Reduce, Re-use and Recycle in Your Home

Reduce. Follow Susan’s principles for Simplifying Your Life in our recent blog. Her advice will help you divest your “stuff”, reducing the clutter and chaos within your home.

Re-Use. Are there items in your home that you love but have seen a better day? Want to update the color palette of your home, but your favorite chair won’t match the new scheme? Just looking for a “face-lift” without changing the entire design and energy of your home? Re-purposing existing furnishings within your home can have a drastic effect on the feel and overall look of your space. Below are three tips to Re-Use in your home:

Images (left to right): Porter Leadership Development, Nelson Upholstery Studio, Inner Visions

• A simple coat of paint- changing the paint color of your walls, trim, or exterior can have a radical effect on your space. A new color can change the energy in your home and make old items feel new.
• Re-Upholstery: Your favorite “dad” chair that has sat in the exact same spot for the past 20 years (close to the TV and the kitchen no doubt) is a well-used item that could use some love. Since you’ve already found the perfect item, no need to search for a new chair that might not work. Have it re-upholstered in a different fabric to give it a new life!
• Re-Arrange: Often, furniture in the home can be used in different rooms. When I see a home for the first time, I find many furniture pieces are in the wrong spot. A bookshelf that you’ve had in your family room forever might be the perfect new addition to your home office. Look for pieces that can fill the “holes” in your design and move them around!

Recycle. After you’ve finished deciding what items are must-keep and what items can be re-used or re-purposed, make a plan to recycle those items you no longer need. Donate the items to charity (recommendations below) – items that may no longer work in your home could be the perfect fit for someone else’s

• Humble Design: https://www.humbledesignchicago.org/donate-items
• Love INC: https://www.loveinc.org/
• Habitat for Humanity: https://www.habitat.org/
• Designs 4 Dignity: https://www.designs4dignity.org/