11 Great Seasonal “How To” Projects For Your Family
Get your kids involved in sprucing up your home with these 11 great seasonal “how-to” projects that the whole family can do.
CanCan Mom’s hundreds of creative Get-to-Do Lists, routines, schedules, and solutions all make motherhood easier and more fun! Recognizing that you “Get To Do” these things because you are blessed to have a family simply reminds you to Interact with love and laughter more often than impatience.
Have fun incorporating my unique Fast & Free Quick Steps into your daily life!
Moms Crushing It with Quick Steps
If freshening up your home is on your Get-to-Do List, make it a winning combo by creating DIY projects you can dive into as a family. You’ll have fun spending time together completing creative projects you can all feel good about.
- Organize Your Home and Car
- Create a Family Art Gallery
- Revamp your Family’s Bedroom Spaces
- Brighten Up with a Paint Makeover—Furniture, too
- Design a Statement Wall
- Repurpose Household Items
- Add Some Curb Appeal This Spring
- Plant a Family-Friendly Garden
- Create Bird Feeders and Bird Baths
- Make an Outdoor Fort or Family Shed
- Construct a Water Feature
11 Family-Friendly DIY Projects
Tip 1: Organize Your Home and Car
Gather your family together and decide which areas of your home need organizing attention. Consider high-traffic areas like your entryway, laundry room, kitchen, and family room to determine how you can make them less cluttered and more welcoming.
A small but helpful organizing project: set up a place to get your children into the habit of emptying their backpacks with you before or after dinner so you can process the important papers like permission slips or notes about upcoming tests or events. By doing it in the same location, you won’t have stray papers all over the house. Then, repack with signed permission slips, money for lunch or field trips, gym clothes, uniforms, etc., so nothing is forgotten in the morning rush.
Don’t forget the car! Face it, most of us spend a large chunk of our days in the car, driving back and forth to work and shuttling our kids to their activities. That’s why keeping extra supplies in the car is a good idea.
Allocate space for non-perishable snacks, extra outfits for unexpected spills or accidents, bottles of water, diapers, and wipes, an emergency pacifier, an extra $20 bill stashed for emergencies, and activities to keep kids happy and busy during car rides. Basically, gather whatever your family relies on for comfort or would make your life easier if you were to be delayed or in the car for long periods of time.
Arrange these items neatly in a basket (I use a collapsible trunk organizer) and take inventory of what’s there every month in order to replenish.
On the Inside of Your Home
Tip 2: Create a Family Art Gallery
Decorate with favorite photos and artwork. Get your family on board with one of these ideas to create a family art gallery.
• Decoupage a designated space, such as a bedroom hallway with family photos
• Frame your children’s artwork and display it in common areas such as the kitchen or mudroom. You can swap out art as your children grow.
• Make an impact with a cluster of photos alongside your staircase or in your family room
• Create a photo mural to cozy up your den or playroom
Architectural Digest shares more ways to make artful presentations in 16 Photo Display Ideas for Family Pictures.
Tip 3: Revamp your Family’s Bedroom Spaces
When was the last time you took a good look at the bedrooms in your home? Do they reflect your kids’ spunky personalities? Bedrooms should be cozy, safe havens to retreat to after school or when you want to escape from the hustle and bustle of busy family life.
A bedroom makeover is a fun and important way to make a statement—also a great holiday or birthday gift or special reward for your kids.
New curtains and linens can offer an instant facelift to a tired space. (Ask me, I know! Raising eight kids means TIRED) A fresh paint job changes the vibe of a room and isn’t expensive. Let your child have the experience of picking themes and colors as well as some new furnishings.
And make sure to organize as you go—you won’t regret it. Don’t forget the primary bedroom! Mom and Dad need a calm, welcoming place to retreat to as well.
Tip 4: Brighten Up with a Paint Makeover—Furniture, too
One of the best bangs for your DIY buck is paint. Color not only changes the aesthetics of a room, but it also affects your mindset. The Surprising Effect of Color on Your Mind and Mood shares how different colors and tones play on our emotions. The bottom line is that we need color in our lives.
I decided on a project to transform our home into a private Caribbean resort—just because I have eight kids doesn’t mean I can’t live an exotic life!
My makeover plans included gallons of captivating coral, juicy kiwi, turquoise delight, not to mention sunrise sea glass, and shimmering sand dust paint for walls and floors to transform our house into a permanent vacation home.
Quick makeovers? Look at the furniture in your home. Do you have some bland pieces? Wake them up with a paint makeover.
A drab, beige chest of drawers will pop in a vibrant teal or tangerine. Liven up your dining room table with a sleek shade of blue or cranberry.
You can transform nearly any object in your home, including outdoor patio furniture, with spectacular colors of spray paint. This detailed “how to” article from Lowe’s Home Improvement store can help you get you started.
Tip 5: Design a Statement Wall
A statement wall is an accent wall—the focal point of your room. This artistic project will offer a great opportunity to experiment with textures, shapes, colors, and patterns.
It’s a quick and easy way to liven up the space, and, depending on your chosen material, it can be very cheap. Removable wallpaper is a great choice for this project, particularly in a child’s bedroom. For more creative ideas, check out DIYS.com’s 15 DIY Ways to Make An Awesome Statement Wall
Tip 6: Repurpose Household Items
We all have household objects that are broken, no longer needed, or disposable. Put your creativity cap on and brainstorm ideas with your family for ways to repurpose these items so you won’t be wasteful.
– CanCan Mom, Cheryl L. Butler
One popular item that comes to mind is jelly and Mason canning jars. Once empty, wash them out and remove the labels. They make great flower vases, candle holders, bacon grease containers, and piggy banks, to name a few ideas.
If you need some inspiration, you can find it in 100 Ways to Repurpose and Reuse Broken Household Items.
On the Outside of Your Home
Tip 7: Add Some Curb Appeal This Spring
Curb appeal is an area that we easily overlook. Many of us arrive home exhausted from work and mindlessly ignore the outside appearance of our home because we’re rushing to get dinner on the table in time to run back out the door for soccer practice.
Give yourself a new mailbox and some beautiful plants and well-trimmed bushes to look at as you walk up to your well-maintained home with no crooked shutters (nails, screws, or Alien Tape), peeling trim (paint), dingy porch furniture (spray paint update), etc. A little outside work with help from your kids now will lift your spirits every time you arrive home.
Tip 8: Plant a Family-Friendly Garden
If your family has never had a garden, this could be a terrific project you can all take part in.
If you are short on space, there are vegetables you can grow in containers, like juicy grape tomatoes or fresh herbs, to enhance your meals.
Otherwise, have a meeting to discuss the type of garden you’d like to have in the space you have to work with. Then, sketch a plan, including what type of veggies and flowers you’d like. Family members can be assigned jobs such as preparing to plant seeds, watering, or transplanting seedlings.
Tip 9: Create Bird Feeders and Bird Baths
Creating bird feeders and baths is an easy way to add cool and colorful elements to your yard. Then enjoy watching the wonderful world of nature right outside your window.
The National Bird-Feeding Society provides a free illustrated guide with everything you need to know about feeding birds.
Birdbaths are one of the most important things birders can add to their backyard to attract new feathered friends.
Tip 10: Make an Outdoor Fort or Family Shed
Building forts will always be a favorite pastime for kids. Indoor forts using pillows, sheets, and hideaways under the dining room table allow kids to use their imagination and problem-solving skills.
Take advantage of the outdoors to construct a fort or treehouse in your backyard. She Sheds, a woman’s take on the popular Man Cave, is all the rage now. Why not embrace this concept and create a family hideout where you can all escape the daily grind?
Clearly, this is more of an involved project than creating a bird feeder, but many helpful tutorials and resources are available to assist. And think how satisfying it will be for all of you when the project is completed, and you all have a new place to hang out!
Tip 11: Construct a Water Feature
If you add a water feature to your family’s DIY list, you can have this spa-like experience every day.
Pinterest is overflowing (sorry, I couldn’t resist) with easy-to-implement ideas. This spring, my family is excited to install a pondless waterfall in our backyard. We’re designating a weekend for the project. Then, a few weeks later, we’ll invite neighborhood friends for a cookout to enjoy the fruits of our labor.
DIY Results
Enjoy having fun as a family while making your home beautiful, cozy, and welcoming inside and out!
See Also: 8 Easy Ways to Have a Clean Home
What are some of your family’s favorite DIY projects? For all kinds of mom-centered creative ideas, visit me on Instagram at CanCanMomCB or on Pinterest at theCanCanMom. If you have questions or suggestions, email me at cheryl@cancanmom.com or leave a comment in the box below.
