20 Ways to Simplify Your Home for Summer Quickly

Love it? Share it!

Summer home decor naturally feels lighter and less layered. I find myself decluttering after a long winter and needing to simplify my home decor so I can focus on enjoying summer outdoor living. So today, I want to showcase my summer home tour with tips for how to simplify your home along the way! Here are 20 ways to simplify your home quickly for summer and beyond! Ditch the clutter and enjoy simple living for the summer season.

This post may contain affiliate links where I earn a small commission on your purchases at no additional cost to you.

Summer Home Tours

This week I’m joining 30 bloggers, hosted by Marty from A Stroll Thru Life, each sharing their summer home tours as well. If you’re here after visiting Shayna at The Woodgrain Cottage, thanks for stopping by! Wasn’t her home tour so beautiful?! At the end of my post, you’ll find links to all the talented bloggers in this line up. After you’re done with my tour, you can follow the loop and head to see Alicia’s gorgeous space from Thrifty and Chic next!

How do you simplify home decor?

Over time our homes quickly become a collection of years-worth of home decor finds. As trends come and go, we tend to do one of two things.

1. Pack away decor we no longer love because we “might love it again someday.”
2. Keep all our decor up (even if we don’t love it) and keep adding new pieces to it, creating a cluster of mis-matched and outdated, or out-of-season, decor.

Neither of these responses are wrong! However, if you find yourself feeling claustrophobic in your own home, it might be time to simplify your home decor. What better time to do this than summer, when light-decor feels appropriate?!

When I intentionally set out to simplify my home, I do it one of two ways. First,

• Go through each room independently and create three piles.
  1. Keep pile (Only keep items you ACTUALLY LOVE. Not items you “might use again someday.”)
  2. Donate pile (Quality goods that you no longer love, but someone else might!)
  3. Trash pile (Self-explanatory) 😉

It is amazing what you will find when you intentionally go through every room in your home (and storage areas) and set out to clear the clutter.

One course that helped me learn how to methodically go through this process is called Love Your Home Again. It is so eye opening to really dive into decluttering and reclaiming your home. I highly recommend the course if you need a detailed walk through and action plan to simplify your home! You can purchase it here while it is currently on sale!

The second way I simplify my home is to work through it with seasonally-specific decor in mind. That is what I want to share with you today!

How do I declutter my decorations?

Decluttering decorations is something I’ve gotten fairly good at since my line of work tends to bring in more decor than the average person. I try my best to only have decor storage for seasonal decor, like Christmas and holiday decor.

Seasonal decorations are few and far between in my home. In the fall I mostly use fall colors to create an autumn feel. Spring and summer are heavy on florals. And for winter I really only hone in on Christmas decorations, rather than things like snowflakes and other winter-specific decor.

If it isn’t seasonal decor, then it is pretty much on display year round! This is thanks to the course above and keeping a mentality of loving what is in your home, rather than keeping it because someday I might love it again.

A lot of this mentality also has to do with my mindset towards home design. If you’re looking for some help in aligning your mindset towards design to work hand-in-hand with creating a haven, make sure to sign up for my free e-course! This will help you learn how to alter your mindset towards home decorations to serve a purpose and fulfill a need for your family.

20 Ways to Simplify Your Home for Summer Quickly

Now, let’s dive into 20 very easy ways to simplify your home for summer! This focuses on simplicity in decor, convenience, and using design strategically.

Simplify Your Home Decor Intentionally

First, there are a few ways to be strategic about simplifying your home decor for summer. You can be very intentional in what you display so that your home still feels decorated, but isn’t cluttered.

• Use a single plant as statement decor.

• Keep everyday dishes in plain sight. Choose dishes you love that double as decor!

• Clear the front entry of all unnecessary seasonal items, or pieces that you don’t love.
• Keep a summer journal handy. This helps keep the focus of the season on adventuring and less on decor! I love this leather journal with wrap around strap because it is practical and beautiful.

• Hang plants to get them off flat surfaces.

• Consider stools and other furnishings that tuck under other larger items to keep a clean look.
• Organize one room at a time over a few weeks so it’s not overwhelming, like they recommend in the Love Your Home Again course.

Think About Convenience

Next, here are some ways to think about convenience for the summer season. Sometimes, thinking through what would be convenient for your family, can fuel your summer decor. Here are a few examples.

• Take an afternoon and clear all the paperwork from the school year off the counters. This is a great way to start the summer off with a clean slate.
• Put away all decor off tabletops to start fresh. Having a blank slate helps fuel creativity. Or, it might show you that you prefer no clutter on tables at all!
• Hang beach towels for quick grabbing on your way out the door.

• Put together a grab-n-go bag for afternoon outings.
• Have a market bag by the door for easy access on farmer’s market days.

Use Design Strategically

And finally, use design strategically. When you think outside the box of buying new “decor”, and rather focus on design elements, it can lead to a simplified version of a well designed space. Here are a few examples.

• Hang blankets with intention. This keeps them off of the floor and couches, and serves as a wall display.

• Invest in a washable rug for the dining room. (Avoid popsicle nightmares). I love Ruggable washable rugs. I use them in my kitchen, dining room and mudroom so I never have to worry about ruining an area rug!

• Only display pillows that are used daily. Store the rest. A lot of people think that my pillows are for decor. Actually, we use every single one, every single day! No pillow is too precious for use. If you aren’t using it, store it or donate it!

• Display your favorite books as decor. If they are out, you’re more likely to grab them and relax.
• Use large format art or wall hangings in place of a gallery of smaller items to simplify wall decor.

• Let bold pops of color become your central decor statement with larger furniture pieces.
• Lighten drapes for summer months.
• Think of new ways to use old things (such as an antique bench as a coffee table).

20 Ways to Simplify Your Home Checklist

Decluttering and thinking outside the “design box” goes a long way in intentionally simplifying your home for summer. Here is a quick summary of what we discussed so far. Which ideas do you plan to implement?

1. Use a single plant as table decor.
2. Keep everyday dishes in plain sight.
3. Take an afternoon and clear all the paperwork from the school year off the counters.
4. Put away all decor off tabletops to start fresh.
5. Hang blankets with intention.
6. Keep a summer journal handy.
7. Only display pillows that are used daily. Store the rest.
8. Clear the front entry of all unnecessary items, or pieces that you don’t love.
9. Invest in a washable rug for the dining room. (Avoid popsicle nightmares)
10. Hang beach towels for quick grabbing.
11. Put together a grab and go back for afternoon outings.
12. Display your favorite books as decor. If they are out, you’re more likely to grab them and relax.
13. Use large format art or wall hangings in place of a gallery of smaller items to simplify wall decor.
14. Let bold pops of color become your central decor statement with larger furniture pieces.
15. Hang plants to get them off flat surfaces.
16. Have a market bag by the door for easy access on farmer’s market days.
17. Consider stools and other furnishings that tuck under other larger items to keep a clean look.
18. Lighten drapes for summer months.
19. Think of new ways to use old things (antique bench as coffee table)
20. Organize one room at a time over a few weeks so it’s not overwhelming.

Shoppable Decor Sources

Many times I’m asked for decor source information on my blog posts. You can use the affiliate images below to shop items in my home that are currently available.

Stay Connected

Thanks so much for stopping by the blog today! I hope this summer home tour, showcasing how to simplify your home, was helpful to you! Make sure to subscribe to the blog to receive my newsletters and follow along with me daily on Instagram. Head next to enjoy more summer home tours bursting with ideas!

Summer Home Tour Line Up

A Stroll Thru Life – Worthing Court – A Pretty Life in the Suburbs – Pink Peppermint Design – StoneGable – Hymns & Verses

Southern State of Mind – This Is Our Bliss – Up To Date Interiors – It All Started With Paint – Decor To Adore – Cuckoo4Design

Remodelando la Casa – Whispering Pines Homestead – Cassie Bustamante – Inspiration For Moms – Making It In The Mountains – White Arrows Home

Our Southern Home – CitrineLiving – The Wood Grain Cottage – Grace In My Space – Thrifty and Chic – Designing Vibes

Casa Watkins Living – Follow The Yellow Brick Home – Chalking Up Success – Bloom in the Black – Quarters One – Clean and Scentsible