Whether you’re among the 65% of America that own homes or you’re a proud renter, chances are your living space could use a refresh. After all, it is spring and with that comes cleaning!
But what are small things you can do to your home to freshen it up that won’t take all day (or all weekend) to tackle? How can you have a big impact without putting forth too much effort?
Below, our team shares 9 ideas that will enable you to quickly freshen up your space so your house can feel vibrant through the rest of the year!
1. Declutter Your Surfaces
If there’s one thing humans are good at, it’s collecting items. Mugs, papers, laptops… It seems inevitable that all of those things will gradually start to pile up on tables and shelves.
Take a moment and audit that clutter by looking over everything from your coffee tables to your counters. We challenge you to declutter each of the surfaces you look over by at least 50%.
Decluttering often leads to items being discarded so before you open up your trash can, consider if donating is plausible.
2. Wash Your Curtains/Blinds
Curtains and blinds love collecting dust. A big part of the reason why they’re so good at it is because they live next to your windows, which lets all sorts of debris in.
If you have curtains, take them down, beat them out and wash them per their manufacturer’s instructions. If you have blinds, apply a cleaning solution to a washcloth and wipe them down carefully to make sure they don’t break. Tougher blind cleaning jobs may require you to remove them and scrub them with a sponge.
3. Get Your Air Ducts Cleaned
Air ducts can get filthy but since most people don’t take the time to look inside of them, that filth is rarely managed. Unfortunately, air ducts that are left to go rogue can severely damage your house’s air quality as dirt and danger get pushed into your living space whenever you flip on the AC or heating.
Most people would be better off calling in an HVAC cleaning professional to give their ducts a deep wash. If you’re feeling inspired to tackle the job yourself though, by all means, give it a shot.
Just make sure you don’t forget to wipe down your baseboard floor register which is where hot and cool air flows from in many homes.
4. Hang Some Art
Hanging up vibrant art can freshen up your house in a hurry. And the best part is that you don’t have to shell out thousands for paintings to build your gallery!
Doing something as simple as framing your children’s drawings can have a profound effect on your space, giving it a touch of originality while also celebrating your family’s creativity.
5. Clean Your Cabinets
Take a look in your kitchen cabinets and note how many mugs, plates, and other items you have in there. Now, consider how many people you have in your home.
Do you really need all of that stuff? Chances are, you don’t.
Cutting down on the number of dishes you have will freshen up your cabinets and will also reduce the number of dishes you have to wash since people will be forced to clean their own plates/cups when they need food or drink.
6. Install Smart Appliances
From Amazon’s Alexa to Phillip’s Hue bulbs, there are all kinds of fun, technological touches you can add to your house that will freshen up its overall experience.
To tackle the look of your home, we recommend starting with a Hue colored bulbs starter kit which will allow you to set your house’s mood.
From there, move onto buying a virtual assistant (Echo Dot, Google Home, etc.). You can continue on your upgrade journey with items like voice-activated light sockets, a video doorbell and more!
7. Leverage the Sun
Are you looking for a free way to freshen up your home’s look? If you are, just walk over to your windows and open up your blinds or curtains.
Sunlight can have a substantial impact on your home’s feel so don’t be afraid to let it in each morning.
8. Organize Your Garage
You may not spend too much time in your garage but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t deserve your attention!
Depending on the size of your garage, organizing it can be a bit of a task but believe us when we say that dedicating a few hours to getting it in order will make you feel accomplished and will help you spend less time looking for things.
9. Hire a Cleaner
There are some jobs that are better left to the pros. Giving your home a deep clean may be one of them.
Head over to websites like TaskRabbit and consider hiring a cleaner for a couple of hours to give your home the royal treatment. We bet you’ll hardly recognize it once all is said and done!
When You Freshen up Your Home, You Freshen up Your Life
The condition of your home can influence the way you live your life. That’s because, when you freshen up your living space, you run the positive risk of freshening up your outlook each morning and your overall comfort.
If that sounds good to you, take any of the suggestions we threw out and run with them! You’ll be glad you did.
For additional lifestyle tips, consider reading more of the content we have posted in our digital publication.
