With the holidays just around the corner, you may be starting to experience anxiety over the guests you plan to have in your home. You want your home to feel clean, fresh, and homey, but don’t necessarily have the time, money, or imagination to make that happen. We have some ideas to put your mind at ease and help you come up with a plan!
1. Make it Sparkle
A clean house is always the best place to start. A clean house will automatically feel fresh and give you the proper canvas on which to incorporate other updates. Get your carpet professionally cleaned or rent a machine for a day. Better Homes and Gardens has a great 7 Day Cleaning Plan to help you get a handle on your cleaning tasks. If you just can’t make time to clean (this is a busy time of year!) consider indulging in a professional house cleaning service just this once, if you don’t already. Even on a tight budget, sometimes saving time and reducing your stress is worth the splurge.
2. Declutter Your Space
Reducing the clutter in your home will go a long way in making it feel more spacious and inviting. Think clear surfaces! The less clutter and the fewer your knick-knacks, the cleaner and larger your home will appear. Check out this post from earlier this year on reducing the clutter.
3. Focus on a Few Small Changes
Updating a few small things can make an impact and most importantly, change the way you feel about your home. If you’re on a tight budget (aren’t we all?), hit up the discount stores or use coupons for the bigger stores. Here are some simple ideas that will make a noticeable difference:
- Replace a worn out rug. A stained, fraying rug can really take away from all the other hard work you’ve put in to make your home look lovely.
- Add some new throw pillows in this season’s trendy colors or patterns.
- Hang a festive wreath on your front door and put out a seasonal welcome mat.
- Make your entry more welcoming by hanging a piece of framed art, placing a stylish area rug, or adding a vase of flowers on a small table.
- Place new towels or a pretty soap dispenser in your guest bathroom. Pick up a new shower curtain if yours is looking worn.
- Update the curtains in your main living area with a color or pattern that makes you feel good and adds a pop of design to your room.
- Inexpensive, well-chosen art can also bring a freshness to your home!
4. Appeal to the Senses
So much of the experience we have in our own homes or the homes of others comes down to our senses and how a space makes us feel.
- Scent: Make sure your home smells clean and homey. Simmer oils on the stove, use an electric wax warmer, or pick up some plug-ins. Seasonal scents such as cinnamon, vanilla, or spices will give your home a pleasing, holiday feel. If you or your guests are allergic to the manufactured scents, try something natural like citrus, cinnamon sticks, or essential oils.
- Sight: Clear, clean spaces with a few thoughtfully placed items are much more pleasing to the eye than having every memento you own on display. Also, lighting is important in creating a space that is comfortable – you want it not too bright, not too dim. Lamps tend to create a nicer ambiance than overhead lighting.
- Sound: Play soft music in the background. Create a Pandora station that sets the mood you want to convey, be it soothing, romantic, peppy, or retro.
- Touch: Use appealing textures to draw your guests in to your seating areas. Textured throw pillows that beg to be touched or a soft throw over the back of an arm chair will make your home feel inviting and encourage your guests to get comfortable. Touchable linens on your table will add to the mealtime experience. Clean, fresh towels in your kitchen will make pitching in to dry dishes a pleasure.
- Taste: Have yummy treats ready for your guests – especially the kind that evoke comfort and home. Have some hot cider simmering on the stove. Click here for some great holiday recipes to try out!
What are your favorite ideas for getting your home ready for the holidays? Want more ideas? Check out this post from last year!
The Home Experience Blog 