If your home is your castle, it should make you happy. Your home should be a positive place.

When you are in your home, you should feel good, warm, safe and secure. When you're out, you should look forward to getting back to the comfort of your home.

Your home should be the place where you are your happiest and most content.

It's not difficult or expensive to make your home a positive place. It's not about stuff as much as it is attitude and outlook.

When your home is a positive place, it's welcoming and friendly. People want to be there. You enjoy being home and want to invite people in to enjoy it with you.

Being positive doesn't mean that life isn't hard at times. It certainly can be. Being positive is about finding the good whenever you can and trying to surround yourself with as much good and positivity as possible.

7 Simple Ways To Make Your Home A More Positive Place

1. Say thank you

Say it often. Be thankful for the little things as well as the big things. We have a 10-year-old and we are pretty insistent about her saying "Thank You" whenever she can. It's not easy to teach kids gratitude (that's a topic for a different day), but we try to model it as often as we can both in and out of the house. We say "Thank You" when we pray at dinner and before bed. We say "Thank You" at stores and restaurants. My daughter hears my husband thank me for things like dinner and laundry and she has started doing that as well. Saying "Thank You" is free and it can make a world of difference. But, it can also make a difference in the world.

2. Say hello to your neighbors

It's always a good idea to have a friendly relationship with your neighbors. It makes the small world around you more enjoyable. When you say "Hello" to your neighbors it's almost impossible for them not to say "Hello" right back.

3. Lower the volume

Speaking a little lower or not raising your voice can be a big help when you're trying to make your home a positive place. Yelling begets yelling. When one person yells, more people start yelling. It becomes a vicious cycle. We found that when we speak in a lower volume our daughter listens more closely.

4. Serve others in your home

Look for opportunities to do nice things for each other. When you do nice things for the people you live with and say "Thank You," people want to do more nice things when they see it's appreciated.

5. Open the curtains

Open the windows on a nice day. Let the sun in and feel the outside air when the weather is nice. The sun and fresh air can help you feel happy and positive while cleaning the air in your home.

6. Be thankful

Every night at dinner or at bedtime, we discuss one thing we are thankful for from that day. Some days are easier than others. That's life. Even on difficult days, this is a great way to show the kids that there is "good" in every day. We started out this year with Gratitude Journals. We each write something we are grateful for from the day and share with the family before bed. It's a little thing that can eventually make big changes in the mood of the family.

7. Surround yourself with the things you love

You don't have to be filthy rich to surround yourself with things that bring you joy. Take a look around your house and see if there is anything you absolutely hate. Can you donate it or get rid of it? Try never to bring anything into your house that you don't love and doesn't make you happy.

When you make your home a positive place, it will feel like a warm cozy blanket, something that comforts you. When your home is a positive place, you'll be on a mission to make positive changes in other areas of your life as well.

Editor's note: This article was originally published on Dawn Pfingsten's website. It has been republished here with permission.