While we’re still a few weeks out from crocus and daffodils, spring is definitely in the air at my house. The March sunshine is warm and the wind is boisterous as it weaves in and out of the pines. The air is full of anticipation and joy - winter is over and another summer beckons.

I’ve started putting together my spring cleaning list, and in the spirit of slow living I am determined to keep my expectations reasonable about what I can actually accomplish in the fickle Maine weather. My usual M.O. is to list out every possible thing that needs to be done around the house and yard, and then feel like an utter disappointment when I come nowhere near finishing everything on the list. This year I’m tackling a few key projects that should only take a few hours each, along with the standard raking, pruning, playing-in-the-dirt fun of springtime.

Top on my list of projects is giving my living room a room refresh. What is a room refresh, you ask? A room refresh is when I make over a room with minimal-to-no-spending. And is one of my favorite things to do. I bought paint for the living room last fall, so technically this room refresh isn’t completely free. But I don’t anticipate having to purchase anything else. Along with a general cleaning and a fresh coat of paint, I’m planning to give my sofa and area rug a deep clean, using a carpet cleaner borrowed from a friend; swap out the existing artwork and photos with ones from other rooms in the house; and add in some new houseplants which I propagated from my favorite pothos plant. After two years of being home pretty much all of the time, my goal is to make this space feel light and airy and brand new.

If you’re interested in tackling some spaces in your home, I’ve put together this room refresh planner to help you get started. I hope you like it!

Budget Friendly Room Planner Guide — Grab Your Free Room Refresh Planner

After my book writing declaration of last week, I’ve been digging into research and sorting copious amounts of notes, determined not only to get a working draft of a book finished, but also to have plenty of great content for Mabon House. And while I love doing research, it can quickly become overwhelming because I want to include all the information in whatever I am writing about.

So to get some perspective, I thought why not ask all of you what you’d like to see more of on Mabon House. If you have a couple of minutes I would love to hear from you. I’ve put together this short anonymous questionnaire/poll, to make it easy to share your ideas for Mabon House.

Take the Survey

Thursdays are fast becoming my favorite day of the week because it’s when I receive so many kind messages from all of you. I know some of you have been going through rough times and while I’m not able to answer every email, I just want to say that I am thinking of you. And I’m glad you are here in the Mabon House community. And thank you to the folks who take the time to send me kind words and encouragement. It really means a lot!