Refresh Your Home For The New Year

What an exciting day! A new year signifies a fresh start. It’s like a clean slate… an empty canvas just waiting to be filled with beautiful colors and textures.

Every so often I like to give my home a little refresh. Here and there I’ll do some redecorating, rearranging, small updates within a room… but when the new year comes, it’s nice for this refresh to be a bit bigger; a bit more noticeable. Instead of making one little change, I like to do a bunch. Creating and spending time in a space that feels new can really help to foster the positive energy and motivation that will bring about brand new possibilities in the months to come.

Here are 5 ways I’m refreshing my home for the year ahead. How do you like to refresh yours?

Declutter. If you’re a “collector” — as I like to think I am – you may notice that your stuff seems to pile up, little by little. Yesterday I was perusing some photos of mine, and came across a shot of my bedroom from just 6 months ago. “Damn, my space was bare!” I thought to myself. It’s incredible how many new things I’ve acquired, even though many of them are just pieces of nature I’ve brought in from outside! If you find yourself in a similar situation, you might benefit from a bit of decluttering. Take the time to sift through every item, one room at a time. Keep what’s most important, and get rid of what’s not. Donate it… give it away to a friend… the simple act of simplifying your decor can make a huge impact on how you feel inside your space.

Repurpose. 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.

Deep clean. I’m all for giving the bathroom a good scrub and cleaning every inch of the fridge every once in a while, but it’s rare that I give all aspects of my home a deep clean all at once. A new year is a great time to do this. Instead of dreading the cleaning process, light candles, blast your favorite music, and use your favorite cleaning products. For me, that means those guys you see above: Meyer’s cleaners — in basil. I would wear that stuff as perfume if I could.

And once you’ve moved everything off of every surface in order to clean beneath, around, and above it, it only seems natural to…

Rearrange. This is one of my all-time favorite activities ever, ever, ever. Rearranging has the ability to completely alter the way a certain space feels to you, while simultaneously bringing a breath of fresh air. Move furniture in all different spots until you find what feels right. You may even find that what feels best is keeping everything the way it was before – and that’s totally fine! Instead, make little changes in the way your decorations are set up. Put your terrarium where your candleholder used to be… take your tapestry off the wall and lay it atop your bed instead… get creative! Rearranging is incredibly fun, and it’s an awesome way to exercise your creativity. If you get stuck, just ask yourself, “What else is possible?” (a little trick I learned from this amazing woman). Don’t search too hard for the answer. Just open your mind. It’ll come to you on its own.

Change colors. The colors present in a room have such an effect on the vibe of that room, as well as how you feel when you’re in it. One of the most impactful ways to make a color change is to alter the hue of your walls. Immediately you’re surrounded with an entirely new energy that you may not have felt before – but there are lots of other ways to bring in new colors, as well. Bring in fresh flowers, change your bed sheets, paint a colored design onto your dresser, display colored drip candles, hang a scarf on your wall… I could go on and on. Keep in mind that certain colors – and shades of colors – bring about certain feelings. If romance is the feeling you want to create, choose a deep red or violet. If you’re looking for optimism, go for something cheery – like bright yellow. If you want more of a warm, intimate, homey feeling, go for a muted coral or a pale gold. And if a cooler feeling is what suits you, decorate with mint green and pale blue.

How will you prep your home for the new year? Share your ideas below!

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