happens around it. 

While there is a valid argument for reading instead of listening, this is about squeezing literature into other tasks. Time for chores in a full household is precious; it is worthwhile to do them with pure art in the background. 

2. Reinvigorate the kitchen

Now that you have some whimsy art in the background, carry that better mood into the kitchen. The impulse to view cooking as a dreaded chore is familiar to most of us. But just like fine literature, cooking is an art that can be generously shared. Reinvigorate cooking by making it a family activity. While their help can prolong the process, including children in the kitchen provides irreplaceable lifelong memories and skills. Aside from making children feel included, it is important for them to learn the value of helping and serving their family, with the added bonus of learning about food. 

3. Elevate the ordinary

Finally, treat your home as though a guest is always on the way. Why save the nice things, the order, and the cleanliness for those who don’t abide in your home? While it may be unlikely that a guest will show up unannounced, it is not impossible. The people who already live in the home, though, are the ones who most deserve to see it at its best. Fold the blankets, fluff the throw pillows, and light a candle on a random Wednesday when everyone is gathered in the living room for no particular occasion. A cared-for room is a quiet way of telling the people inside it that they matter and they deserve it. 

The new season will bring busyness and chaos regardless. But chaos with a story playing, dinner made by many hands, and a candle lit for no one but yourselves, reveals a home filled with love and whimsy.