10 Easy and Inexpensive Ways to Make Your Home Feel Good

I recently wrote a blog on my predictions for the Top 10 Home Trends After the Coronavirus Pandemic. We’re learning a lot more about what we like and don’t like about our homes while we are cocooning on Oahu. Much of what I mentioned in the Home Trends blog post would involve a change of residence, remodel, or significant investment. Since a new home or remodel might be out of the reach of many people right now, I thought I would also post a blog on positive changes one could make to and in their home without spending a lot of money. Here are my Top 10 easy and inexpensive ways to make your home feel good.

1. Change Your Paint Colors

Many people believe that the colors that you surround yourself with can influence your mood. Some believe that cool paint colors such as blues can be calming, and that orange can be energizing. Various colors are said to have different effects, but you should judge for yourself. Now that you’ve spent more time than usual at home, how do you feel inside each room? What feelings would you like to bring into your space? What mood is lacking in each room? Changing paint is simple and fairly inexpensive. If painting a room seems too hard or time consuming, maybe just change the colors of certain accessories, to help create the mood you want.

2. Add Pleasing Textures to Your Furniture and Bedding

Textiles and accessories come in many sumptuous textures. Which suits your sense of touch? Silky satin? Lush velvet, or cushy chenille? Pick up a few throw pillows or cozy, soft blankets that help envelop you with feelings of warmth and comfort. Change your bedding to satin or silk. Doesn’t this feel luxurious? Some people also like the feel of a weighted blanket. These items are available at the high end of the price scale, but can be found even at places like Ross or on Amazon for a bargain.

3. Focus on Comfort

Comfort is not only texture. Can you sit and rest comfortably in your home? Are your chair cushions getting old and thin? It might be worth it to re-stuff or re-upholster a chair. Maybe you can find an ottoman, so you can put your feet up more comfortably. Or just change out some old bed pillows for some new ones. Take some time and flip your mattress. Or you might want to invest in a standing desk or a new more ergonomic desk chair. Maybe you need a table fan to stay cool in your office? There may be little things you can do which greatly enhance your comfort at home without spending a fortune.

4. Add Plants for Both Beauty and Health

Most people think plants are beautiful additions to home decor. They bring the peace and lushness of the outdoors in. If you don’t have a green thumb, you might want to focus on succulents or other drought-tolerant plants, which are harder to kill. Besides their obvious attractiveness, some plants are also said to be good for cleaning your air. Herbs for cooking and medicinal herbs can be plants with a dual purpose. And many of these can be grown indoors.  We are fortunate in Hawaii to be able to grow many types of houseplants easily in our tropical environment.

5. Adding Scents May Also Make Sense

Essential oils can be found easily at stores, through independent distributors, or online. A few drops of certain oils in a diffuser can do wonders to calm, energize, or comfort many people. Another way to use scents in your environment is just to change your soaps or shampoos, or add sachets to your drawers. Or you can even use a supposed “real estate trick” and bake up some cookies or fresh bread. Pleasing scents can not only enhance your mood, but also can evoke wonderful memories of childhood, special people, or good times in your life. These are very easy and inexpensive ways to make your home feel good.

6. Change up Your Music

Since I’ve been cocooning, I don’t think there is enough music in my life!  I love music, but I am not set up well at home to enjoy it the way I would like to. Now, I drive less and miss listening to and singing to music in the car. My project for enhancing my home this week is to set up a wireless speaker where I can use it often at home. I will use it to listen to music when I can, during the work day. Music can be used in many ways: to calm, energize, or enlighten. Listening to music that you enjoy can be another way to help you feel good in your home.

7. The Art of Arrangement

Another way you might enhance your home with very little investment is to rearrange your furniture, if that makes sense. Does your current arrangement maximize your views? Or ability to see the TV, as the case may be? Is there a particular item that you bump into or trip on every day? Time to get it out of the way. Donate it, if you don’t need it. Or maybe it’s time for you to switch around the uses of your rooms. At our house, we turned our guest suite into a room for our teenager. It made a lot more sense. He needs the space, especially right now. I know other friends who have made similar switches to come up with a home office or other room that they decided they need more than the one they had. On that note, you might also look into the teachings of Feng Sui, the Chinese art of placement or harmonious living.

8. Clean It Up & Declutter

Many realtors write a lot about the virtues of cleaning and decluttering due to their positive relationships with selling homes faster and for more money. I won’t say too much about this, because the value is obvious. But the mood-enhancing benefits of having a clean and decluttered house to live in can also be substantial. Who doesn’t like to come home to a clean and spacious feeling home? A clean and decluttered house just feels good!

9. Fix What’s Broken

Take one afternoon and fix the little broken or loose items which are easy and inexpensive to do. For example, tighten doorknobs or hinges. Replace burnt out lightbulbs. Replace cracked light switch covers. Get some plumbers tape and fix the tiny leaks at your hose bib or shower head that may have appeared. Replace your AC filters. Clean your rain gutters. These are all minor things, which get pushed aside when we get busy. Put these in your schedule and just get them done. You will feel good, and your home will function better.

10. Add Small Conveniences

There are many other random things that you can purchase or even build that are not expensive, but add convenience, and can help your home feel good. I purchased some battery powered motion sensitive hallway lights, also, several months ago. The lights provide a low light for walking and not tripping on the cat when my family gets up during the night. I love these! Another little convenience item might be a bidet for your toilet seat. In our small home, wireless headsets are also trending. Who knew we couldn’t live without these? How about a handheld massage wand to replace your shower head? These relatively inexpensive items sometimes make a huge difference in comfort and convenience for your family.

Think about what would be a welcome treat in your own home….?  Now is the time to take good care of yourself!

These are my Top 10 Easy & Inexpensive Ways to Make Your Home Feel Good for years to come. If you have any additional suggestions, I would love to hear them.