9 Ways To Fall In Love With Your Home (again)

When my husband and I bought and moved into our first home we didn’t care that it wasn’t the biggest - it was ours. It was just the two of us and a three bedroom townhouse with a finished basement seemed perfect.
Make no mistake, our home is not large - it’s cozy. But it worked for us!

Almost four years later the house we are living in is that same townhouse. Right now moving is not an option for us, and truly, we really enjoy the area we live in.

Although there are days I dream of a new home, instead of coveting what I don’t have, I found different ways to fall in love with our home again, and I’m going to share that with you today.

1. Declutter. I can’t stress this tip enough. I have spent my summer decluttering my home and the difference it has made is like whoa! If you live in small space nothing will make it feel even smaller than clutter and “stuff”. You don’t have to become a true minimalist, but getting rid of all the items that are just taking up valuable space, can create a sense of calm in you and in your home. Once you start decluttering you’d be surprised how much better you feel and how much more space you actually have.

2. Organize. Organizing what you do have has the same effect and benefits as decluttering. You know all the closets you have of junk? (guilty!) Go to the dollar store, buy some wicker baskets and organize those selves.
All those toys lying around? Purge what is no longer played with and purchase modern looking bins to store them in. In my home I keep a small ottoman of toys on our main floor. That’s it. The rest are kept in my sons room or in baskets in the basement. This helps keep our main space clean and clear of toys and clutter.

3. Choose a decor theme that suits your personality. Modern, farmhouse, boho, minimalist, whatever decor style speaks to you, own it and create it. Do you love a fresh looking space? Bring the outdoors indoors with plants. This is your space that you have to live in, so make it suit your personality!

4. Choose a colour scheme. People have commented on how our walls are all white (cloud white to be exact), and to them I say, yup, I did it on purpose. Like I’ve said, our home isn’t that big, so dark colours would only make it appear smaller. All our walls are white and I create interest and add colour and texture through accent pieces like furniture, pillows and throws. The best part is that I can change the accent colour scheme whenever I want. An easy way to make an old area feel new and fresh every season.

5. Create spaces that you love. They don’t have to be large spaces! There are a few spaces in our home that I absolutely love. One being my son’s room; I poured my heart into that room while I was pregnant, and to be honest, it’s the smallest and simplest room in our home, and I absolutely love everything about it. As he grows and his personality changes, so does his room (hello truck and tractors everywhere!) It makes my heart so happy! Soon he’ll be moving into our bigger spare bedroom and I’ve been dreaming of how to decorate that for him (and how to create a new spare room!).

6. Let the light in. Everyday I open up all the curtains and blinds in our home and let in as much sunlight as possible. Natural light is an instant mood lifter and makes all your rooms appear bigger and brighter!

7. Stay on top of cleaning (and make your bed). Did you just laugh in your head reading this? Me too. But hear me out. This is along the lines of the whole get rid of clutter advice. If my home is a mess with dishes and laundry piling up I feel overwhelmed and my small home feels smaller with toys everywhere. I may not be doing a deep clean every week, but pretty much every night I wash dishes and tidy up after Maximus is asleep. And speaking of Maximus, he’s at a great age now where he is learning to clean up after himself!

8. Get to know your neighbours. If you love the location of your home and the people around you, you are more likely to love your own home because you have made connections with other people around you.

9. Create memories with family and friends. I used to feel embarrassed to invite people over (especially those who made unsolicited comments about the size our home), but I got over it. This is our home. We have made a house into a home for our little family. Now I invite people over and host dinners as much as possible. I am creating memories with the people I love in a home that I love!

Oh, and most importantly, stop comparing your home that is filled with love, with someone else’s!