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It's been a while. Have you missed me? Probably not, but I will pretend that you have and are eagerly awaiting my latest insight into home beautification. I have decided not to use the term "home decorating" any longer, or at leasts for as long as it takes to write this post. Why? I don't know exactly as I have just at this very moment made this decision. Perhaps, it is because I am sick to death of everyone decorating their homes with personalityless made in China trends, as if we are all in junior high going around looking for ways to add the latest Michael Jackson or Garbage Patch Kids stickers to our Trapper Keepers. Decorating is all the rage, and everywhere we go online or in the few retailers daring to be open, we are bombarded with the latest cool "stickers". Most of which we are sick of before the bell rings at the end of the day. No worries, this dilemma of boredom can easily be solved with a quick peel off of yesterday's stickers, followed by a fresh layering of the latest Wham or Durran Durran stickers. I think I have managed to beat my metaphor to death and make my point. Decorating is superficial. It is fleeting and temporary. A concept that was never meant to last, much like the rise or cut of a pair of jeans. I believe the technical term for this is micro-trends. You will lose your mind and maybe you soul trying to keep up with all that needs to be done to feel like your home is peaceful, restful, colorful, neutral, inspirational, blah, blah, blah.

If we can just take a moment to think and feel real emotions not created by AI run sites and influencer marketing campaigns, we might be able to create homes that makes us feel welcome. And, by default, make others feel the same. We can have homes that are in fact ours, full of as much or as little of what makes us feel comfortable.

Luckily, I have been practicing this concept for a little while now and have created a 4 step plan.

4 Step Plan

Step 1: Take a break from social media and influencers, and, yes, that means Pinterest too.

Step 2: Live in your house for a bit. I mean for real. Actually, live in your house. Spend time with it, and get to know it a little bit. This is actually a pretty easy thing to do in the new era of Covid. Place items that make you happy or that you just really like together and group items that you have no flipping idea why you still own them together. Send this latter group off to a new home at your local Goodwill or thrift store. Now, take the items that make you happy and find places to put them that make you even happier.

Step 3: After a few days or weeks of this, head out into the world of home retailing and just slowly stroll through it. Don't grab anything right away. Just take it all in. You may find that you like some of the latest mass produced influencer approved merchandise, or you may not. The point is to buy what you like not what 7,000 other people claimed to have liked on a review page. When you finally make a decision, it will be yours. It will be personal. It will have been made by you. You will come home, and what you have purchased will enhance your home not just add to it.

Step 4: Repeat this process slowly over time as often as needed and eventually you will have created a home that is authentically personal and beautiful to you.

Step 5: I have decided to add a step 5 because it is my blog and I can do that. This may be the most important step. Don't feel like you have to buy only new items. Antique stores are great places to treasure hunt and those thrift stores that took your unwanted merchandise can surprise you with some hidden gems, like this adorable and useful honey dispenser I found at Goodwill for $2.

I actually wrote this post a few months ago, but it did not seem like the right time to post it. 4 days into February, the shortest and dreariest month of the year, seemed like a good time to toss it out into the universe. Like everyone else, I have been dealing with Covid Cabin Fever. A common side effect of this is excessive home judgement and rearraning. Maybe, it is because we are all sick to death of our home confinement. Or, perhaps, it can be attributed to the universal need to control something in a world that feels increasingly out of our control. Regardless, now might be a good time to take stock of our homes and the way we feel in them.