So here it is, the month of love.  This Valentines Day month is a good time to show a little love to your home without breaking the budget.  I’m not talking about a renovation project, but rather, lots of little things that you can do to spruce up and “show the love” to your home.  Some of the simplest tasks can make a huge difference in the look and feel in your home and it doesn’t have to be expensive.  Here are a few to consider:

Replace some area rugs, curtains or shower curtain.  It’s easy to change the feel of a room just by changing the color scheme or adding to it.  Change out a rooms curtains or rugs and add in a color or style that is new and fresh.

Use a little scratch cover up or good quality wood oil with appropriate color in it to give your wood furniture a face lift.  Sometimes I forget what a difference it can make

Pay attention to the details like baseboards, window tracks and door frames. Scrub the baseboards and paint if needed.  Clean out the window tracks and clean all the tops and edges of the door frames.

Has it been years since you put those knick knacks up high on the pot shelves?  Maybe it’s time they come down, the pot shelf gets cleaned and new, then clean and updated décor goes up.

Add a little life to your house.  It won’t be long until you can start to plant some outdoor plants but you can plant indoors any time.  Bring in some flowers, fresh cut or potted.  There are particular benefits to having indoor plants and flowers beyond the obvious, including:
Reducing carbon dioxide levels, increasing humidity, reducing levels of certain pollutants, such as benzene and nitrogen dioxide, reducing airborne dust levels, keeping air temperatures down.

Add some new art, change it up, expand your style.  It feels good and different and fresh. For that matter, change up the whole theme if you can.  Without having to renovate, knock out walls or change flooring, a simple change like changing the art style in your house can give it a completely different feel.

Change filters and clean vents.  Filters should be changed out several times during the year.  Pollutants and dust particles collect and get blown back into your environment.  A dusty dirty vent gives an impression of lack of care.

LOVE your home this Valentines Day, show it you care.  Do the little extras and enjoy the new year with a fresh, new, clean perspective.

Jann Watts and Lucy Leyva
Prescott Maid to Order