Redecorating for Free

So after my shower on Sunday (which was great! People were so generous, including my aunt who gave us the money for our table, chair, and linen rentals as a gift!) I suddenly became very dissatisfied with the decor in our apartment. Something about having some nice, new things made me annoyed with all of my old decor.

When we moved in, I did decorate. However, most of my stuff was just what I had from my old apartment. I was feeling very blah about it, so I decided to do some redecorating. BUT, obviously I didn't want to spend much since we are paying for the wedding.

So, here are my ideas for how to spruce up your home FOR FREE. Holla! I'll do another post on some of the cheap upgrades I did (spending very little), but let's start with the things you can do today to make your place look better without spending a dime!

(Of course, it would have been awesome if I took before and after pictures...I didn't. Boooo.)

1. Organize your books by color. A friend of mine did this, and even though I thought it looked great, my Type A personality just couldn't handle it. I had all my books organized by genre, alphabetically by author. (I know, I know.) But aesthetics finally overtook my need for library-like order and I did it. I did a blue shelf, a red shelf, and half green, half yellow shelf, and a black shelf. My other bookshelf in the spare room contains all my other books. It does NOT look pretty. But this one, in the living room looks great! I also have a million frames, so I put the ones that are these colors on the shelves. I took the random collection of candles off of the top of the bookshelf so that it would have a more clean look. Finally, I printed a 4x6 photo of a quote from Dr. Seuss (from "Oh, the Places You'll Go"). I searched for "free Dr. Seuss prints" and found one that's super cute. If you have a photo printer, this would be free. I paid 21 cents at Walgreens for the print. This looks SO MUCH BETTER than it did before.

2. Declutter the bathroom. I used to have a bin with all sorts of bathroom products on top of the toilet tank in my bathroom. But, after I put out my new bath and hand towels I got at the shower, I thought the bathroom could use some sprucing up too. So, I reorganized under the sink and made room to keep that bin out of sight. Then, I grabbed two blue candles that I had laying around (anyone else have a candle surplus??) and put them on the back of the toilet. I kept a couple of rolls of TP there ('cause let's keep it real), but even that tiny change made it look better in there.

3. Vacuum the couch! Freddie cleaned out the vacuum hose that had lost its suck (and no wonder! So gross how much dirt was trapped in there!), so I used the opportunity to put on the brush attachment and clean the couch. It made a surprising difference in how it looked. I also flipped all the cushions, which made it look much fluffier and inviting. So, if you are the type who keeps up with this, than this tip doesn't apply to you. And maybe you all do. But if you're like me and let things slide sometime, this is a chore that's worth doing.

Tune in tomorrow to get my tips for low-cost decorating tips!