Welcome Home!

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My name is Hakikah, and I am a Holistic Homebody.

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Introvert too.  I love being home. Adore it.

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Even as a child, I hated going out. And when I did, I was already longing to return home. Home, for me, was safety and love. I was blessed with two parents who believed parenting required their full attention. I was the youngest of six children—two sisters, three brothers—and our home was anything but quiet.

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Privacy was rare, especially with one bathroom for all of us. Bath time happened in shifts: someone at the sink, someone in the tub, and someone on the toilet. My refuge was the bathtub. Curtain drawn, water running—it became my oasis. I couldn’t see or hear anyone, and for those few minutes, the world belonged to me.

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“The bathroom was my sanctuary long before I even knew what that word meant.”

 

It was where I went to cry, to read, and to think. I was never bored or resentful. I loved being home.

 

A Quieter House, A Room of My Own

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By the time I was 12, my siblings began leaving—marriage, college, their own apartments—until only one brother, my parents, and I were left. Suddenly, the house was quiet. Now there were leftovers after dinner! I finally had uninterrupted bath time! And best of all, I had my own room.

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I painted it, covered the walls with posters from Right On, Word Up, and 16 magazine, and turned it into a shrine for the Jackson 5. My friends would stop by just to see the wall. In high school, I inherited the family hi-fi and a daybed, transforming my room into what I called my “apartment.”

 

Falling in Love with Home Economics

In middle school, I discovered Home Economics class. Outfitted with four full-sized kitchen replicas, weekly lessons on cooking, sewing, and cleaning, it felt like a dream. While boys were sent to woodshop or auto mechanics, I happily learned the domestic arts. I subscribed to Co-Ed Magazine for $2 a year (!).  The subtitle of the magazine was: "For Career Girls and Homemakers!"  It was chock-full of advice for improving every aspect of a girl’s grooming, etiquette, food, decorating, Home economics, career advice, fashion, beauty, and fashion. An avid reader and bookworm, I devoured each issue. 

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As I grew older, my magazine tastes evolved—Seventeen, Cosmopolitan, Mademoiselle, and ESSENCE. They introduced me to a world beyond my neighborhood and planted the seed that I could attend college away rather than follow the usual path to the City University of New York.

 

Creating My Own Space

I was journaling and vision boarding before I even knew those were “things.” My first apartment came at 20, furnished with my parents’ hand-me-downs. By my 30s, I was filling my home with pieces from Spiegel and Jennifer Furniture, finally getting my dream—a chaise lounge.

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For years, I rarely had people over. My home was my sanctuary, but eventually, work and life shifted that balance. I spent the next 20 years working at a career I loved and my house became little more than a place to change clothes and sleep.

 

The Stroke That Changed Everything

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At 50, I had a stroke.

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It forced me to stop. To be still. To look around my home and realize that while I had beautiful furniture, books, music, and art, I had not been living in them. I’d been living in my busyness.

By grace, I recovered. But I knew I needed a new direction. I left my job, became a certified holistic health coach, and began working with clients.

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The Clutter Connection

One day, a client told me she’d finally completed an assignment after cleaning her kitchen. She had struggled with serious clutter, and that simple act of clearing space completely shifted her energy.

 

A light bulb went off.

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She couldn’t be the only one. How many people were neglecting their health and happiness because they were buried under clutter? I began studying feng shui, sacred space, and the connection between our environment and our well-being.

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“Clutter renders you inert. It weighs you down until the will to act disappears.”

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I revamped my business to focus on helping people create homes that supported the life they wanted. The response was overwhelming—so many were struggling with the same challenges.

 

Life’s Unexpected Ministry

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Then life changed again. I became a full-time caregiver for my mother. After her transition, I moved to Atlanta and unexpectedly became a full-time caregiver for my three grandchildren.

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That was never in my plans, but God had a plan bigger than mine.

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Caring for my grands reminded me of everything I loved about being a homebody—using natural remedies for everyday ailments, making bath and body products free of chemicals, creating and managing a home that felt safe and nourishing.  Actually, it was a legacy passed down from my mother. Meal planning, budgeting, home management, and organization were all her specialties.  A Hospital Administrator and Homemaker, she exemplified Co-Ed magazine's tagline.

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I realized this was my new ministry.

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And so, The Holistic Homebody was born.

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An Invitation

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This is a space for those who want to care for their home, body, spirit, and life with intention. A place where we honor the truth that when home is well, we are well.

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I invite you to join me in this community. Take a look around this site. Follow me on Instagram and Facebook (links above). Download  The Holistic Homebody Devotional: A Black Woman's Devotional Guide to Trading Chaos for Calm