If finances are a little tight in your household and you’re just too busy to take a full week away from your daily responsibilities, you can plan a staycation in your very own home. With a little planning and creativity, you can make your home feel like a bed and breakfast personally designed for you and your personal needs. Part of the challenge of planning a good stay-cation is disconnecting from your routine and allowing yourself to unwind, but there are some simple ways to prime your home to make sure you’re fully detached from the daily worries that plague your mind.

Really clean the house as if you were hosting guests. You would never stay someplace with trash on the floor, clothing strewn everywhere, and bathrooms that haven’t been given proper attention in ages. If you want to plan a stress-free weekend stay-cation, you need to ensure that your space is comfortable, welcoming, and conducive to entering 100% chill mode. If your house is messy and you’re preoccupied with tidying up your space or attending to lingering chores, you won’t be fully immersed in mental vacation mode, so preparing for this can free up some cognitive capacity for relaxing.  

Prep your outdoor space. One of the most relaxing part of any vacation is the freedom to lay in a hammock or lounge chair and read, nap, or listen to your ipod. You can help yourself prepare to unwind by setting up a hammock and a hanger in your background or by sewing new cushions for your lawn chairs. Porch swings and rocking chairs are easy to swipe for low prices at garage sales or to rent from furniture rental stores.

Rearrange your furniture. This simple action costs zero dollars but can make your home feel new all over again. Often, when homeowners or renters move into their place of residence, they decide where to place all their couches, chairs, and tables and don’t move them again unless they need to paint the walls or move again. Rearranging the furniture can make your home feel good as new and offer some new creative uses of space that will alter your perspective on the size and lighting of the home.

Buy new curtains and comforters. When was the last time you switched up the aesthetic of your bedroom and bathroom? On a safety note, old curtains and comforters can harbor bacteria and unwanted dandruff if not regularly cleaned and sanitized, so you may want to start all the way over. Homegoods stores tend to offer good sales after the winter months, so stock up and redecorate! You could even try some upcycling crafts to totally switch up the look and feel of a few rooms in your house.