My half-joking answer to many questions or compliments on my solution for something in my home is to grin and say,
“Really, I’m just lazy!” 😉
Maybe “lazy” is the wrong word, but you’re intelligent readers who know what I mean.
If there’s a better, faster, more efficient way to do something, why wouldn’t we want to do it?
Work smarter, not harder!🤗
10 WAYS TO BE LAZY & STILL HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HOME
Lazy Tip #12: Avoid grout like the plague.
We’re starting with one of the first things that came to mind while considering my dedication to as little work as possible: grout avoidance.
(Life is full of work already; why add more if it’s unnecessary?!)
We have
- A grout-free shower.
- A grout-free backsplash.
- Solid, grout-free countertops. (Never, ever do tile countertops unless you like extra work.)
10 WAYS TO BE LAZY & STILL HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HOME
Lazy Tip #11: Have a distractingly dramatic focal point!
Another way to “trick” the eye is to have a big, dramatic focal point. (And in a good way–I don’t say “distractingly dramatic” like a giant disco ball in your foyer.)
Take our dining room, for example.
I’ve noticed that with our big “statement” lighting, our dining room table can be a disaster but the room still looks gorgeous at a glance! Your eye automatically focuses on our hanging woven pendant and not the mess of dishes below it.
When friends or neighbors pop in after lunchtime, I’ve never worried about how the table looks because a) we live here and b) I’ve never noticed their eyes going there because they’re so busy going to the pendant and the room next to it (which is mostly filled with 15+ year old furniture but they’ll never know that because we do this).
We did the same in our bedroom. Focal point lighting = I rarely “make” our bed, and it still looks gorgeous all day long. (Why I avoid making beds is another post! 🙂 Basically I’m using science to justify my laziness, and I’m cool with that.)
10 WAYS TO BE LAZY & STILL HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HOME
Way #10: Get plants faux-real!
I LOVE REAL PLANTS. If you know me even a tiny bit, you’ll know I love to garden and nurture plants…
…but I still incorporate faux plants into my life because they are SO much easier, always look good, and don’t change shape!
Such as my DIY faux tree custom-shaped for the corner I needed (people still come in, freeze, and ask “Is…is that tree real?!?”), which you can read about here.
Or if you’re reeeeeally looking for easy, this faux olive tree is the best way to click-to-order and you’re done! (Just be sure to check out my tips for making it look super realistic!)
10 WAYS TO BE LAZY & STILL HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HOME
Lazy Tip #9: Vanish things like a magician!
Nothing makes your house look just a leeeeeeetle bit messier than functional-but-ugly objects like trash cans, laundry baskets, and other visual yuckies.
Thus, nothing makes your house look tidier than all these items magically vanished!
For example, you (like us) can hide
- Your hamper.
- Your ironing board.
- Your utensils by the stove. (Don’t keep them out in a jar.)
- Your everyday countertop appliances (and less-used other appliances).
- You can even hide your TV (a.k.a. The Big Black Rectangle) with the click of a button.
Really — think like a magician!
“Doo dee doo…no trash can here…BAM!”
(I have yet to play this trick on any of our friends or guests, but now I’m thinking of it because the mental images of me doing this are just so delightfully entertaining. “Here, have a glass of wine and let me give you a tour…BAM! Our toaster oven! BAM! Our ironing board! BAM! Our dirty clothes! Yeeeeeeeeah! Tell your friends!”)
More kitchen hacks HERE!
10 WAYS TO BE LAZY & STILL HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HOME
Lazy Tip #8: Hide your appliances.
It’s easy to just say “hide your appliances,” but that’s too general. Plenty of people hide their appliances…deep in a lower cabinet…
The key is to make it an EASILY ACCESSIBLE place! Otherwise it’s pretty — but not easy!
We like cabinets for the most oft-used appliances (because it’s easiest having them already on your countertop and plugged in), and drawers for lesser-used appliances (because they’re still easy to pull out of a perfectly smooth, custom-fitted drawer rather than digging around in the back of a lower cabinet on your hands and knees trying to move other things out of the way to get to it).
Whether it’s in a cabinet or drawer, hide your appliances.
10 WAYS TO BE LAZY & STILL HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HOME
Tip #7: Countertop runnels.
If you have a drainboard, you’re always going to have it out. And if you put it away to try to make things look “pretty,” you’re going to have to have a great place to store it.
With these countertop runnels we did, we don’t have that problem! Dishes are put away and voila! All clean! And ready to have a new item to dry when company arrives, if needed.
10 WAYS TO BE LAZY & STILL HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HOME
Tip #6: Gas Fireplace Magic!
Yes, I used to be a purist too about having a wood-burning fireplace, but I discuss the magical-ness of our gas fireplaces HERE. (We did one in our bedroom sitting area as well as our living room.)
10 WAYS TO BE LAZY & STILL HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HOME
Tip #5: Choose low-maintenance counters in your most-used rooms!
For us, our #1 used room is our kitchen. While I love the look of marble, my gut told me that during our “young children at home” years, we needed something heftier. We did quartz countertops and it was 100% the smartest decision.
- Highly-staining materials spilled over countertop? Zero problem.
- Hot pots and pans suddenly needed to be set on countertop in an emergency? No sweat.
- Paint and permanent marker accidents on countertop, left for days? Problem solved easily.
You can read more about the details on that in our post here.
10 WAYS TO BE LAZY & STILL HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HOME
Tip #4: Trick the eye with a minimal mantel!
It’s amazing how put-together your living room will look when you’ve carefully (and strategically) chosen what items will be showcased on your mantel.
Honestly, the rest of your room can be messy but that fireplace…it’s such a focal point that if you have it looking put together and visually stunning, people/you won’t easily notice the rest of the room because that mantel can set the feel!
10 WAYS TO BE LAZY & STILL HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HOME
Tip #3: Go shoe-free!
Part of my original love for no shoes is the home comes from living in Japan as a child. Taking your shoes off in someone’s home simply felt respectful, as well as extra-clean and crisp-feeling.
Then when I had crawling infants, I really didn’t want people wearing their shoes inside and tracking in goodness-knows-what from the outside world onto the #1 surface my child was playing on with bare hands, picking up objects from the floor and putting them in her mouth, etc.
Then as time went on, and we had our dark wood floors, I realized there was another benefit to no shoes in the house:
less cleaning!
Some of you would be shocked if I told you how little time I had to spend cleaning my dark wood floors, so I won’t name any numbers out of concern for your heart health. 😉
10 WAYS TO BE LAZY & STILL HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HOME
Lazy Tip #2: Speaking of easy floors…
If you’re interested in less work like I am, get one of these.
Why waste my time vacuuming all our hardwood floors when I could just let Valentina do it? (Valentina is what one of my daughters named her years ago.)
And if you have a child or pet who doesn’t like the fact that this robot moves by itself, do what I did and schedule it to go off for while you’re out of the house anyways.
We come home and it’s like cleaners have been there…but for free.
10 WAYS TO BE LAZY & STILL HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HOME
Lazy Tip #1: Drawers, Drawers Everywhere!
This may be my favorite strategy of all, so I’m giving it the #1 spot.
(I’ve written in-depth on “Are Drawers Better Than Cabinets?“)
Honestly, when people walk into my messy house on the average day and still tell me how beautiful and “tidy” it is, I know my secret is drawers.
No shelves–just drawers.
I’d repeat all the logic behind this but I’ve already written that HERE, so why recreate it? You can see the five reasons I believe drawers solve all man and womankind’s problems!
WAYS TO BE LAZY & STILL HAVE A BEAUTIFUL HOME
BONUS TIP #13: Think Through WHAT You Need + WHEN You Need It!
This might not just be drawers (#1), or something hidden (#7), but a strategic combination of the two.
For example, I realized that my kids’ dirty clothes were most often discarded in our entryway from the garage, yet their dirty clothes hampers were all the way upstairs in their bedrooms.
Did I want to
a) spend my time and energy convincing them to carry them all the way up there, or
b) provide a super-close spot nearby where they could drop them–yet no one could see it?
Enter our laundry room drawers below the washer and dryer. (You can read about it HERE!) Many people put their laundry baskets down below, and that move is wasting your space!
Next…
In your quest, you’ll want to have a home for everything.
No, really. Have a home for EVERYTHING you possibly can! If you haven’t actually experienced how well this works firsthand, I help get you started and simplifying the priorities HERE!
- Make your own easy drawer dividers (never buy premade!)!
- Assign places for your daily items like shoes, keys, etc.
- Get the #1 Step everyone should do with our Essential Home Guide which walks you through the process step-by-step so you don’t have to figure out where to begin or how to get through it quickly and easily yourself! Let me help walk you through it!
PS: The complete list of all our projects (from hidden items to kitchen hacks) can be found HERE!
