Creating change at home

Do you love to collect those knick-knacks and random thrift store finds, but your space is closing in on you? Is there never enough room for everything you'd like to display? Or is your taste changing constantly and making your home a little too eclectic? I may have an answer for you:

Redecorate the house monthly! It's not as "Martha Stewart manic" as it might sound, and you might find it to be a lot of fun.

First, get all your holiday things together. Big pile, huh? Ok, now sort the big pile out into each individual holiday. Separate each holiday into a box labeled with the appropriate month. Make boxes appropriate for any leftover months.

Not enough months to make a full year of changes? Maybe you or someone else in your home has a birthday in a given month. You can always put up nice pictures of the birthday person or even decor that represents some of their favorite things. Or you could search for other cultural celebrations to fill in the gaps. Think of all the things you could learn (not to mention all the new collections you could start!).

Each month, remove the decor from the last month, box it and put it away. Then replace the old with items from the box for the new month. Isn't it nice to have a change of scenery? You might even begin to look forward to doing it every month!

This might seem like a lot of work, but it's really not. Make this your monthly deep-cleaning day, for instance. Use it as a tool to combat boredom with your current decor. It will also keep you from leaving the Christmas decorations up until March.