Apartment Therapy Weekend Projects is a guided program designed to help you get the happy, healthy home you’ve always wanted, one weekend at a time. Sign up now for email updates so you never miss a lesson.

If you spend a lot of time cleaning your home, you might often forget to taste the reward of all that housework. But you deserve to enjoy your home! In order to be able to appreciate your home as the respite you try to turn it into, you need to stop all your doing and just be in it.

Of course, this is so much harder than it sounds. Sometimes it takes more effort to do nothing because it involves a conscious choice not to tackle the never-ending list of things that “need to get done.” A weekend spent relaxing at home might not only sound unreachable, but sometimes seems more stressful than one in which you try, once again, to do all the things before a new week starts.

This weekend, though, you’re going to set yourself up for success. You’re going to do what you need to do so you can truly unwind and begin another week refreshed.

This Weekend: Do nothing.

In order to have a successful do-nothing weekend, spend some time planning it. Decide what routine tasks you simply have to do in order to be able to relax. This weekend, though, the end point is, deliberately and unrelentingly, creating at least one haven at home so you can stop all your doing.

In order to pinpoint these must-do tasks, you’ll have to decide where you want to hang out and what you want to do. Maybe you want to read on the back porch or lounge on the couch and work on the photo slideshow you want to make for a family member’s upcoming birthday.

Focus your preparation on that area. For instance, you might know that in order to be able to relax on your back porch, you need to sweep it out and pick up the clutter that’s collected out there. To enjoy your living room, you need to pick up the popcorn bowl and soda cups from movie night last night, vacuum the carpet, and fluff the pillows. Set a timer and do what you need to do — and only that — fast. Don’t let additional chores creep in. Remember to keep your eye on the prize: that mini retreat at home.

Weekend Projects

You can catch up with weekend projects right here . Share your progress with us and others by posting updates and photos on Instagram and Twitter with the hashtag #atweekendproject .

Remember: This is about improvement, not perfection. Each week you can either choose to work on the assignment we’ve sent you, or tackle another project you’ve been meaning to get to. It’s also completely okay to skip a weekend if you’re busy or not feeling the assignment.