As a military family I have had to learn how to make my house a home in no time flat. This move has taken me a bit longer than usual, but still, I’ve been here for two or three weeks and it almost looks like we’ve lived here for years. I’m going to teach you how to do this, Military Style.
Pictures
Pictures are an important part of taking memories with you. When you’re moving a lot, using the house to remind you of your memories (“That’s where little John took his first steps”) is impossible, so you have to document these another way. Taking a lot of pictures helps with this. However, if you’re like me, you hate filling in the holes that nails leave behind when it’s time to relocate. Find clever ways of displaying your pictures such as shelves, shutters, or pallets. You can put several pictures on these and only put one or two holes in the wall.
Flexibility
Be sure to find furniture that can be used in more ways than one, or put together differently. As an example I have a bookshelf that I was using for my daughters’ toys, but the rooms in this house are different so I am now using it in our bedroom as an actual bookshelf. Also our entertainment center is three different pieces. I can use it as one huge piece or I can separate it and space the pieces around the room.
Themes
Having one cohesive color theme throughout the house makes things easier and can also fall under flexibility. This way you can use all your knick- knacks in any room. The common colors in my home are black and tan, though I’ve added other accent colors in each room as you can see in this picture, my living room has green in it, by bedroom, blue. My kitchen, red. The kids areas are the same: pink, yellow, purple, blue, green and white.
Downsize
Don’t keep anything you don’t absolutely love or need. There is nothing more discouraging that getting into a place with less space and not having enough room to put all your stuff. We found this out during this move. Our cabinet space has been cut in half and we are down a couple of closets and walls due to an open floor plan. We also have lost all of our planter shelves that were built into the walls of our old house. Only keep enough to fit on the furniture or shelves and shadow boxes you’re going to take with you. As you can see in my picture here, my office is one shelf space, my Bible study, another shelf. Keep your cupboards and linens organized and only keep the things you use regularly. Do you really need that coffee mug from that person you spent a while with four years ago? Do you love the crane that your mother bought you when she was on vacation? Periodically take an inventory of your home, it’s a pain to do it last minute, and get rid of the stuff you don’t love or use anymore.
Organization
Make sure that everything has a place. This makes it easier when you pack and unpack. If you have random items that sit on your counters such as toiletries or even *dun dun dun* a junk drawer, clean it out. It’s ok if every space has something, as long as everything has a place. An easy way to do this is to pick up a way to organize everything on your counters. For example, I have all my make up in a make up case, I have my hair brushes, products and tools in metal pales so that I can just pick up and go. I’ve also done this in my shower, my soaps, sponges, razors are in a waterproof basket. Whatever you’re storing for the holidays or saving for later such as keep sakes, craft supplies, tools, ect, make sure you have everything clearly marked and avoid using cardboard boxes if possible. Invest in plastic totes and glue paper protectors onto the sides or top, you can easily switch out the labels as the contents change. This helps you keep track of the things you need to unpack and what you can just carry to the garage and forget about until Christmas.
DIY
If you can, do it yourself. Everything you make for your home, gives you one more piece that gives you pride. I have several things that either I have made, or someone has made for me. Every time I take them down, I’m sad, and when I put them back up again, I’m excited to see them. If you can’t DIY, try to avoid buying things in main stream shops, unless you just absolutely cannot live without it. Thrifting is a great way to get yourself more involved in the things you put in your home because you have to search for the treasures. However, don’t forget the downsizing and organization rules, so before you take it to the register, ask yourself “Where will this go?” It’s always nice when something has a story behind it.
What do you think makes a house a home? Share with us in the comments below.
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