Staying at home and keeping busy have come to be one and the same. While you’re holed up in your man cave, it’s prudent to motivate yourself to find a way to challenge yourself over the coming weeks with small, doable projects to make your home not only a place you want to be, but a place even better than it was before.
Try A Fresh Perspective
Renovating your entire living room may not be in the cards at the moment, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make some small changes that have a big impact. It’s easy to get in a rut with the same old furniture setup. Shifting a couch to a different wall or adjusting where your armchair sits can be the start of something new. You can cycle lamps all around the house. If you’re an avid reader, try rearranging the books on your shelves by alphabetical order, theme, or spine color. Arrange the titles to tell a story. The possibilities are endless. Just remember to declutter rather than clutter, use neutral colors when doing any painting or accenting, and focus on the few standout pieces that best make your room pop.
Spring Cleaning
Late spring or early summer are the perfect times for a deep clean. Cleaning your home reduces the risk of allergens laying around and increases the sustainability of comfort over longer periods of time.
- Heat and ventilation covers are natural dust collectors. Try vacuuming the vents with a dusting brush attachment or wipe with a dry microfiber cloth – no water or cleaning products required!
- Vacuuming the house and cleaning the toilets are usually on your weekly to-do list, but when was the last time you checked underneath your bed? Move your bed, empty out the storage boxes you might have underneath, and vacuum up the dust bunnies.
- Bathroom drawers are hiding a lot more than meets the eye. Toss out the gunk and reorganize what’s left.
New Colors for New Seasons
A few cans of paint can go a long way when touching up around the house. Natural wear and tear on walls are easier to hide than you think. Find a color that best matches your current walls and touch up the high-traffic areas, especially door frames and baseboards. When you’re done with the inside, move outside and give a fresh coat to well worn spots like shutters, window frames, and siding.
- Start by covering up any exterior furniture or patio area with custom made tarps and custom canopy covers.
- Pressure wash the exterior of your house, removing dirt and dust, working your way from top to bottom in a smooth, controlled manner.
- Repair damaged interior surfaces using epoxy filler with a spackle knife, lightly sanding once dry.
- Carefully paint larger sections of problem areas with a confident hand, touching up and covering with a second coat once dry.
Lights. Camera. Action.
Lighting is the most important element in designing. Whether natural or artificial, our homes can go from cold and unwelcoming to cozy and warm with something as simple as swapping out a few bulbs or opening up the drapes. Going through the house and replacing any bulbs that have gone out is just the start. Sometimes the culprit to bad lighting is less about dead light bulbs and more about what’s hiding underneath your lamps and curtains. Unplug lamps and clean the shades with a dry microfiber cloth or vacuum cleaner attachment. Most drapery experts advise cleaning your curtains a few times each year. These easy do-it-yourself ideas make small but incremental changes in how your home is lit.
Kitchen Cool
As your family’s central gathering spot, the kitchen is the heart of your home. And while weekly chores like dish washing and mopping keep things mostly clean, you tend to forget about the less menial tasks that keep your kitchen looking like a million bucks.
- Moisturize your wooden cutting boards to prevent warping and cracking. Start by cleaning the boards and letting them dry. Then, apply food-grade oil like beeswax and let it soak overnight.
- Clean your coffee maker and other small appliances by hand-washing all removable parts and running distilled water for a few brewing cycles. Empty out your toaster oven or toaster trap door and then shake the appliance over the sink to remove loose crumbs.
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