Spring DIY Projects To Spruce Up Your Home

Clean-Up Tips

Have you noticed all the “For Sale” signs on houses sprouting up as you drive along? Spring is traditionally the time of year when most houses are placed on the market. Real Estate agents will tell you that young families like to move during the summer so that the kids will be all set when it’s time to go back to school at the end of summer or after Labor Day.

Moving to a new home usually provides an opportunity to force one’s self to get rid of clutter. We’ve been in our house for over 30 years, so I don’t plan on moving anytime soon. I take this opportunity to do small DIY projects around the home to make room for new things.

Storage Projects

I like baskets as they’re pleasing to look at and in New England, we have a variety known as Nantucket Baskets, which are one of my favorite styles. Baskets are multi-functional. Try storing knitting, crafting and sewing projects in them. I also turned an old picnic basket into a storage container for all the leftover yarn from knitting and crochet projects. You can also use a basket to collect favorite magazines, or set one beside your favorite easy chair.

Baskets work well for a powder room. Use them to collect toiletries as well as clean cloths or guest towels. Now that I babysit the grandkiddos daily, I use baskets to store diapers, cleansing wipes and the Butt Paste I now have to keep on hand.

You can also spruce up a Guest bedroom and add sample-size toiletries in the event your house guests leave something at home. Take a cue from the quaint Bed and Breakfast Inns – keep one on a night table and fill it with sample size toothpaste, floss, travel size deodorant, bandages or Q-Tips!

Sewing and Craft Projects

Another favorite idea of mine is recycling old towels. Rather than throwing them out, try sewing one up and adding elastic to the ends. Hang one in the kitchen to store plastic shopping bags.

Terrycloth towels can be recycled and turned into baby bibs!

Maybe you’re like me and always have one type of craft project going on ~ some have been left unfinished over the years and there’s always scraps of fabric lying around. New England has always been known for their colonial quilters. Many quilting groups meet at local community centers and in church halls. Join a group and try piecing together the scraps to make a memory quilt. I’ve seen some beautiful ones with family photos pieced in.

My grandfather was “from the old country” and used to hand-loom rag rugs out of strips of old clothes. Larger pieces of fabric can easily be used as decorative tabs for the tops of curtains. What a fantastic way to be frugal, save some money and create holiday curtains!

Back in the 1970s, door drafters were the rage. Try using blankets sewn into patterns and stuffed with fluff to make decorative throw pillows for a couch or sofa. You can coordinate with solid colors to match your favorite furniture. Depression era grandmoms used to cut buttons off of old clothing. Accent your newly designed throw pillows with antique buttons if you have any!

Clear out the clutter and see what you can do it yourself around your home. Your name is probably written all over several little projects!

Related posts:

1. Declutter Your Home This Spring: Host A Family Swap Meet
2. Smart Ideas For Springing Into Spring Cleaning and Declutter Your Home Office
3. How Home Staging Can Help Sell Your Home Quicker
4. DIY Remodeling Ideas At The Home Depot Stores – Renew And Redo Your Bath
5. Spring Break Dispatches from the Texting Tropical Little Mermaid