Ten easy spring cleaning hints and upgrades—that’s today’s topic. We are almost halfway through the spring season; summer begins June 20. Going by the daily temperatures, I always think that summer begins in May in Texas. (I’m from Minnesota originally.)
Using these ten ideas, not much money and just a bit of elbow grease, you can make your crib a whole lot more pleasant. Here they are in no particular order.
- Change out and update the hardware on cabinets and drawers. Be careful not to get the knobs that tear the end of your fingers off if they get caught in the knob.
- Replace towels and rugs in the bathrooms. Keep the old towels for drying off the car after you wash it.
- Add area colorful area rugs to accent a room.
- Use lighting to brighten the rooms. Many of the homes built in the 1970s have insufficient lighting in many of the rooms, especially the bedrooms.
- Speaking of bedrooms, declutter the closets. Closet arranging devices are wonderful and convenient. Visual space and orderliness will let you sleep better.
- Hang a mirror in small spaces to give the illusion of space.Years ago, one of our local builders was building very small affordable homes. They were long and narrow. I remember that in his model home, he put a 20 foot long floor to ceiling mirror on the long living room wall. The 14 ft. wide room looked 28 feet wide. I never wanted the buyers to see that room without the mirror before they closed. 😉
- A fresh coat of paint always makes a difference.
- Paint the front door a new color. Depending on the door, this may be a job that you shouldn’t try at home. Steel doors should be sprayed (like a car) not painted with a brush. You don’t want a streaky-looking front door.
- Going outside, keep the lawn weeded and mowed and the landscaping up to snuff.
- And finally, wash the outside of your house, including the windows. Not the brick necessarily (but it depends) but certainly the trim and/or siding. Make sure there is no bare wood. With a little bit of moisture and theTexas heat, bare wood deteriorates quickly.
I know, you probably didn’t need something else to do this spring, but if you don’t want to maintain your home, let me know, and we can sell it. (smile) But seriously, try one or all of these ideas you’ll be surprised at the difference they make.