January is the doorway into each new year, new traditions, and new commitments. It's also a month filled with cold, dark, and sometimes downright dreary winter days. It's no wonder January is also known as National Hot Tea Month in the US: after all, it is the perfect warm and cozy drink to bring in a chilly new year!  

As a tasty herbal concoction, tea is an easy, healthy way to boost your immune system and improve heart health. But tea is also pretty powerful brew outside the teacup. Seriously! Here are some of the best cleaning tricks using tea you need to know about.

All of the examples of decorating and DIYs below can be found on our Pinterest page!

Even if you don't plan on hiding away the Christmas lights until well into January, a solid deep clean is a perfect way to prepare for a new year. A thorough whole-home clean not only gives a fresh foundation for new decorations, but more importantly it physically and mentally marks when the old year ends and the new year begins. It's similar to prepping new goals, routines, and recipes for January.

-Step one: ditch the dirt and dust of the past year, and start the new year with a clean slate. If you're looking for the tools and resources to do this, we just might be able to help! :)

Introducing neutral colors such as creamy whites, soft browns, and warm grays into your space after the vibrant palettes of the holidays brings a new sense of crisp freshness to the home without compromising comfort. Re-introduce fresh evergreens for a pop of color and a truly homey vibe. Redecorate the Christmas tree as a winter tree, with white lights, snowflakes, and silver ornaments.

-If you do opt for putting the Christmas tree away, consider filling the space with a blanket basket or some smaller greenery. Oh, and because it's still the darkest time of the year, add some illuminating accents with white Christmas lights and candles.

Playing with texture of your home décor is super fun this time of year because there is so much to choose from! Whether you're inspired by the knits of winter sweaters, the glitter, glass and mirrors of New Year's Eve, or the woodsy pine of the snowy outdoors, the choices are endless. And the best part? Nothing new needs to be bought.

-There is plenty of opportunity to reuse Christmas and New Year's decorations, collect pine and greenery from outside, or even upcycle things such as old sweaters, scarves, and mittens into your post-holiday home décor. These wintry styles and textures complement each other when combined, so allow yourself to experiment!

One holiday item that usually doesn't get packed away for the next year is the holiday card. Framing them is an easy way to fill a fireplace mantle, bookshelf, refrigerator, or other empty space around your home. Plus, we know it can be tough to keep up with updating family photos year after year.

-Likewise, if the holiday card isn't frameable but has a pattern, cut them up to use as gift tags for future gifts.

Truthfully, heralding in a new year is hard for everyone. Taking the time to reorganize, revitalize, and therefore realign your home top to bottom to leave last year behind as a perfect way to welcome in another new year.

Happy New Year from all of us at Hoover! Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest for more homey content.