Maggie Evans 
Your home is your castle, the place you go at the end of a long, hard day expecting to be able to relax and unwind. However, that’s hard to do if your home feels off or not welcoming at all. A home should feel cozy, fresh, and hygge at all times. From making sure to use friendly laundry detergent to lighting a few scented candles, your home should feel cozy year-round, not just in the fall and winter season.
It’s often said that you only get one chance to make a first impression and that saying is never more true than when it comes to your home. Making a great first impression with houseguests is something almost every homeowner strives to do. Whether you’re putting the home up for sale or simply expecting your new mother-in-law to visit for the first time, staging your home and making sure it’s clean will certainly help you make the house feel like a home with all that coziness.
In this article, you’ll find a few housekeeping tips to help you make your home cozy enough that even the new mother-in-law won’t be able to find anything to complain about. Well, almost.
Gather your cleaning supplies
Whether it’s the middle of cold and flu season or in a blistering heatwave during the summer, you need a cleaning arsenal at your disposal to make your home fresh and cozy. Of course, you’re going to want those cleaning supplies to be as environmentally friendly as possible, so you can do your part to save the planet. Start with an environmentally friendly laundry detergent that will work for those with sensitive skin and has no phosphates, dyes, parabens, or chlorine bleach.
The detergent you choose for your family should effectively eliminate stains, but be fragrance free and come in either a liquid detergent or pods containing the laundry detergent you need. You want a fresh scent, but still, a detergent that’s good for your family and for the environment at the same time.
The other cleaning products in your arsenal of detergents and other supplies should contain no harsh chemicals, have light fragrances, but still be powerfully effective at making your home clean, cozy, and fresh. Once you’re done cleaning, light a few scented candles to heighten the experience.
Clear off your countertops
While you’re doing a load of laundry, take the time to clear off your countertops, because nothing says cluttered more than a kitchen that has stuff crowded onto every available surface. Two rules to follow when it comes to your countertops are that every item should have a home, and some don’t belong. Clean off your countertops and replace the junk with baskets filled with flowers, but not enough that it looks cluttered once again.
Place scatter rugs strategically in different rooms of your home
Nothing says cozy like well-placed scatter rugs. Placing rugs in strategic places throughout your home works even better if your home has hardwood floors. There’s just something about hardwood floors without rugs that looks cold and not the least bit cozy. Not only will adding rugs to the floors help you present a cozy home, but they’ll also make it a lot warmer on your family’s toes and feet when winter sets in. While you’re at it, place a few throw pillows and light blankets over the backs of chairs and couches for that added touch of coziness you’ve been looking for, and add a few curtains to your windows as well.
These are just a few housekeeping tips to help you make your house cozy. Whether you’re staging it to sell or your mother-in-law is on the way in from out of town, these tips will have your home smelling great and feeling cozy in no time at all.
