After a long year in quarantine and many people spending much more time in their homes than ever before, 2021 is the perfect time to give your home the refresh it may need. Whether you need to clean, organize, re-decorate, or just make some changes, you have come to the right place. We have gathered tips from experts from Miami, FL to Seattle, WA to share their tips for the best ways to refresh your home this New Year.
1. Start your decluttering outside your home
Successful decluttering always starts outside of the home. When decluttering your wardrobe or living space, be sure to first work on any unhelpful thoughts, beliefs, emotions and behaviors around shopping, money, wastage, self-image, personal style, material possessions, organization and lifestyle before you begin any physical decluttering. This guarantees the most efficient, enjoyable decluttering process and the most rewarding, whole-life transforming results. -Breda Stack, Declutter Therapy & The Declutter Academy Certified Training
2. Repurpose old objects
In the process of decluttering, you may find that some items will serve much more of a purpose if they have a new use. Take old glasses and turn them into plant holders… take old plant holders and use them as a way to store kitchen utensils… the cycle goes on and on. Repurposing old objects will have you looking at each one in a new way, adding to the whole idea of starting fresh and opening the door to new possibilities, mentally and physically. -Betsy Fein, President, Clutterbusters!!
3. Clear out the clutter
Get rid of unused items and clothing and clear out the clutter. You should also periodically schedule a deep clean in addition to your regular cleaning. -Beatriz Sampaio, A Cleaning Service
4. Transform your kitchen with lighting
Today’s kitchen should have three distinct light sources, all LED. Types of lighting would include slim recessed or flush-mounted fixtures for general lighting, pendants or slim recessed for task lighting, and above cabinet, in cabinet, under cabinet, and toe kick LED strip lighting for ambiance. -Steven Matela, Detailed Interiors
5. Change up your wall art
Change the look of any room by adding, rearranging, and/or painting the frames of your wall art. Create a gallery wall near a focal piece of furniture or a larger piece of artwork; use a symmetrical pattern for the frames for an organized and cohesive look or an asymmetrical arrangement for a quirky or eclectic look. Instead of spending money on new picture frames, repaint frames you already own. The art gallery can contain a mix of subjects/styles or you can pick a theme – family pictures, vacation adventures, nature landscapes, etc. -Cluttershrink
6. Let go of items day by day
We could declutter our homes with the Konmari Method in one fell swoop, or complete the Minimalist Game and let go of 1 item on day 1, 2 items on day 2, etc for a month. I suggest you take the best of both approaches. Choose a month and on Day 1 let go of 30 items, on Day 2 let go of 29 items, on and on until you’re selecting that one final item to let go of on Day 30. Starting big gives a rush of energy, and the little-by-little approach makes it feel more manageable. If you complete this process, you’ll have 465 fewer items in your home. -bmore minimal
7. Re-think your space
Work from home is not going anywhere. If you’ve been “temporarily” working from your kitchen island or your formal dining room, bite the bullet and give yourself the space you deserve. Turn a spare bedroom into a functional office. Productivity can be impossible when the kids are learning from home and the parents are working from home. Give yourself a dedicated space, with a door, and maybe office hours. -Carrie, Kauffman, Carries Essential Services
8. Have your flooring professionally cleaned
It is an unavoidable fact that gravity will eventually force dust, dirt, spills, and other contaminants down onto your flooring. If it is a carpet or area rug, it is important to empty the “filters” of your carpeting and rugs through a thorough cleaning. On hard surfaces, deep, professional cleaning will help to remove these contaminants while also offering the opportunity to improve appearance, finishes, protective coatings, and the lifespan of these products. Evaluation, attention, and care by a skilled professional will not only improve the health of your home and your family, but it will also improve the appearance and extend the life of your soft and hard surface flooring! -All County Chem-Dry
9. Don’t store it, make a decision
Too often clients don’t have a paper sorting process and they end up with bags and bags of mail and other papers that they’ve avoided. Only by sorting every piece of paper and making a decision about it can you know what you have and what to do with it. With electronic copies available, go paperless. Creating a system to manage your mail and paper as it comes in is key to avoiding the bag syndrome. Sort your mail at the recycle bin and toss items you don’t need and want. Keep mail you need to take action on, take said action and file only essential pages and eliminate the rest. -Creative Space Organizing
10. Find small wins in your home
Organizing should always be simple and efficient — if it isn’t, it won’t be easily manageable. When you’re feeling overwhelmed and needing a refresh, try to find “small wins” in your home. What we mean by this is refresh your pantry (throw away expired food and create clear categories) or de-junk a junk drawer. -Clutterless Home Solutions