Spruce up your home this spring with these inexpensive ideas

Spruce your home up this spring with these inexpensive ideas

As temperatures begin to rise and buds come out on the trees so, too, do thoughts of spring cleaning bloom. Certainly, outdoor pursuits in this vein are abundant, including chores such as raking away the remains of dead vegetation and preparing flower beds for new sprouts.

But one’s immediate surroundings also could most likely benefit from the effect spring fever can have on a homeowners’ renewed energy. Completing tasks with the goal of sprucing up a home’s interior doesn’t have to be expensive to be effective. Following are a few ideas for freshening up your home as the season changes: Cast out clutter

Nothing can drag down the feeling of a fresh, clean start to a new season than the remnants of the old one. This clutter not only can affect the overall atmosphere of a room, but can stymie its functionality.

After evaluating what is no longer needed, either box it up and store it away or sell and donate it. There’s no need to take on too much at once, either, set a goal of de-cluttering one room at a time. Clearing this clutter might just help clear out your mind as well.

Do you have a closet in your home that needs to be cleaned out? Or maybe the question should be who doesn’t have such a closet! This can be a daunting task, but, again, just take it one step (or shelf) at time,

and before you know it, that task is history!

Sometimes sprucing up is as simple as rearranging furniture, whether to have a different, more pleasing traffic pattern that reaches your patio door or to place a recliner in the perfect vantage point to catch the sunset.

Update the little things

Simple updates to your décor such as new pillows on the sofa, fresh curtains in the kitchen or a new rug in the entryway can change the mood of your interior without costing a fortune.

Similarly, replacing knobs and drawer pulls on cabinets in the kitchen or bathroom is an easy way to update a look quickly.

Or, for a living update, start up an herb garden, start seeds for your garden indoors or simply arrange in a pretty vase some fresh cut flowers, either the early-blooming type available in your own yard or some bought at your local farmer’s market. Polish and paint

Give natural wood a new lease on life with furniture wax or polish or, if needed, try a scratch cover that’s formulated to match the wood’s original stain. And then there is the tried-and-true way to get instant results when it comes to sprucing up your home: Using paint to brighten a room, freshen some trim and update the look of furniture or even a door or mailbox.

Updating your look by painting with bright colors or white

can make all the difference, without breaking the bank. Get a clear view

Something so basic as letting the sun shine through clear glass can make all the difference in your surroundings. Dramatic lighting is many times used to set the mood during a romantic dinner or fancy dinner party, right? So making the most of the natural lighting of a sunny spring day makes perfect sense! Why not try this recipe for a basic, natural glass cleaner, to keep the cost down and nasty chemicals out: Mix one cup rubbing alcohol, one cup water and one tablespoon vinegar. Pour into a spray bottle. Safety tip: Store in a cool cabinet away from any heat source because the alcohol makes this mixture flammable. SWM