We all want to live in a nice place. Every single one of us, no matter our socioeconomic background, has a certain standard of living they have in their head that they believe will bring stratospheric happiness. The roadblock to these, of course, is money.

Money, money, money—the only thing that’s standing between us and the house of our dreams, right? Well, not necessarily. We might not be able to go from a modest apartment to a Hampton’s mansion overnight, but what we can do is make the most of what we have. Here are some house beautification ideas that don’t cost any money at all, and will leave your home looking like a million bucks:

Start ASAP 

The first thing you’ve got to do is dispel all reasons not to do it. Procrastination is the death of creativity, no matter what people say. So stop using your job, your kids, and your lack of time as a means to stay totally inactive. Plan it out, set a date, and make everyone understand that it has to be done, period. Take note of all the memorabilia and pictures you have, as well as all the design and craft ideas you can compile from the internet. If the internet is something you’re not investing in long-term, your local library is a great place to start. Be prepared to repurpose, rearrange, and throw away items.

Clean And Revamp The Bathroom 

The first thing you need to do is take care of the bathroom. If you got a problematic toilet, this list is a great one to get the ball rolling on perfectly seamless use. Why? Because nothing ruins a good home like a bad bathroom. From there, repurposing small vases and flutes for potpourri or wonderfully smelling aromatics, is your next step.

Proper Lighting 

There’s not much point to having extremely bright bulbs in already well-lit places like a living room. Instead, place them by the mirror where people will be checking their face and hair prior to going out. Polish and clean everything to a “T” and make sure the mirror is spotless. That’s the key to a great bathroom.

Rearrange Furniture 

Next is to rearrange furniture around fixtures like windows and televisions. Make sure that you have a theme or a purpose of the arrangement.. Living rooms are meant to be places to talk, laugh, and gather. It’s the common room. So with that in mind, have couches and chairs facing each other instead of lined up against the wall. It’s hard to talk over people seated in a straight line. 

Toss Unused Bedroom pieces

Next, get rid of anything that takes up unnecessary space in your bedroom. Broken Lazy Boy chair? Side table you swear you’ll get repainted? Toss it. They serve no purpose anymore. They just end up becoming surfaces to put the clothes you’ve only used once but don’t want to put back in the closet. 

Beautifying your home doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. In fact, as we just discussed, it can be totally free. All you have to do is be honest with what you want to do with the space and execute. Add bits of you and your sensibilities to the walls and presentation. And if all else fails, the internet has a bunch of ideas. Either way, you’re on your way to a new, fresh, and exciting look to your home.