With the spring, the light returns and although you are happy about that, you are not thrilled about the new light that it sheds on your home. Now that the sunlight once again floods your rooms, you might feel as though you want to put their contents on the nearest dump heap and start all over again. Think again! Let us help you to renew your home the lean, green and mean way!

First of all, sending all of your things to the nearest dump heap isn’t the best thing that you can do for the environment. Second, you’ll miss some of those things because they are a part of what makes your place YOUR home. Third, renewing your home isn’t necessarily about gutting the house and bringing in the remodelers. There are more simple and satisfying cost and environment conscious solutions that you can try first. And, if you really are going for a remodel, it is a good idea to go through the process, below, first so that you are clear in your ideas about what you want to do.

The Golden Hour
On a day when you are feeling fresh and well rested take a an hour to saunter through your home. Sit down in each room and look around. With a busy schedule, this is not something you will take the time to do on most days. Once you do it, you are already well on your way to renewing your home.

Main Questions
Now that family life has been transferred to the back yard or perhaps to the neighbourhood park during the warmer season, you have the opportunity to look at your place without everyone in it. For each room in your house ask yourself the following questions:

1. Does everything in here need to be here? Don’t just focus on the major pieces of furniture. Consider what is on the walls, in the closets and on the tables. Write down the things that you think you can be without. In the interests of home democracy and harmony, you can talk to the family about it when they come home.  The initial reaction will most likely be that nothing can be disposed of. Let it rest for a few days and then talk about it again. A thinking process has begun for everyone at home.

2. Can any pieces be upgraded? Are there pieces of furniture that could look better with a little touch-up? If the couch looks a little worn out, think of putting a throw over it or perhaps buying some new covers (if you've got an IKEA couch, that is no problem!). If a lampshade is broken or looking tatty, replace it. If a chair is looking dowdy, throw a nice-looking pillow onto it and see what happens.

3. Can any pieces be moved? Rethinking the placement of items and how the space is used in a room can often make all of the difference. Does the bowl that has always been on that table need to continue to be there? Could the furniture be arranged in such a way as to emphasize a greater sense of space?

4. Is the room looking dull? Do you need an attention-catcher? Frequently we are afraid of putting in objects that draw attention in a room. However, putting in one or two such objects can actually transform the look of an all-too-monotone room. Have you got an attention-catcher stashed away in the storage? If so take it out and give it a whirl. Along the same lines, if you've got so many attention-catchers that the place looks like a monotone chaos, reduce their number so that you draw attention to certain pieces.

5. Is there a sunny spot in the house where you could place an oxygen-giving plant? No fake plants, please! Or perhaps you might want to invest in a mini-greenhouse (a small decorated glass box that sits on the table) and get a few seeds growing. The energy that this little addition gives a room is exponential!

The Essential Refresh
If you are finding it difficult to answer these questions or to make up your mind, start by initiating a thorough clean of your home. You’ll find that you can reach the answers more easily by giving your home a thorough once-over. Depending on your schedule, you might want to take this over a weekend or room by room over several days.

Here are a few tips for an essential refresh:

1. Open the windows while you are cleaning!

2. In good Scandinavian style take out the carpets and give them an outdoor airing. If you've got any Swedish trasmattor (woven mats) give them a traditional scrub with soapy water using a vegetable oil-based detergent such as såpa (pine oil detergent - see below), rinse them well and hang them vertically in the sun to dry.

3. Take down the curtains and wash or send for a dry clean. Once the curtains are down, a flood of new ideas will strike you! e.g. do you need them?

4. Use a few drops of essential oil of pine or juniper in a vegetable-based detergent when you mop down the floors and clean other surfaces. If you can find såpa, a favorite ecological Scandinavian clean-all, use that. For hardwood floors go for Danish Oil (Linseed Oil) or Tung oil (we rather than såpa (we recommend that you read up on treating hardwood floors!). Remember to remove those awful synthetic room deodorizers! Let the true fresh essences of nature enter!

5. Give cabinet doors, particularly handles and nobs a once over. These are frequently forgotten and make a room look dowdy.

6. Don’t forget the windows and mirrors but forget the ammonia-based window cleaner! Get out your piles of old newspaper and the liquid hand dishwashing detergent. Soap up the windows and rub squeaky-glistening with crumpled newspaper.

Something Old, Something New
Once you’ve been through the golden hour and the essential refresh you’ll have a much clearer idea of what you truly need to get rid of, what you want to keep and what you need to acquire. The latter could mean buying new or it could mean going to a used items/antiques store and finding something that has that warm character of human use. Whatever you do, don’t be in a rush! Enjoy the new energy that you get from the space and freshness that you have created in your life!

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