15 Easy Tips to Help You De-Stress Your Living Room

There’s nothing better than coming home to a relaxing space after a long day on the road, running errands, or putting in some work hours. Your living room – perhaps the first space you enter as you open your front door – should be a sanctuary that exudes tranquility. Unfortunately, a disorganized, chaotic living room can ramp up your anxiety, and you may find it difficult to unwind. Don’t worry: there are a few simple steps you can take to ensure your space becomes a wonderful, harmonious place to relax! Here are our top 15 tips to help you de-stress your living room:

Clean Up the Clutter

Before you do anything else, take a look around and straighten up your living room. Those piles of papers? Chuck ‘em. Those tchotchkes from 1972 that are taking up space and collecting dust? Stick them in a box and donate them. Don’t forget cord clutter as well, which is a very common source of stress! Go through and organize your belongings, sort out the ones you want to keep or donate, and only keep the things that soothe or inspire you in that space.

Keep It Clean

A dirty space can make you feel tense and uncomfortable, whether you realize it or not. Now that you’ve kicked out the clutter, it’s time to do a little bit of cleaning (it’s always easiest after de-cluttering!). Grab a dust cloth, bring in the vacuum, and wipe down the windows. Once you’re done, light a lovely candle or diffuser to bring in a calm, refreshing scent.

Organize Your Bookshelves

Got bookshelves in your living room? Make sure everything’s in order! Donate anything you don’t want or haven’t touched in years and organize your books as you like – whether by author, by color, or some other way. If that’s too tough, you can always hide the bookshelves with a chic curtain.

Get Clever With Storage Systems

Those power cords, DVDs, and video games need a home, too! Hide them with a few storage boxes or baskets, or in a chest. You can also use storage ottomans to furtively stow your extra pillows and blankets!

Bring Home a Few Plants

There’s just something about plants that soothes us. Find a few cute houseplants and incorporate them in your décor! Pot a polka dotted plant, hang a spider plant, or place a rubber plant in the corner to bring serenity into your space. Not a fan of plants? Fresh-cut flowers or even artificial plants work just as well!

Choose a Relaxing Color Palette

The walls of your home can greatly influence your mood. If you haven’t already, paint your living room in a soothing color or a calming neutral. White can reflect natural light while grays and light browns can also be relaxing. Truly soothing colors like various shades of blues or greens do a great job in keeping you calm. Thinking about incorporating some art pieces to adorn your walls? Consider something soft and pleasing to the eyes. Watercolor compositions can make you feel lighthearted and at ease!

Upgrade Old Furniture

Outdated or old pieces of furniture can make us feel down or stressed. If your living room furniture has seen better days, take it from us – it’s time for something new! Swap them out for newer, brighter pieces that bring you joy, or go ahead and repair or refurbish your furniture to make it feel new again.

Clean Up Your Coffee Table

A cluttered coffee table can easily cause distress. If yours is covered with bills, notes, or anything else, clean up the mess to feel relaxed once more! At most, you should ideally keep 1 or 2 pretty magazines or cherished books on your table for visual interest.

Consider Your Layout

Sometimes moving the furniture around can solve all your problems, especially if your focal point is less than inspiring. Think about your furniture and your living room’s unique layout. What’s the focal point? Brainstorm a little bit and see what you can come up with – you might be surprised!

Introduce Calming Scents

The right scent can work wonders in lifting your spirits. Create a relaxing atmosphere with traditionally calming scents like lavender, vanilla, lemon, or rosemary. You can also burn candles in your favorite scents to get the same effect!

Keep Work Out of the Space

Have you been working out of your living room during the past year or so? You might have noticed that you’ve had a hard time relaxing there lately. Separating your personal and work life is essential if you want to unwind easily at the end of the day. If you can’t take your work into another space, even changing where you sit after work can make all the difference!

Incorporate a Rug or Two

There’s nothing like walking barefoot on the softest rug imaginable. Introduce supple softness and start feeling relaxed by adding an area rug underfoot. You can also incorporate other soft touches through additional textiles like linens, curtains, and cushions. Think velvet, silk, and brushed cotton!

Light Up Your Room

Don’t underestimate the power of good lighting! First off, throw open your curtains, shutters, or blinds and flood your living room with beautiful natural light. Don’t forget to include a few good lamps, a floor lamp, or even dimmers to help you unwind in comforting lighting after the sun sets.

Reconsider Your Noise Sources

We’re all guilty of leaving Netflix on while we do something else in the living room. Guess what? That background noise can contribute toward your stress levels! Be more mindful of where your sounds are coming from and pay attention to how they make you feel. An easy swap? Turn off the TV and play some calming music. Break out the record player or cue up a relaxing playlist to help you chill out.

Stick to a Few Easy Rules Every Day

If you want to relax more regularly in your living room, make it your mission to put everything back in its place once the day is done. This includes paperwork, books, bills, toys, dirty clothes, video games, and anything else you might bring in the living room. Another pro-tip: open your curtains or blinds every single day to take advantage of natural lighting!

Remember, Less Is More

You don’t have to go overboard with bringing in an array of relaxing items or rearranging your furniture. Just do what feels natural to you! What matters most is that your living room’s atmosphere feels inviting and relaxing to you. It absolutely doesn’t need to be a showroom! If you’ve found that you can’t find peace in your living room or throughout the rest of your home, no matter what you’ve tried, you don’t have to feel stuck or alone. Let the experts at The Massey Team at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Select Properties help you find your perfect sanctuary! Call us today at (618) 791-5024 or (618) 791-9298 or check out our online listings to get started!

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Tricks and Tips for Removing Aggressive Weeds

Following a harsh winter season, spring offers such a welcoming change of scenery. That is, of course, until you start finding pesky weeds growing in your yard! A lot of weeds are actually quite alluring so you might not even recognize them as invasive at first. Others tend to be a real eyesore and can be spotted right away. How did they pop up in the first place? Well, they have to be pretty aggressive in order to survive – weeds do fight other forms of plant life for resources after all. Here are a few tricks and tips for removing those aggressive weeds:

Pulling Weeds

It’s crucial that you start plotting the removal of weeds as soon as you locate them. The most common method involves getting your hands dirty and pulling weeds out of the ground. Don’t wait for them to spread across your property, but do wait until after it rains. The weeds’ roots will slide out much easier from wet soil than they will from the dry stuff. Sometimes, however, weeds need to be physically dug up.

Digging Weeds

Remember those old weeds that you pulled up last year? It really looks like they’re now back with a vengeance. That’s because you may have missed all of their roots or didn’t remove them before they spread their seeds. If you missed the roots the last time around, try breaking out a spade or garden trowel to locate their source. After removal, be sure to fill in the patches around your lawn with new dirt and grass seed. If weed seeds are more of an issue, it may be time to start spraying.

Spraying Weeds

One option to stop weeds in their tracks is to spray herbicides. Pre-emergent herbicides work on annual weeds like crabgrass when they are still seedlings. Post-emergent herbicides take out the weeds that have already grown. When using these, it’s important to wear gloves, eye protection, long sleeves and pants, and closed-toe shoes. Follow the instructions on the label to apply the herbicides properly.

Trimming Weeds

There’s a chance that you’d rather just maintain sprouting weeds on a weekly basis, just like how you cut the grass. If that’s the case, then break out the string trimmer and aim for their heads. This prevents the seeds from spreading – as long as you remember to dispose of them properly!

Proper Weed Disposal

After you have pulled up, dug up, or trimmed the weeds, you still need to throw them all out. What’s the best way to go about this? First, you’ll need a rake and a pair of gloves. Collect all of the weeds and place them into a yard waste bag. Inspect the area thoroughly and make sure that you have picked up any that have fallen back to the ground. Finally, check for the date and time of when your neighborhood picks up yard waste and place the bag on the curb accordingly.

When In Doubt, Mulch It Out!

If you’re still unsure about what to do with the weeds growing in your yard, then rely on mulch! Weed seeds can only germinate if they have access to sunlight, which a few layers of mulch can totally prevent. Mulch also provides nutrients so it will make any of the surrounding flowers or trees thankful for the addition, too.

Get Ahead of the Game

Sick of dealing with weeds year after year? Get ahead of the game by utilizing landscaping fabric or sheets of burlap. Before you put down any mulch, prepare the fabric or burlap by cutting holes just big enough for the plants in your garden or flower bed. Lay it down on the ground, pull the plants through, and voila! You now have a base layer that can smother out any weeds. Add the mulch or a layer of rocks last to make everything look nice and pretty.  

Start Fresh with New Landscaping

Maybe this war on weeds is the last straw to a string of other issues relating to your current living situation. If so, then now’s the time to partner with one of the experts at The Massey Team at Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Select Properties. We’ll make sure that your next home checks all of your boxes, including new and improved landscaping! Check out our current listings or call us at (618) 791-5024 or (618) 791-9298 today.