Winter coats are officially packed away and flip flops and bathing suits are out of storage. You change up your closet for summer, so why not spruce up your apartment to match. Here are five do it yourself tips for sprucing up your apartment for a chill, city-living summer style.
Related: Go Green in NYC
1. Summer Giveaway
Summer is a great time to store seasonal items, keep your closet light, and get excited about new shopping trends for fall.
Summer marks the beginning of fun in the sun, but also marks the end to a long school year, allergy-filled spring, and icy winter. A great way to refresh your home is by sifting through your jam-packed closet and bagging old clothing, toys, shoes, and accessories that you haven’t picked up in a year and can be given to those less fortunate.
DIY TIP: The city offers many clothing drop off locations and charitable pick-up services. Look out for non-profit organizations and clothing bins all over the city to donate items you no longer need.
2. Pretty in Pictures
Calling all amateur photographers – you are living in the greatest city in the world, make it your ultimate background!
Summer is a perfect time of year to refresh old pictures and photo frames with memories of the year thus far. Great ideas are end of school year pictures, graduation shots, beach and sand photos, or landscapes such as a summer cityscape sunsets or a sunrise over Central Park.
DIY TIP: Your local drugstores, like Duane Reade or CVS, can print photos right from your smartphone for less than a $1!
3. Green Outside, Green Inside
Summer peaks when trees are in full bloom, flowers are blossomed, and the green grass grows all around. Treat your inside space to some greenery as well.
Outdoor plants can be brought inside to beat the heat while still flourishing during this time of optimal sunlight. Indoor plants also clean the air and create an ambience of peace and freshness.
For an added crafty bonus, make boring pots your own with custom décor around the house: glue on old jewelry, paint with nail polish, use old linens as bows, make it your own!
DIY TIP: Beautify the indoors with plants like African Violet that are easy to care for and surprisingly bloom year-round.
4. A Clean Fridge is a Healthy Fridge
Admittedly, cleaning out the fridge isn’t anyone’s favorite chore, but make mom proud and take half an hour to throw out all those old Sriracha bottles and back-of-the-fridge quinoa and wilted kale you never got the gusto to eat after Chinese takeout.
The big plus, you can re-stock for summer with great fruits, chilled water bottles, and healthy items for summer salads and on-the-go beach snacks.
DIY TIP: Easiest plan – get 2 large garbage bags, 1 for old food, 1 for recyclables, and purge.
5. Space Shifter
New season, new view. Moving bigger furniture like a bed or couch can make a major difference in any room. From there, you might find yourself moving the smaller décor items to compliment the new change and before you know it, you have a brand new space!
DIY TIP: Pick just one room on a lazy, muggy, or rainy weekend and get to shifting! You will be amazed at how brand new your space will feel with this simple and very rewarding summer project.
Read More: Tackle Your Spring Cleaning
