6 Ways to Improve Your Space for Free

We all love a budget-friendly hack for our space. Even better, is when it’s free. If your space is feeling uninspiring, off, or downright overwhelming, implement these free practices and I guarantee you will see (and feel) the difference.

Light

As much as possible, welcome natural light. Get in the habit of opening up your space each morning and letting the sun pour in. I know not all spaces are equal when it comes to natural light, but maximize it as much as you can. This simple change can benefit you in many ways.

• Natural light in the home directly correlates to mood and mental health. Sunlight triggers serotonin, a "happy" neurotransmitter — reducing stress, anxiety and seasonal depression. Yes, please.

• It can also improve your sleep patterns by regulating your circadian rhythm (your internal clock that tells your body when it’s daytime and nighttime).

There is an overwhelming amount of research on all of the “goods” of natural light — not to mention, it looks beautiful when casting shadows of dancing trees or blind lines on your walls.

While we're on the topic of lighting, there are a couple of non-free (yet still affordable) bonus tips to share.

• Position a mirror (not free if you don’t already have one!) near or ideally across from a window in your space to multiply the natural light coming in. Depending on the positioning, this may even feel like an extra window, as it allows the natural light to bounce around the room and fill the space.

• Swap out any cool toned light bulbs with warm ones.

Fresh Air

This one doesn't have much visual impact, but you should be able to feel the difference. Cracking a window and letting fresh air in for 5 – 10 minutes several times a day will refresh the air without impacting the climate control too significantly. This is a practice known as "house burning" — how lovely!

The benefits include but are not limited to the below.

• Reduced Illness

  • Fresh air can dilute indoor air pollutants like volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from furniture and cleaning products, dust, pet dander and more.

  • Regular, short bursts of fresh air can help reduce the concentration of viral particles and bacteria, which is especially important during cold and flu season.

• Enhanced Cognitive Function and Mental Wellbeing

  • Increased oxygen levels from the outdoors can boost brain function, concentration and overall productivity.

  • Proper ventilation can improve the overall atmosphere of a home, allowing for a calmer and more comfortable environment.

• Improved Sleep Quality

  • Well-ventilated bedrooms allow for a more restful, deep sleep.

• Increased Comfort and Better Odor Control

  • Removes lingering smells from cooking, pets and cleaning products.

  • In mild weather, opening windows can allow for natural, cost-effective cooling.

Declutter

You may have guessed this was coming. If you don’t already know, decluttering is the intentional process of removing excess items from your home to create a more functional, calm, and organized environment.

It is a very real possibility that there is calm and order within your space, but it’s hidden and overcome by unnecessary clutter.

There are many ways you can address this — two of which are to declutter as you go or plan intentional time(s) to declutter.

Declutter as you go requires you to pay attention to your daily actions and internal dialog as you navigate your space and stuff. Let me explain with some examples, some from personal experience.

• You are getting dressed and realize something is too small, too big, not flattering, not your style anymore, still has that pesky stain that won't come out, whatever it may be. You change into something else. Pay attention to this behavior! Very important! Now, this is different than changing your mind on what you want to wear for the day due to preference. Here, you’re changing due to an ill-fitting or disliked garment. Declutter it immediately. Chances are, the next time you go to put this on, you will have the same feelings on the matter, so save yourself the reminder and address it at the first sign of disapproval.

• Every time you walk through your hallway, you trip on the corner of your rug and spend the next 2 minutes cursing it and thinking about how it’s been a nuisance as long as you can remember. Listen to this internal dialog! Very important! If you’re not willing to take the time to fix the item or mend the situation within the next 48 hours, declutter it immediately. You're allowed to change your mind about items you bring into your home.

• Have an old hobby or collection that no longer ignites you the way it used to? Maybe it even makes you feel resentful or guilty by seeing its presence? A very natural part of the human experience is trying new things and having different interests at different times of your life. It is okay to no longer like a hobby or collection that was once a large part of your identity — we change, and there is no guilt in this fact. Take the time to accept this and see if you can declutter this by selling or donating to the next person that will be overjoyed to acquire it.

• Pay attention next time you push something aside to get to your preferred item. This could be anything from a pair of underwear, a pillow, a mug, a can opener, a moisturizer… it could be anything. What items are you pushing aside every single time because you have something that you prefer instead? If you’re always going to choose the other thing in its place, declutter the other option(s) immediately. I think you will be surprised at how often you run into this scenario once this seed is planted in your head.

Planning intentional time is self-explanatory. Identify a day, time and duration to address a specific area or category. This could be in the form of a 15-minute timer, 1-hour timer or a 2-day declutter-a-thon. Short increments are digestible and can be sprinkled in as you navigate your everyday life whereas multiple day declutter sessions prove to have high impact. Dealer's choice. Repeat as many times as necessary until desired results.

A key part of successful decluttering is having a dedicated area (a box or bag) to contain all of your decluttered items so you know exactly where to take items once they’re identified as no longer serving you.

Be sure to create a plan for physically removing these items from your space, like monthly drop offs to your local donation center.

Decluttering looks different for each person, and can even look different for the same person as they navigate different mindsets or seasons of life. Turn off auto-pilot and set yourself free of the non-essentials in your living space.

It’s okay to no longer want, like or need something that you once did. Take necessary action to remove it from your physical and mental space. Give yourself permission to let go. Momentum will build as you begin seeing and feeling the impact.

Storage

Ah, storage. A modern day luxury and another aspect of our spaces that is not created equal. In recent years, we’ve gotten accustomed to thinking we need immediate access to all things that we use at any given time. All appliances out and ready to go on our kitchen counters. All hygiene and self-care products perfectly aligned along our bathroom sink. All of our favorite products and snacks an arms length away within our bedside tables.

Of course, I'm speaking in generalities here as I know this isn't true for all individuals. That being said, it is something that I have personally seen more normalized on social media whether it's nightstand organization ASRM or the "normal home" videos.

But is this normal? Could the convenience actually be harming your well being?

Viewing clutter acts as a persistent, low-grade stressor that triggers the release of cortisol, overwhelming the brain with unnecessary visual stimuli or "visual noise." It reduces working memory capacity, impairs the ability to focus, causes cognitive overload and increases feelings of anxiety and fatigue.

If there is the slightest chance that any of these ring true for you, whether conscious or subconscious, this tip may be for you. Challenge yourself to make more (and better) use of the storage you have. Identify the hot spot(s) in your home and use them as a trial area.

The kitchen and bathroom come to mind as high "clutter" areas that could be a good place to start. Of course, our stuff isn't all clutter, but those areas are where we tend to have a high volume of items.

Personally speaking, we keep our toaster stored in the cabinet under the outlet in our kitchen. We use the toaster not even once a week, so when we do need it, it's an arms length away and takes four seconds to set on the counter and plug in. Same with our blender. We use this a lot in the spring and summer, but never in the fall and winter. Because it's really only used half of the year, we're OK with getting it out with each use vs. literally watching it collect dust before our very eyes for 6 months out of the year.

Hopefully this sparks some inspiration for you and show you can apply this method to items in your own space.

Living with less stuff accessible might be weird, or uncomfortable, or even annoying at first. But give yourself time to work through that break in habit and the switch out of auto-pilot mode.

Just try it. For a week. A month. Enough time to be able to judge if the convenience of having your things readily available is better than the increased clarity or reduced visual noise in your every day.

Maybe you find a happy medium throughout this experiment — you're forgetting to take your vitamins when they're not on the counter, but it's kind of nice having your rotation of serums in the cabinet vs. sitting out.

Find what works for you. It's totally OK if you revert back to what you started with, but you'll never know unless you try.

Corral

Of the things that you decide to keep, and keep out, is there an opportunity to corral it? Meaning, can you group or confine objects together? When we anchor multiple items within one singular item, it tricks our brain into thinking it's one thing vs. many.

Below are some popular items to use for corralling.

• Bowls of various sizes and textures (wood, metal, etc.)

• Ashtrays

• Trays of various materials (silver, marble, enamel, etc.)

• Coffee table books

• Really any vessel

Instead of leaving your keys, wallet and sunglasses loose on the counter, put them in a dish. Instead of arranging your high use items on top of your dresser, put them on a tray or book.

You likely already have everything you need in your home to achieve this, you just need to get creative and start experimenting. Happy corralling!

Feng Shui

Feng shui is an ancient Chinese practice of arranging spaces to create harmony and balance, guiding the flow of positive energy for better health, luck and prosperity. This is achieved by aligning environments with natural principles like Yin & Yang and the five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, water) through decluttering (!!), strategic object placement, color use, and attention to flow.

OK, so what does this really mean and how can we apply it in our spaces? Below are a few popular approaches.

• Declutter + Fix Broken Items

  • Remove excess, broken or unused items to stop stagnant energy.
    

• Optimise the Entryway (Ming Tang)

  • Keep the front entryway area clean, well lit and inviting as this is the main port of energy in the home.
    

• Clean and Clear Pathways

  • Keep walkways and hallways free of clutter and dust to ensure energy flows freely throughout the home.

• Incorporate the Five Elements

  • Wood: Plants, green tones (growth)

  • Fire: Candles, red and orange tones (passion)

  • Earth: Pottery, yellow and brown tones (stability)

  • Metal: Metal frames or accents, white tones (clarify)

  • Water: Small fountains, mirrors, black and blue tones (flow)

• Restful Bedroom

  • Minimize electronics in the bedroom and avoid placing the bed directly in line with the door.

Disclaimer: Some images in this post were obtained from Pinterest and are being used for illustrative purposes only; they do not represent the views of the author of the photos.