Have you ever watched one of those reality TV shows on organizing and thought to yourself, “Ya my place could look like that too if I hired a whole crew of people and had a budget of $5,000 to spend on re-designing and re-decorating.” Well most people don’t have that type of money to spend to change their environment. However, there are many low cost solutions you can use to create the home or office of dreams. A space where you can find things and put them back easily, is esthetically pleasing and makes you feel good to be in and proud to show off. Let’s talk about how to organize and re-decorate on a Budget.
How To Organize and Re-decorate On A Budget
Re-decorating and re-designing
One of my favorite parts of an organizing project is the re-designing and re-decorating phase. Many times I can make a space look totally different by using furniture, objects and containers already existing in the home. Here’s some tricks to re-do your space and give it a fresh new look on a dime.
Paint
It’s amazing how different a room can look and feel with a touch of paint. Figure out where your space sits using the Feng Shui Bagua map and consider painting it in that color. For instance, if your bathroom sits in the prosperity area, you would paint it purple which is the color associated with prosperity.
Kitty corner
Believe it or not, sometimes just simply angling your furniture can make your space feel really different. Do you have the standard set up with the TV flat up against one wall and the couch pushed up against the opposite wall? Try this. Find a corner and put the TV there and angle it and then bring the couch out to more of the center of the living room and angle that in the same direction as the TV. This won’t work for all spaces but for those that it does, this will create a more cozy effect in your living room.
Color
To spruce up spaces that are drab, add a splash of color. You can do this by adding some throw pillows, a rug, curtains, a lamp with a colorful shade, candles or some artwork.
Make sure whatever artwork you use reflects what you want to create in your life. For example, if you are looking for a relationship, don’t hang up a bunch of pictures of single women. It will communicate to your unconscious mind being alone and could create a block to attracting the relationship you desire.
Bring the nature to you
Many times when I walk into an environment the energy feels stagnant and consequently the person feels lethargic and stuck. To help to circulate the energy and create more of an uplifted feeling bring in some elements of nature. For example a plant and a water fountain. Just these two elements alone will start to move energy around and will lift your emotions.
Space saving solutions
As a way of maximizing the space without buying a bunch of furniture the trick is to go vertical and get items that are multi-purpose. For example, storage ottomans. Instead of getting a TV stand or armoire, use a wall mount.
Instead of paying to have a closet designed for you, do it yourself with an Elfa System from the Container Store (they even has associates there that can help you design it). This will fit several categories of items in drawers and cupboards yet still keep them organized and easily accessible, use products like drawer dividers from Ikea and drawer units.
Get items for free
Before I ever go out and buy anything, I always check the free section on Craigslist. I also use Freecycle.org. You won’t believe how many items people give away for free. But be careful to not be tempted and pick up a bunch of items you don’t need. If you think you can’t resist the temptation, then don’t visit these sites in the first place.
Remove the clutter
Probably the most cost effective way to organize your home is to remove the clutter. Items that aren’t being used is taking up valuable real estate. When this happens, you will find yourself buying extra containers, storage units, more furniture and space saving solutions just to house these space wasters.
Not to mention you may feel the need to buy a bigger house which many times is totally unnecessary. Once you de-clutter, you will realize you can live with far less than you ever thought you needed. And that is a very freeing feeling.
By re-decorating, adding some color, space solutions and your creativity, you can create a fresh new look in your home that will accommodate all of your needs, save money and make you fall in love with your space again. Of course if you want help from a professional organizer you can always reach out.
Photo by Roselyn Tirado on Unsplash