Ok, so you go to Great Aunt Mindy’s house or to your Grandparent’s house, and there is always that room. You know, the room! The one that no one uses; the sitting room, or living room or whatever name you want to give it. It’s set up, there’s chairs, or maybe a couch, but no one really sits on them unless its a big gathering, and even then you’re somewhat uneasy about sitting on certain chairs in case the room then doesn’t look perfect.

What a waste of a room!!

I know, I know, it’s easier to clean because it is always set up! But just think about the kinds of things you could do with a room! Think about hobbies, or interests or anything! Then think about how you could use the space in a different way. Think about your own house and what rooms you have and then what rooms you use. Do you use all of the space?

My goal is to use all of our house!

I mean, why not use the space fully if you’ve got it! I don’t mean fill it to the max with random stuff like a hoarder, but you can definitely maximize the function of each room to ensure it’s use! Make it a music room if you love music then use it when you want to play or practice. Make it a games room if you like board games or add a pool table, or even a video game room. Make it a garden room if you love gardening. Make it a crafting room if you love to craft. Make it a reading or library room. Have a shoe fetish? Turn that spare room into a fancy ‘show off your shoes’ room, you will love your space so much more!

Sometimes it’s easier to change a room than you think. Change the floor, maybe paint, remove some furniture, move some other things around and boom! You’ve got a brand new space!

Don’t let your space go to waste!

Even storage areas, think about what kind of stuff you want to store, then set up designated types of storage spaces. Organize it by category of items that you are storing!

The more functional your space is, the more you love your space.

I feel like COVID has brought us back to the basics in so many ways. I mean, we have been stuck in our homes for a year now! No one coming over to visit, no pressure to keep up with the Jones’ because simply put, they can’t come over and you can’t go over there, so who really knows what they’re house looks like now! Now is the time to embrace your house the way you want to use it, not the way you are being pressured to use it! If you rarely (even before COVID) had someone stay over in a guest room, then why have a guest room??

Before our kitchen renovation we had a small table by the window in one half of the kitchen. We also had a separate dining room. When we were deciding on the layout of the kitchen I had a moment of thinking that we need to try to fit in a space where we could eat in the kitchen. No matter what plans we considered there was no way to make it work to have an eat in kitchen. Then I thought, why have two spaces for the same thing? Add more function, rather than doubling the same space. It’s just more repeat cleaning!

Love your space, and make it work for you!

If you have a room that you rarely use fully, sit in that room for a while and imagine what you wish for in your house. If you wish for a workout space, or a play room for the kids, or whatever the case is, it’s likely not an impossible wish! Really think about how you could change the space to make it work for you!

Use every bit of your house and enjoy! It’s amazing how much more you can tolerate cleaning and tidying when you love where you live!

Thanks for coming home!