Design Notes
Decluttering your home can be a big job, especially if you’ve lived in the same place for many years. It’s amazing how much we can accumulate over just a short period of time, and it’s important to clear it all out now and then, not only to make room for new things but to help boost our mental and physical health.
Too much clutter can detract from your home’s wellness and leave you feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and even depressed if it sticks around long enough. It can also make it difficult to concentrate, which can affect the entire family. It’s important to set about decluttering in an eco-friendly way to ensure that you aren’t throwing out things that could be put to good use elsewhere. With so many landfills already overflowing, it’s imperative for us all to do our part and keep recycling.
Keep reading for some great tips from Greenbook Design on how to declutter your home in an eco-friendly way.
Donate Clothing
Most of us have one too many things in our closets, and cleaning them out could really help a family or child in need. Look online for programs near you that will collect gently used clothing and shoes to support foster families and women with children living in shelters. This is a great way to give back to your community and help declutter your home at the same time.
Keep Large Items Out Of Landfills
Refrigerators, mattresses, and washers/dryers are all big items that take up a lot of space in a landfill, but they can be recycled if you know where to go. While most recycling centers won’t take mattresses because they don’t have the resources to break them down, there may be a carpenter near you who knows how to take one apart and use the individual pieces as scrap. Large appliances can be donated to a Habitat For Humanity store; look online to find the closest location to you.
Choose The Right Cleaning Products
Decluttering and organizing often means cleaning the space to remove dust, pet hair, and other debris. Look for green cleaning solutions for your windows, flooring, and furniture, such as a simple mixture of vinegar and hot water, and learn some recipes for eco-friendly cleansers so you can keep up with the green way of life during your next round of cleaning.
Go Digital
Decluttering doesn’t necessarily mean throwing things away; you can downsize a bit by going digital with your photographs and scanning them onto the computer, allowing you to pack away the originals into safe storage to get them off the shelves in your home. You can also invest in a good thumb drive or external hard drive to store your photos, and use a digital photo frame so you can see all your favorite photos as a slideshow.
Invest In A Good Vacuum
The right vacuum will have an adjustable height setting that allows you to clean any type of flooring, which will come in handy throughout the house as you’re getting things spic and span. Many vacuums these days also come with high-quality filters to keep dust and dander from flying back into the air, which means you and your family will stay healthy. There are even vacuums that have special attachments to remove pet hair from your home.
Walker WoodworkingOne of the main questions asked during the design meeting is what color the owners want for their kitchen cabinets. Were they looking to do a natural wood or a color instead? While many will opt to do the wood, many enjoy adding a splash of color to their kitchen or mixing and matching. It is a great way to break up the area and create a focal point, but with so many options available, how do you know which one is right for you? While it is up to you in the end, there are three colors that have stood out for some time and will most likely continue to do so. White, gray, and blue remain high on the selection chart, so let’s talk about these popular colors and why they may be the right fit for you.
Walker WoodworkingWhile the kitchen was often viewed as the place where food was merely prepped and served, it has transitioned into a command center as people gather to talk or enjoy a snack while getting some work done. Layouts have slowly shifted to accommodate this change, which has produced the open concept. This floor plan allows families to stay connected even when they are doing things in different areas of the home. While not as popular as it was in the 1990s and early 2000s, many families still choose this floor plan because of their desire to stay close to their family and guests. Today, we want to discuss the open floor concept, the elements that make it up, and if it is the right fit for your family.
Greenbrook DesignYou have just waved goodbye to your last child as they head out to college. While you adjust to not having kids in the house, you also begin to realize that you now have more space, but you’re not sure what to do with it. There are many ways to reuse the space, expand existing spaces, or make room for something new. Let’s take a look at the design possibilities available to you.
In the second of our three-part series on selection tips, we want to focus on tile. Backsplash, shower walls, and flooring are just a few of the many uses for tile since it is beautiful, durable, and timeless. Sometimes considered a small part of the design, it has the potential to make a big impact on the design. Here are some helpful tips when choosing tile.
While cabinets tend to be the focal point of the main spaces, such as kitchens and bathrooms, it is the details that add the final touch to the design. The selection process can be one of the highlights of the design phase, but it can also be overwhelming with multiple styles, colors, and options. In this three-part series, we want to give our best tips for the top three categories of selections and help make this as enjoyable and simple as possible. Our focus today is hardware.
Greenbrook Design
Walker Woodworking