Fighting the Home Frump

Fighting the Frump with Fussy again today and I've been thinking about something new. Now that I have de-frumped myself and I look absolutely fabulous all the time (can you sense the bit of sarcasm here) - how can I live in a house that I'm embarassed for others to see? I've read posts about people getting all dolled up for the UPS man or whoever randomly stops by during the day - but what about our homes? Now, before my husband goes into an apoplectic fit thinking I want to remodel and spend tons of money, let me tell you that I love my home! We've worked hard to make it a comfortable & fun place to raise our family. Not that there aren't mountains of unwashed dishes and laundry from time to time (or maybe more frequently); let's talk about that first.

I think the FlyLady has the best system around for making and keeping your house a peaceful place to live. If you haven't heard of her, climb out from under your rock, check out her site and sign up for the e-mails. She's written several books too. Especially if you feel overwhelmed or you know you have too much stuff, this system is for you. And it's free. I continue to flutter along slowly, but theoretically I can see that this system can work miracles. And as soon as I get over my laziness, I'll FLY more consistently. In the meantime I still appreciate the motivation and the things I do get done.

Now let's pretend you have a sparkling clean house and that you've stopped by to finish up mine too. Look around your home and take it all in. What do you love? What do you just tolerate?What do you hate? And what can you change for a minimum of money and a maximum effect?
I usually have a little room in my budget for an embellishment here and there. But right now we're choking on the costs of the sprinkler system we're installing, of which we grossly underestimated the cost and scope of work. Big sigh.

So I'm looking around wondering what I can do for free. Wow, those curtains look really frumpy! They could sure use washing and pressing. Hey, that's free. I've been wanting to replace them, and in a few months I can probably afford it. But in the meantime, why should my house look frumpy when I can update this one thing with a minimum of work? Boy, my windows could sure use a scrubbing too, you can hardly see out the sliding door for the kiddo handprints. Hey, that's free too. It is spring afterall, and while I'm not advocating a serious spring cleaning binge - some strategically placed elbow grease can make a big difference to de-frumping your home.

If you do have a little cash to spend, I've seen tons of good ideas at The Nester. And they look fairly inexpensive and easy. Or check out Blisfully Domestic for decorating ideas and more.

I'm heading out to the garage to find those purple silk flowers that will make my walls look like Spring has arrived.