Looking to give a little love to your home this February? This Valentine’s Day, consider forgoing the usual candlelit dinner and instead opt for working with your partner or family to give your home a little extra affection. Winter time can be hard on a home — with snow boots tromping in and out of doors, cold wind beating at the windows, and not much natural sunlight to keep things warm, Valentine’s Day is the perfect excuse for a mid-winter refresher for your home.
Make over one room
If you don’t have the budget or time to give your home a makeover, but are craving a fresh look, pick one room to redo. Choose a small room, like a bathroom, for an easy task, or the room you spend the most time in, like the family room. Keep the cost to a minimum by choosing a new accent color or adding new curtains and accent pillows. Or, pick out one new piece of furniture or another statement piece and shape the room around it.
If it’s broken, fix it
Take some time to do inventory of your home. Then, choose a few things that aren’t quite up to par that you can upgrade or fix. Seal up windows that aren’t working well with caulk and upgrade any tired insulation — your house will love it and you’ll thank yourself later.
Give it a scrub
Choose a room, push the furniture to the center, and give every nook and cranny a good scrub. Wash the walls and ceiling, mop the floor and dust the furniture. If you really want to make your home shine, get out the furniture and floor polish. Dedicate a few hours to give the room a dazzling sparkle!
Tackle that task you hate
We all have one home maintenance task we loathe, be it polishing your woodwork or sorting through the junk drawer. Dedicate an hour or two to that task and knock it out until next year. Bring in some greenery. Show your home (and yourself) some love by picking up some house plants and adding a pop of green to your favorite room(s). This will also help tide over your craving for the outdoors until spring.
Love your laundry room
If your laundry room needs better storage options, invest in some inexpensive shelves or cabinets. If you love gadgets, you’ll find plenty of options for the laundry room. Finally, clear out the space of extra clutter and dirt, and if you’re really feeling the love for your laundry room, a fresh coat of paint is a great way to brighten up the space.
Brighten the space
Adding new lights to a room in your home requires an electrician, but swapping out light fixtures for updated sconces, pendants or chandeliers is a fairly simple DIY project. Before you begin, always make sure you turn the breaker off to the fixture that you’ll be working on.
Check out your ceiling fans
If it’s been a while since you’ve dusted your ceiling fans, now is the time to do it. If you don’t have a duster that will reach, try this hack. Grab an old pillowcase and place it on the blade. Pull the pillow case off along with all of the dust. Also, check the fan’s rotation to make sure you are maximizing the efficiency of the fan. Your ceiling fan should rotate counterclockwise in the summer and warmer months to push the cool air down.
Update your hardware
Looking for something shiny to give as a gift to your home on Valentine’s Day? While this isn’t diamond jewelry, swapping out the hardware in your kitchen or bathroom will give the space an instant update without the diamond prices. Adding new cabinet pulls and door knobs usually requires just a screwdriver, but if you are adding hardware to doors without previous hardware, you’ll need a drill and to create a template before you start this project.
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