Winter Home Ideas

I think most people would agree, the months after Christmas until the weather turns warm again, kind of suck. 

I’ve always been okay with January because my birthday and my oldest son’s birthday are in January. We’ve had a lot to look forward to this month, but for a lot of us… after the holidays and the Christmas decor is put away in storage bins for another 300-ish days, there is a little bit of a depression that sets in.

In Ohio, the weather is less than pleasant. We haven’t had a horrible winter yet…but it’s typically around the end of January that I’m over the snow and chilly days and planning my next trip to Florida, ha!

Instead of wallowing in my winter misery (don’t worry, I still moan about the cold) I like to use this month to take a good look at our home and get to work on some projects I’ve put off for way too long.

Here are 10 Winter Home Ideas: 

1. Kitchen Pantry: When is the last time you really took a good look at the expiration dates in your pantry? The best way to organize and purge your pantry is to take everything out. Check expiration dates, throw away what you can, donate what you want. Then put everything back in an organized and easy to find way. Maybe put the kids snacks where they can reach them, or maybe don’t… as they may be grabbing snacks way too often.

2. Closets: Kids grow like weeds. Keeping up with cleaning out the closets is a real pain, I know. But January is a great time to clean out drawers, closets and coat and shoe areas too.

3. Laundry room or laundry area in general: Ugh, this one is another one that never stays clean. Our laundry room is also our mud room, so basically it collects crap. Twice a year I really dedicate some time to making it spiffy and throwing away stuff that is long overdue for the trash.

4. Cabinets: Cups in particular are a real problem in our home. We are overrun with coffee mugs, kids cups, bottles, wine glasses, whiskey glasses, outdoor cups, plastic cups from kids meals, you name it… we’ve got it. I really should clean our cup areas out more often, but January proves to be a great time to do that. What else do we have to do during this time of year?

5. Garage or outdoor storage areas: Our garage kind of collects a bunch of junk. Especially with 4 kids. Bikes, outdoor furniture, tools, overall random crap… if you can find a warm-ish winter day, cleaning out the garage or any storage areas you have just makes life a little easier. 

6. Walls: Does anyone else look around after the Christmas decorations have been put away and feel like your home looks bare? I always have all these decorating ideas post-holidays, including adding new photos to our otherwise bare walls.

7. Bathrooms: Our bathroom cabinets also become a catch-fall for a bunch of random stuff. Hair stuff, creams, bandaids, medicine… you name it, our bathroom has it. 

8. Front Porch: Our front porch might still have garland on it, oy. But once that is finally tucked away in storage, the front porch can use a good washing down. We will likely still get some snow this winter, but I like to get the porch clean after Christmas. 

9. Kids rooms: These places just collect junk. It’s easier for the kids to maintain a clean living space once the stuff is picked up and tidied. 

10. Master room: Along with the kids bedrooms, our master bedroom can get a ton of junk piled up. I like to clean out our closet and then make sure the living space in our bedroom is clean as well. 

There are some ideas to start with, what kind of “winter cleaning” do you tackle in the wintertime?