This January, Fix Your Bite-Sized Home Decor Problems First

Welcome to Someone Buy This!, a monthly shopping column featuring the fun, the frivolous, and the practical from a very discerning shopper.

I’m dedicating this winter to making things easier. Not in a total, life-overhaul way; no resolutions here. Just small, borderline embarrassingly minor adjustments that make my day-to-day routine feel smoother.

I keep a tub of alcohol wipes next to my red light mask so I can easily clean it before I put it away. There’s a teacup on my nightstand for the nights I realize I forgot to take my contacts out after I’ve already gotten all cozy in bed. I bought a holster for my hair dryer because taking it out of the drawer and basically "unboxing" it every time I needed to use it felt like scaling a mountain.

None of these changes are revolutionary, but each one removed a tiny point of friction from my day. The trick is to pay attention to the things that irritate you, but not enough to address them in the moment. What messiness catches your eye as you’re watching TV? What do you step over every day? This is your time to fix it.

Get your cords in order

My stance on cords is simple: I don’t necessarily want to hide them but I do want them to be tidy. And ideally, they’re styled into the room. I really love fabric cord covers, especially tulle and especially in the rust and merlot colors offered here. If you want to go bolder, this bright cord cover is a bit of a statement piece. It’s great for wall-mounted stuff like TVs or plug-in sconces. The phone charger is the one cord I do want to hide. I love the Counterpart charger because the cord is fully retractable. Just pull out the length you need when it’s time to charge and push the center button to make it all go away. At four feet long, it’s a little longer than a standard phone charger but won’t replace your longer chargers. It’s a USB-C connection, so it can likely charge many of your devices. I have one in the kitchen and am aiming to replace the rest of the chargers in the house with these.

When possible, I like to pull things off the floor so that there’s fewer things to move around when I’m vacuuming. A wall-mounted shoe rack does exactly that, and because it only holds a limited number of shoes, it forces you to make decisions. You can’t keep every shoe you own in there! Excess pairs of shoes get rotated out and the visual clutter disappears. Nichba’s shoe rack is a bit pricey, but it looks great and won’t take up valuable floor space.

Brighten up that dark corner

Every home has at least one frustratingly dark corner that needs just a little bit of light. Not a full on Big Light, but just a little bit of vibey glow. IKEA’s Fado lamp is my go-to for this issue. I pair it with a Phillips smart bulb and keep it set at 20 percent brightness. This is a great lamp to tuck into a bookcase, on a high shelf or even on the floor. If your dark corner doesn’t have an accessible outlet, try a cordless lamp. My current favorite is this stone-shaped alabaster light from Zara Home.

Just let the dog on the couch

I have accepted that my dog will be on the furniture. I didn’t train him when he was a puppy and, frankly, it’s hard for me to say no to him when he stares at me waiting for an invitation to cuddle up when I’m watching TV. We recently got a Teddy sofa for our guest bedroom, and he has fully claimed it. Instead of fighting a losing battle, I found a blanket that looks like a regular cozy throw. No paw print or bone pattern in sight. Because he likes to seek the softest surface available, he only lays on the blanket and not on the couch itself. He loves it, and I love that I can at least keep the new couch free of dog hair and smells.

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Related Reading:

My Search for Furniture I’ll Keep Forever

Snazzy Gifts for the Design Lover That You’ll Want to Keep for Yourself