Last updated on December 2nd, 2021 at 09:54 am

We’ve all spent way more time than usual at home recently, and it’s left many of us feeling overwhelmed. Our homes and living spaces need a refresh, big time! That’s why we’ve rounded up 25 top hacks to refresh your home.

We’ll cover the following home hack topics:

• Cleaning
• Decluttering and organising
• Well being hacks
• Tips for overwhelmed parents
• ‘De-working’ from home
• Gardening

Whatever you need to invigorate your home, we’ve got your back. These quick and simple tasks will help you hit refresh and fall in love with your home all over again.

Cleaning hacks:

A clean home is a fresh one, and a much more pleasant place to be than a dirty house! Give everything a good scrub and you’ll feel much better. But a deep clean can take hours. Here are some of our top quick and simple cleaning hacks for an instant refresh.

• Sprinkle baking soda over carpets and let sit for a few hours before vacuuming. It will absorb odors and leave your house feeling fresh.
• Add 1-2 drops of essential oil to your vacuum bag or filter for a fresh fragrance as you clean.
• Use a cardboard tube to make an ultra-thin crevice tool for your vacuum cleaner and get into all those tight spaces.
• Use a hairdryer to dry up water rings on wooden furniture.

Bonus cleaning tips & hacks to refresh your home:

We’ve illustrated some of our favourites, but there are so many helpful cleaning hacks that will leave your home feeling totally refreshed. Here are plenty of bonus cleaning hacks for a fresh and sparkling house.

• Deodorize the bin by sprinkling in baking soda or using an anti-odor pod. Clean with an antibacterial spray to address any lingering smells.
• Add 1-2 drops of your favourite essential oil to your toilet roll. It will release fragrance every time you use it.
• Use washing-up liquid to remove sofa stains
• Spray carpet stains with a vinegar & water mix. Place a wet rag over and iron it to steam out the stain:
• Wash pillows & duvet – then add tennis balls to the dryer to make sure they keep their shape:
• Use lemon juice to get rid of hard water stains:
• Repair scratched leather furniture with olive oil:
• Use a rubber glove to clear up pet hair:
• Wrap a bleach wipe around a screwdriver and use it to reach all those tricky areas around the toilet seat
• Dust the mouldings of internal doors with a clean paintbrush.

Organising & de-cluttering hacks:

Order is good for the mind. Less clutter helps to stop feelings of stress and overwhelm. Use these organising tips and hacks to clear up those problem clutter areas.

• Create drawer organisers from old cardboard boxes and banish cluttered drawers.
• Organise spray cleaners on a tension rod.
• Make use of vertical space by transforming a hanging wine rack into a towel holder.
• Keep matching bedsheets inside a pillowcase for streamlined storage.

Bonus organising and de-cluttering hacks & tips:

• Streamline your cleaning supplies for easy access with a shoe organiser.
• Use ‘hidden’ space on the backs of doors using over-door storage.
• Hang your bin bags on a roll to save space & time.

Wellbeing:

There’s plenty you can do at home to boost your mood and improve well-being. These simple tips will have you feeling better at home, which will make your environment feel more pleasant, too.

• Purify the air and instantly lift your mood with indoor plants. Use jasmine, eucalyptus, or gardenia to add an attractive scent too.
• Let as much natural light in as possible, and open up windows periodically. Natural light helps us sleep better, reduces stress, promotes wellness & can help combat depression.
• Diffuse essential oils, choose lemon oil for a positive mood & peppermint for energy. This is a great tip for non-pet owners, but it’s best to do your research if you do have pets in the house. Some essential oils can be toxic to animals and should be avoided. Some essential oils are not recommended for use in pregnancy or around babies and small children, so check before use.
• Repaint in soft, neutral colours to calm, rejuvenate and reduce anxiety:
  • Blue = calming
  • Grey = unwind
  • Yellow = energy, bright mood
  • Green = restorative, reduces anxiety

Parenting:

It’s notoriously difficult for parents to keep their homes feeling fresh, clean and tidy. There are endless toys, greasy fingerprints, clothes and craft supplies. But help is at hand! Here are some quick and simple home hacks for parents.

• Plan kids clothing for the week using a hanging shoe rack.
• Using the Montessori method, create a specific place for each toy. Teach kids where everything goes & they’ll be more likely to tidy up themselves.
• Scrape off play-doh with a credit card & dab with white spirit.
• Freshen up plastic toys with a wash in the dishwasher.
• Remove pen marks by rubbing with toothpaste on a soft cloth.
• Get crayon marks off the walls using baking soda & water.
• Clean greasy finger marks with warm water and a light coloured washing-up liquid on a soft cloth.

Bonus hacks for busy and stressed out parents:

Cuddly toys! Often a small child’s comfort item, these furry friends can harbor bacteria and collect dust, making your home feel less than fresh. Here are some quick hacks to help get them good as new (hopefully, without the little ones even noticing!)

• Wash cuddly toys inside a pillowcase, on a hot wash to kill bacteria.
• Quickly freshen up cuddly toys by shaking them in a paper bag with some bicarbonate of soda, then leave for an hour before vacuuming.

De-working from Home / Reclaiming a workspace:

If you work from home, it can be difficult to set boundaries between work and home life. Perhaps you’re beginning to shift back to office work. It can be hard to disassociate a room you’ve been working in for months from work-related stress. Here are our top hacks for ‘de-working from home’, whether that’s a lifestyle shift or just something you need to do at the weekends.

• Help restore a mental state of ‘home’ by displaying pictures of some of your favourite replenishing and nourishing memories. Think holidays, pets, people you love, times you felt truly happy. Things to nourish your soul.
• Clear away any work related items and keep them somewhere you can’t see them outside working hours.
• Give your ‘home office’ desk a makeover – paint & new handles can create a thing of beauty to use for writing, reading & leisure:
• Reorganise the furniture in the room you used for work to give it a different feel.

Garden / Outdoor Entertaining:

As the weather improves, it’s time to spend more time outdoors. Whether that’s for your own enjoyment or for entertaining, you’ll want your garden to feel fresh and full of life. Here are our tip fast and simple hacks for a garden refresh.

• Repaint the shed, fences and furniture in playful colours to instantly update the feel of your garden.
• Rejuvenate your tired lawn by sowing grass seed.
• Add hidden edging to keep your lawn looking smart.
• Choose a strict flower colour palette so your garden looks planned to perfection.
• Create a comfy, cozy patio area using rugs, blankets & cushions.

Bonus garden refresh hacks:

• Repurpose those old ‘home office’ shelves into a vertical herb garden.
• Paint the fences in a fresh & playful shade for immediate impact.
• Add solar lighting for immediate evening mood setting.

It’s time to fall in love with your home again! Do you have any top hacks to refresh your home that we’ve missed? Let us know in the comments section, we’d love to hear them!