10 Ways To Refresh Your Home For The New Year

For many, ringing in the new year signifies a blank slate... a fresh start and endless possibilities. It's a time where most of us look toward the future and are eager to move away from things of the past.

One of my favorite ways to welcome the new year is to clean and purge and complete projects around the home that I've been putting off.

I like to spend the week between Christmas and December 31st doing these things because when January 1st comes around it feels so great to not have any "loose ends" or clutter!

Here are 10 things I do this week and I'd like to invite you to do them, too!

🔹️ Organize the "junk" drawers and storage closets.

You know you have one.... that catch-all drawer or basket (or spare room) that looks like a mess to everyone else but all the members of your household still know exactly where to find what they're looking for. Well, it's time to find a place for each of these items that have no "home."

Make them a home.... out of that drawer.

🔹️ Sort knickknacks and keepsakes.

I tend to keep all my cards, letters from loved ones and favorite artwork of my children throughout the year. I use this week to sort through all of them properly and store the ones I can't live without in a trunk for safe keeping and discard the rest.

As much as I'd love to, I don't need to keep 10 cards with only a signature in it or 300 pages of the same doodle. One or 2 of each is plenty.

Besides, it's 2021... We've taken pictures of all of them already and they're stored in our phones.

🔹️ Touch up the exterior of your home.

There's just something about Christmas having passed that makes me look forward to spring. All the leaves and flowers are gone and grass isn't very green. It can make all the imperfections on your home stand out even more.

I use this time to power wash the exterior as well as repaint my porch, railings and shutters. The weather this holiday season has been incredibly warm. The humidity isn't bad either so that makes pressure washing and painting a good option. It also gets it out of the way so when spring comes around, we can focus on the fun stuff!

🔹️ Repaint trim and baseboards as needed.

Speaking of paint... after storing away all the Christmas decor and clutter it's easy to see dings and other flaws on the trim and baseboards.

Maybe one day this won't be as necessary but I have children and pets. Things get scuffed and keeping a nice home makes me feel good so I usually touch up the paint on these a couple times a year. It looks better and fresh and makes me smile.

This week is perfect for it and I think you'll enjoy the finished product as well.

🔹️ Rearrange furniture and pictures.

December is typically rather mild around this area. January and February get pretty cold and that cold means staying inside much more often.

I like to change around the layout of our living room while I'm doing all the other cleaning and painting because then it feels like a "new" space and more comfortable to have to stay in until the weather warms back up. We can always change it back around later.

Sometimes even these small changes can make a big impact on the overall mood and vibe of your home during seasonal changes.

🔹️ Add fresh mulch and topsoil to gardens.

The grass isn't growing much and neither are the weeds. This is my favorite time to add topsoil to the garden beds and mulch to the landscaping.

I'm not a professional gardener or landscaper but this choice always works for us to further suffocate any weeds that would be emerging. Besides, it looks pretty and more lively with the new paint and in a dreary season, we can all appreciate the fresh dirt and mulch!

🔹️ Sort pantry.

Ok, this is my least favorite thing on the list. However, it has to get done. I try to do this once per season to make sure nothing is out of date or nearing expiration. I also use this time to box up fresh items that were bought on a whim (and I know won't actually get used) and set them aside to donate.

Public food pantries get stretched pretty thin during the holidays and this is a great way to help them restock their shelves while we organize our own.

🔹️ Trim fruit shrubs and vines if you haven't already.

We're quite lucky with our climate in this zone in that we can grow a wide array of fruits and vegetables. At our home, we grow grapes. We use this time that they're dormant to trim them back for better growth next season.

This can be done up to February for most fruit shrubs and grapes.

🔹️ Organize clothing, cookware, toys and books.

This is self-explanatory.

Holiday Season + Gifts = Clutter.

It's time to go through all the things we'll most likely no longer wear, cook with, play with or read and box it up neatly. Set it aside and get all of your new things put away in their place.

*Pro Tip: Don't be scared to take a hard look at your furniture as well. Are there pieces taking up space and no longer serving you? Set them aside also.

🔹️ Donate food, clothing, housewares, etc.

Last and certainly not least, take all of the goods you've boxed and donate them to the nonprofit of your choice. You get a nicer home, more space, a potential tax write-off and are helping others in the process! It's a win- win!

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