It’s almost like a new year feeling. When all the excitement is starting to die down and visiting relatives and friends are leaving, you look around and suddenly feel a need to refresh your home for the new year. When I was much younger, my sister and I made repositioning things in the house a yearly ritual. We would move the bed, the coach, the tables, the chairs and any other thing my mum permitted around.
Although it is a good way to refresh and reboot your home for the new year, repositioning things is not the only approach. We also did deep cleaning, decluttering, etc. However, this is not the article where I reminisce about my childhood. This article contains helpful guides and tips that will help you freshen up your home without suffocating your pocket beyond what the celebrations have done.
Why Do People Clean Their Houses Before They Start the New Year?
In some countries like China and Nigeria, some people clean up yearly to symbolize driving away the old year and all the bad things that may have come with it. In Nigeria, some people also burn clothes, tyres, or any property they no longer need. Usually, they select these items and check them to ensure they are not good enough for donations.
Aside from this belief, there are people who clean up their homes every year simply because they want to. Generally, it is a good thing to do a thorough “reset” on your home from time to time and the new year seems a perfect time for some people. So, no matter why you want to refresh your home for the new year, you are basically doing the right thing.
General Guidelines on How To Refresh Your Home for the New Year
First, you need to know that taking it in bits is the best way to approach tasks like this so that you do not get overwhelmed. Sectioning and planning will help you reduce the burden mentally. Also, there is no rule that says you must clean up the whole house in a day, especially if you have many rooms in your home. You can decide to approach the task room by room or activity by activity.
1. Away With Christmas
I do not mean this literally of course. However, the season is over and the first step towards reviving your home is to do away with the things you no longer use.
Pack up the items you can reuse neatly and do away with the rest that you cannot reuse like the Christmas tree (if natural). To tackle this easily, check out our article on how to get rid of Christmas clutter for more guidance.
2. Declutter, Declutter, Declutter
Decluttering is arguably the most important thing to do if you want to refresh your home for the new year. The living room, bedrooms, kitchen and any other room within the house deserve an intense decluttering session.
Be willing to donate old properties including the clothes and shoes in your closet that you have not worn in a long time. If you are easily overwhelmed with decluttering, these 10 easy decluttering tips will help you.
3. Scrub and Deep Clean
You may be used to cleaning your house every other day, but when was the last time you went under your fridge, bed and couch? When was the last time brought everything out of the shelves and cleaned them?
Now is a good time. Take out time to clean the nook and cranny of every room thoroughly and see the burst of freshness it brings. Use this home cleaning checklist to make sure that you do not leave anything out.
4. Move Things Around
Rearranging pieces of furniture and appliances will no doubt give your home a new look. You may not be able to move everything, but anything you reposition will definitely bring a refreshing change.
You can also play around with the shelves, especially the ones with art on them. This also applies to the kitchen shelves.
5. Change the Painting
Paints have a way of changing the aura of an environment. This is mostly because of the psychological impact of the colours. If you want to refresh your home in 2023 by painting, you may want to use the Pantone colour of the year, viva magenta.
6. Try a New Scent
Ever heard the saying that smelling nice makes an attractive person more attractive? The same goes for your home. Refresh your home for the new year with a new scent that would make your guests not want to leave.
Essential oils, candles and air fresheners are good options, but there are other ways you can achieve this if you do not want to spend money. We will look at these options shortly.
7. Improve Interior Decor
The decoration is your chance to make a statement as you refresh and reboot your home for the new year. From the lighting to the artwork and any other accessories you want to use, you have the opportunity to give your house a unique appearance. However, always remember that less is more.
Moreso, bringing nature into your home is a great way to keep things fresh. So while you are making plans for your home decor, make some room for plants and flowers.
8. Keep Your Goals for the Year in Mind
How does this help with refreshing your home? You get to plan better and make room for every activity. For instance, if you work from home, and you wish to be more productive this year, you may want to create your home office. This way, you get to achieve your goal of productivity and also reduce the mess your work may cause in other rooms.
Extra Tips on How To Refresh Your Home for the New Year on a Budget
Most of the guidelines above are pocket-friendly. Nonetheless, here are some extra tips to help you save even more as you refresh your home for the new year.
- DIY everything and you wouldn’t have to bother about spending a dime. The downside is that it may be tasking and time-consuming. However, if you can plan and group your activities, it will make it less stressful. DIY is particularly important for decorations as beautiful art and accessories are sometimes pricy. You can save some cash if you try to create some of these DIY arts
- Repurpose and restyle old items. Turn those old baskets into beautiful art and those cartoons into useful holders. Let your creativity guide you.
- Nature is always free and abundant. Aside from the flowers and plants everyone uses for home decor, you can do a little more. Go for sea shells and beautiful stones and see how they can transform the look of your home when used rightly.
How To Make Your Home Smell Nice Naturally
You cannot talk about refreshing a home without talking about ways to make it smell nice. These simple tips will help improve the smell of your home as you work to refresh your home for the new year.
- Open the windows for fresh air. The wonders of cross-ventilation are grossly undermined.
- Clean regularly. Most bad smells come from dirty areas and surfaces. Similarly, check your refrigerator often to make sure there is no bad food.
- Avoid using strong scenting air fresheners. Most of the time, they are nauseating.
- Homemade deodorizers made from baking soda and other agents are important in times like this.
- Add a nice soft scent to your home using natural flowers. Scented Geranium, Arabian Jasmine, Sweet Bay and Gardenia are good options.
Finally
It is important to refresh your home for the new year. Aside from maintaining cleanliness, it gives your home an aura of newness and helps you relax better into the year. No doubt this can be a lot of work, but with these guidelines, your work will be easier. Also, you do not need to break the bank to give your home a new look since most of the suggestions here do not require cash.
If you found these guidelines helpful, kindly let us know in the comment section below.
