Simple Home
22. Go barefoot. A shoes-off indoors policy feels summery, to be sure, but it also keeps your floors cleaner.
23. Roll up the rugs. (See above.)
24. Try line-drying your laundry outdoors. The sun on a hot day can dry them in less time (and for less $$) than your dryer, and actually helps get white clothes whiter.
25. Get all the decor you need from the farmer's market and the beach: a vase of fresh flowers, a scattering of seashells, a bowl of perfectly ripe peaches.
26. Have a swap party with friends to trade clothes, toys, or books.
27. Make cleanup easy with strategically placed baskets. Keys, phones, flip flops, library books, Lego bricks — all of those little things strewn about right now could just as easily be dumped into pretty baskets.
28. Hang hooks for sandy towels outside the house.
29. Stash board games and decks of cards in a prominent spot — they're more likely to get used if they're not hidden away.
30. Stock up on favorite movie snacks to make at-home movie night feel extra special.
31. "Heart" favorite photos on your phone and set a reminder on your calendar to print favorited photos once a month.
32. Once you've printed your summer photos, put them somewhere you can enjoy them. It doesn't have to be frames: pile them in a shallow bowl, clip them to a clothesline, or stick them on the fridge.
33. Listen to great podcasts or audiobooks while you clean the house or fold laundry.
34. Prioritize which cleaning tasks make you feel like your house is clean. This is highly personal! For me, it's the bathroom sink, kitchen table, and floors: as long as those three zones are sparkling, I feel like I have a clean house.
35. Wash all the laundry in cold water.
36. Need new patio furniture, camping gear, or play equipment? Check Craigslist or a local buy nothing group first.
37. Set up a super-simple screen-free activity zone for kids stocked with supplies they can use without supervision. Think colored pencils, washable markers, paper, glue sticks, and collage materials for arts & crafts. Other favorites in our house are kinetic sand and homemade play dough.