5 Inexpensive Ways to Refresh Your Home

The weather is warming up a bit around these parts & as such, I'm feeling the urge to throw open my windows, turn up my spring cleaning play list (have you heard the new JT album?!) and do a little refresh.  This tends to happen each February and unfolds a lot like the story, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.  The holidays are well behind me, my first-of-the-year goals carried me through January and once February hits, I'm ready to really dig into the year, but first? A refresh.

A few quick and inexpensive things I'm doing...

1. Clear your counters & wipe them down.  Nothing rains on my parade more than cluttered, disheveled counters.  ugh.  Each morning before I can sit down for the work day, I have to clear my counters.  I have a catch all basket for odds and ends right by my garage door.  This holds things I need to return, like library books, or that item a friend left at my house.  If you don't have this sort of basket, get one!  I like this one, this one and this one.  Along that same wall I've got a huge bulletin board -- it's where I tack up basketball schedules, choir practice and baby shower invites.  It's just a hallway, but holds all sorts of function for my home.  In the kitchen, well, designate a junk drawer and use it BUT only AFTER you've used the garbage can.  I take great delight in throwing away various papers my kids leave on my counter. ;) Once a month, clean out that junk drawer and suddenly all those papers you couldn't part with...well they'll make their way to the garbage can. ha!

2. Fresh flowers..from my backyard.  Once your counters are cleared, well they are ready for flowers!  I found this vessel when I was out thrifting last week for $4...yes, $4!  It's original purpose was as a water pitcher, but when I saw it I knew it would be holding bundles and bundles of fresh flowers.  Big enough to sit on my kitchen table, I'm looking forward to putting weekly trimmings in this baby.  

3. New candles.  Once I've cleared my counters & trimmed my flowers, well now I need a candle.  After all the spicey and rich candles through the holidays, I'm ready for fresh and clean.  This and this are my current favorites.

4. Rearrange your rugs.  Take your family room rug into the living room & the living room to the loft & then entry to the family room...or something like that.  I love switching rugs around to re-invent some spaces.  

5. Tidy up your closet.  You start each day in this space, get it tidy & you'll find you get dressed quicker and easier and walk out with a clear mind when it's nice and tidy.  I recently added baskets to my shelves to hold various odds and ends like scarves and hats.  Putting them in an opaque basket really pears down the visual clutter.