KEEPING A FRESH SPACE
Whether your home is needing a deep clean, a decor refresh, or an energy cleanse, this is the blog for you. Breaking down how to keep a fresh space with daily, weekly, monthly, and seasonal habits. A fresh space = a fresh mind. And a fresh mind means more mental clarity, energy and productivity! Let’s get into it!
easy ways to freshen up a space
Quick tidy! Set a timer for 10-20 minutes & organize as much as you can! Dishes, micellaneous items laying around, and a quick fluffing of pillows makes a big difference.
Add plants! Great way to add greenery & fresh aesthetics. If you don’t have a green thumb, opt for easy-care plants like the snake, ZZ, cast iron, spider, pothos plants, etc. Some plants have air-purifying qualities, meaning they can literally remove toxins from the air in your house. These include the peace lily, boston fern, rubber plant, and bamboo palm.
Thrift new-again artwork to refresh your wall space, or print new photos for frames!
Baskets are your best friend! Great for aesthetic storage of shoes by the door, kids/dog toys, towels, etc!
Burning sage or palo santo to refresh the energy! Smoke from burning sage can help to purify airborne bacteria & act as an insect repellent. It is also spiritually believed to cleanse negative energy and improve intuition & mental clarity. Palo santo smells great, can be mood boosting/calming, and can help improve symptoms of sickness like flu/colds!
Rearrange decor spaces like the coffee table, nightstands, entryway table, and bar cart. Moving around books, lamps, and glassware can easily spruce up a space & can scratch an itch if you’re wanting something new but not looking to spend $!
Daily habits
Make the bed - simple & quick task that immediately makes the bedroom look much cleaner
Tidy/declutter common areas. I love to do a quick 10 minute clean before bed - wash/put away any dishes, miscellaneous items/piles, toys, etc.
Clean the dishes - keeping up with it after each meal helps to prevent pile-up at the end of the day
Wipe the kitchen counter after mealtimes/freshen up high touch or high food-traffic areas
Pick up after yourself as you move through the day to prevent overload!
Take your shoes off at the door! Significantly reduces dirt & bacteria tracked in by the bottoms of shoes, which can embed themself into the fibers of carpet and fabric.
Weekly habits
* Best tip is to designate a day to clean. Sundays are great for me as it sets up my week productively and is easy to fit in with work. If all in one day is too much, consider breaking up the tasks - ie laundry & vacuuming on Sundays + deep kitchen & bathroom clean on Tuesdays (or whatever fits into your schedule).
Laundry - sometimes twice or three times a week depending on how many people you live with! Much easier said than done but staying on top of laundry helps prevent overwhelm and ensures you know what’s in your closet too!
Along those same lines - wash bedsheets & towels at least once a week. Sweat & grime build up on the sheets + oil from hair & skin products build up on the pillowcases. Clean sheets can help to reduce bacteria causing acne & milia on the skin and I swear I sleep the best on nights when the sheets are clean.
Vacuum the entire house - I live in a tiny historic home so doing this 2-3x a week is doable for me, but once a week is critical to keeping a clean space. Dog hair, human hair, dust, and food linger on the floor and build up like crazy. Vacuuming used to be my least favorite chore as a kid, but getting a cordless vacuum has really helped with that (we have the Dyson and the Shark and love both - plus the attachments they come with are super handy for cleaning baseboards, couches, cars, or in tight corners). My vacuum hack is to put on some headphones and jam out to a couple songs! Works like a charm.
Kitchen clean - especially if you’re like me and cook from home a lot. Designate one day a week to wipe down the the counters (including behind the countertop appliances), deep cleaning the sink with hot soapy water and wiping down the appliances.
Bathroom refresh - not a glamorous job but necessary. Scrub the inside of toilet bowl with cleaner, wipe down the lid/seat/exterior with all purpose spray, and clean the sinks (my biggest ick is the grime that builds up in the sink if you know you know).
Sanitize/wipe down high touch items like the remote & door handles (even more regularly during sick season or if you have young kids)!
Monthly habits
Declutter items & clothing you don’t need or use. As our mom would say - what you own owns you. Try to let go of attachment to items & think critically about how much you actually use/wear them. Most of the time if the items are out of sight, you won’t even notice they are gone.
Scrub the shower - an electric scrubber can take a lot of the gritty work out of this task, especially if you have tile with a lot of grout. Focus your time on areas that receive/store a lot of water like the floors & shelving. Notice if you start to see orange/brown/black discoloration in the shower, which can be a sign of bacteria, mildew or mold.
Deep clean - move items to clean underneath & behind furniture/appliances/books. Dust all the nooks & crannies including tables, baseboards, and above cabinets. Wash dog beds/blankets/toys. If you have tile/faux wood floors, mop them down.
Seasonal/HygienIC habits
Purge your closet for items you haven’t worn in several months/after the passing of a season. Purge your cupboards of excess glassware, raggedy old water bottles, broken items - it’s time to let them go. This will make space for new items to come in! Change of seasons brings fun & fresh offerings to vintage shops and home stores, so purging the old will make room for something new!
Replace your dish scrubber/brush every 3ish months depending on use (more frequent use replace sooner).
Toilettries/Beauty - Switch out your toothbrush every 3ish months; refresh your razor after 6-10 shaves, or once it becomes dull; clean out old makeup - mascara is good for 3ish months; cream products range from 6 months-1 year; powdered products 1-2 years. Look for an open jar symbol printed on your products which indicates how many months the product is good for after opening. Notice changes in texture & smell, which are signs to toss.