Listen Now
Whether you live in an apartment, a house, or a room, your living space should inspire and encourage you. It needs to be a place of rest and refuge. Here’s how you can refresh and renew your space at no cost.
REFRESH AND RENEW YOUR DECOR
Since it is best to start with a blank slate, take all the pictures and artwork off your walls. Move all the decorator items (vases, candles, figurines) to one location, such as a table. Move the furniture to the center of the room, if possible.
Now for the fun! Walk around in your living area. Breathe slowly. Take in the space. When you get inspired, put an item in a place different from where it used to be. Then pick up another item and see how it looks in a different part of the room.
Your living space will look new and fresh! Changing things up is a simple way of keeping your eyes from becoming bored with your space.
BEST PRACTICE TIPS:
- Give away or sell any decor that doesn’t speak to you or inspire you anymore.
- If you have a lot of pictures of your kids on the walls, such as their school pictures, consider grouping the pictures together into a photo gallery.
- Get your kids involved in refreshing and renewing their spaces in the same way.
REFRESH AND RENEW YOUR STORAGE
Do you have a closet, kitchen cabinet, or even a whole room that is so full of stuff that you’re scared to open the door? Is there a drawer so packed it is hard to even know what’s inside?
If the thought of cleaning it feels overwhelming or nearly impossible, try this: Instead of poking through your stuff and pulling out what you don’t need, take everything out. For this example, focus on your closet.
- Take everything out of the closet, even the items you think you will keep.
- Separate all of it into three groups: 1) throw away, 2) give away, and 3) keep.
- Clean the baseboards, walls, and shelves in the closet. Then sweep or vacuum it.
- Put the items from your keep pile back into the closet.
TIPS:
- Find out where the nearest donation box location is before you start. Take your giveaway pile there as soon as you can so it doesn’t become a regular fixture in your living space.
- Have a garbage bag or a box ready for the throwaways. Place the items right into it as you pull them out of the closet.
- Keep asking yourself, “Is this a giveaway item?” If you haven’t used it or worn it in the past year, then you probably don’t need it. Giving it away will help someone who needs it. Plus, you will be gifting yourself with more space.
- Refreshing and renewing is a great skill to teach your kids! One friend turned it into a game and called it Red Light, Green Light. Choose an item and have your children give their first impression of that item. They raise the sign “Red” for gone or “Green” for keep!
- When placing your items back in the closet, put the ones you are likely to use soon (clothes the match the season) near the front.
- Ask yourself, “Is there a better place to store this item?” Consider storing some of the things you keep in a different place in your home.
You don’t need to refresh all your closets, drawers, and rooms at one time. Do what you can, when you can.
Now sit back, look around, and enjoy your refreshing home.
Send pics of your refreshed living space to: connect@myreachup.org
