Shelter in Place
Is your home feeling a little cramped right now?
Understandable!
Many homes are at full occupancy right now. Young kids home from school, older kids home from University/College.
And some finding ourselves working from home.
It's the new normal, at least for a while….
Use these helpful tips to make the most of the space you do have and help make sheltering at home more pleasant.
1. Do an inventory of the resources (rooms and spaces) you do have
What spaces do you have now?
What are the current uses of those spaces?
How can you improve each space to be as efficient as it can be?
Which spaces are critical, can't repurpose, and which ones aren't mission critical that could be re-purposed?
Identify the opportunities for improvement.
2. Consider re-purposing spaces
Can the spare bedroom become a home office? Unlikely you'll be hosting many guests anytime soon. But very likely people will be working from home for a while.
Or can the kids bedroom become their study room as well? Are there items cluttering up the bedroom that in these challenging times can be stored for a while to free up floor space and make the room more efficient? Think large toys that aren't being used very often.
Do you have furniture you never use? Maybe the space it occupies can be repurposed, or it can be used to free up some valuable real estate elsewhere in your home.
Maybe you can free up some floor space to make a quasi gym; with a yoga mat, free weights, and a chin up bar.
Is now a good time to prioritize that stuff filling up your crawlspace or attic?
Removing unused items will free up space for that furniture that you just moved to create the home office you need.
3. The Kitchen; is likely getting a real workout these days. Most, if not all meals are being eaten at home. Which means the kitchen is seeing a lot of traffic.
This is a good time to make sure your cabinets, appliances and fixtures are being cleaned & maintained properly.
Check the doors and drawers for loose hardware or hinges, tighten as needed.
Ensure sink drains are draining freely, if they are slow, chances are they need cleaning. If you're handy, you can disassemble the p-trap and clean it out. A lot of times this is all that is needed to ensure it drains properly.
If your fridge is on wheels, it makes sense to roll it out from the space where it lives and vacuum out the refrigeration coils. This will help it to continue operating efficiently and can prevent a breakdown at an inopportune time.
Your dishwasher; may have a filter in the bottom of the wash chamber. It requires periodic cleaning. Follow manufacturers instructions to remove, clean and reinstall.
They don't usually require tools to do this.
4. The Pantry; is another heavily used space right now. With less trips being made for groceries, we are buying more and storing more. Make efficient use of it.
Those high, hard to get to shelves are important all of a sudden. Are there items occupying those shelves that don't need to be there? Can those items be relocated to a crawl space in a rubber-maid or into an attic? Freeing up pantry space for those staples of necessity is a better use of this valuable space.
5. The Wi-Fi; Please don't fail us now!
Stay well!
We now offer virtual consultations to help get the design process started with your next new project.