In our corner of the world, February tends to be a dull month. The holiday festivities are long past, the snow is dirty, the sparkle of a new year is already starting to dim, the days are a bit longer but we still spend much of the day in darkness. People everywhere are saying, “I can’t wait for spring!” Oftentimes, it seems they really mean, “I can’t wait for life to be beautiful again!” We hope these ideas (and the following posts) may help you make life a little more beautiful right where you are...without any dependence on the weather.
- De-clutter. This may seem very elementary, but please stick with us! We’ve discovered that our family keeps all kinds of things because we can see the potential. “Oh, if I only did this, this and that to this item, it would be perfect for such and such,” we say. Sometimes this works and sometimes it is simply a good way to collect all sorts of stuff that takes up time, space and mental energy and all-around makes life ugly...on top of often getting in the way of what God wants us to be doing. For our family, we have to institute the “B.U.J. Principle”. If it’s not “Beautiful, Useful or Joyful” (or can’t be made so in, say, the next six months), it gets a ticket out the door. Now there’s space to carry out some of these more creative projects...
- Paint It. Once upon a time, we were oohing over some red file cabinets we found in a catalogue. We thought they would be just the thing for our family’s office space...until we realized that we could have almost an entirely new office for the cost of the cabinets! Thankfully, spray paint came to the rescue. Our file cabinets are now rimmed in cranberry red which contrasts cutely with the beige drawer fronts, and it’s been a happily-ever-after in the file cabinet department ever since! Some other ideas come from a friend who is the queen of this art. For example, she had frames that fit her favorite photos perfectly but no longer functioned with the room’s color scheme, so she painted them, and they became fabulous! Another time, she had found a set of kitchen chairs for a few dollars at a yard sale. A couple of hours, a couple of cans of white spray paint and a little sandpaper later, they were the perfect set to complete her splendid shabby-chic kitchen. Happy painting!
- Cover it. Pillows, duvets, couches...The possibilities are endless! Take something
that doesn’t quite match or has lost some of its luster and give it a new look with new fabric and a little sewing. One industrious daughter we know even made a cute cover for a coffee urn. - Put a new face on it. One of our favorite ideas is using antique boxes or tins to give things a new, prettier look. Depending on the style of your house, antique wooden boxes may be a great tool for transforming eye-displeasing electronics (and keeping dust off of them). The dog’s treats kept by the front door actually become a decorating accessory when they’re hidden in a vintage candy tin. Mint or tea tins are the perfect place to store bobby pins or tiny office tools that otherwise languish on the desk or in a drawer, looking messy and getting lost. You can probably come up with many more ideas yourself!
- Simmer something sweet and spicy on the stove. If there is such a thing as beauty for the nose, apple cider and mulling spices is surely near the top of the list.
- Make a playlist with music to go with your day and add a little ear-pleasing ambiance to life.
- Smile. No two ways about it, a smile makes you look more beautiful. And it makes life more beautiful for other people, which is a timely thought as it will lead into our next post...
May your life be blessed and a little more beautiful today!
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