11 Easy Ways to Refresh Your Home
I am focusing on 11 ways that you can refresh your home without spending money or adding extra clutter.
Some people equate simple living minimalism as basic things that shouldn't include anything fun. That is not true, as the following ideas will show you.
1. Textiles
This is sort of a broad category. I'm talking about anything from bedding to blankets to curtains to towels. Suppose you're starting to feel stagnant with the textiles in your home. Maybe think about switching some of them around.
Maybe there's been a blanket that you've always had, and you decide you want to see what that would look like on the back of the couch.
If you have some extra fabric or another textile, you can be creative and make new things. Find different ways to use textiles within your home, which will be a refreshing aspect for you.
2. Swaps
This is what I like to call shopping your own home. It's a popular technique in the minimalist culture, but basically, you go around to different rooms in your home and you see if you could take something from one room and move it to another.
We like to do this seasonally in our home. We have certain pieces that we move around depending on the season, just that they fit in the space slightly better.
Look around your home and regard everything as movable and available to move around. Rugs, bedding, curtains, and decor items are movable, and you can try out different arrangements.
You could also consider swapping with family members or friends if you feel brave.
3. Incorporate nature
Nature has many things available to help us refresh our spaces. This time of year, it's very popular to bring pumpkins indoors as it is later in the winter to bring in pine cones and birch branches. We don't need to just think about the visual aspects of nature either.
Opening up our curtains and blinds and letting sunshine come in is a great way to refresh our spaces, as is opening up the windows for fresh air.
You could use nature to make a simple potpourri that you could have on your stove, like apples and cinnamon in the fall or nutmeg in the winter months
4. Rearrange things
The fourth home refreshing idea is to rearrange the furniture. This is one that I have liked doing since I was a little kid. I feel like it brings so much new life to a space, and it's not that difficult.
The other great thing about rearranging furniture is that it helps you do a little bit deeper cleaning because you get under those bulky items and clean them where you haven't been able to access them for a long time. It also allows you to wear your things a lot more evenly.
5. Cleaning with a purpose
So, when I say cleaning with a purpose, I'm talking about knowing that the outcome will make you make your space feel fresh. For example, washing down the walls.
Once you go through and clean your walls, you'll probably be amazed to see how much dirt comes off of them and how much brighter everything feels once that's done.
Cleaning windows is another big one. More light will shine in if your windows are clean. So, cleaning with a purpose, realizing that this cleaning will help the refreshing process.
6. Focus on function
There is something about spaces behind closed doors, such as closets, cabinets, drawers, and desk spaces, where we feel that once we have that spot set up for its purpose, that is its purpose for the rest of time.
Look at your spaces and decide if they function in the best way possible. Be creative in how you put things in different spaces, and think about the function of your space and how it could best serve you.
7. Repurpose whenever possible
I'm not suggesting that you save every glass jar, box, or bin that comes into your life, but some things can be very useful and free.
Cleaned-out pickle jars would be a great way to hold colorful art supplies. If you have an old window, you could remove the glass, add a piece of plywood that you paint with chalkboard paint, and make it into a piece of artwork or a family message center.
8. Highlight photos
So many of us have boxes or albums full of photographs we rarely see. So, I suggest bringing them out and letting them be on display for this refreshing technique.
This can be done as simply as putting them into small picture frames that you probably already have in your home and then just rotating through your collection weekly or monthly so that you see more of these photos throughout the year.
9. Add paint
Many of us have leftover paint from various home projects. Maybe it's not enough to paint an entire room, but using some of that paint as touch-ups to cover up any scuff marks on your walls or trim baseboard can help refresh a space.
You could also use colored paint as an accent wall in one room to add that pop of color. You can also use paint to cover up some different items that you have that maybe you don't like the color of them.
10. Add a vignette
Focus on one little area you can spruce up, change, and make your own. So these are different areas where you can just play around with different things, add some meaningful items, and then every time you look at them, it's going to bring a smile to your face, and you're going to feel that your home is much more reflective of you.
11. Remove things
This particular technique works exceptionally well for decor and art pieces because if we have all of these decorations up at all times, they sort of blend into the wall.
Now, when I say remove items, I'm not talking about decluttering or removing them. I'm just talking about setting them aside for a while, letting that breathing room in the space, and letting your eye focus on a couple of artwork or decor pieces here and there.
Ways to refresh your home
There you go, 11 ways to refresh your home without spending money or adding extra clutter. What do you do to refresh your home? Share your ideas in the comments below.
Next, check out these 5 Common Decluttering Mistakes That Are Easy to Avoid.
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