7 Ways to Freshen Up Your Home for the New Year

I am going to share with you the 7 ways to freshen up your home for the new year and they are all free.

That’s right FREE! These are some tips and tricks that I do to make my home feel rejuvenated and fresh.

my after picture with the linen floral drapes on the windows and new pillows on the sofa

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1. Rearrange Your Furniture

Moving your furniture around can give your space a whole new look and feel. I also find that when I move the furniture I clean in spots that maybe haven’t been touched in a while. Knowing that all the places have been vacuumed and washed also gives your space that fresh feeling.

a view of my living room looking from the kitchen to outside. It's a great view of my white rug from boutique rugs

2. Throw a Sheet or Throw over your Furniture

I always have my furniture covered because it’s white and I want to keep it that way. So a throw on my sofa and chairs is not new for me so I do the reverse. I take all the throws off and give them a fresh wash. It also gives me a chance to enjoy my furniture while it is not covered. I have lots of throw pillows so I will change out my throw pillows in the spring and add yellow or pink to give it that pop of cheery color!

3. Put some Flowers from the Yard in a Vase

If they are blooming, I head out into my yard and picked some daffodils, chives, pear tree branches, and cherry blossom branches.

If it’s too early for fresh flowers from the yard, I grab a cheery bouquet from the store. They look so fresh and springy in a simple glass vase

Spring Time Fresh

4. Freshen Up Your Shelves

I love vintage and it can have a heavy darker feel so I decided that my shelves needed a refresh. I gathered all the white books that I owned and switched out my darker leather books with those. Adding in some lighter-colored pieces that I had in other rooms in the house gave it a much-needed facelift.

Refreshed Shelves

5. Wash Your Windows and Screens

When you have a really nice day, open up all the windows and wash them inside and out. I use a mixture of 1 part distilled vinegar or cleaning vinegar (caution: cleaning vinegar can only be used for cleaning) to 10 parts warm water in a spray bottle. I also drop in some lemon essential oils to freshen up the smell. Using a microfiber cloth, I first wipe them down to remove the dust then I spray and wipe to clean them. Washing your windows brings in more light and the clean windows connect you with the outside.

I take my screens outside and wash them with a large soft brush that is for washing cars. I fill a bucket with water and a little dishwashing detergent. Then I hose them off and let them dry in the sun before replacing back in the windows. I think window washing day is one of my favorites!

6. Lighten Up your Bedroom

We sleep with a heavy quilt on the bed in the winter so when it starts to warm up, I replace that quilt with a lighter throw. When I make my bed I turn down the clean sheets and just fold the throw at the bottom of the bed, giving it a much lighter look. Adding flowers from outside, to your bedside table also gives you a spring fresh feel. You are special and you deserve to feel that way! Candles are another way to cheer up any room. Candles just make me happy and I burn them all year long.

tranquil white bed and white bed linenes

7. Freshen Up Your Kitchen Countertops

Now it’s time to declutter your countertops. Put away things that you don’t use very often. This is also the time to put that crockpot away and bring out a pretty bowl for your fruit. The fruit gives your kitchen a freshened look and it’s also handy for a grab-and-go healthy snack. I will sometimes slice up a lemon and simmer it on the stove to give my kitchen a fresh smell. If you have a garbage disposal, throw half of that lemon in there and give it a whirl.

picture of a kitchen cabinet and my stove after a through cleaning

I hope that I’ve given you a few ideas that you can do today to freshen up your home for spring.

Peace and Love,

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Meet Me

My name is Lynn. I live in the suburbs of Chicago in a 1,300 sq. ft. home with my Handy husband, Keith.

I’m an open book about my life on my blog. You can find out more about me by visiting my About page.

A dark blue background with a subtle, wavy abstract line pattern running across the center, reminiscent of the flowing creativity often found when living large in a small house.
A dark blue background with a subtle, wavy abstract line pattern running across the center, reminiscent of the flowing creativity often found when living large in a small house.
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A dark blue background with a subtle, wavy abstract line pattern running across the center, reminiscent of the flowing creativity often found when living large in a small house.

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6 Comments

  1. Lynn, everything looks so fresh and beautiful. Great ideas. Blessings to you.

    1. I love nothing more than a refreshed cleaned house. I’m really enjoying it today but my back…not so much 🙂

  2. Thanks for the great ideas, Lynn, though I have to disagree with the window washing as a favorite day chore ????

    1. I guess I worded that wrong. I’m not sure it’s my favorite chore but it’s one of my chores that the results are my favorite. I washed my windows yesterday and I love seeing clearly out of them today!

  3. Leslie Watkins says:

    Beautiful, Lynn! You just made me want to spring clean!!

    1. It was really cold here yesterday so I did almost everything on my list. I moved my furniture around, cleaned my house (deep cleaned), and washed my windows (well at least some of them). I picked some flowers from my garden and changed out the bedding on our bed. It was a good day. My back is saying something different this morning 🙂