Bring spring into your home

Winter’s great, but around this time of year, we tend to get a little antsy. Knowing that spring is coming, but probably not soon enough, is on our mind. One way to beat the winter blues and get your mind on brighter days ahead is to bring spring into your home. That means doing some easy indoor planting, light decor and early spring cleaning. The results will make you smile.  

Easy Indoor Plants for an Early Spring

Even if the temperatures outside are still freezing, it’s actually a great time to start some indoor plants. Bulbs and certain seeds can be planted indoors and enjoyed for months. You can even bring some outside and plant them, after or enjoy them on your deck.

• Spring bulbs – Forcing bulbs in the warmth of your home is not only easy but yields beautiful results. You can choose from daffodils, grape hyacinths and many other types. Planting them is very simple and you’ll see results in a couple of weeks.

• Easy indoor plants – Besides bulbs, there are lots of easy plants to begin growing indoors. From sunflowers to sweet peas, you can watch these grow before your eyes. These also make an ideal project to do with kids, as they require a little (but not too much) responsibility!
• Kitchen companions – Want to brighten up the room we seem to live in? Kitchens look great with a splash of flowering color, but cabinets and heat or minimal windows can make conditions tricky. These plants are ideal for kitchen areas, and the list helps you figure out which facing direction works with certain ones.

Spring Decorating Tips

Some decorating tips for spring are no-brainers. Bringing fresh flowers into your home is a good start. But there’s so much more when it comes to creative ideas. Check out some of these ideas.

• Floristry 101 – While grabbing some grocery store flowers is easy, throwing them into a vase might leave something to be desired. This site teaches you how to arrange “grocery store” flowers to be more aesthetically pleasing. And you don’t have to take a course to do it!
• Fabric accessories – Some people do it seasonally or just with certain holidays. Swapping out your couch pillow covers, throws and area rugs for more spring-like patterns is easy and fun. For more inspiration, check out the spring 2019 color palette for home designs.
• Welcome door – Hang a pretty spring wreath on your door to brighten your day and your neighbors’. If you’re feeling crafty, go the DIY route with these ideas. And if you’re feeling a bit more anxious for warm weather, order one today.
• Painted pots – Upgrade the plastic pots your indoor plants will arrive home in. Painted terracotta pots are easy to make yourself and can match your décor nicely. It makes a fun weekend project with kids, too.

Easy Spring Cleaning

Tidying up, purging and cleaning out unneeded or unwanted items can make your home feel brand new. If you break the cleaning process down into parts, it’s less daunting. You can even do it over the course of a couple of weekends and recruit family members to help. Consider a two-step process to tackle your spring cleaning project in 2019.  

Decluttering

The first step to a neat and clean home is to declutter. That’s because clutter brings us down in so many ways, and it’s very hard to clean around it. If clutter is a big part of your situation, it might be a chance to examine your “clutter personality.” It could be that you’re overbuying, a saver or a worrier. Paper clutter is one of the biggest culprits. It tends to pile up and get pushed to the side when other matters are the priority. Plus, some of us are just more disorganized than others! In any case, you can address your organizational issues and you’ll feel so much better. And this all before you dust a shelf or scrub a sink! For weekend decluttering, there are four main schools of thought.

• Four boxes – Get four bins or bags of equal size. One is for garbage, one is for charity. The other two are for putting things back where they belong and keeping.
• One trash bag – Go around the house with a trash bag and fill it. This is a good way to kickstart the process.
• 12-12-12 – Find 36 items total, divided equally into the following categories. Trash, charity and relocation. This sounds tough but it allows you to achieve a lot in one pass.
• Room by room – It might work best for you to focus on one room at a time. Using a checklist as you go through your home is a good way to stay focused.

Other decluttering techniques are ongoing, like making an effort to never leave a room empty-handed. This is a great habit for families, even if it’s just bringing a cup from the living room to the kitchen. Finally, organization experts say that getting rid of one item each day can help you declutter over the course of a year.

Deep Cleaning

Spring cleaning calls for a more thorough cleaning job than your typical weekend work. In fact, the dirt and grime you’ll get rid of might amaze you. First, you’ll want to stock up on supplies so you’re ready to hit the ground running.  If you’re ready for a deep clean, here are some tips to make it easy and effective.

• Work from top to bottom. That is, unless you’re interested in dusting twice. Start with the ceiling fans, dust the corners of the room and all your wall art first.
• Take one room at a time. Most spring cleaning begins with the kitchen, then the bathroom. Finally, living rooms and bedrooms. Working room by room ensures you won’t leave something half finished.
• Pet hair. Use the squeegee from your shower to remove pet hair from couches, carpets or any stubborn space.

Once-a-year tasks

Not only is it a great time to clean behind the refrigerator, but to address areas of your home that you often overlook. Choose a day this spring to tackle these bigger projects.

• Wash all blankets, comforters and quilts. Put away heavy winter bedding and bring out lighter ones. Flip your mattress and mark the date on the calendar.
• Put away winter clothes and make a donation pile. Don’t let the pile sit longer than a week!
• Clean exposed kitchen supplies, like hanging pots, standing mixer or other large objects that are rarely used. Clean out the refrigerator and behind it.
• Move heavy furniture and clean underneath. Recruit family or roommates for these tasks!
• Clean all window treatments. Remove curtains, then dust shades and shutters.
• Trim back indoor plants that may have become a bit too wild. Clean leaves and replace soil as needed.
• Tackle your medicine cabinet and bathroom storage. If you find some expired products, ditch them. Use this chart to learn about when to toss expired products.

Early spring is the time to clean your apartment and add life to your home. With these great tips, you won’t need to spend all your time cleaning. Decorating for spring will help bring you out of the winter doldrums, too. Having fresh flowers, indoor plants or spring colors in your clean home will encourage you to have guests over, too. It’s amazing what some decluttering and decorating can do to brighten your mood.