Build Your Own Backyard Retreat in 3 Easy Steps

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Sometimes we just need to get away from it all, but don’t have the big bucks to plan a vacation or a spa day. That’s why building your own backyard retreat will not only save you cash but save your sanity as well. Plus, it’s always a good excuse to get in some me time too.

Our new house has a huge backyard, but never fear you don’t have to have a big backyard to build your own backyard retreat, and it’s filled with big beautiful trees. There’s just this inner zen that comes to my brain when I’m outside beneath a canopy of leafy green happiness. It was actually one of the requirements I had when we were looking to buy a house.

Getting outside really helps reduce the chaos in your head, aka stress, and making sure you can break away for at least a little bit every day can really help you focus on what you want to get out of your life rather than spending all of your life on autopilot. Not preaching, just sharing truth. I’ve been that crazed mom (woman) on autopilot that can’t remember the last time she chose to take time for herself. It becomes so automatic to just get through all the chaos we tell ourselves we ‘have’ to schedule through the day. Before we know it , we are middle aged and gray haired and have no clue what makes us happy anymore.

Read How to Relieve Stress When You are Busy

Read 3 Easy Tips to Less Stress In Your Life

Before you get burnt out, find a little place in your yard to call your own, and turn it into your own little backyard retreat. This could be done with a cozy chair that becomes your reading nook by your garden, or a small sofa on your patio. It doesn’t have to be anything elaborate. Just needs to be something that is called your own, and your family knows that when you are in your little backyard retreat you are not to be disturbed.

When I was first diagnosed with fibromyalgia, I was still living life at full tilt. On my journey, I was forced to learn to slow down and prioritize what truly had to get done and everything else was really just things I thought I had to get done. Years before this, I had started prioritizing my life to get things that were truly my heart and soul, but my fibromyalgia diagnosis just put things in hyperdrive. My body no longer gave me any choice but to slow down and do things at a slower pace.

Stress was a big part of why I developed fibromyalgia so young, that and heredity. Had I not been a stresscicle most of my life, I may have been able to delay my disease for a few more decades. That’s just how big a role stress plays on your health. You don’t have to have won the genetic lottery like I have for it to reek havoc on your body. Don’t believe me you can check out the symptoms of stress and see how many you see on a daily basis.

Now are you ready to get creative and build your backyard retreat? It’s super simple, won’t break the bank, and your mind and health will thank you for it!

Build Your Own Backyard Retreat in 3 Easy Steps

Pick Your Spot: First of all, is to pick your spot. In my backyard, I decided to pick a spot beneath the two tallest trees in my yard so I have more shade during the year. Your spot could be by your garden, out on your porch or patio, on your front stoop. Just think of a place you could spend time and enjoy yourself without too much noise or distraction. Here are some ideas for you

• Patio
• Porch
• Garden
• Deck
• Under Your Deck (If you have a taller deck)
• Cozy Alcove of Trees
• Front Porch Swing

 

Make it Comfy: If you are going to spend sometime in your backyard retreat, you definitely want to make it comfy. My backyard retreat is my favorite hammock. The hubster bought it for me a few years ago for Mother’s Day and this is the first time I’ve been able to put it back up since we’ve been moving so much. Head to Goodwill, find a comfy chair on clearance. Reuse something you have in the house already. Just make sure it makes it comfy to sit and easy to use your new space.

Decorate it: Now for the fun part. Decorating. You don’t have to do anything crazy, but make the space your own. Put up some inspirational rock art, or hang some lights. My space these awesome hammock lights. These Enbrighten Café Lights by Jasco were just two seconds to install (ok not LITERALLY two seconds, but you get it) and they add just a little flare to my little part of the world. We already had an extension cord out that way in the yard, so I just hooked them up, put up two hooks and now my space looks fabulous!

Just check out this video to see how easy it was to create my very own backyard retreat, and how easily it was to set up my Enbrighten Café Lights by Jasco. Thanks to my handy dandy TouchSmart Starter I can even schedule when my lights brighten up my cozy little spot!

Now that you have an idea how you want to build your own backyard retreat the last tip is the MOST important. Make sure you schedule time to get out there and USE it! Don’t let your life get so busy that you don’t have time to yourself. SCHEDULE it like you would a doctor’s appointment. Every single day make time for yourself weather it’s in your backyard retreat or weather it’s just a few minutes alone in the house to meditate or listen to some awesome music. The more you make yourself a priority the more you will truly find happiness and what makes your quirky life rock! Plus, once you have your backyard retreat set up you can enjoy amazing views like this 🙂