How to Start a New Year Home Décor Project

January and February can be quite depressing months. The excitement and anticipation of Christmas and the New Year celebrations are over, all the decorations and light shows have disappeared, and it’s often grey and dismal outside. On the other hand, if you’re a glass-half-full kind of person, this time of year is an ideal opportunity to tackle some of your larger home decorating projects. So don’t forget to take a look at the Home and Remodeling Guide and get inspired.

There’s nearly always something to be done around the house, an area that needs re-organizing or smartening up. It’s pretty much a never-ending process, but even if your house was perfect, although it might be highly satisfying to start with, the chances are you’d get bored after a while and want to ring the changes. The question is, what do you want to take on first? It can be difficult to decide when you have several areas needing attention, so take yourself through a checklist to sort out your priorities.

What aspect of your home causes you the most distress? Is it arriving home to be greeted by a dull, flaking front door that’s badly in need of repainting? Or is it the time you waste looking for items that need to be organized into labeled containers? Think about your day and what makes you feel worst, or what sticks in your mind. Imagine how you’d feel if this chore was attended to, and whichever will give you the greatest sense of relief is probably the task to tackle first.

Why have you been delaying this task? Often there are reasons as to why tasks aren’t completed that need addressing before you can move forward. For example, it could be that time is an issue, especially if you have to juggle work, kids, and other responsibilities, leaving little time for extra activities. If this is a problem for you, try breaking down the task into smaller steps that you can do in half an hour or an hour each day.

For instance, if you need to reupholster your couch, take it one step at a time like so:

• Day one – Take the old covers off
• Day two – Tidy or trim the padding
• Day three – Clean
• Day four – Repair
• Day five – Start fitting the new upholstery, just for an hour or so a day until it’s finished.

Instead of having what seems like a huge project that could take several whole days to complete, you’ve achieved the same result by spending a little time each day over several weeks.

Another problem that prevents people from completing larger tasks is finance. If you don’t have the cash available to replace that front door for instance or buy the decorating materials to freshen up your living room, you feel like you have to live with the depressing sight of a tatty door and fading paintwork. There are several ways to approach this issue that could help you get the job done:

• Consider a cheaper option. If the new door is too pricey, see if you can find an alternative that is similar in appearance but not as expensive. There are so many suppliers and sources for all manner of household fittings and furniture, that it’s worth spending some time browsing online or visiting different showrooms to compare prices.
• Look at sales, end of line reductions, ex-display stock, and stores that specialize in selling cut-price goods. You’ll need to sort through the items that are of poorer quality or unsuitable, but it can be fun – like a kind of grown-up treasure hunt!
• Consider second-hand items. You could get a reclaimed door that’s more classy and attractive than a modern door for far less than buying new.
• Have a go at repurposing what you’ve got. If there’s no way you can afford a new door just now, you don’t have to live with what you’ve got. A good clean and rub down, filling in any holes and blemishes, and painting a door can make a big difference. It may not be what you would ultimately wish for, but it does make the door less of an issue while you save up for what you really want.

You could also consider a small personal loan. While accruing debts is inadvisable, well-used credit can improve your life and increase your happiness, so taking on a manageable loan could be a sound option. Loan companies look favorably on projects like home improvement, and you can apply for loans that have guaranteed approval to speed up the process and avoid affecting your credit rating.

If you share your home with other people, whether it’s a partner, children, or housemates, remember they can help you with these projects, and you shouldn’t feel you can’t ask them for assistance. You might just want to get them to do more regular chores while you get on with the project, or you might ask them to get involved and assist you, it just depends on their abilities and what you need.

Once you’ve sorted out what you want to do, fix a day to get started, and commit yourself to continue until the work is completed. Taking a large project a step at a time makes it more manageable, but it will take a long stretch of days than if you devoted a whole chunk of time to it. Sometimes it may seem like the task is never-ending, and you might feel bored with what you’re doing and take a few days off. That’s not a problem, but you do want to avoid the situation where you have half-finished projects sitting around for months. That’s as bad, if not worse, than not starting them in the first place, so once you start, keep up the momentum.

This time of year is perfect for brightening up your home, changing your style, or completing tasks that have been hanging around for months. Summer days are better spent enjoying the sunshine and getting out and about, and working in the heat can be exhausting. In the middle of winter, you can’t do much outside, the garden is dormant and you’re better off indoors with your paintbrushes!

By the way, buying a new Aicool Smart Trash Can is also a good idea to add value to your home.”