I’m not the type of person who smiles no matter what. I don’t automatically say “fine” whenever somebody asks how I am. And I definitely can’t gush. I’ve tried. Even though I’m not a welcome wagon kinda gal, I do recognize the value in people who are. Facing a smile instead of a sour puss always feels better.

Take a moment to visualize the front of your home, and in your mind walk up to the front door. Is your house smiling at you? Beckoning you and everyone who visits inside? If not, there are lots of things you can do to make your entrance more appealing — like a better door color or certain plants in certain places — but just cleaning your porch up is an important first step. A very simple tweak that will start chinking away at your stress level.

Feng Shui-ers know this well since the entrance is what lets energy or “chi” flow into buildings. Whether you’re a believer or not, you have to admit that walking into some people’s homes just feels better than others. Experiencing this difference is what made me start paying more attention to my own entry.

As you can see by this burst of front door creativity in the ’80’s, my house has been smiling for many years. It was fresh meat for neighborhood gossip at the time, as neighbors speculated about what we might paint the rest of the house. Oh my, there go our property values. What they didn’t see was the carpeting on the wall behind that infamous door! But I digress.

Paying attention to our entrances through the years might be part of the reason my husband and I are such homebodies. While friends talk about travels to France and such, we love to just stay put. Fixing it up for US instead of for company, has made it a nest we’re eager to hang out in. We’re always happy to get home, no matter where we’ve been. Gone for the week, gone for the day, gone for 3 hours. But honestly… we’re not boring people. We just love to relax.

Sadly, I’m guilty lately of neglecting my own tiny little porch. And it shows. Here’s what I saw yesterday when I paused long enough to notice: a thick coat of dust on the ledges of the front door and the porch light, scuff marks covering the sill, a bright red mat dulled by the color of mud, cobwebs plus a few spiders in the corners above the door. Oh, and the outside of a kitchen window that hadn’t been washed in six months. I’d been dutifully sweeping the porch every week, but evidently stopped looking up at some point. In a mere hour this can all be set right, so this weekend I’ll be “putting the welcome mat out”. But not just to visitors. My husband and I live here and need to feel welcomed into our own home.

Attending a porch might sound trivial when your life is full of far more important things. After all, your doorway is just what you use to go to the car or the yard and back again. Yes and no. Making your home smile may affect your life in unexpected ways.

How do you feel walking into your house? Have you ever even thought about the entrance to your home?