Spring is the perfect time to get started on those home projects you’ve been wanting to tackle. Whether you live in a large house, a condominium, or a small apartment, you can tackle spring cleaning and DIY projects with the right planning and tips. This article will give a few ideas for home projects that are perfect for anyone in any size home.
1. Declutter Your Space
First things first, before you tackle any new projects, it’s always best to address existing issues within your space. Over time, it’s easy to accumulate a lot of stuff, but this can lead to excessive clutter. So before you start devoting time to a new project, it’s helpful to go through everything you have and reorganize or toss out things you don’t need to tidy the space up.
The best way to declutter your home is to go through each room or area one by one and start making “keep” and “toss” piles. From there, you can get rid of the things you don’t need and start reorganizing the things you want to keep. While doing this, you might even think of some good project ideas for storage to better organize your things, such as some new shelves, closet organizers, or under-bed storage.
2. Give Everything a Good Cleaning
After everything is decluttered, this is a great time to go through and start giving each room or area a thorough cleaning because once your space is tidied up, it’s much easier to access all the nooks and crannies. However, some people prefer to clean first and declutter second, or to sort of tackle them both at the same time room-by-room.
There is really no one right way to do this. The basic idea is to declutter and clean before you start anything new. One way to ensure nothing gets missed is to make a cleaning checklist. Go through each room one by one and write down everything that needs to be cleaned, especially the areas that often get missed during routine cleanings throughout the year.
3. Attend to Maintenance and Repairs
When you are going through each room to declutter and clean, this is also a great time to note anything that needs to be repaired or replaced. Even if you are only renting, it’s still your responsibility to notify your landlord of anything that needs fixing. And if you’re not renting, you can tackle these maintenance projects yourself or look into hiring a handyman.
4. Give Your Kitchen a Makeover
Once all of the cleaning, decluttering, and repairs are addressed, it’s time to move on to the fun stuff. Most of these ideas work for renters too who can’t make permanent changes. And the kitchen is a great place to start.
People often neglect their kitchens, but there are many easy ways to give them an upgrade that won’t cost much money or take much effort. Simply swapping out the cabinet knobs, for example, can instantly transform the look and feel of the space. You can also cover bad kitchen flooring and the backsplash with some vinyl stickers or tile decals for a more dramatic makeover.
5. Update Your Window Treatments and Rugs
Some new rugs and window treatments are other easy and effective ways to transform any room. They’re also simple ways to add color to a space without painting the walls. Try swapping out those cheap white shades for bamboo shades and some curtains, or forgo the curtains if you’re going for a more minimal look.
A new area rug or two can also help bring a space together and make it feel cozier. Rugs can also help you separate spaces when you live in a smaller area or condo. Putting one area rug in the living room area and another in your dining or office area, for example, can help create a sort of distinction between the areas, even if they all exist within one room.
6. Add Some Color to Your Walls
If painting is an option, this is one of the best ways to instantly transform the look and feel of a space. However, if painting is not an option, there are still plenty of other ways to give the space a design and bring in some color. If you’re renting and can’t put too many holes in the walls, try hanging art with clips, tacks, washi tape, or those 3M strips. Washi tape comes in lots of designs and colors, and you can even use it to create shapes or a mural on your walls that can easily be removed later.
7. Swap Out Old Light Fixtures
You don’t have to hire an electrician or mess with the wiring to give your lights an upgrade. Many light fixtures can be updated by simply unscrewing the covering and replacing it with something new. Or you can even cover the whole fixture with something else, like a drum shade or something woven for a more eclectic look.
8. Bring in Some Greenery
One of the best ways to freshen up a space is to bring in some plants. Plants are not only good for bringing in color and serving as decor, but they can also help make the air in your space healthier. If any areas feel empty or like something is missing, try filling them with plants instead of more furniture. And If you’re moving from one place to another, there is no reason why you can’t bring your existing plants with you, just make sure you do a bit of research before transplanting your old plants to keep them nice and healthy.
Wrapping Up
These are just a few of the many, many things you can do to clean up your house or condo this spring. The size of your space shouldn’t limit you — there are hundreds of projects that are suited to small spaces, many of which can even help you make your space feel bigger. It’s all about smart design and organization. With a little sprucing and some clever projects, there’s no reason why your house shouldn’t feel like a warm and inviting home.
