Some of the best home upgrades cost very little and take an afternoon. A homemaker in Germany behind the channel Home Gupshup says her entryway had turned into a small room that served more purpose than just a walkway into the house. The corner held a coat rack overloaded with jackets, plus a black box for the plastic bottles her household returns for deposit in Germany.
The box meant bottles were collecting there all the time. Every morning, when she put shoes and coats back, she still did not feel happy about the space. As she puts it, no matter how much you put things back, if the place they go into is not organized, there is only so much you can do.
With winter coming and evenings already hitting around 10 degrees, she decided the busiest corner of the house deserved an upgrade.
Clean First, Then Swap the Rack
She started by vacuuming, dusting and mopping the whole section, which took no more than ten minutes. She used a Swiffer duster for the walls and corners and a vacuum for the floor. Her robot vacuum handles regular mopping, but every so often she brings out a steam cleaner for a thorough clean by hand.
Then she went looking for a replacement for the crowded coat rack. Her goal was a rack that lets her hang things neatly on hangers, so everything is more visible and lined up. She calls it a very small upgrade, but one she was excited about.
A Rack With a Shelf for Wet Shoes
She chose a hanger rack with a shelf on purpose. The shelf holds wet shoes and boots, especially the ones the family uses most often. When snowy days arrive, boots will take their place.
After about two weeks of use, she says the rack looks as good as it did on the first day. Taking jackets out and putting them back feels smoother, and she can choose among them more comfortably. Nothing looks like it was just dumped there. She plans to add a small basket for the family’s mufflers and caps, and says both the corner and her mind got a refresh that was long overdue.
The Renter-Friendly Sweater Trick
Winter practically means living in sweaters, so she rethought how hers are stored. Instead of folding them neatly every time, she switched to hanging them. Until she replaces her wardrobe with a better one, she attached a tension rod and added two stick-on supports on each side to carry most of the weight.
She calls this a nice renter-friendly solution, since nothing needs to be drilled. The rod tends to bend in the center under the weight, which is why the side supports are necessary. The setup lets her fit many more sweaters and see everything at a glance.
It also taught her a lesson. Every way of storing and organizing things has its own advantages, and one single way of doing things cannot always be the best or the only way.
An IKEA Haul on a Budget
On a recent trip to IKEA she picked up a big bowl, a soap dispenser to match her oil bottles, an apple-scented candle that caught her eye near the checkout, and a plain glass bowl for baking and soaking. She also replaced old scratched glasses with a black tinted pair, added two mugs for coffee and milk, and bought a set of three holders meant for candles or tea lights.
Later she put the tea light holder to work on the kitchen counter, and she added a dish soap label to the soap dispenser so it sits neatly beside the sink. She calls it a small, budget-friendly set of finds.
Refreshing the Walls With New Prints
Her next project was changing the prints in the frames around the house. She says every time she searches for new prints she gets confused by the huge number of designs on Pinterest and other sites. While drinking her matcha, she finally narrowed down a few.
The white square frames used to hold black-and-white family photos, and she felt a sentimental attachment to them. She decided to try quotations and line drawings with a greenish border. What made it easier, she says, was knowing she could always go back to the family photos. That is the nice thing about small upgrades, since nothing is permanent the way it is with major renovations.
Ideas You Can Borrow
You do not have to live in Germany to use her approach. A few takeaways stand out.
- Organize the storage first. If things have no good home, tidying them every morning will not stick.
- Pick hangers over folding for bulky items. Hanging sweaters made everything easier to see.
- Add a shelf near the door for wet footwear, so water and mud stay in one place.
- Use stick-on supports with a tension rod to carry weight without drilling holes.
- Swap prints before you swap frames. A new print can make a corner look almost new.
She also adds a holiday reminder for anyone living there: grocery stores and shopping malls in Germany are closed on Sundays, so a Saturday holiday can mean two full days off. She describes it as a beautiful break from everything that could be called work.
Her closing note is a gentle one. Small changes that cost little can make the biggest difference to how a home feels, and the best part is that you can always change them back.
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