6 Ways to Make Your House a Home

Before I married my husband, I had only moved once in 18 years and only changed school systems twice. My old childhood room was still intact and my husband and I slep with the same decor from our high school.

Then I became a Navy spouse, which was a really different experience. Since then we have moved almost once every year and with moving comes challenges. As a frugal wife, the biggest challenge for me over the years has been turning every house into a home without breaking the bank.

If you’re not careful, it can be very easy to treat your home as a storage unit and never “invest” in yourself-especially when you don’t have kids. As a military spouse it’s easy to fall into the mindset of not investing any money into your house because you’re leaving soon anyways. Trust me, I say that because I know it’s rut I can easily slip back into if I’m not careful.

Over the years, many wise women have given me great pointers on how to make your house a home. Here are some of those tips!

How to Make Your House a Home:

1. Put a Wreath on the Front Door.
A lot of our friends and mentors have put a wreath with their initial on the front door. This has made it an easy way to market it as their home.

2. Make a New Table Cloth.
A fresh new table cloth can mark a new kitchen distinguishing it from other homes.

3. Put Curtains Up Right Away. 
Even though most rentals have blinds, hanging up curtains is an easy way to make the house homey and more personal.

4. Always Decorate for the Holidays.
The best way to make new memories is by decorating for all the holidays. From Valentine’s Day to Christmas and everything in-between!

5. Buy New Pictures for Empty Spaces.
It’s easy to feel that adding something new is a waste of money or not worth it, but that’s quit the contrary! At every duty station we seem to acquire something new, either a painting or some other decoration wise. This allows us to add flavor to our home and keep things new and interesting.

6. Try New Furniture Arrangements.
We differentiate our houses by moving furniture around. We will switch living room and family furniture, move things around in the movie room or office, and more. This allows us to try something new and spice things up a bit!

Would you like the chance to try out these ideas and more for free?

National Military Family Association, a non-profit dedicated to the support and education of military families is hosting a giveaway to help you turn your house into a home! Use the widget below for your chance to win one of five $100 dollar gift cards to spend at JoAnns craft stores. NMFA also knows that while decorating your new home is fun, PCSing isn’t always that great.
That’s why they have been sharing tips, tricks and advice to help you #OwnYourPCS. Connect
with them for resources and support!

What tricks have you learned over the years to make your house a home? How do you personalize your space?