After a long day of work, you do not want to go back to a messy, cluttered home. Instead, if you are like me, you want to go home to a refuge, a sanctuary, a place that greets us warmly and feels like a home when we walk through the door. Good news is that you do not need to spend a bomb to have a peaceful and tranquil home.
If you are currently on a tight budget, fret not! Here are 5 budget-friendly steps you need to take note of in order to have your ideal home sanctuary (that is also sustainable and good for your wallet).
1. Know your lifestyle at home
Knowing yourself and your lifestyle at home will help ensure that you only prioritise what you actually need.
If you are planning to renovate your home (or certain parts of your home) and you have budget constraints, first of all, you need to know how much you are willing to allocate for your home renovation or home transformation. If you are not willing to spend so much money, you will need to spend some time listing down what you really need for your home and what you can do without.
Ask yourself – Do you work or watch tv in your room? Do you intend to do work and watch TV at the same time in the living room? Or do you find this too distracting? Are you okay with people looking at you as you cook? Are you okay with constantly cleaning your home for the sake of Pinterest worthy open shelves?
By spending an hour or so asking yourself these questions, you will be more certain of what you really need in your home. For me, I am a person who is extremely lazy and wants to do as little cleaning as possible. This means that the amount of open shelves will need to be kept at a minimum. I should also minimise any form of heavy cleaning (curtains, rugs etc).
For me, I definitely cherish my privacy and like having my own me-time A LOT and hence, privacy was a main priority for the designing of all the zones in my home. I am also very practical and hence, this is a huge priority for me when it comes to the design of my home. If you are like me, here are 8 tips that can help you have a practical, yet stylish home that is suited to your needs.
2. Declutter your home / Less is more mindset
As the saying goes, a decluttered space = a decluttered mind. A cluttered environment can make your brain less effective at processing information — and more prone to frustration. Prioritising relaxation means that you are making a conscious effort to do without things that will mess up the house.
A great way to ensure that you have as little clutter and as possible is to only keep things that you will USE. Trust me, doing so will help you cut down on a massive amount of useless things. Also, do not think that the more storage you have, the better it is to keep the clutter away.
While having more storage does keep the clutter out of sight, you will also likely find that you may forget that you have so and so item, and hence you will go and buy it, even though the item is hidden and stored away at a corner in one of your drawers collecting dust.
A common clutter overload problem that many girls (and perhaps guys) face is an overstuffed wardrobe. Are you regretting that overstuffed wardrobe that you have but yet still find yourself buying clothes? Here are 12 steps that will help you only keep the clothes you truly love and also stop your constant clothes shopping habit.
3. Have a Dedicated workspace
As working from home is increasingly becoming the norm, it is important to set boundaries between your work time and personal time. This is especially crucial if you are working in a high stress job and simply want to stop the non-stop thinking about your work. Having a dedicated workspace that you sit at only when you are working, will help you set a clear distinction between your work time and personal time at home. SO IMPORTANT FOR YOUR WELL-BEING.
In addition to having a dedicated workspace to separate work and play, another great way to ensure that you can better segment your work time, play time, exercise time, investment time, self-care time etc, is to have plan everything in a schedule. I love using my planner to plan for EVERYTHING in my life. I also enjoy looking at it from time to time to reflect on how far I have come. Having a planner also allows me to have the time for leisure activities and other pursuits, and not constantly get bogged down by household duties or any other tasks that could accumulate over time.
4. Stay Tidy and Organized
If you are a naturally messy person (like me), it can be easy to accumulate things over time and just leave them all over the place. This bad habit can especially be triggered when you are stressed out, rushing to find something (I can easily accumulate a mess in my room when I am looking for something).
Hence, the key to ensure that you do not go haywire and start messing everything up, is to only have what you need, not to stuff your drawers to the brim, and have a dedicated ‘home’ for all your items so that you know where to find them!
Are you a naturally messy person like me? Here is a Step By Step Guide on How You Can Tidy Up Your Messy Room
Are you also lazy like me? Here are 10 highly practical ways to help you simplify and minimize your household chores.
5. Live within your budget
It is the worst feeling to live paycheck to paycheck. Imagine spending so much on your dream home sanctuary and yet constantly worrying about the lack of money or worse, the debt you need to pay off. No thanks!
For me, I definitely had a budget constraint and I followed these 9 tips to get the design and vibe I wanted for my home, within my budget.
Also honestly, unless you have children, we as adults really do not need that many things. In addition to keeping your renovation within your budget, living within your budget means that you need to diligently keep all your grocery shopping expenses, dining expenses, renovation expenses etc in check. Indeed, it is a continuous process that you will thank yourself for when you see your money growing in the bank (or your investment accounts).