If you haven’t caught up on the latest, recently I took a break and found my current calling, my role, so to speak. I’ve stepped into what is called homemaking- more on that in this week’s podcast. This can mean different things to different people but for me it meant creating an environment that I enjoyed being in, that my husband and son could find peace in and that worked for us. As comfortable as I was living in clutter and letting my husband do everything (laundry, cleaning, cooking) for me, it was also becoming apparently uncomfortable. Looking at the constant messes stressed me out during the week and having to speed clean before company dropped by was giving me and my husband anxiety. I could feel the strain it was putting on my productivity and our marriage and I decided to do something about it. I’ve been watching Instagram stories and videos on the art of homemaking and what it means to create a place of peace with systems that work for you and your family. After I got my household established I started noticing things that I wanted changed. Various decor items and spots in our house that needed sprucing up. With the knowledge that we don’t exactly have the money to drop on new furniture and decor I decided to get to work with what I had and make a few small changes here and there.

ONE : DECLUTTERING

I started by decluttering every room in the house. I got rid of the things we didn’t need or use anymore and I reorganized. That helped immensely as it made the space cleaner it felt fresh. After that I decided to go through each room and make a list of things I wanted to do in each room. I listed items I wanted to switch out for things that are more my style or higher quality and then I listed DIY projects I could do. This made the whole ordeal feel much more manageable and it meant that when I found something on sale, I could get it because I knew exactly what I wanted and where it was going.

TWO : REARRANGING

My next step came in the form of rearranging. It’s amazing what you can do with what you already have. I rearranged books that I was using to stack things on. I switched out vases in a cupboard that I had for other vases. I moved candles around, swapped out photos in frames, switched out pillow cases and moved decor from my bedroom to the living room and vice versa. As I went I dusted and cleaned spots that desperately needed it and it made the room feel.. different. Obviously it’s the same “stuff” but it feels so much better!

THREE : SHOPPING CHEAP

I am all about quality over quantity at this stage in my life. Because I made those lists of things I wanted to switch out so when I found them, I could, I was able to do just that, on a budget. We’re not in a spot where we can frivolously spend, so if we go to a store it’s because we have a little extra. If we don’t, there’s no point in going. We happened to go over to Dirt Cheap the other day (I also like thrift stores and salvation army’s) and we hit the jackpot. There were several items from Target collections in great shape or in need of a little TLC and they were marked down between 40 and 90%. I ended up getting a few items that just spruced the space up just enough until the next time we could do it again. It felt great getting the things I actually wanted to make the space brighter and livelier without going into crazy debt, it’s not worth it. If you don’t have it, don’t spend it. I will also add to that with the fact that you don’t want to have to spend more money in the long term replacing things. Find items that are high quality, save up for them and buy them one at a time. No one is going to judge you for redoing a space slowly, especially if it means that you’re doing it in your dream way. That being said, I 10/10 recommend having that list so when the time comes, and maybe you even stumble across an amazing deal, you know exactly what you want and you can go for it!

FOUR : DRIED FLOWERS

Unless you have a huge garden or a lot of money to buy fresh flowers on a regular basis, you probably cannot afford to have florals in your house on a regular basis. Although it’s my goal to have some indoor plants soon, I need the money and the time to get that started- maybe later this summer. For now I decided to invest in dried flowers to brighten up my space and make it feel cozier. I already have dried flowers from my wedding hanging on the wall and my bouquet in a vase, but I decided to get some new ones for a wedding shower that I was hosting that I already needed them for. I chose white wildflowers, dried pampas, small dried palms, and then various eucalyptus sprigs. The pampas and wildflowers and palms were already dried so I didn’t have to worry about that. The eucalyptus were still alive but I just laid them flat in a sunny spot in the house and then arranged them in a vase and they’re good to go. It’s already made the space feel so much lighter and I smile when I walk in the room. If you’re going to do this I recommend that you pick neutral colors and buy pre-dried flora or know what flowers dry well and choose those. Not all flowers dry the same or will hold up once they’re dried. I found two glass jugs that we already had lying around the house and arranged the sprigs. Whenever I need to freshen it up I can rearrange the or move the jug.

FIVE : DIY

The last thing I chose to do (for now, who knows what I’ll come up with next) is to tackle a few DIY projects. I’m going to attempt to do my own prayer beads next month but this month I wanted to repurpose vases that I don’t love but still want to use. I have a stand up piano that is in the main part of our house. I decided to do beads and vases but right now all I have is a mix-matched set of colored vases and pots that just don’t flow. Rather than get rid of them and replace them, which would cost a pretty penny, I decided to paint them terra cotta style. You can find that DIY post here.

Here’s the thing love, homemaking isn’t about creating the perfect house, attaining “goals” or even having the latest. It’s about creating an environment  that radiates peace, emits love and allows your family to rest, be rejuvenated and thrive. However you achieve that is up to you and because it has your unique touch it will be beautiful. I hope that you found this encouraging, inspiring and that you can see the possibility that is already right in front of you with a different lens!

Happy sprucing! xo - Ry

BONUS: living room tour

Here’s a tour of the living room I talked about so that you can everything I’ve done PLUS the real life mess that still exists.