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When you’ve been living in a place for a while, the shine can quickly go off what was once your pride and joy.
When you don’t love your house anymore, you can find yourself on a slippery slope of neglect. Little things like just tidying up can get put off, and sometimes the little things lead to bigger things, where you don’t even carry out needed repairs.
If this is you, even occasionally, it’s time to turn the tables and find ways to rediscover the excitement of first moving in.
Just moving the furniture around can make a room feel fresh. All it costs is time and effort, and it gives you the chance to clean the fluff out of the corners at the same time.
Living rooms are good places to start as these are the areas we see most of. Find a new position for the sofa, move the TV to a different corner or wall if yours is wall-mounted, change the chair groupings, move the bookshelves or cabinets.
It can be challenging in a small room, especially if there’s more than one door as this restricts your wall space. But even changing the angles slightly can make a difference to the feel of a room.
It can help to sketch out basic layouts before you start, but it’s not really vital since you can soon swap things back again if you don’t like what you’ve done. Give yourself plenty of time and rope in help from family members if you’re moving heavy furnishings.
This is quite a biggie. Over the years we accumulate a surprising amount of stuff, and lots of it gets forgotten at the back of cupboards.
You wouldn’t think just having a clear-out can make such a difference, but it does. It clears your mind as well as your space, and every time you spot the new, clear and neat area you get a little lift.
You don’t have to throw stuff away if you’re hanging onto precious objects. Self storage units come in all sizes, and they’re easy to get to. Pack up your items to save and keep them safe out of the house so you get more living space.
Have you been, or do you, work from home? More people are these days, whether it’s remote working for an employer or because they’ve started a business during lockdown.
If you use part of your home for business purposes, you may feel you could do with that space back. It’s possibly time to look for alternative business premises.
One idea is a flexible office. It’s a relatively new way of renting office space, which gives all the benefits of professional working without the long contracts that can be a little scary if you’re uncertain about how things will go in the future.
An added benefit is that if your operation is online retail, you have plenty of handy self storage for all your stock.
And you get a big part of your house back so it’s a winning strategy all-round – more living space and a restored work/life balance.
You don’t have to do the whole house, and you might even feel more inclined to update the decor a bit once you’ve cleared some space and flitted the furniture around.
Try creating an accent wall in the living room or freshening up the kitchen paintwork. Brighten up kids’ rooms with a cheerful wall decal or put up some shelves in primary colours to help with toy storage.
Starting is often the hardest part, so choose a small project you can complete in a day or a weekend. Once you get going, it’s easier to maintain the momentum. A little series of small redecorating jobs will soon build up into a lot of fresh, new feelings around the house.
If you enjoy arts and crafts, create something new for the house. Sew some cushion covers, paint a picture, create new ornaments. We’re so lucky to have the internet, with an expert personal tutor for just about every craft you can think of.
But even if you’re not a maker, you can still bring artistic talent into the house with your personal choice of bought art groupings, stylish colour schemes or floral arrangements.
Just about everyone loves things shiny and new. Falling in love with your house again can be as easy as creating new things inside it. Whether it’s sorting out self storage to help with decluttering or updating decor, furnishings and ornaments or art, little things all count.
And while you’re at it, don’t forget the exterior. A couple of tubs of bright flowers or pretty shrubs by the front door can give you a lovely ‘welcome home’ feeling every time you arrive and remind you why you bought the house in the first place.
Welcome to Birds and Lilies! I'm Lou: mother, blogger and freelance writer. This is my lifestyle blog, where I talk about motherhood, infertility and IVF, beauty, my love for food and wine, as well as my thoughts about stuff, and our real-life and travel adventures.
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